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The White Star Line’s Celtic
was the first ship to exceed the 18,915
tons of Brunel’s Great
Eastern. However, with the White Star
Line’s previous ship Oceanic
being five feet longer, she was only the
second longest liner at that time.
Although Celtic had a top speed of
around 19 knots, her owners ignored speed
to concentrate on comfort and saving
fuel. The captains of this line were
instructed to travel at a leisurely 16
knots. Celtic set out on her
maiden voyage from Liverpool - New York
July 20th 1901. This new size of ship
forced the port authorities at New York
to dredge the harbor before her arrival.
Thirteen years later, the British
Admiralty requisitioned Celtic to
serve as an armed merchant cruiser during
World War One.
With Britain's coal supplies running
low by 1916 and these large armed
merchant cruisers using up vast amounts
of coal for fuel, the Admiralty had
Celtic converted to a troopship.
She was then used to transport troops
from Britain - Egypt and to provide an
occasional passenger service between
Liverpool and New York. During one of
these voyages to New York in 1917, 17
people were killed after she struck a
mine off the Isle of Man. The extensive
damage caused by the blast forced the
Admiralty to put Celtic into
Belfast for repairs. The following year,
she was traveling through the Irish Sea
when the German Submarine UB-77 succeeded
in hitting her with one torpedo. Although
that attack killed six people and left
Celtic drifting without power,
rescue vessels managed to tow her into
Liverpool for repairs. Work to restore
Celtic’s interiors after the
war delayed her return to the Liverpool -
New York run until 1920. Eight years
later, she ran aground at the mouth of
Queenstown Harbor (now Cobh/Ireland).
With all attempts to pull Celtic
off the rocks failing, the White Star
Line was forced to have her scrapped
where she lay. The Danish salvage company
contracted to dismantle Celtic
took until 1933 to clear the last of her
wreckage from the site.
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