Maritime record MWX2215 - Conch

English cargo vessel torpedoed by UB-23, 8 December 1916. 1916 wreck of English tanker which foundered 12 miles SW 0.5 mile west of Anvil Point after being torpedoed en route from Calcutta and Rangoon for the River Thames with benzine. Constructed of steel in 1909, she was a steam-driven vessel. Her remains have now been positively identified to the south in the English Channel, outside territorial waters, for which, therefore, there is no corresponding site record. Three other sites have in the past been attributed to the CONCH: 1469087 is now unidentified, while 904622 is now attributed to the NETLEY ABBEY, and 904581 to the HARTBURN. Status: Casualty

The CONCH was torpedoed without warning by an unseen submarine, later identified as UB-23, at 10.30pm. A column of burning oil was thrown over the bridge and probably killed all the deck officers at once, since the engine room telegraph remained unaltered. The Chief Engineer took charge and kept the engines at full speed to prevent the ship from being surrounded by burning oil. The engine room crew remained below until 0.30am when they managed to get on deck through the stoke hold, where they found the bridge completely burnt out and the poop and forward tanks on fire. All the lifeboats had been destroyed. Only one small boat remained, which was got out, the Chief Engineer and four Chinese getting into it. The 4th engineer attempted to join them but his hands were so burnt he was unable to grasp the rope and drowned. The 2nd and 3rd engineers, still on board, made a raft and jumped overboard, joined by others. The ship sank at 7am. (1)(2) Torpedoed and sunk...whilst on voyage from Calcutta and Rangoon to River Thames...28 lost including master. (3)

Built: 1909
Builder: Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.
Where Built: Newcastle upon Tyne
Propulsion: screw driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion engine
Horsepower: 448
Boilers: 3
Armament: 1 x 12pdr. 12cwt. stern mounted
Owner: Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd. Master: T G Scott
Crew: 56
Crew Lost: 28

Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index.

Tonnage gross

Position 50 23 30 N 2 04 00 W taken from (2)

08-DEC-1916: Torpedoed and sunk 12 miles S x W 0.5 W from Anvil Point, 10 miles south of Poole, or position 50 23N 002 02W by UB-23, whilst on voyage from Calcutta and Rangoon to River Thames with benzine; 28 lost including master. (3)

07-DEC-1916: CONCH, 5620 tons, torpedoed without warning 12 miles S x W 0.5 W from Anvil Point with the loss of 28 lives, including the master. Flagged as an armed vessel. (4)

08-DEC-1916: CONCH, 5620 tons, sunk by submarine 29 miles south, 26 degrees east of Portland Bill. (5)

08-DEC-1916: Tanker CONCH, 5620 tons, torpedoed and sunk by submarine 12 miles S x W 0.5 W of Anvil Point, with the loss of 28 lives, including the master. Dimensions 400 x 51.3 x 29.5 feet. (6)

07-DEC-1916: Tanker CONCH, 5620 tons, torpedoed by submarine 12 miles S x W ? W of Anvil Point. Built for Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd., London. (7)

Main owner Anglo-Saxon/Shell. (8)

The CONCH has been positively identified as a site in the English Channel, outside territorial waters, in position 50 08.387N 002 35.792W, UKHO No.59618. (9)

Builder: Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (1)(2)(6)(7)
Where Built: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1)(2); Wallsend (7)
Propulsion: Screw-driven, 3-cylinder triple-expansion engine (1)(2); triple-expansion engines (6)
HP: 448 (1)(2)(6)
Boilers: 3 (1)(2)
Armament: 1 x 12pdr. 12cwt, stern-mounted (1)(2)
Official Number: 125764 (8)
Master: T G Scott (1)(2)
Crew: 56 (1)(2)
Crew Lost: 28 (1)(2)(3)(4)(6)
Owner: Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd. (1)(2)(3)(6)(7); Anglo-Saxon/Shell (8)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
PRO Kew ADM.137/2960; LR. 1910-11 No.1424©

<1> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index, Extracted 23 November 1992 (Index). SWX5030.

<2> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<3> Tennant, A J, 1990, British Merchant Ships Sunk by U boats in the 1914-1918 War, p13 (Monograph). SWX4539.

<4> 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p27 (Monograph). SWX4538.

<5> 1990, Lloyds war losses, The First World War: Casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918, p76 (Index). SWX4540.

<6> Hocking, Charles, 1990, Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam, 158 (Monograph). SWX4536.

<7> Miramar Ship Index www.miramarshipindex.org.nz, 129439 > accessed on 09-APR-2008 (Digital archive). SDO20161.

<8> Miramar Ship Index www.miramarshipindex.org.nz, 125764 > accessed on 09-APR-2008 (Digital archive). SDO20161.

<9> SeaZone Hydrospatial, Digital marine geographic information derived from SeaZone Hydrospatial (Digital archive). SDO20540.

Compiler's comments, based on examination of UKHO record 59618 and of EH deskGIS SeaZone mapping data, 18-DEC-2014

<10> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 172 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<11> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 23 (Monograph). SDO16406.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1147611 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 3 2024 1:31PM