Hi Ron

Here is all I have on the Amsterdam. Hope it is of some use to you. I'll be glad if you can add to it.

The Sinking of the Steamship Amsterdam

Three loud bangs followed by another one struck Hans Kükenthal's ears as they splashed into the sea nearby. He quickly scanned the horizon and then the sky but could see nothing. He concluded that since no ships were in sight they must have been from an aircraft or perhaps an airship. It was known that airships were patrolling the area in support of the convoys.

The twenty six year old Oberleutnant zur Zee had joined the coastal mine-layer UC 49
on 3rd.November 1917. She was part of the German Flanders fleet operating out of Bruges via the two canals which led from that city to the seaports of Zeebrugge and Ostend. UC 49 was a UC II submarine which carried eighteen mines and seven torpedoes which she could fire through two bow tubes and one stern tube. There was an 88mm., gun fitted on her deck and she could dive to a depth of 50 m or 144 feet. Because of the danger of being sighted by a very observant enemy he was using his periscope sparingly and had used his zenith telescope to look for a possible airship.

When darkness began to descend he surfaced to recharge his batteries and sighted a three masted barque about five miles from his stern. He thought it looked suspicious. When running on the surface at night he observed the barque again this time it was in the company of two naval patrol boats with their lights out. His suspicions that she was a 'Q' ship or 'decoy vessel' were confirmed. He quietly evaded them on the surface.

On the approaching daylight of 24th. February 1918 the barque and its two patrol boats were in sight again and he dived before they sighted him. Soon he sighted a convoy of six ships escorted by a destroyer and an armed fishing vessel steering on a zig zag course in a southerly direction. He fired his first tube and heard a loud explosion when he hit the steamer Amsterdam. The destroyer rushed close behind his stern and he was forced to dive without being able to identify the vessel.


S.S.Amsterdam

The forty year old steamer Amsterdam had been built by Cunliffe and Dunlop of Port Glasgow as Avon for William Sloane & Co. She had been passed to Rankine Line of Leith in 1903 for their continental service. She was quoted as being able to transport 46 first class and 41 steerage class passengers at a speed of eleven knots. At the time of her sinking she was on a voyage from Leith to the neutral port of Rotterdam with a cargo of coal and general cargo. She had a full compliment of passengers on board and sunk three miles SE x E of the Cocquet Lighthouse near Warkworth in Northumberland. All the passengers were rescued by the escorts but sadly the following crew were drowned:- Radio Operator Norman Scott Craig – age 24 from Lenzie – Cabin Boy Peter Daly – age 18 from Leith – Second Engineer David Arthur MacGregor – age 26 from Leith and Mate Alexander McMillan – age 34 from Anderson, Glasgow. One of the survivors was James Binnie who was the writer's Grandfather, who had been sunk once before in heavy weather.

The Sinking of UC 49


UC II type Submarine

On the 8th.August 1918 a loud explosion was heard a short distance from the three funnelled destroyer HMS Opposum, which was patrolling off Start Point near Dartmouth. It sounded just like a mine going off and the destroyer, capable of a speed of 27 knots, raced with her accompanying motor launches to investigate. They soon sighted a diving submarine and deliberately steamed to a position some three miles from the scene in order not to let him know that he had been seen.

UC 49 had accidentally struck one of her own mines while it was being launched and, although only slightly damaged, dived when she saw the warships proceeding towards her. A cat and mouse game followed as the submarine lay on the bottom quietly. The destroyer's ploy had worked and after fifteen minutes Kükenthal surfaced again nearby. He immediately came under fire and dived again. This time Opossum and her launches rushed in and depth charged her.

Suddenly all was silent and the warship lay patiently by for signs of success. It was not until the following day that a light bulb bearing the stamp of a Viennese munitions plant broke the surface. This was all the evidence they needed. If it was not for that light bulb they would never have known if they had sunk her or not. UC 49 was the last German submarine to be sunk by warships during the First World War and was lost with all hands.

Jim Binnie

Kriegstagebücher of UC 49