Scottish Shipwrecks

Information and Pictures of Shipwrecks in Scotland

  • Home
  • About
    • About Clyde Shipwrecks
    • About Argyll Shipwrecks
  • AREA INFO
    • Upper Clyde
    • Clyde Coast North
    • Arran
    • Clyde Coast South
    • Galloway
    • Kintyre & Gigha
    • Islay
    • Jura, Lorne & Oban
    • Mull Coll & Tiree
  • Shipwrecks
    • Scottish Shipwrecks
    • 1 – Galloway & Solway Firth
    • 2 – Clyde
    • 3 – Argyll
    • 4 – NW Scotland & Outer Hebrides
    • 5 – North Coast & Orkney Isles
    • 6 – Shetland Isles & Fair Isle
    • 7 – North East Scotland
    • 8 – East Scotland
    • 9 – South East Scotland
  • Book Sale
    • Argyll Shipwrecks
    • Clyde Shipwrecks
  • Blog

Tillycorthie

The steel steam trawler Tillycorthie was launched from the yard of John Duthie Shipbuilding Co Ltd on 21st June 1913 for Mitchell Rae and Co Ltd of Newburgh. She measured 140.3′ x 28.1′ x 9.6′ and her tonnage was 382 gross tons, 152 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by James Abernethy and Co Ltd delivering 450 ihp.

Builders GA drawing -Lloyd’s Register 

The following year, with the outbreak of World War One, her trips between the North Sea ports became extremely dangerous. On 1st March 1917, she was on a voyage from Seaham under the command of her skipper, Captain MacLennan.

Aberdeen City Council

They had picked up a full cargo of coal for Peterhead when the vessel was stopped by the German U-boat UC-41 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Kurt Bernis in a position reported as sixteen miles N1/2E from Longstone. Bernis ordered the men from the Tillycorthie into their boats and proceeded to sink the ship with gunfire. Thankfully there were no casualties among the crew. Two days later UC-41 was to sink the Norwegian steamship Ring nearby. They would go on to sink a further sixteen ships in the course of the following six months before being lost with all hands off the Tay estuary on 21st August that year.

The wreck of the Tillycorthie was located and identified by the recovery of the ship’s bell in position 55° 51.529’N, 001° 33.697’W. The wreck is oriented 142/322 degrees and lies in 62 metres with a least depth of 54 metres.

We would like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation – Heritage & Education Centre for allowing us to reproduce documents from their archive in this article.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Our Social Media Sites

            

Shipwreck Slideshow

Admiral Cordington
Barcombe
Belford
Bombardier
Brigadier
Clydesdale
Cormoran
Coronella
Dunira
Grenadier
Harald
Hereford Express
Islay
Kathleen Stromboli
Lapwing II
Laverock
Milewater
Mountaineer
Norse
Paulina
Hexpress
Pirate
Pretorian
Princess Patricia
Rondo
Tyrconnel
Agios Minas

Site built and hosted by Braveheart Webdesign Islay