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SS Metagama

Metagama in the St. Lawrence River in 1927
History
United Kingdom
NameMetagama
NamesakeMetagama, Ontario
OwnerCanadian Pacific Railway Co
OperatorCanadian Pacific Steamship Co
Port of registryLondon
Route
BuilderBarclay, Curle & Co
Yard number511
Launched19 November 1914
CompletedMarch 1915
Maiden voyage27th March 1915
Identification
FateScrapped 1934
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage12,420 GRT, 7,484 NRT
Length500.4 ft (152.5 m)
Beam64.2 ft (19.6 m)
Depth37.9 ft (11.6 m)
Decks2
Installed power1,492 NHP
Propulsion
Speed16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity
  • Passengers: 520 first class, 1,200 cabin class
  • 46,070 cubic feet (1,305 m3) refrigerated cargo
Sensors and
processing systems
Notessister ship: Missanabie

SS Metagama was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched in 1914 and scrapped in 1934. The Canadian Pacific Railway Co owned her and the Canadian Pacific Steamship Co operated her. She was a pioneering example of a "cabin class" passenger ship.

Building

Before the First World War, Canadian Pacific ordered a pair of liners from Barclay, Curle & Co on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland.[1][2] Canadian Pacific planned the pair to pioneer a new concept in passenger accommodation, in which there was no first class or second class but instead a single "cabin class".[3]

Barclay, Curle built Missanabie and Metagama as yard numbers 510 and 511. Missanabie was launched on 22 June 1914[1] and Metagama on 19 November.[2] Metagama was completed in March 1915. Her registered length was 500.4 ft (152.5 m), her beam was 64.2 ft (19.6 m) and her depth was 37.9 ft (11.6 m).[4] Her holds had 46,070 cubic feet (1,305 m3) of refrigerated space for perishable cargo.[5] Her tonnages were 12,420 GRT and 7,484 NRT.[4]

Metagama had twin screws, each driven by a four-cylinder quadruple expansion engine. Between them her twin engines were rated at 1,492 NHP[4] and gave her a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h).[6]

Canadian Pacific registered Metagama at London. Her UK official number was 134791 and her code letters were JKDF.[4]

Career

Missanabie served in the First World War as troop ships. A U-boat sank her in 1918 with the loss of 45 lives.[1]

A pipe band entertaining troops on deck aboard Metagama in 1915

Metagama remained in civilian passenger service, although her passengers often included troops. Her first regular route was between Liverpool and St John, New Brunswick. She sometimes served Glasgow, and from 1927 her route was between Antwerp and Montreal.[7]

The Metagama played a significant role in the 20th century migration of people from the Outer Hebrides to Canada. On Saturday 21 April 1923, she sailed from Stornoway with 300 young Lewis emigrants on board, all but 20 of them young men, with an average age of 22.[8] This was one of the first waves of mass emigration from the islands, and had a profound effect on the island culture and history.

Metagama was involved in two collisions. The first was on 26 May 1923, when she collided with Hogarth Line's cargo steamship Baron Vernon in the River Clyde.[9]

In June 1924 Metagama was westbound to Montreal when the Italian steamship Clara Camus collided with her about seven miles off Cape Race, Newfoundland. Clara Camus' bow made a hole 15 by 3 feet (5 by 1 m) in the Matagama's port side. Metagama launched a lifeboat crewed by three crewmen to inspect the damage, but in the fog the boat drifted away from the ship and disappeared. The United States Coast Guard Cutter Tampa later found the boat, but its three occupants were missing. Metagama was towed into port and her 695 passengers were transferred to another CP liner, Montreal, on which they completed their journey to Montreal.[9]

Metagama's cabin class lounge, with piano

By 1924 Metagama's navigation equipment included wireless direction finding.[10] By 1930 her wireless telegraph call sign was GMLQ.[11]

The Great Depression that began in 1929 led to a global slump in merchant shipping. From 1931 Metagama was laid up at Southend-on-Sea in England.[12] On 13 April 1934 she arrived at Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth, where P&W MacLellan scrapped her.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Missanabie". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Metagama". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. ^ Wilson 1956, p. 36.
  4. ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register 1917, II, MES–MEU.
  5. ^ Lloyd's Register 1917, I.
  6. ^ Harnack 1930, p. 344.
  7. ^ "Metagama". Great Ships. Jeff Newman. Retrieved 10 July 2022 – via Mark Baber.
  8. ^ "Emigration on the SS Metagama | Hebridean Connections". www.hebrideanconnections.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b Donahue, James. "Remembering the Metagama". Great And Lost Ships Of The World. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  10. ^ Lloyd's Register 1924, MER–MET.
  11. ^ Mercantile Navy List 1930, p. 363.
  12. ^ Emmons 1972, p. 40.

Bibliography
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