SS Glitra

SS Glitra was a steam ship that was the first British merchant vessel to be sunk by a German submarine in the First World War.

History
SS Saxon Prince was the first ship built for Prince Steam Shipping Ltd., otherwise known as "Prince Line". She was launched in 1882, and in 1884 entered service with Prince Line. She served for eleven years with Prince Line and was then sold to Christian Salvesen in 1895. Saxon Prince was renamed Glitra and served with Christian Salvesen for nineteen years. She was fated to be the first British merchant vessel sunk by Germany in the First World War.

Capture and sinking
On 20 October 1914, Glitra was outbound from Grangemouth with a destination of Stavanger, Norway laden with coal, iron plate and oil when she was stopped and searched 14 nmi west south west of Skudenes, Rogaland, Norway by the German U-boat U-17, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Johannes Feldkirchener. The stop and search was done in accordance with the "prize rules" of war. The crew were ordered into the lifeboats, and once all were safely aboard the captors opened the sea valves and scuttled Glitra.

As U-17 searched and scuttled Glitra the two vessels were being observed by the Royal Norwegian Navy 1. class torpedo boat HNoMS Hai on neutrality protection duties. The Norwegians did not interfere with the incident itself, as it took place outside of Norwegian territorial waters, but after U-17 left the scene Hai took the British lifeboats under tow and brought the crewmen to the south western Norwegian port of Skudeneshavn.

Thus Glitra became the first British merchant vessel to be lost to a German submarine