SS Ville du Havre

Ville du Havre
History
Name	Ville du Havre
Namesake	Le Havre
Builder	Thames Iron Works Co
Launched	11 February 1865
In service	26 April 1866
Out of service	22 November 1873
Fate	Sunk after collision with Loch Earn
Notes	Originally named Napoléon III
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	5,065 tons
Length	128.50 metres
Beam	14.08 metres
Depth of hold	22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Propulsion	1 compound inverted 4 cylinders

Ville du Havre (French: [vil dy avʁ]) was a French iron steamship that operated round trips between the northern coast of France and New York City. Launched in November 1865 under her original name of Napoléon III, she was converted from a paddle steamer to single propeller propulsion in 1871 and, in recognition of the recent defeat and removal from power of her imperial namesake, the Emperor Napoleon III, was renamed Ville du Havre.^[1] It was named after Le Havre, a major port city in the Normandy region of northern France.

In the early hours of 22 November 1873, Ville du Havre collided with the British three-masted iron clipper, Loch Earn and sank in 12 minutes with the loss of 226 lives.^[2] Only 61 passengers and 26 crew members survived, rescued by Loch Earn and subsequently, an American vessel, Tremountain.^[2][3]