*German, WW1, Cargo Steamer Nicomedia – Original Photograph*
Original Photograph of the German Cargo Steamer Nicomedia. Likely a photograph of a photograph. This photograph originally formed part of the Lou Britton British Submarine Collection, which was acquired by the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport in 2007.
Approximate Dimensions: 17.8cm x 12.7cm
Nicomedia was one of the ships sunk by E19 in the so-called “ U-boat Massacre ” off Öland on an October day in 1915.
The Nicomedia was a steel cargo steamer built in 1901 by William Gray & Co. in West Hartlepool (yard no. 634) for the Hamburg-Amerika Packetfahrt Aktiengesellschaft. Measuring 116.77 meters in length and 15.88 meters in beam, it had a tonnage of 4,372 GRT and a triple-expansion engine from Central Marine Machine Works, capable of reaching 12.7 knots. Launched on April 19, 1901, and delivered on May 21, it operated under the Hamburg flag with Captain Conrad Daniel Poock and a crew of 32. While transporting iron ore from Luleå to Hamburg, Nicomedia was sunk by the British submarine E19 on October 11, 1915, southwest of Öland S Udde.
On October 11, 1915, the British submarine HMS E19, under Lieutenant Commander Francis Cromie, intercepted the German cargo steamer SS Nicomedia south of Öland. Nicomedia, en route from Luleå to Hamburg with a cargo of iron ore, was halted by E19 after two warning shots. Despite the German crew’s attempt to appease the British by offering beer, Cromie ordered the crew to abandon ship. The Germans opened the vessel’s bottom valves, and an explosive charge was set in the stern. Nicomedia sank around 19:30, with all 32 crew members safely reaching the Swedish coast in lifeboats. This event was part of E19’s successful campaign that day, during which it sank five German ships without any casualties.
In 1982 a team of Swedish divers discovered the wreck of the S/S Nicomedia. In 1999, some beer bottles from Nicomedia were recovered. Possibly the same beer that was offered to E-19. The yeast in the bottles was still alive after all these years. It was re-cultivated by Slottskällans bryggeri, a Swedish brewery, in 2000 and is now sold as the “Wreck Beer”.
*Condition*
Excellent used condition. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
RQMAOXAH_8962195622
