Athena
September 4, 1939, around 10:30 am, waters north of Ireland. The British passenger liner Athenia, torpedoed the previous evening by U30 shortly before it sank.
At the beginning of October last year, information appeared in the British media about the discovery of the wreckage of the Athenia passenger liner. This was due to the publication of another book by David Mearns, who devoted one of the chapters to this ship, sunk by a submarine in the first era of the war between Foggy Albion and the Third Reich. Although Mearns stipulated that only the use of an underwater robot would allow with XNUMX% certainty to identify the object found by the sonar, the reputation he has gained over the years of successful searches (he found, among other things, the wreck of the battleship Hood) suggests that this is only just a formality. In anticipation of her, it is worth remembering the history of Athenia.
The fleet of Cunard Line, one of the two British shipowners that dominates passenger traffic across the North Atlantic, was badly damaged during the First World War, mainly due to Kaiser submarines. It was obvious that the losses of the ships taken from Germany could not be compensated and the surviving liners (7 out of 18, including the largest Mauritania and Aquitaine) had to be supported by a new displacement. Thus, the plan drawn up before the end of the great conflict called for the construction of 14 units. Financial constraints prevented another ultra-fast giant from appearing, this time the emphasis was on fuel economy and attracting passengers who do not require haste, but want "only" comfort at a reasonable price. In accordance with these requirements, projects were developed for ships with a displacement of approximately 20 or 000 gross tons, with one funnel and a turbine drive, which made it possible to develop a cruising speed of 14-000 knots. A series of six smaller units, designed by Cunard Nomenclature "A-class ”, launched by Ausonia (15 GRT, 16 passengers), commissioned in August 13.
Anchor-Donaldson was formed five years earlier to operate 4 passenger steamships owned by the Donaldson Line on routes from Liverpool and Glasgow to Montreal, Quebec and Halifax. Before the end of the war, two of them, "Athena" (8668 GRT) and "Letitia" (8991 GRT), were lost (the first became a victim of U 16 1917 August 53, and the second, then a hospital ship, fell ashore in the fog under port last mentioned and broke its keel). Since Anchor Line was owned by Cunard, the company began to rebuild the fleet by taking over - thanks to a large loan from the Commercial Bank of Scotland - an "A" class vessel built on one of the slipways of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Govan near Glasgow, which began in 1922.
The new Athenia was launched on 28 January 1923. For one million 250 pounds sterling, the buyer received a ship of a modern shape for those times, with a displacement of 000 gross tons, with an overall hull length of 13 m and a maximum width of 465 m, with liquid fuel boilers and 160,4 steam turbines that transmitted their rotation through gearboxes on 20,2 cardan shafts. It was originally designed for 6 passengers in class cabin and 2 in class III. Due to the limitation of the number of immigrants by the United States and Canada and the increase in the tourist flow, since 516, after the reconstruction of the salon, he could receive a maximum of 1000 people in the first, 1933 in tourist class cabins and 314 people. in class III. Anchor-Donaldson tried to lure its most solvent passengers with the slogan that the Athenia "has all the comforts of a luxury hotel," but those who have previously sailed on any of the larger liners of any line should have noticed the downside, even on the menu. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a very successful ship, until 310 its operation was not interrupted by a collision, aground, or a fire.
Together with its twin Letitia, introduced in 1925, Athenia formed a pair of the largest Anchor-Donaldson Line units, handling less than 5 percent of North Atlantic traffic at best. It competed mainly with the liners of the Canadian Pacific Railway, most often calling at Halifax (by the time it hit the bottom, it had made more than 100 flights, lasting an average of 12 days). As traffic across the Atlantic declined during the winter, it was sometimes used for cruising. Since 1936, after Anchor was liquidated and its assets were bought out by one of the partners, it passed into the hands of the newly created Donaldson Atlantic Line.
As the smell of another war in Europe intensified, more and more seats were taken on ships sailing across the Atlantic. When Athenia took off from Glasgow on 1 September, as planned, there were 420 passengers on board, including 143 US citizens. Mooring took place shortly after noon, just after 20 pm Athenia entered Belfast, taking 00 people from there. James Cook, who had been its captain since 136, was informed there that he was to sail in obscurity on the stretch to Liverpool. When he got there, he received instructions from the Admiralty in the captain's office, ordering him to also zigzag and, after leaving the Atlantic, follow the route north of the standard path. Since 1938:13, more passengers have boarded the Athenia - there were 00 of them. Thus, in total, the ship took 546 people on a cruise, much more than usual. Citizens of Canada (1102) and the USA (469) performed brilliantly, with British passports - 311 passengers, from continental Europe - 172. The last group included 150 people of Jewish origin with German passports, as well as Poles and Czechs.
Northern Ireland
On Saturday 2 September at 16 Athenia began to leave the mouth of the Mersey. Even before she went to the open sea, another boat alarm was carried out. During dinner, one of the passengers seated at the captain's table opined that the ship looked overcrowded, to which radio officer David Don had to reply, "Please don't worry, there will be a life jacket for you." His carelessness, real or feigned, had a solid foundation, as there were 30 lifeboats, 26 rafts, over 21 vests and 1600 lifebuoys on board. Most of the boats were arranged in tiers, each of the larger, lower boats accommodated 18 people, and the smaller upper ones, marked with the same number and the letter A, 86 each, were driven by internal combustion engines. In total, boats could take 56 people, and rafts - 3 people.
At about 3:03 on 40 September, a darkened and zigzag Athenia passed the island of Inishtrahall to the north of Ireland. Shortly after 11:00 the radio operator on duty received a message about the state of war between Britain and the Third Reich. Immediately and as calmly as possible, the message was conveyed to the passengers. Cook also ordered boats and rafts to be launched, and fire extinguishers and hydrants to be checked. By evening, the tension on board began to subside, as every minute the ship moved further and further away from potentially dangerous waters. Shortly after 19, at a constant speed of 00 knots, she reached an approximate position of 15°56'N, 42°14'W, about 05 nautical miles southwest of Rockall. Visibility was good, a light breeze was blowing from the south, so the waves were only about one and a half meters. This, however, was enough to prevent numerous passengers from appearing at the dinners that had just begun. Reinforcements were drawing to a close when around 55:19 a strong jolt hit the stern of the Athenia. Many of her crew and passengers immediately thought that the ship had been torpedoed.
Colin Porteous, third officer in charge of the watch, immediately activated the mechanisms for closing the doors in the watertight bulkheads, turned the engine telegraph to the "Stop" position and ordered the "Don" to transmit a distress signal. Leaving his place at the table, Cook went to the bridge with a flashlight, because all the lights inside went out. On the way, he felt the ship list heavily to the left, then partially straightened and took the trim. Upon reaching the bridge, he ordered the emergency generator activated and sent a mechanical officer to assess the damage. Returning, the captain heard that the engine room was completely flooded, the bulkhead separating it from the boiler room was leaking heavily, the water level in the aft part of deck "C" was about 0,6 m, and in the shaft under the cover of hold No. 5. The mechanic officer also told Cook that the electricity was only enough for lighting, but the pumps still couldn't cope with such an influx of water.
