View source for SS Torrington

{{Short description|British turret deck ship sunk by a U-boat in 1917}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = SS Torrington and inset of Captain Starkey.jpg
| Ship caption = ''Torrington'', with Captain Starkey inset top right
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = ''Torrington''
|Ship country = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|UK|civil}}
| Ship namesake = 
| Ship owner = *1905: Torrington SS Co Ltd
*1910: Tatem SN Co Ltd
| Ship operator = William J Tatem Ltd
| Ship registry = [[Cardiff Docks|Cardiff]]
| Ship route = 
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[William Doxford & Sons]], [[Sunderland]]
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 332
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 21 March 1905
| Ship completed = April 1905
| Ship maiden voyage = 
| Ship refit = 
| Ship identification = *UK [[official number]] 119969
*[[code letters]] HCLV
*{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Victor}}
| Ship fate = Sunk by [[U-boat]], 8 April 1917
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[turret deck ship]]
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|5597}}, {{NRT|3619}}
| Ship length = {{cvt|390.3|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{cvt|55.2|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = 
| Ship depth = {{cvt|27.2|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship decks = 1
| Ship power = 359 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
| Ship propulsion = [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]]
| Ship speed = {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}
| Ship capacity = 
| Ship crew = 35
| Ship notes = [[sister ship]]: ''Wellington''
}}
|}

'''SS ''Torrington''''' was a British [[Cargo ship|cargo]] [[steamship]] that was built in [[England]] in 1905, owned and registered in [[Wales]], and sunk by a [[German Empire|German]] [[U-boat]] in 1917. She was a [[turret deck ship]]: an unusual hull design that was developed by [[William Doxford & Sons]] of [[Sunderland]] in the 1890s.

In April 1917 {{SMU|U-55||2}} sank ''Torrington'' in the [[Celtic Sea]] southwest of the [[Isles of Scilly]]. Her crew survived the sinking, but ''U-55''{{'}}s commander [[Wilhelm Werner]] murdered many of them by drowning. Werner evaded prosecution, later became a senior officer in the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], and died just after the [[World War II|Second World War]].

==Building and registration==
In 1905 Doxford's built a pair of [[sister ship]]s at their [[Pallion]] shipyard. Yard number 330 was launched on 21 February, completed in March and named ''Wellington''.<ref name=Wellington>{{cite web |url= http://www.sunderlandships.com/view.php?&ref=101155 |title=Wellington |work=Wear Built Ships |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=16 December 2022}}</ref> Yard number 332 was launched on 21 March, completed in April and named ''Torrington''.<ref name=Torrington>{{cite web |url= http://www.sunderlandships.com/view.php?&ref=101157 |title=Torrington |work=Wear Built Ships |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=16 December 2022}}</ref> Each ship had a registered length of {{cvt|390.3|ft|abbr=on}}, beam of {{cvt|55.2|ft|abbr=on}} and depth of {{cvt|27.2|ft|abbr=on}}. ''Torrington''{{'}}s [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|5597}} and {{NRT|3619}}.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1905|loc=TOR–TOU}}

Each ship had a three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]] that was rated at 359 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1905|loc=TOR–TOU}} This would have given them a speed of about {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Tony |last2=Lettens |first2=Jan |last3=Quigley |first3=Martin |title=SS Torrington [+1917] |work=WreckSite |url= https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11051 |access-date=16 December 2022}}</ref>

William J Tatem and Company, Limited [[Ship management|managed]] both ships. Tatem created two one-ship companies to own the ships: the Wellington Steam Ship Company and the Torrington Steam Ship Company.<ref name=Wellington/><ref name=Torrington/> Tatem registered each ship in [[Cardiff Docks|Cardiff]]. ''Torrington''{{'}}s UK [[official number]] was 119969 and her [[code letters]] were HCLV.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1905|loc=TOR–TOU}}{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1906|p=441}}

In 1910 Tatem transferred ownership of both ''Wellington'' and ''Torrington'' to the Tatem Steam Navigation Company Limited. WJ Tatem & Co remained the manager of both ships.<ref name=Wellington/><ref name=Torrington/>{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910|loc=TOR–TOT}}{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1911|p=523}}

==Sinking==
Early in 1917 ''Torrington'' took coal from Wales to [[Port of Savona|Savona]], Italy, for [[Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane|Italian State Railways]]. On 8 April 1917 she was returning to [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]] for her next cargo. At about 11.30{{nbsp}}am, at a position around {{convert|150|nmi|km}} southwest of the Scillies, her lookout sighted lifeboats in the distance.{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=178}} ''Torrington''{{'}}s [[Sea captain|Captain]], Anthony Starkey, changed course toward the boats, which carried survivors of ''Umvoti'', a Bullard, King & Co steamship that ''U-55'' had sunk.{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=178}}<ref name=pilot>{{cite news |title=Graphic Tale of U-Boat Murders |url= https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=STP19211130.2.18&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------ |newspaper=[[Steamboat Pilot & Today|The Steamboat Pilot]] |place=Steamboat Springs |via=Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection |date=30 November 1921}}</ref>

[[File:Japanese submarine Maru-3 in 1919.jpg|thumb|{{SMU|U-55||2}} in 1919]]
''U-55'' then fired a torpedo at ''Torrington''. Starkey saw it and changed course in response, but failed to avoid it.{{sfn|''Home Waters—Part VIII'' 1933|pp=406–407}} It hit hold number 3 just forward of the bridge, quickly flooding both that hold and hold number two further forward. This put ''Torrington'' down by her bow, lifting her propeller out of the water and bringing her to a halt.{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=178}}

''U-55'' surfaced off ''Torrington''{{'s}} starboard bow. ''Torrington'' was [[Defensively equipped merchant ship|defensively armed]] with a [[naval gun]] on her poop, ''Torrington''{{'}}s [[superstructure]] amidships blocked it from being brought to bear on the U-boat. Starkey surrendered, ordered ''Torrington''{{'}}s [[Red ensign|ensign]] to be lowered and ordered his crew to abandon ship. Starkey took command of 20 men in the starboard lifeboat, while his [[Chief mate|Chief Officer]] commanded 15 men in the port lifeboat.

Having pulled {{convert|1/4|nmi|m}} from ''Torrington'', ''U-55'' fired a shell from her deck gun that exploded above Starkey's lifeboat.{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=178}} Starkey moved the boat to the submarine and those aboard were ordered onto its deck.{{sfn|Winton|1983|p=59}} Werner took Starkey below for interrogation. Werner accused Starkey of lying by stating that he was captain, as Werner's copy of ''[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping'' named a different man. Starkey had been appointed only four months prior, and the register was out of date. Werner asked Starkey about the crew of the defensive gun. Starkey indicated they were among the 20 men on his lifeboat. When asked why they were not wearing uniform Starkey, said they had not had time to change before sinking.<ref name=pilot/>

Werner told Starkey he was "a damned pirate" and that he deserved "to be shot, and as for the others, let them swim". Starkey assumed the latter was a German expression and assumed his men had been allowed to reboard their boat and continue at sea. But ''U-55'' submerged with the men still on her deck, and all were drowned. The fate of the port boat is not known, but it is thought to have also been sunk by Werner.<ref name=pilot/> Starkey remained aboard ''U-55'' for the remaining 15 days of its cruise, and was then interned in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |last=Etheridge |first=Mark |title=Captain Anthony Starkey - Master of the S.S. Torrington |url= https://museum.wales/blog/1621/Captain-Anthony-Starkey---Master-of-the-SS-TORRINGTON/ |publisher=[[Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales]] |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=19 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2010|p=}}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>

During the trip a German sailor asked Starkey if he thought his crew had survived. Starkey said he thought they would as the weather was not poor. The sailor then told Starkey that he knew all his crew had died, but could not tell him more in front of the other Germans. Another sailor told Starkey that the event was "not war, it was murder".{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=181}} Whilst aboard Starkey, later noted that he had seen two other British ships sunk and their crews murdered.<ref name=pilot/> ''U-55'' reached Germany on 23 April after a cruise in which she sank 10 ships, totalling {{GRT|29568}}, and killed 100 seafarers.{{sfn|''Home Waters—Part VIII'' 1933|pp=406–407}} Starkey was held in an internment camp and thought he had only been allowed to live because Werner did not suspect he knew the truth about the murders.<ref name=pilot/>

==Later events==
Later in the war Werner and ''U-55'' sank the hospital ship {{HMHS|Rewa}} and fired at the hospital ship ''Guildford Castle'' with a torpedo that failed to explode.{{sfn|Bridgland|2002|p=181}} On 31 July 1917 he murdered most of the crew of the [[Furness Withy|Prince Line]] cargo ship {{SS|Belgian Prince||2}} in a similar manner to that of the crew of ''Torrington'', but three men survived as witnesses.<ref name=echo>{{cite news |title=Murdered by the German who became one of Hitler's henchmen |url= https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15444904.murdered-by-the-german-who-became-one-of-hitlers-henchmen/ |newspaper=[[Southern Daily Echo]] |place=Southampton |publisher=[[Newsquest]] |date=1 August 2017 |access-date=19 November 2022}}</ref>

After the war the [[Attorney General for England and Wales]] confirmed to families of the ''Torrington'' crew that it intended to pursue the trial of Werner for murder at the [[Leipzig war crimes trials]], but he could not be found.<ref name=pilot/><ref>{{cite web |title=FO 371/5861: Forthcoming trial of Lieutenant Commander Werner at Leipzig |url=https://history-commons.net/artifacts/2566413/forthcoming-trial-of-lieutenant-commander-werner-at-leipzig/3588484/ |website=History Commons}}</ref> He had fled to [[First Brazilian Republic|Brazil]], but he returned to [[Weimar Republic|Germany]] in 1924, and the charges against him were dropped by a German court in 1926. He later joined the [[Nazi Party]] and served in the SS, and was promoted to the rank of ''[[Brigadeführer]]'' in [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s personal staff. Werner died in May 1945, shortly after the [[end of World War II in Europe]].<ref name=echo/>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Bridgland |first=Tony |year=2002 |title=Outrage at Sea: Naval Atrocities of the First World War |place=Barnsley |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-78337-938-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O-4kCwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |last=Edwards |first=Bernard |year=2010 |title=War Under the Red Ensign, 1914–1918 |place=Havertown, PA |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-84468-486-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dWPNDwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |year=1933 |title=Home Waters—Part VIII, December 1916 to April 1917, Monograph No. 34 |series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical) |volume=XVIII |publisher=Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division |pages=406–407 |url= https://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs_VolXVIII_part4.pdf |via=[[Royal Australian Navy]] |ref={{harvid|''Home Waters—Part VIII'' 1933}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1905 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1906ST/page/n881/mode/1up |via=[[Internet Archive]] |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1905}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1910 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1911ST/page/n1035/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1906 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Torrington&year=1906&submit=Enter |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1906}} }}
*{{cite book |year=1911 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?&name=Torrington&steamsail=Steam&submit=Enter&year=1911 |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1911}} }}
*{{cite book |last=Winton |first=John |year=1983 |title=Convoy: The Defence of Sea Trade, 1890-1990 |place=London |publisher=[[Michael Joseph (publisher)|Michael Joseph]] |isbn=978-0-7181-2163-1 |page=59 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O9-FAAAAIAAJ}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=Torrington |work=uboat.net |url= https://www.uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/6069.html}}

{{April 1917 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrington}}
[[Category:1905 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1917]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Wear]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War I merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:World War I crimes by Imperial Germany]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1917]]