Falls of Dee

A four-masted iron ship built in 1882 at the Russel & Co., Greenock, as new building No. 47. Her dimensions were 84,29×12,49×7,18 meters [276'7×41'0×23'7] and tonnage 1973 GRT, 1844 NRT, and 3100 DWT. Rigged with a spike bowsprit and double topsails, double top-gallant sails and royals, except on the jigger mast where she carried a single top-gallant and no royal sail.

1882 April: Launched at the shipyard of Russel & Co., Greenock and delivered to Ship Falls of Dee Co., Ltd, (Wright & Breakenridge), Glasgow.
1893: The shipping line is taken over by Wright, Graham & Co., Glasgow. Master: Capt. Look.
1897 July: A fire in the hold, while discharging at San Francisco, caused serious damage including a collapsed mainmast. The cost for the repairs was $ 7825.
1901: Sold to Sphere Shipping Co. Ltd (John Herron & Co.), Liverpool, for £ 11.000.
1906: The 1907-09 edition of Lloyd's Register records Capt. William Sinclair as master.
1910 May 28: Sold to A/S Tønsberg Hvalfangeri (Oscar Hytten), Tønsberg, for £ 2800 and renamed Teie. Assigned the Norwegian signal WJDR.
1917 May 26 [28?]: Sunk by the German submarine UC 45 (K.L. Aust), at 50°28' N, 09°20' W, 60' South of Fastnet, en route Husvik, South Georgia - Liverpool with whaleoil. The ship was stopped by the German submarine and the crew left the ship after the Germans had open fire on the ship. Afterwards the Germans boarded the ship and placed detonation charges onboard her after which they put her on fire.
Two of the lifeboats was picked up after three days by British patrol boats and taken to Milford Haven. The third boat came to Padstow, Cornwall, after 53 hours.

References:

Four- and five masted ships, general references
Skibet, 1988.
Burell, David: The Falls Story.
Sea Breezes, Vol. 57 (1983), pp 341-356, ill.
Furrer, Hans Jörg: Die Vier- und Fünfmast-Rahsegler der Welt.
Koehler, Herford, 1984.
Halcrow, A.: A Voyage in the Falls of Dee.
Sea Breezes Vol. XIII (1929-1930), pp 272-273.
Shields, J.: A Smart Passage by Falls of Dee. A Race with the Province.
Sea Breezes, Vol. XII (1928-1929), pp 210-211, ill.
Smith, J. Capt.: More About the Falls of Dee. A Famous or Infamous Passage?
Sea Breezes, Vol. XXII (1937-1938), p 203.

Updated 1998-01-15 by Lars Bruzelius.

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