SS Sirius (1885)

Sirius near Oslo
History
Name	Sirius
Namesake	The star Sirius
Owner	Bergen Steamship Company
Port of registry	Bergen
Route	Hamburg-Norway/coast of Norway (1885–1894) Hurtigruten (1894–1895) Hamburg-Norway/coast of Norway/ Norway-Iceland (1895-1927) Oslo-Finnmark (1927-1940)
Builder	Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg, Germany
Cost	350,435 kr
Yard number	76
Launched	26 February 1885
Completed	April 1885
Identification	Code letters: JVTL (1930) LEUS (1934–1940)
Fate	Sunk by a Luftwaffe bomber off Finnlandsneset, Dyrøya, on 18 May 1940
General characteristics
Type	Passenger liner/Cargo liner (1885–1927) Cargo ship (1927–1940)
Tonnage	As built: 877 gross register tons (GRT) After 1927 cargo ship conversion: 944 GRT 534 net register tons (NRT)
Length	As built: 191.2 feet (58.3 m) After 1908 rebuild: 207.5 feet (63.2 m)
Beam	As built: 28.8 feet (8.8 m)
Draught	As built: 20 feet (6.1 m)
Installed power	As built: 700 indicated horsepower After 1908 rebuild: 950 indicated horsepower
Propulsion	As built: 1 two-cylinder compound steam engine After 1908 rebuild: 1 triple expansion steam engine
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Capacity	70 passengers (before 1927 cargo ship conversion)
Crew	18 (1940)

SS Sirius was a Norwegian iron-hulled steamship built in Germany in 1885. Sirius spent over 55 years sailing with cargo, regular passengers and tourists between Norway and Europe, and on the Norwegian coast. In 1894-1895, she served a year on the Hurtigruten route on the coast of Norway, before reverting to her former duties.

Sirius was rebuilt twice, the final rebuild in 1927 converting her to a dedicated cargo ship, a role which she fulfilled for the rest of her existence. Following the 1940 German invasion of Norway, she was requisitioned by the Norwegian government and carried supplies for both the civilian authorities and the military until bombed and sunk by a German aircraft on 18 May 1940.