View source for RMS Etruria

{{Distinguish|SS Etruria}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=October 2008}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2008}}
}}

{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=RMS Etruria (cropped).png
|Ship caption=RMS ''Etruria'' with [[SS Skirmisher|SS ''Skirmisher'']]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name= ''Etruria''
|Ship namesake = [[Etruria]]
|Ship owner= [[Cunard Line|Cunard SS Co]]
|Ship operator= Cunard SS Co
|Ship registry= [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]
|Ship route= Liverpool – Queenstown – New York
|Ship ordered= 19 July 1883
|Ship builder= [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|John Elder & Co]], [[Glasgow]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number= 286
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 20 September 1884
|Ship completed= 10 March 1885
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage= 25 April 1885
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= August 1908
|Ship identification= *UK [[official number]] 91187
*[[code letters]] JTPM
*{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Tango}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Mike}}
|Ship fate= Scrapped in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] in 1910
|Ship notes=One of the last steamships to be fitted with auxiliary sails
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Ocean liner]]
|Ship tonnage= *1884: {{GRT|7129}}, {{NRT|3258}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{cvt|501.6|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{cvt|57.2|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship depth= {{cvt|38.2|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks= 5
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan= [[barquentine]]
|Ship power= 1,559 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]
|Ship propulsion= 3-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Compound|compound engine]]
|Ship speed={{convert|19.5|kn|km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship capacity=*'''1885:'''
*550 First Class
*800 Second Class
*'''1892:'''
*500 First Class
*160 Second Class
*800 Third Class
|Ship crew=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''RMS ''Etruria''''' was a transatlantic [[ocean liner]] built by [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|John Elder & Co]] of [[Glasgow]], Scotland in 1884 for [[Cunard Line]]. ''Etruria'' and her sister ship {{RMS|Umbria||2}} were the last two Cunarders that were fitted with auxiliary sails.<ref name="Chris">{{cite web |last1=Frame |first1=Chris |title=Early Cunarders of Particular Interest |url=http://chriscunard.com/archives1.htm |website=Chris' Cunard Page |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130011504/http://chriscunard.com/archives1.htm |archive-date=30 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Both ships were among the fastest and largest liners then in service. ''Etruria'' was completed on 10 March 1885,<ref>https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=6266&vessel=ETRURIA {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> twelve weeks after ''Umbria'', and entered service on the Liverpool – New York route.

''Etruria'' had two large [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] that gave the outward impression of great power. She had three large steel [[Mast (sailing)|masts]] that were [[barquentine]]-rigged. Another innovation was that she was equipped with [[Reefer ship|refrigeration]] machinery, but it was the single-screw propulsion that would bring the most publicity later in her career.

The ship epitomized the luxuries of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] style. The public rooms in First Class were full of ornately carved furniture and heavy velvet curtains hung in all the rooms, and they were cluttered with [[bric-a-brac]] that period fashion dictated. These rooms, and the First Class cabins, were situated on the [[Promenade deck|Promenade]], Upper, Saloon and Main Decks. There was also a Music Room, Smoke Room for gentlemen, and separate dining rooms for First and Second Class passengers. By the standard of the day, Second Class accommodation was moderate, but spacious and comfortable. RMS ''Etruria's'' accommodation consisted of 550 First Class, and 800 Second Class passengers. However late in 1892 this changed to 500 First Class, 160 Second Class, and 800 Third Class (Steerage) passengers.

==North Atlantic service==
[[File:Passenger Lisr RMS Etruria.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Front cover of a passenger list for a voyage of RMS ''Etruria'']]
Cunard [[Ship registration|registered]] ''Etruria'' at [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]. Her United Kingdom [[official number]] was 91187 and her [[code letters]] were JTPM.<ref>{{cite book |year=1887 |title=Mercantile Navy List |page=66 |place=London |via=Crew List Index Project |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?&name=Etruria&steamsail=Steam&submit=Enter&year=1887 |access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>

Just as ''Etruria'' was to start her regular service to New York from [[Liverpool]] at the beginning of 1885, a crisis involving Russia's threat to invade [[Afghanistan]] was coming to a head. This delayed ''Etruria's'' maiden voyage across the North Atlantic. On 26 March the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] [[Ship chartering|chartered]] ''Etruria'' and ''Umbria''. With the dispute reaching a settlement, ''Etruria'' was released from Admiralty service within a few days, but her sister ship was retained for six months.
[[File:RMS Etruria Illustration.png|thumbnail|1891 Illustration of ''Etruria'']]

On 25 April 1885 ''Etruria'' finally made her maiden voyage under the command of Captain McMicken.<ref name="Chris" /> She made the Atlantic crossing calling at Queenstown (now [[Cobh]]). On her second crossing, westbound from Liverpool to New York, she won the [[Blue Riband]] (see the table below) and flew the [[Pennant (commissioning)|pennant]] for Cunard.

On 20 September 1885, she was outward bound from New York and in [[Lower New York Bay]], at anchor due to dense fog. The 4,276-ton cargo ship ''Canada'', owned by the National Steamship Company of [[Limerick]], collided with ''Etruria'', on her [[Port and starboard|starboard]] side. ''Canada'' scraped alongside ''Etruria'', ripping away a portion of her [[rigging]], but there were no casualties.<ref name="Chris" /> Both ships continued on their voyages.

==Winston Churchill==
In November 1895 [[Winston Churchill]], then 20 years old and a lieutenant in the [[4th Queen's Own Hussars|4th Hussars]], secured a few weeks' leave to visit [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Cuba]], in order to observe the [[Cuban War of Independence]] against Spain. He traveled via Liverpool and New York on ''Etruria'', reaching New York harbor on 9 November. Three days later he traveled on to Cuba. Churchill returned to Britain on 21 December 1895, again aboard ''Etruria''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Safe Arrival of the Etruria - Interview with Lieut. Winston Churshill |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003631/18951223/003/0003 |access-date=23 June 2023 |work=North Star |issue=4658 |date=23 December 1895 |location=Darlington |page=3|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref>

==''Ceres'' and ''Milfield''==
On 8 August 1896 ''Etruria'' sank the floating steam elevator{{clarify|reason=What is a steam elevator?|date=August 2022}} {{SS|Ceres||2}} ({{flag|United States|1891}}) in a collision in [[New York Bay]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hb1k80&view=1up&seq=28 |page={{#expr:28-6}} |title=Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1897 |location=Washington |publisher=Government Printing Office|date=1897|via=Haithi Trust |access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref>

On 10 December 1897 ''Etruria'' rescued the crew of the steamship ''Milfield'' which was foundering in heavy seas about 140 miles west of [[Fastnet Rock]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title= The Fleets of the Mail Lines: The Cunard Line |magazine=The Marine Engineer |volume=XIX |date=1 January 1898 |pages= 363–364}}</ref>

==Propeller shaft failures==
On 6 January 1900, ''Etruria'' left Liverpool, and one week later she arrived in New York. On the 13th engineers were inspecting the ship, and on examination of the [[Drive shaft|propeller shaft]], they found cracks that were not there when the ship left Liverpool. Her sister ship had suffered a failure of her propeller shaft at sea in 1893, and to avoid the same fate ''Etruria'' was confined to her pier until a replacement shaft was shipped over from Britain. After the new shaft was fitted in New York, she departed on 17 February for the homeward bound service. In 1900 ''Etruria'' remained on the North Atlantic service while ''Umbria'' was requisitioned to carry troops to and from South Africa during the [[Boer War]]. By July 1900 both sisters were back on the North Atlantic service.

[[File:RMS_Etruria_underway.jpg|thumb|''Etruria'' under steam and sail]]
In 1901 ''Etruria'' and her running mate were equipped for [[wireless telegraphy]]. On 22 February 1902, ''Etruria'' left New York and was due to arrive in Queenstown on 1 March. On 26 February she radioed ''Umbria'' to pass on messages to one of her passengers. However, that evening her [[Drive shaft|propeller shaft]] fractured, leaving her drifting. She tried without success to radio ''Umbria'' again to report her predicament. In that era, wireless sets on many ships were not manned 24 hours a day.<!-- Different ships kept different radio hours. Some were manned 24/7, others were not. And even after the Titanic disaster, manning was not 24/7 on all ships that were wireless-equipped. See Marconi yearbooks from 1913 onward for details.--> Eventually she attracted the attention of the [[Leyland Line]] ship ''William Cliff'' by firing [[Flare|distress rockets]]. ''William Cliff'' stood alongside in an hour and stayed with her during the night while attempts were made to repair her. ''Etruria'' then made sail and ''William Cliff'' took her in tow; the ships headed for [[Horta (Azores)|Horta]], in the [[Azores]], which were 500 miles to the south-east of her stricken position.<ref name="Chris" />

She arrived in the Azores on Sunday, 9 March, and on the 15th her passengers and mail were transferred onto the steamship {{SS|Elbe||2}}, which had been chartered for the task on the 10th. It was summer 1902 before ''Etruria'' was repaired and back in service, but in October, after a particularly rough Atlantic crossing, her propeller shaft again showed serious cracks and she was taken out of service and waited in New York for yet another new shaft to be sent over and installed. It was 1 November before she set sail for home again; 1902 had been a very bad year for the ship.

==More misfortune==
[[File:RMS Etruria.jpg|thumb|left|Postacrd of ''Etruria'']]
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[File:RMS Etruria 1884.jpg|thumb|right|200px|RMS ''Etruria'']] -->
On 28 February 1903, ''Etruria'' was leaving New York when she ran aground on sand and mud in the entrance to Gedney Channel. After she was refloated later the same day there was no damage found and she set off on her voyage to Liverpool.

On 10 October 1903, ''Etruria'' was only four hours out of New York when at 2:30&nbsp;pm the ship was struck by a [[rogue wave]]. The wave was reported to be at least {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} high, and struck the ship on the port side. The wave carried away part of the fore bridge and smashed the guardrail stanchions. A number of first-class passengers were sitting in deck chairs close to the bridge, and they caught the full force of the water. One passenger, a Canadian, was fatally injured, and several other passengers were hurt.<ref name="Chris" />

In January 1907 two of ''Etruria''{{'}}s crew were killed as they tried to secure the lashings of the starboard anchor in very rough weather, during a westbound crossing.

==The end of ''Etruria''{{'}}s career==
The two 23-year-old vessels were now reaching the point where technical progress had overtaken them. {{RMS|Lusitania}} and {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|6}} were under construction, and due to enter service in late 1907.

On Wednesday 26 August 1908, RMS ''Etruria'' was moving astern from her pier in Liverpool to anchor opposite the Princes' Landing Stage, where her passengers would embark. A [[hopper barge]] crossing the [[Mersey]] came too close to ''Etruria'' and was violently rammed by her. ''Etruria''{{'}}s rudder and propeller were thrust deep into the hopper, almost severing it in two. However, being impaled on ''Etruria''{{'}}s propeller prevented the hopper from sinking. Both vessels drifted helplessly in the Mersey for some time, and finished the career of ''Etruria''. Her propeller, [[rudder]] and steering gear were seriously damaged, forcing the cancellation of her sailing to New York.<ref name="Chris" /> ''Etruria''{{'}}s passengers were put up in hotels and then caught ''Umbria'' later in the week. ''Etruria'' was taken into dock, where temporary repairs were made. The hopper was repaired, sold off in 1938 and wrecked 1952.<ref>https://shippingandshipbuilding.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=202158&vessel=No.+19 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

She did not cross the Atlantic again and, after spending time laid up at [[Birkenhead]], she was finally sold for £16,750 in October 1909.<ref name="Chris" /> On 11 April 1910, the Mersey [[Tugboat|tug]] ''Black Cock'' towed ''Etruria'' to her final destination of [[Preston, Lancashire]], where she was scrapped.<ref name="Chris" /> Her sale for scrap was announced in mid November 1909.<ref>Launch Of A Liner. ''The Times'', Monday, 15 Nov 1909; pg. 6; Issue 39117</ref> In January 1911 it was reported that over the past two years [[Thos. W. Ward]] alone had broken up five Cunarders: ''Lucania'', ''Etruria'', ''Aleppo'', ''Saragosssa'' and ''Cherbourg'' and had five P & O boats in their yards during 1910.<ref>A review of Lloyd's Register, ''The Times'', Wednesday, 11 Jan 1911; pg. 21; Issue 39479</ref>

==Popular culture==
''Etruria'' is the ocean liner in the opening sequences of [[Thomas Edison]]'s produced, [[Edwin S. Porter]] directed, [[1904 in film|1904]] film ''The European Rest Cure''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTm9p379t0 Edison Company; ''The European Rest Cure'', c.1904](youtube) Retrieved 19 March 2017</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-----
! colspan="11" | Prices of passage aboard ''Etruria'', May 1895
|-----
! colspan="11" | From Pier 40, North River, foot of Clarkson Street, City of New York
|-----
! colspan="11" | Every Saturday, New York – Queenstown – Liverpool
|-----
! 1st Class
! 1st Class
! 1st Class
! 1st Class Return
! 1st Class Return
! 1st Class Return
! 2nd Class Cabin
! 2nd Class Cabin
! 2nd Class Cabin Return
! 2nd Class Cabin Return
! Under 1 Year old
|-----
! $75
! $90
! $175
! $125
! $150
! $315
! $40
! $45
! $75
! $85
! Free outward
|}

==The Blue Riband==

{| class="wikitable"
|-----
! colspan="8" | Records of RMS ''Umbria'' & RMS ''Etruria''
|-----
! colspan="8" | The Blue Riband of the North Atlantic
|-----
! colspan="8" | Westbound
|-----
! Steamship
! Date
! Line
! From
! To
! Nautical Miles
! Days/Hours/Minutes
! Knots
|-----
| RMS ''Etruria'' || 1885 (16/8- 22/8)
| [[Cunard Line|Cunard]] || [[Cobh|Queenstown]] || [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]]
| 2801 || 6/5/31 || 18.73
|-----
| {{RMS|Umbria}} || 1887 (29/5-4/6)
| [[Cunard Line|Cunard]] || [[Cobh|Queenstown]] || [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]]
| 2848 || 6/4/12 || 19.22
|-----
| RMS ''Etruria'' || 1888 (27/5-2/6) || [[Cunard Line|Cunard]]
| [[Cobh|Queenstown]] || [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]] || 2854 || 6/1/55 || 19.56
|-----
! colspan="8" | Eastbound
|-----
! Steamship
! Date
! Line
! From
! To
! Nautical Miles
! Days/Hours/Minute
! Knots
|-----
| ''Etruria'' || 1885 (1/8-7/8) || [[Cunard Line|Cunard]]
| [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]] || [[Cobh|Queenstown]] || 2822 || 6/9/0 || 18.44
|-----
| ''Etruria'' || 1888 (7/7-14/7) || [[Cunard Line|Cunard]]
| [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]] || [[Cobh|Queenstown]] || 2981 || 6/4/50 || 19.36
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |year=1885 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |at=ETH |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1885/page/n354/mode/1up}}
*{{cite book |year=1906 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |at=ETO–EUP |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1907ST/page/n337/mode/1up}}

==External links==
*[http://www.atlanticliners.com/cunard_home.htm Cunard Heritage site]
*[http://maritimequest.com/liners/etruria_1884/rms_etruria_1884.htm MaritimeQuest RMS ''Etruria'' Photo Gallery]
*[http://www.chriscunard.com/etruria.php (SS ''Etruria'', 1885-1909; 7,718 tons)]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before={{SS|Oregon|1883|2}}}}
{{s-ttl|title= [[Blue Riband]] (Eastbound record) |years=1885–89}}
{{s-aft|after={{SS|City of Paris|1888|2}}}}
{{s-ttl|title= [[Blue Riband]] (Westbound record)|years=1885–87}}
{{s-aft|after={{RMS|Umbria||2}}}}
{{s-bef|before={{RMS|Umbria||2}}}}
{{s-ttl|title= [[Blue Riband]] (Westbound record)|years=1888–89}}
{{s-aft|after={{SS|City of Paris|1888|2}}}}
{{end}}
{{Cunard ships}}
{{1885 shipwrecks}}
{{1903 shipwrecks}}
{{1907 shipwrecks}}
{{1908 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etruria}}
[[Category:1884 ships]]
[[Category:Blue Riband holders]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1885]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1902]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1903]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1907]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1908]]
[[Category:Ocean liners of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Rogue wave incidents]]
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]