SS Devonian (1900)

SS Devonian was a British cargo liner that was launched in Ireland in 1900. She was designed to carry a large number of cattle or other livestock, and a smaller number of passengers. When she was built, she had a small amount of refrigerated space in her holds. This was increased twice in her career. She spent her whole career with Frederick Leyland & Co, mostly on a scheduled route between Liverpool and Boston.

Devonian survived two fires in Boston. In 1907, her cattle feed caught fire, some of her cargo was destroyed, but she avoided serious damage. In 1908, part of East Boston caught fire, including warehouses where she was docked, but she avoided damage by being warped away from the quayside.

Devonian took part in three North Atlantic rescues. In 1910, she rescued 16 survivors from the British cargo ship West Point, which had burned and sunk. In 1913, she rescued 59 survivors from the emigrant ship Volturno, which caught fire in a storm. Also in 1913, she towed to safety the French cargo ship Mexico, which had lost its propeller.

In the First World War, Devonian brought thousands of horses from Boston to Liverpool for the British Army. A U-boat sank her in 1917 off the north coast of Ireland.

In 1899 and 1900, Harland & Wolff (H&W) in Belfast launched a pair of cargo liners for Frederick Leyland & Co. Yard number 324 was launched on 11 March 1899 as Winifredian, and completed on 8 July. Yard number 331 was launched on 28 April 1900 as Devonian, and completed on 6 September. They were similar to Armenian, Victorian and Cestrian, which H&W had launched for Leyland in 1895, but 40 ft (12 m) longer, and with a more powerful engine.

Devonian's registered length was 552.5 ft (168.4 m), her beam was 59.3 ft (18.1 m), and her depth was 35.0 ft (10.7 m). She had eight cargo hatches, and could carry 900 head of cattle and 125 passengers. She was a one-class ship, offering second-class accommodation only. As built, 8,640 cubic feet (245 m³) of her cargo space was refrigerated. Her tonnages were 10,405 GRT and 6,816 NRT.

She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 847 NHP or 5,500 ihp, and gave her a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h). She had two double-ended and two single-ended boilers, with a total of 18 corrugated furnaces. The furnaces' total grate area was 329 square feet (31 m²) and her boilers' total heating surface area was 13,368 square feet (1,242 m²). Her boilers' working pressure was 200 psi. She also had four masts, and could be rigged as a schooner.

Leyland registered Devonian at Liverpool. Her United Kingdom official number was 113399 and her code letters were RTVD. On 15 September 1900, Devonian left Liverpool on her maiden voyage, which was to Boston.