Magdeburg Technical Specification

Official No. 65514; Code Letters WQPM.

Owners: Thomas Appleby & Co, West Hartlepool: 1874 R Ropner & Co, West Hartlepool: 1877 T Appleby & Co, West Hartlepool.

Masters: 1871-74 Bowden; 1875 Baker; 1876-77 Borrett; 1877-82 Grimstadt; 1882 Dennis; 1883-84 TR Keen; 1884 Robert Beckett.

Crew 1880:  Nieman, William, cook/steward, 24, Antwerp, Belgium

Voyages: April 1881 passed Gibraltar as she sailed for Cork; 3 August 1879 from Cardiff for Sulina with a cargo of coal she grounded on Doganosler Shoal, Gallipoli & was refloated.

Bound from Sunderland for Constantinople with a cargo of coal & a crew of 17 Magdeburg foundered after a collision off Saltcombe near Start Point on the Devonshire coast on 14 November 1884.

York Herald, Monday, September 27^th, 1880:
A WEST HARTLEPOOL STEAMER IN COLLISION. A LARGE STEAMER SUNK. No further particulars have been ascertained at Southampton concerning the vessel which, it is feared, was sunk on Thursday in the Channel in collision with the steamer Magdeburg. The latter vessel has arrived at Southampton with her stem smashed in from top to bottom and her fore compartment full of water. She was only saved from sinking by her water-tight bulkheads. She is an iron screw steamer of about 600 tons, rigged as a fore-aft schooner, and commanded by Captain Grimstead. She belongs to Messrs. Appleby and Sons, of Hartlepool, who were the owners of the Hasleden Hall, which was sunk in the Channel about two months since by the steamer Terlinge, which also put into Southampton much damaged. The Magdeburg, which was outward bound from Hartlepool to Odessa, laden with coals, reports that the collision occurred in fog about 8.25 pm., west-south-west of Portland.
The steamer she struck was a large three-masted ship, going at the rate of about eight knots an hour, and bound it was believed, up Channel. Captain Grimstead ordered his boats out, but no cries were heard, and nothing was seen afterwards of the other ship, which it is feared went down with all hands, but though the Magdeburg remained about the spot several hours, no wreckage, or anything, was discovered to indicate the name or nationality of the missing ship. It was reported at Southampton that the ship which is supposed to have gone down must have been either the Union Company’s steamer Arab, or the Royal Mail Company’s ship Dee, both of which sailed from this port on Thursday, the former for the Cape and the latter for the West Indies. The Arab, however, has been reported from Plymouth, all well; and though the Dee in some respects answers the description given of the unknown steamer, it is believed that as she left the port about twelve o’clock, she must have been miles below the spot where the collision occurred, and the supposition of the Magdeburg's men that the steamer was homeward bound would justify this assumption. The Magdeburg has gone into the inner dock for survey, and her crew are engaged in cleaning the fore compartment, which is full of water, her open stem being a sight rarely witnessed.
A late telegram from Southampton says the fears entertained there that a large vessel had been sunk with all hands in collision with the Magdeburg, have been set at rest by the arrival of a vessel at Gravesend reporting having been in collision. The Magdeburg, now lying in Southampton Docks, is much damaged, and was only saved by her watertight bulkhead.

South Durham Herald, November 22nd, 1884:
‘Intelligence was received in West Hartlepool on Friday intimating that the steamer Magdeburg, owned by Messrs Thomas Appleby & Co of West Hartlepool, had been run down in the channel by a vessel believed to be a foreign barque & had soon afterwards sunk carrying down seven of her own crew & a seaman belonging to the vessel with which she had been in collision. The Magdeburg was a steamer of 1616 tons register & she left Sunderland on Tuesday with a cargo of coals for Constantinople, under the command of Captain Beckett, & carrying a crew of 17 hands. All went well until Thursday night when, about half past eleven o’clock the Portland light bore N ½ E distant about fifteen miles. The course was at that time W ½ N. The chief mate relieved the captain & took charge of the ship & about midnight Captain Beckett retired from the deck & went to lie down in the chart, house.
A few minutes before three o’clock a white light, supposed to be a mast-head light of the trawler’s, was reported, & ten minutes later the look, out man suddenly caught sight of a green light close to Magdeburg, apparently having just been lit. In about half a minute & before there was time to alter the direction of the ship, a large barque struck the steamer with terrific force on the port bow carrying away both her masts as well as her funnel & causing a complete wreck of everything on board. The lookout man at once shouted to the crew, who were asleep in the forecastle, to rush up & save their lives; & as he was running aft the fore, mast fell with a crash right in front of him but he fortunately escaped without injury.
Captain Beckett was awakened by the falling spars & riggining on the chart-house & as he rushed out he got entangled in the wreckage & received a severe cut over the left eye. On getting clear he made his way to the deck & seeing at a glance how serious the state of affairs was he ran to the cabins & called upon every man to save himself. Magdeburg carried four boats but three of them were smashed to pieces by the falling spars & only the smallest of four boats was saved. This boat was launched as soon as possible but the wreckage was strewn about in all directions in so confused a state, & in such great quantities, that considerable difficulty was experienced in getting the boat out and a quarter of an hour had elapsed before it was got clear of Magdeburg. Directly it was in the water ten of the crew jumped into it. The rope was instantly cut & the boat set adrift.
At first it was not thought that the vessel was sinking, but it was soon discovered that an enormous hole had been knocked in the port bow through which the water was rushing with great force. Directly the collision occurred one of the crew of the unknown barque, believed to be an Italian, jumped on board the steamer but not a word he uttered could be understood. When the boat parted from Magdeburg there were still seven of the crew left on board, together with the foreign sailor.  Appeals were made to those in the boat to return & rescue those who were left in the steamer but the boat was half full of water & in danger of being swamped if others got into it & it did not therefore go. Less than a quarter of an hour had elapsed when Magdeburg went down, bow foremost, carrying with her the eight persons who were on board.
Cries for help were repeatedly heard from the drowning men but it was impossible to render them any assistance in the darkness & there is little doubt that all of them were drowned. The small boat containg ten survivors remained near the scene of the collision until daybreak but they saw no sign of any of their comrades & they eventually pulled towards a passing vessel, which proved to be the Swedish schooner, Skoperten Louisa, from Lisbon for Gothenburg. The schooner at once took the men on board & afterwards transferred them to the steamer Gabava, from Cardiff to Dieppe. The Gabava put into Salcombe Range on Friday when the survivors of the crew of Magdeburg were landed. They knew nothing of the barque which ran into them but believe that she was so seriously damaged in the collision that she foundered with all on board.’

The colliding vessel turned out to be the American steamer Henry Villard. Seven lives were lost from Magdeburg & one from the Henry Villard. At the subsequent inquiry Magdeburg was found entirely to blame for the collision.