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Cruises To Disaster


norboy76
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I have a fair few items from cruise ships and ocean liners that ended in disaster, either fires, sinking, or freak accidents ranging from the 1910's to now. Below is a list of some of my items.

 

1. Costa Concordia: 2006 - 2012, Sank after striking rocks and rolling onto her side, 32 lives lost. Item: Model in original box

2. MS Explorer: 1992 - 2007, Hit ice and finally sank, no lives lost, souvenir baseball cap

3. MS Prinsendam: 1973 - 1980, Caught fire and sank, no lives lost, 2 postcards and 2 brochures (ironically one is for cruising in *October 1980*, the same month and year she would catch fire and sink

4. MS Mikhail Lermontov: 1972 - 1986, 1 life lost, 2 souvenir pins and 2 postcards, 1 45 rpm souvenir record album

5. SS Admiral Nakhimov: 1957 - 1986, Collision with a bulk carrier, 423 lives lost, 2 postcards and2 souvenir pins

6. Andrea Doria; 1953 - 1956, Collision with the passenger ship Stockholm, 50 lives lost, 2 Menus, 2 postcards, 1 daily program, 1- 1953 brochure

7. SS Eastland: 1903 - 1915: Capsized at the pier, rolling onto her side, 844 lives lost, 1 postcard

8. RMS Lusitania: 1907 - 1915, Torpedoed, 1198 lives lost, 3 postcards, 1 souvenir spoon (silvermark dates it to 1907, her maiden year)

9. RMS Titanic: 1912 - 1912, Struck iceberg, over 1500 lives lost, 1 postcard used and dated: April 26, 1912 (She sank on April 15, 1912)

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4 hours ago, norboy76 said:

brochures (ironically one is for cruising in *October 1980*, the same month and year she would catch fire and sink

 

I have that same brochure as well.  One brochure of her earlier years in service.  A lovely ship whose name will be continued, I hope, in a future HAL vessel.

 

How were you able to acquire the items that you have?  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Some item's surpisingly I found at a local second hand thrift store, for some of the items I didn't list such as an *MV Explorer* baseball cap for a cruise ship that sank in 2007, a cup for the *Discovery 1* which caught fire and was scrapped in 1996-1997

 

Most of the items though were from Ebay and some were from friends and relatives

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5 hours ago, norboy76 said:

Some item's surpisingly I found at a local second hand thrift store, 

5 hours ago, norboy76 said:

Most of the items though were from Ebay and some were from friends and relatives

 

 

Thanks for your reply to my question.  It is interesting what one can find at thrift shops as well as online.

 

Just about a week ago, a  major dealer had several pieces of china for sale that had been recovered from the Empress of Ireland.  The prices were reasonable with the items in good condition.  

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lol sadly those would be out of my price range, I wish I had something off the ship, but I at least have an Empress Of Ireland postcard. But I wish I had other items from the ship like china or other souvenirs from her. I'm also waiting on some postcards for a liner that would never see a paying customer, as she had a disaster right at her launching, the SS Principessa Jolanda, she went down the launch ramp into the water, then tilted and finally rolled right onto her side. See Photo of the postcards

 

Principessa Jolanda Launch Disaster.jpg

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16 hours ago, norboy76 said:

she had a disaster right at her launching, the SS Principessa Jolanda, she went down the launch ramp into the water, then tilted and finally rolled right onto her side. See Photo of the postcards

 

I have not heard of this one.  It reminds me of the Swedish warship Vasa of 1628 that foundered soon after her Maiden Voyage began.  Was the incident with Principessa Jolanda  ever explained as to why this happened?  

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Yes, a lot of blunders were made on this ocean liner.

1. Launching the Jolanda with all her fittings and furnishings already installed but without any coal or ballast

2. Water entered through portholes and other openings

3. Launching the ship too rapidly, caused the fatal instability that led to disaster.

4. Possibly during the ship's descent down the long launch ramp too quickly may have caused the bow to press against the chute itself as the stern hit the water. This may have caused a crack somewhere in the keel, contributing to admission of water to the hull.

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4 hours ago, norboy76 said:

1. Launching the Jolanda with all her fittings and furnishings already installed but without any coal or ballast

 

WOW!  There were "great minds" in the past just as some of the "great minds" that exist today.  

 

I appreciate your reply.  Thank you.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just got another neat postcard, also very interesting is the date stamped on the back *September 2, 1939*, the date is interesting to note, because she was *Torpedoed* the very next day on Sept 3, 1939, so this postcard was stamped 26hrs and 25 mins before her sinking in WW2. The liner was the *S.S. Athenia* . I had to get this because of the significance of the postmark date on the back.

 

athenia.jpg

Edited by norboy76
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16 hours ago, norboy76 said:

I just got another neat postcard, also very interesting is the date stamped on the back *September 2, 1939*, the date is interesting to note, because she was *Torpedoed* the very next day on Sept 3, 1939, so this postcard was stamped 26hrs and 25 mins before her sinking in WW2. The liner was the *S.S. Athenia* . I had to get this because of the significance of the postmark date on the back.

 

Another valuable, historic artifact!  Thank you for sharing it with us.  

Edited by rkacruiser
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm awaiting a souvenir spoon in the mail from the RMS Lancastria from Cunard. It sank in only 20 minutes with estimates of the death toll that vary from fewer than 3,000 to 5,800 people although it is also estimated that as many as 6,500 people perished. I also have a postcard for the SS Wilhelm Gustloff that I belive had the highest loss of life of any ship with an estimate of 9,400 people died as they were crammed on board, some even sleeping in the emptied pools. I also have a 1956 postcard of the Andrea Doria sinking

 

RMS Lancastria Spoon.jpg

wilhelm_gustloff_by_wildelf34_de34o90-fullview.jpg

1956_andrea_doria_sinking_postcard_by_wildelf34_de5r0k6-pre.jpg

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8 hours ago, norboy76 said:

SS Wilhelm Gustloff

 

That was the worst disaster as to loss of life, I think.  To learn who was aboard and how it took place:  it makes the disaster even worse in my opinion.  

 

Several years ago, there was a gentleman who created a web site regarding the Andrea Doria accident.  He was a passenger on the ship.  Much very interesting information on that site, but, he passed away.  A relative announced his death and stated that they would continue the site.  Didn't happen, however.  The site no longer exists.  

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