Barque Bengairn 1890

The 2,127t four masted steel barque Bengairn of Liverpool  was built by Robert Duncan & Co Port Glasgow 1890 . 

She sailed from Seattle on 11th Dec 1915 with 3,400t of bagged wheat for Queenstown for orders.

On 1st April 1916 160 miles SW of the Fastnet Rk lighthouse she was sunk by German  submarine U28 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Freiherr Gorg-Gunter von Forstner.

Told to heave to after a warning shot across the bow,the Bengairns Master, Mr James Rae, ordered the 24 crew into the lifeboats. Nine 3.4in shells sank the vessel within 12 minutes.

The mate had the only lifeboat with a sail and had 18 on board and sailed 100 miles ENE before being picked up by HM sloop Lavender, which then steamed back to search for the other boat with the master onboard.Failing to find it Lavender landed the rescued sailors in Castletownberehaven.

Capt Rae and the others rowed for some 70hrs before being rescued off Galley Head in a deplorable state suffering from exhaustion and exposure and brought to Queenstown.

As a fitting epilogue  on 2nd Sept 1917 ,U 28 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Gorg Schmidt torpedoed the British Steamer Olive Branch bound for Archangel  with a cargo of munitions and explosives  in Lat 72 deg 34'N LONG 27 deg 56' E.

After the crew had abandoned ship  U28 opened fire from 250 yards with its deck gun. The second shell hit No 4 hold loaded with high explosives,the violent explosion blew the Olive Branch apart sending a lorry from the ships foredeck hurtling  high into the air and landing on the submarine,buckling the plates and sinking U28.

The Olive Branch's lifeboats filled to capacity watched  to the end and unable to help, left the survivors to their fate.

Source: Southern Tall Ships