Afric
Ship Number
322
Vessel Type
Passenger / Cargo Ship
Built
Belfast
Slip Number
3
Launch Date
16 November 1898
Delivered
2 February 1899
Owner
Oceanic Steam Navigation Co.
Weight
11948 grt
BP Length
550 feet
Breadth
63 feet
No. of Screws
Twin
Speed (approx)
14 knots
Propulsion
quadruple expansion constructed in Belfast
Official No.
110537
Registered
Liverpool
Fate
Torpedoed
Afric

She had one funnel, four masts, refrigerated cargo space for the carriage of frozen meat, twin screws and a speed of 14 knots. There was accommodation for 350 single-class passengers.
 
The first of the five "Jubilee Class" ships designed for White Star's Australia service, Afric made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 8 February 1899. She was then returned to Belfast for some modifications, and entered the Australia service on 9 September 1899. Except for one more New York voyage in August 1900, she remained on the Liverpool-Cape Town-Sydney route during her entire career, doubling as a troop carrier on the Liverpool-Cape Town leg during the Boer War. She also remained in regular service during World War I.
 
On 2 February 1917, Afric was torpedoed and sunk by UC-66 in the Channel, 12 miles off Eddystone Light. Although there were 145 survivors, five died in the initial explosion and seventeen others drowned.
 
[North Star to Southern Cross by John M.Maber