The merchant navy vessel SS Baygitano, which was en route from Le Havre to Swansea to collect coal, was sunk in British waters by enemy action during the First World War.
Its wreck currently lies submerged roughly one-and-a-half miles south of the Cobb at Lyme Regis.
The ship began its life on Thursday, September 28, 1905 as the Cayo Gitano.
The Cayo Gitano was launched from the West Yard of the South Shields shipyard of John Readhead and Sons Ltd and was owned by the Cuban Steamship Co. Ltd of the City of London.
The ship's early life as a tramper saw her sail around the Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, the southern seaboard of the United States of America as well as back across the Atlantic carrying cargo and passengers to Sweden, France and Great Britain.
At the outbreak of the war in 1914, the ship was initially detained in Manchester until a decision was made by the King's Proctor on the disposal of her cargo before her voyages continued, this time carrying freight essential to the war effort.
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During one such voyage, she was involved in a collision off Tilbury with the London steamer Monkwood, with both vessels receiving significant damage.
Whilst crossing the Atlantic bound for Bermuda, the ship rescued the crew of the Italian steamship Purificazione, who had taken to the lifeboats two days previously, their ship being lost to a hurricane.
In 1916, the Cuban Steamship and Cayo companies went into liquidation, but not before selling the Cayo Gitano to the Bay Steamship Company, who renamed her 'Baygitano' and placed her under the management of Charles V Sale.
During the war, the ship aided with carrying coal from the Welsh coalfields to northern France and its factories.
Due to the risk of marauding U Boats of the Imperial German Navy patrolling the English Channel, ships transported coals in convoys, with traffic distributed over three routes: Route 'A' Mount's Bay to Brest Route 'B' Weymouth to Cherbourg Route 'C' Weymouth to Le Havre The vessels were sent across in groups steaming in rough formation and proceeding to special instructions, escorted by armed trawlers of the Auxiliary Patrol.
In all, only 53 ships were lost in 39,352 sailings.
On March, 18, 1918, the ship's final voyage saw it en route to Cardiff from Le Havre.
With fine weather and light winds from the east, the Baygitano joined the convoy following route 'C' heading for Weymouth.
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Following the usual zigzag routing of the Channel crossings in shallow water, the passage was uneventful, and upon reaching the comparative safety of Portland Bill, the convoy dispersed, with each ship heading for its port of destination.
The Baygitano, steaming at 10 knots, took a course across Lyme Bay designed to keep her close to the coastline.
Captain Arthur Ligertwood Murrison, discontinued the zigzagging designed to make a U boat attack more difficult, with the belief that no U boat commander would risk the shallow water to carry out an attack.
The Baygitano had been hit by by German submarine UC-77, which was lying in wait three miles south of Lyme Regis harbour.
The torpedo struck on the port side, somewhere abaft the engine room around the no. four hold.
The torpedo wounded the vessel and she quickly started settling by the stern.
The order to abandon ship was given, the crew using two life boats and a raft to leave the sinking ship.
Having heard the explosion in Lyme Regis, 1.5 miles away, the Lyme Regis lifeboat, the Thomas Masterman Hardy was launched for its first rescue mission after being stationed in Lyme Regis in 1915.
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It was reported that twenty minutes after the torpedo struck, Oberleutnant (the highest lieutenant officer rank in the armed forces of Germany) Johannes Ries, who fired the torpedo, and the UC-77 surfaced with the intention of interrogating the ship's crew.
Described by Baygitano's second officer Haste as being about 250 foot in length, and painted in "black and white blobs" with a 22 pounder gun forward of the conning tower, the submarine approached one of the lifeboats with one of three officers visible in the conning tower.
One of the officers, speaking in fluent English, asked for details of the ship they had just sunk.
Having managed to obtain the Baygitano's registered number and tonnage, and having spotted a fast patrol boat approaching, the U boat departed in a South Easterly direction, but not before calling out "Give my regards to Mr Hinton of the Alexandra Hotel" (a hotel in Lyme Regis whose chef was German and a friend of Ries).
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