Above ... The Fulgens bell. Recovered and reported to the Receiver of Wreck by Peter Huson in the early 1980's
Researched and written by Paul Hennessey
Fulgens SS
Type ... Cargo /Number of holds 4 / Raised quarter deck / plumb bow /counter stern / engines aft / bridge midships.
Position ... 52 49' 05, 5 N / 01 36'22, 3 E
Built ... 1912
Official number ... 135155
Builder ... Wood, Skinner & Co Ltd
Dimensions ... 305.4 x 42.3 x 19.1 feet / Quarter deck 178 feet / Forecastle 30 feet
Tonnage ... 2512 Gross
Yard ... Bill Quay
Yard number ... 179
Engine ... 3 cylinder triple expansion x1 screw / Cylinders 22, 36, 60 x42 inch stroke
Propeller ... Diameter 15 feet 9 inches / Pitch 14 feet 9 inches / Blades 4
Power ... 272 nhp
Engine builder ... John Dickinson & Sons, Sunderland
Boilers ... x2 Scotch type single ended boilers / x6 corrugated furnaces in total
Donkey boiler ... No
Double bottom ... Yes
Construction ... Steel
Lost ... 1/08/1915
Cause ... Torpedo
Owners at time of loss ... Gas Light & Coke Company Limited
Depth ... 15mtrs
Ownership history ... Built in 1912 for the Gas Light & Coke Company. The company retained ownership for the duration of the Fulgens short career, this being just short of three years until the time of her loss.
Circumstances of loss .... Torpedoed by UB10 (German U Boat) on 1st August 1915 whilst on passage from Hartlepool to London with a cargo of coal. All crew saved.Whilst on route to London with a cargo of coal, a torpedo wake was spotted off to the port side some 30 yards away. The order was given to turn hard to port, with no time for the vessel to respond the torpedo hit the Fulgens on her port side. With the vessel starting to list heavily to port the order was given to abandon ship. At 9.05 am all the crew were safely away in the starboard lifeboat. At 10 am the Fulgens sank.
The crew were soon picked up by the Sea Palling lifeboat as they rowed the Fulgens Lifeboat towards the land. Once picked up the Sea Palling Lifeboat took the crew back into Sea Palling.
UKHO1915 ... Reported as 1 mile off Sea Palling.
1956 ... Swept depth over wreck 37 feet.
1983 ... Least depth 11.8 mtrs in a general depth of 14.5 mtrs / no scour / height 3 mtrs / length 100 mtrs / width 30 mtrs / broken up.
Below ...
Double bottom as incorporated in the Fulgens hull design. A double bottom is a method of construction where the bottom of the ship has two separate layers of watertight hull floor. The outer layer forms the outer hull and the inner layer, ie the floor forms a watertight barrier should the outer hull be breached. Up until 2007, double bottomed vessels were allowed to utilise their DB's for fuel storage. In addition the DB can also be used for the storage of ballast water.