SS Austria 2416949 200295517 2008-03-23T13:45:39Z Haus 976980 cleanup, standardize GRT using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:SS Austria 1857.jpg|300px|thumb]] '''SS''' '''''Austria''''' was a [[steamship]] of the [[Hamburg America Line]] which sank on [[13 September]] [[1858]], in one of the worst [[transatlantic]] [[List of disasters#Ship and ferry disasters|maritime disaster]]s of the nineteenth century, claiming the lives of 449 passengers and crew. The ''Austria'' was built by [[Caird & Co.]] of [[Greenock]], [[Scotland]] and was launched on [[23 June]] [[1857]]. She was 318 [[Foot (unit of length)|ft]] and 2,684 [[Tonnage|BRT]], with three [[Mast (sailing)|masts]] and [[Ship#Propulsion|single screw propulsion]]. After a cancelled British Government charter, she went into service with the [[Hamburg America Line]] on [[1 May]] [[1858]] on the [[Hamburg]]-[[New York]] route. ==Tragedy at sea== On [[1 September]] [[1858]], SS ''Austria'' captained by [[F. A. Heydtmann]] sailed from [[Hamburg]] on her third voyage to [[New York City]]. At approximately 12:00, on 13 September, at coordinates {{coor dm|45|01|N|41|30|W}}, a decision was made to [[Fumigation|fumigate]] [[steerage]] by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar; the chain became too hot for the [[boatswain]] to hold, and it was dropped onto the deck, which immediately burst into flames; although the ship was traveling at only [[half speed]] it was impossible to stop the engines as the engine crew had become asphyxiated. When the helmsman abandoned the wheel, the ship swung into the wind, spreading the flames down the length of the ship, racing through the mahogany veneer and varnished bulkheads, as passengers jumped into the sea. The passing [[barque]], ''Maurice'' of France rescued most of the survivors, and the ''Catarina'' of Norway picked up more the next morning. As the blackened hulk was left to sink, all but 65 of 538 passengers were lost. ===Survivors=== * [[Theodore Eisfeld]], [[New York Philharmonic]] music director * [[Charles Brew]], [[British Columbia]] [[British Columbia Provincial Police|Inspector of Police]] ==References== * {{cite web | author=Michael P. Palmer | title=Palmer List of Merchant Vessels | url=http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/com-au.htm#austria1857 | publisher= | date=16 Sep 1999 | accessdate=2007-09-26}} *{{cite news | author=The Southport Visitor | title=Narrative of a survivor | url=http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/SSAustria.html | work=Old Mercy Times | date=14 October 1858 | accessdate=2007-09-26}} * [http://specials.tribstar.com/hulman/COMING/COMING4.HTML Hulman Dynasty site] * [http://www.hotkey.net.au/~jwilliams4/migrate02.htm Illustrated London News, Emigration Reports] {{DEFAULTSORT:Austria}} [[Category:Steamships]] [[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in 1858]] [[de:Austria (Schiff)]]