|
The Dominion Line ordered this ship with
the intended name being Alberta.
They had her fitted with two piston type
engines to drive the two outside
propellers and one of the new
low-pressured turbines to power the
central propeller. With the White Star
Line unsure whether to use the turbine
engines in their new large Olympic class
ships, they bought this liner before it
entered service so they could monitor the
performance and reliability of the
turbine. The Dominion Line had another
ship the same size nearing completion at
that time fitted with two piston type
engines. In order to compare the two
ships performance, the White Star Line
bought that ship as well to be operated
on the same route. After Alberta
had been renamed Laurentic, she
set out on her maiden voyage from
Liverpool - Quebec and Montreal April
29th 1909. Even though the turbine proved
to be the better system and
Laurentic took the record for the
fastest crossing on that route, the White
Star Line decided to use a combination of
piston and turbine engines to power their
Olympic class ships, as they had concerns
about the reliability of the
turbines.
The British Admiralty commissioned
Laurentic to serve as a troopship
during World War One. After initially
being used for transporting Canadian
troops to Europe, the Admiralty had her
converted to an armed cruiser for a
special mission. Laurentic set out
from Liverpool January 25th 1917 on route
to America carrying a cargo of gold
bullion. This vast amount of gold had
been intended to pay America for
munitions supplied throughout the war.
Soon after leaving the British coast, she
hit a mine laid by the German submarine
U-80 and sank in 125 feet of water. Those
who survived the explosion and escaped
the sinking ship in lifeboats were picked
up the following morning. In all, 354
people lost their lives in the incident.
As for the 3,211 bars of gold, it took
seven years to salvage 3,186 bars, 25
were unaccounted for.
|