The wreck of the BIRCHWOOD lies in 87m of water and is orientated 300 (bow)/ 120(stern). The wreck lies on its starboard wide, nearly upside-down, and is 94m long and 13m wide (McCartney, 2022: 231).

The wreck was originally designated by the UKHO as 'Unknown'. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 231) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in June 2019, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the BIRCHWOOD. The record has been updated to reflect that new research.

NOTE: The update to the location of the wreck of the BIRCHWOOD means that it no longer lies within Welsh Waters, and is to the west of the Wales/Ireland median line in the Irish Sea. As such, the wreck should not be considered as an active part of the National Monuments Record of Wales. It has been retained within the overall NMRW for completeness.

Event and Historical Information:
The BIRCHWOOD was a steamship built at Ropner & Sons Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees in 1910. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2756gt, 1731nt; 317ft length, 45.8ft breadth, 22.1ft depth, 247hp, screw propulsion; official number 128804. The ship was registered at Middlesborough and owned by Birchwood Steamship Company Limited, Maritime Buildings, Middlesbrough. The ship's managers were given as William Constantine and William W Constantine, at the same address, in the Mercantile Navy List of 1915.

On 3 January 1918, it was torpedoed without warning on the starboard side in the engine room by U-61, it turned-turtle and sank within four minutes (McCartney, 2022: 231). The submarine was under the command of Kapitanleutnant Victor Dieckmann. Contemporary reports gave the loss location as 25 miles east of the Blackwater light vessel or 52 20N, 05 42W. On 3 March 1945, Escort Group 5 reported a sonar contact at 52 35N, 05 25 30W.

Sources include:

Birchwood, uboat.net

HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.77

Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1918, p.9 (i)

McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep

SS Birchwood, Wreck Site EU

U 61, uboat.net

U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea

UKHO ID 69684: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 2023.

This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.

Site Record

Birchwood (UKHO 69684)