Britannia
Steam Tug · United States · Lost 1920 · Annapolis & the Upper Chesapeake
An overtaking passenger steamer ran down the tug Britannia in Baltimore's Fort McHenry Channel, drowning two of her crew.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Britannia was a steam tug working Baltimore Harbor, moving between Jackson's Wharf and Curtis Bay on the evening of October 7, 1920. The passenger and freight steamer City of Baltimore, outbound for Norfolk, overtook her in the Fort McHenry Channel and struck her starboard quarter, capsizing the tug so quickly that two crewmen drowned. Federal admiralty courts later found both vessels partly at fault in the whistle signals exchanged before the collision.
Vessel
- Not established
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- Wood
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- Steam, single screw
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Loss
- October 7, 1920
- Collision
- Fort McHenry Channel near Buoy 18, Baltimore Harbor
- Patapsco River
- Jackson's Wharf, Baltimore → Curtis Bay, Baltimore
- Not established
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- 2
- Not established
The Wreck Today
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Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Fort McHenry Channel, Baltimore Harbor
Court records place the collision about 3,500-3,600 feet beyond Lazaretto Light, near Buoy 18, but no surveyed wreck position is published.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
The tug's build year, dimensions, and eventual salvage or wreck condition are not established in the sources reviewed.
The City of Baltimore, 275 F. 490 (D. Md. 1921)
Collision date, location, and casualty figure.
Baker-Whiteley Coal Co. v. Chesapeake S.S. Co., 282 F. 490 (4th Cir. 1922)
Confirmation of collision circumstances.
