Irish Wrecks On-Line - Tuscania SS (No. 860)

*Vessel Type:*	Government Transport Steamer	*Location:*	Co. Antrim
*Date of Loss:*	5th February 1918	*Place:*	Rathlin Island
*Cause of Loss:*	Torpedoed	*Boat Dive from:*	Ballycastle
*Charted Depth:*	108m	*Irish O.S. Map:*	Discovery Series No. 5
*Height of Wreck:*	16m	*Admiralty Chart No:*	2798
*Hull Material:*	Steel	*Latitude (GPS):*	55° 29' 22.2" North
*Type of Seabed:*		*Longitude (GPS):*	06° 20' 39" West
*Average Visibility:*	Very poor	*Convert Lat. & Long.* to -	Decimal - CLICK HERE
*Image available?*	Yes - see below	*Diving Experience:*	Specialist Diving

Diving Information:

Lies approximately 7 miles North Rathlin Island Lighthouse
Sitting upright with list to starboard, but decks are partly collapsed.
Both bells have been recovered, one by Norman Woods of Portstewart SAC in 1997.
Subject to strong currents with only a small ‘slack’ window.
A Tri-Mix dive for the very very experienced.
Normal light conditions are black.

Historical Information:

Built by Alexander Stephens & Sons Ltd., Govan, for the Anchor Line in 1914, she grossed 14,348 tons and measured 567 x 66.6 x 45 ft., with accommodation for 2,500 passengers.
Steam was produced by six large double-ended Scotch boilers giving her 17.5 knots maximum..
Was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and was "HMS Tuscania" when she sank.
Bound for the U.K. from Halifax, Nova Scotia in convoy HX20 consisting of about 20 ships, she was torpedoed by UB-77.
A stray torpedo exploded on under the cliffs at Altacarry lighthouse.
Of the 2,235 aboard (2,030 American troops), 166 were lost.

S.S. Tuscania

S.S. Tuscania bell

Norman Woods - 1997

S.S. Tuscania

© by kind permission of clydeships web site

Source Publications:

*"Irish Wrecks Database"*	by	Roy Stokes & Liam Dowling
*"Shipwreck Index of Ireland"*	by	*Richard & Bridget LarnLloyd's Register - Fairplay Ltd 2002 - ISBN: 1900839970***

*"Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast 932 - 1997"*	by	Dr. Edward J. Bourke
		**Edward J. Bourke 1998 - ISBN: 0952302713**
*"Shipwrecks of the Ulster Coast"*	by	Ian Wilson
		*Impact Printing 1997 - ISBN: 0948154993*
*"The Harsh Winds of Rathlin"*	by	Tommy Cecil
		**Impact Printing 1990 - ISBN: 0948154659**

Other Sources:

*UK Diving*	-	Internet (Steven Schwartz 1999)
*Norman Woods*	-	Portstewart SAC (2000)
*Guðmundur Helgason's U-Boat Web Site*	-	Internet site (2021)

Last update - 16-Feb-2021