The Ship
It was built in 1886 By A & J Ingles, Glasgow. Owned at the time of loss by The Carron Company. It has Two Boilers, Triple Expansion Engine Of 142hp with single shaft. Length 82m, Width 10m. 1159 Gross Tonnage
Sinking and Loss
The Forth was carrying general cargo from London to Leith when, on 9 December 1916, it struck a mine laid by the German minelaying submarine UC-11.
In 1994, Bob Hickson, then a club member, dived the wreck and confirmed its identity as the Forth from the ship’s bell. His report noted that the wreck was upright and largely intact, although the bridge and superstructure had collapsed. The hull was in good condition and rose about 6 metres above the seabed. It has been dived several times since, though not in recent years.
Incidentally
The Shipping line was owned by the Carron Company which was founded in 1759 as an iron foundry in Falkirk. It became a manufacturing powerhouse, driving the industrial revolution in Scotland to a point where it employed 5000 people, but rejected a visit by Robert Burns who wrote an ode about the insult. It operated its own fleet of steam ships and even issued its own currency to enable global trading. It also made domestic items like flat irons, cast iron baths, range cookers and most famously the Carronade cannons used by Wellington at Waterloo. Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory was equipped with the new type of lightweight short-range cannon. It also manufactured munitions invented by Henry Scrope Shrapnel. Later Carron turned its expertise to making Britain’s famous red telephone boxes, post boxes and after diversifying into stainless steel and plastics, my kitchen sink.
In celebration of its history all Carron Line ships had a cannonball at the top of their masts.
