1. Design and Construction

2. Operational history
    Sinking 

3. Notes

4. References

Elsinore was a steam tanker built in 1913 by the Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson of Newcastle. She was one of the first tankers chartered by Union Oil Company for their expanding oil delivery operations in the Pacific.

Design and Construction

In early 1910s Union Oil Company experienced significant shortage of shipping tonnage due to rapidly expanding South American contracts and looked to add several tankers to its existing fleet of 14. The company was engaged in oil transportation from California to ports in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Hawaii, and Central and South America. On August 1, 1912 the Union Oil Company entered into an agreement with a British ship broker to charter for a term of seven years, commencing from the date of delivery, a "good British Tank Steamer, to be built....and estimated to have a total deadweight carrying capacity of about 9,700 tons".^[3] The charterer agreed to pay £2,850 per calendar month commencing on date of delivery of the ship.^[3] The ship was laid down in 1913 at Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard at Wallsend, launched on November 12, 1913 (yard number 931), and commissioned in early December of the same year.^[1] As built, the ship was {{convert|420|ft|5|in|m}} long (between perpendiculars) and {{convert|54|ft|6|in|m}} abeam, a mean draft of {{convert|32|ft|4|in|m}}.^[2] Elsinore was assessed at 6,542 GRT and {{NRT|4,169}}.^[2] The vessel had a steel hull, and a single 484 nhp triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinders of {{convert|27|in|cm|adj=on}}, {{convert|45|in|cm|adj=on}}, and {{convert|75|in|cm|adj=on}} diameter with a {{convert|48|in|cm|adj=on}} stroke, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to {{convert|10.0|kn|mph km/h}}.^[2]

Operational history

Sinking

On August 22 Elsinore loaded 60,000 barrels of fuel oil in Port San Luis, 35,000 for Guatemala, and 25,000 for Nicaragua.^[15] She departed for her last trip on August 24, and arrived in Corinto, Nicaragua on September 4. After unloading her cargo, Elsinore left the port on September 6, heading back to Port San Luis in water ballast.^[3] Even though the ship master received appropriate directions from the Admiralty in August, and proceeded with reduced lights, he chose to cut straight across the Gulf of California, instead of keeping in Mexican territorial waters as long as possible.^[16]

In the early morning hours of September 11, in heavy rain, Elsinore lookouts failed to notice the German cruiser {{SMS|Leipzig|1905|2}}, steaming on her course towards Panama, early enough to attempt to alter their course. At 2:30, about 73 miles southwest of Cape Corrientes in approximate position {{Coord|19|39|N|106|46|W}}, Elsinore was detected by Leipzig at short distance, the ship was ordered to stop, the crew was taken prisoner and the tanker was sunk with gunfire.^[16] The crew was later disembarked by Leipzig on one of the Galapagos Islands, from where they travelled to Guayaquil, arriving there on October 2.^[17]

Notes

References

• {{cite book|last=Fayle|first=C. Ernest|title=History of the Great War. Seaborne Trade, Vol. I|publisher=John Murray|location=London, UK|year=1920}}
• {{cite book|last=Bisher|first=Jamie|title=The Intelligence War in Latin America, 1914-1922|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC|year=2016| isbn=978-0786433506}}

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