RMS CELTIC, SECTION OF HULL FROM THE WRECK

A large section of hull with rivet holes clearly seen, removed from the wreck site at Roche's Point, Cobh.

measures 46 cm x 7 cm and comes with a coa.

RMS CELTIC:

Her career ended prematurely in December 1928. On December 1, the liner left New York for Cobh, via Boston, with 300 passengers on board, 350 members of the crew, and a large cargo. The voyage proceeded without incident and in good weather under the command of captain Gilbert Berry, until the night of the 9th to the 10th.

As she approached Cobh, the weather became rough and it became impossible to embark the coastal pilot. Berry therefore decided to cancel the stopover and leave directly for Liverpool. Some time later, the weather seemed to improve, and the captain changed his mind and returned to Cobh to try to disembark the passengers and bags of mail that were to stop there. This required stopping the ship offshore while waiting for the pilot to return. When his barge approached the ship, the weather became agitated again, and it was impossible to board. At 4:55 am, a stronger wave accompanied by a strong gust of wind precipitated Celtic on the rocks of Roche's Point early on 10 December 1928, and she became stranded on the Cow and Calf rocks. The Ballycotton Lifeboat T.P.Hearne 2, along with tugs, a destroyer and local life-saving teams, arrived. Tenders from Cobh disembarked the passengers. Among the passengers were 25 survivors of the recently sunk SS Vestris. Seven thousand tons of cargo were scattered. A salvage team from Cox and Danks was provided to attempt recovery, but several men died after a hold loaded with grain and flooded with seawater was found to have filled with toxic fumes; due to structural failures it was judged the ship could not be moved or salvaged, and was abandoned to the insurance company who declared the ship to be a total loss. 

Celtic was completely dismantled for scrap by 1933