Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 1, Europe Türkiye, Gallipoli, SS California, 1915

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1915

Subcollections

His Majesty's Australian Transports (HMAT) 1899 - 1946

Overview

View of transport ship "Californian" as a transport for the Gallipoli campaign

Historical information

Californian was a steamship owned by the Leyland Line, part of J.P. Morgan's International Mercantile Marine Co. She was constructed by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Dundee, Scotland. She is thought to have been the only ship in sight of the Titanic, or at least her rockets, during that ship's sinking. The crew took no action to assist.
Californian continued in normal commercial service until World War I, when the British government took control of her. She was responsible for transporting equipment and troops for the Allies mired in the Battle of Gallipoli.
At 07:45 on 9 November 1915, while enroute from Salonica to Marseilles she was torpedoed by the German U-boat SM U-34.. She was torpedoed again by sister SM U-35 and sank approximately 100 km) south-southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-P2002.149.3j

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Year

1915

Geotag

35.778103890071, 21.807037906755

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