SS Colemere (1915) explained

-- commercial vessels --> Ship Name: Colemere Ship Namesake: Cole Mere Ship Owner: Watson Steamship Co. (1915–1916) Bromport Steamship Co. (1916–1917) Ship Registry: Liverpool Ship Builder: Dunlop, Bremner and Co., Port Glasgow, Scotland Ship Launched: 17 December 1914 Ship Completed: 9 March 1915 Ship Identification: Official number 135362 Ship Fate: Sunk by submarine, 22 December 1917 Ship Type: Freighter Ship Power: 173 nhp Ship Propulsion: 1 screw propeller; 1 triple-expansion steam engine Ship Speed: 10.5kn

SS Colemere was a small freighter built during the First World War. Completed in 1915, she was intended for the West African trade. The ship was sunk by the German submarine SM U-105 in December 1917 with the loss of four crewmen.

Description

Colemere had an overall length of 303.6feet, with a beam of 44.7feet and a draught of 18.3feet. The ship was assessed at and . She had a vertical triple-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller. The engine was rated at a total of 173 nominal horsepower and produced 1350ihp. This gave her a maximum speed of 10.5kn.^[1]

Construction and career

Colemere, named after Cole Mere, was laid down as yard number 279 by Dunlop, Bremner and Co. at its shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland for the Watson Steamship Co. The ship was launched on 17 December 1914 and completed on 9 March 1915. She was sold to the Lever Brothers' newly formed Bromport Steamship Co. on 11 May 1916. Colemere was bound for Freetown, Sierra Leone, with a general cargo when she was torpedoed by U-105 west of Smalls Lighthouse with the loss of four crewmen on 22 December 1917.^{[2] [3]}

Bibliography

• Book: Admiralty . British Vessels Lost at Sea, 1914-18 and 1939-45. Merchant Shipping (Losses): British Merchant Vessels Captured or Destroyed by the Enemy . 1988 . 1919 . Patrick Stephens. Wellingborough, UK . 1-85260-134-5 . 3rd. 1–99.
• Fenton . Roy . Levers' Early Shipping Ventures: Bromport Steamship Co., Ltd. and its Predecessors . Marine News Supplement . December 2022 . 76 . 12 . S340–S352. 0966-6958.

Notes and References

1. Fenton, p. S648
2. Fenton, pp. S642, S648, S650
3. Admiralty, p. 76