SS

Ship prefix

A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...

 Nascopie was a steamship built by Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...

 and Wigham Richardson

Wigham Richardson

The Wigham Richardson shipbuilding company was named after its founder, John Wigham Richardson , the son of Edward Richardson, a tanner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Jane Wigham from Edinburgh.-History:...

 of Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She was launched on December 7, 1911 and achieved speeds of 14.1 knots (26 km/h) during her sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s. She was powered by triple expansion steam engines with cylinders 21.5, 35.5 and 58 inches (546, 902, and 1,473 mm) in diameter and a stroke of 42 inches (1067 mm). Her boiler pressure was 180 pounds-force per square inch (1.24 MPa) and the two main boilers were 15 feet in diameter and 11.5 feet long, fired by six furnaces.

The Nascopie was fitted with an ice breaker bow and her plates were of five-eights inch steel. She carried Marconi

Marconi Company

The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...

 apparatus located beside the wheelhouse on the upper deck. Her maiden crew was from Newfoundland under Captain Smith and they sailed for Penarth

Penarth

Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...

, South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

 in late January, 1912 to take on a load a coal bound for St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

. That winter she was employed in the annual seal hunt of the coast of Newfoundland under Captain Barbour for the Job Brothers

Job Brothers & Co., Limited

Job Brothers & Co., Limited was a Colony of Newfoundland-based mercantile empire that spanned three centuries. The main business of the company centered around production and development of fisheries rather than trading...

 mercantile business at St. John's.

Soon after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 had broken out the Russian government was in dire need of ships with ice breaking capacity, and they placed orders with British shipyards, and at the same time began a campaign of purchasing icebreakers on the open market. They first went to Ottawa and purchased the icebreakers Earl Grey and Minto. They then purchased from the Reid Newfoundland Company

Reid Newfoundland Company

The Reid Newfoundland Company was incorporated in September 1901 and was the operator of the Newfoundland Railway across the island from 1901 to 1923. For a time it was the largest landowner in the country. The company was founded by Sir Robert Gillespie Reid of Scotland, a businessman who had...

 the icebreaking mail steamers Bruce and Lintrose. They then began negotiations with A. J. Harvey and Co. for the purchase of Bellaventure, Bonaventure and Adventure and with Job Brothers for Beothic

SS Beothic

A number of steamships were named Beothic, Including -, a Norwegian sealing ship in service 1909-29, a Canadian cargo ship in service 1925-40...

 and Nascopie. They purchased all except for the Nascopie which continued her supply route to service the Hudson Bay operations.

The Nascopie was wrecked near Cape Dorset on July 21, 1947.