"The Sultana : What caused the Sultana disaster?" Topic
9 Posts
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| Tango01 | 31 May 2016 9:22 p.m. PST |
"The explosion and resulting fire aboard the Sultana that occurred on April 27, 1865 remains the largest maritime disaster in U.S. History. We should honor the memory of those 1,700 plus lives lost. In this final post, I describe the reasons for the explosion. The boilers on the Sultana were less than three years old, but they were in horrible condition. The iron plates were burnt, one of the boilers had two repairs in two months and they had already been re-tubed once. Although the inspection 15 days before the explosion indicated they were safe, they were not. There were three primary reasons for the condition of the boilers and it was the combination of these that was the root cause of the tragedy…"
Full text here
link Amicalement
Armand |
| shaun from s and s models | 01 Jun 2016 5:26 a.m. PST |
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| Lee John Ayre | 01 Jun 2016 8:01 a.m. PST |
There were three primary raisons 😀😀😀 |
| B6GOBOS | 01 Jun 2016 8:08 a.m. PST |
Thank you tango01. You always find such interesting stuff! |
| Big Martin Back | 01 Jun 2016 10:30 a.m. PST |
Very interesting, especially as I spent a fair chunk of my career insuring boilers. |
| Tango01 | 01 Jun 2016 11:28 a.m. PST |
A votre service mes amis!. (smile) Amicalement
Armand |
| gamershs | 01 Jun 2016 3:07 p.m. PST |
There was a Confederate Spy who took credit for sabotaging the Sultana (to another Confederate supporter). It didn't become public till later because:
-It was after General Lee surrendered and the war was over (more or less) and he could have been hanged.
-It was a braggart who was taking credit for something he didn't do. |
| charared | 01 Jun 2016 5:46 p.m. PST |
Boats built on the cheap, owned/Captained by "entrepreneurs" who would overcrowd their vessels for the sake of a US Government $. USD Very loo$e if any government inspection of boilers and fittings (look up average "life" expectancy of Mississippi River Boats mid to late 19th century). Sultana was a TRAGEDY waiting to happen… Many of the Union Vets riding her came from CSA PoW Camps too weak to save themselves when the explosion(s)/fire came. sad. (Much the same as the tragedy of the "PS General Slocum"… burning/sinking in NYC's East River nearly forty years later…The passengers were unable to swim to safety. Fire hoses and cork "life Preservers" were decayed/rotten.) |
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