Ilse SS

SS . ILSE

Position ...52 49 410 N / 001 39 593 E
Type ... Cargo
Construction ... Steel
Engine ... 3 cylinder triple expansion, 22.5, 37, 61 x 42 inch ... x1 screw
Dimensions ... 94 x 13.5 x 6 mtrs
Engine ... Engine aft, Bridge midships, Long raised quarter deck
Boilers ... x2 Scotch type boilers, x6 corrugated furnaces in total
Built ... 1929
Builder ... Smith Dock Co Ltd, Yard no 908 / Official number 161337
Tonnage ... 2874 grt
Engine builder ... Smith Dock Co Ltd
Lost ... 8th October 1942 / Torpedoed 7th October 1942 (Sank following day of attack)
Cause of loss ... E Boat attack (Torpedo)
Depth ... 28mtrs (Seabed) / 24mtrs (Top of wreck)
Owner at time of loss ... Stephenson Clarke & Associated Companies Ltd, (Normandy Shipping Company Ltd) London

Hartlepool 1941

On the 20th June 1941 the Ilse hit a mine whilst in Tees Bay. Attempts to beach her were made, although she did not make it to shore, she did sink in shallow water. Her aft section was raised and a new fore section was added. The following year the Ilse was to become a total loss.

Loss of the SS . ILSE

Whilst on route from London to Hartlepool in ballast, the Ilse was attacked by a German Torpedo boat (S Boat). As a consequence of the torpedo strike, two members of the Ilse's crew lost their lives. Despite taking on heavy damage during the attack, the Ilse refused to sink until the following day whilst she was under tow.

Smith Dock Co Ltd, or just Smith's Dock as they were often referred were of High Docks, North Shields, and later of South Bank on the River Tees. Prior to the company being Known as Smith's Dock, a name change that came to pass in 1891, it was formally called William Smith and Co, established in 1810 by Thomas Smith when he bought William Rowe's shipyard at St Peters, Newcastle Upon Tyne. In 1851, the company (William Smith & Co) opened its docks in North Shields.

In 1907, now with its new name, Smith Dock Company set up an operation on the River Tees South Bank. Smith Dock closed its North Shields yard in 1909, in turn focussing its operations on the River Tees South Bank.

Of note, Smith's Dock were famously known for preparing the design of the Flower Class Corvette, this having the role of an anti submarine convoy escort vessel of WW11.

In 1966, Smith Dock merged with Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson to form Assocciated Shipbuilders, later becoming the Swan Hunter Group.

Advantages of Long Raised Quarter Deck, Bridge midships.

As can be seen from the photograph above, the quarter deck of the Ilse extends to the forward face of the bridge structure. By raising the deck aft of the bridge, over the holds between the bridge and the engine room, this increases hold space, in turn increasing valuable cargo space within the affected holds.

The Ilse today

For the most part the Ilse is a mass of jumbled up twisted frames and plates. Despite the Ilse's very broken state, she still makes for a great dive and is well worth a visit if sea conditions don't allow you to go further out to sea, or you just fancy something a little closer in at only three miles out of Seapalling. As with many wrecks around the Norfolk coast, the Ilse was seen as a hazard to navigation and in 1948 was dispersed and swept clear to 45ft. Despite the ravages of dispersal and the affects of natural erosion of the vessel, a great deal of the Ilse's machinery and fittings are still very much in evidence, these taking the form of winches, steering quadrant, triple stern bollards, boiler and so on.