Crowds of holidaymakers lined the coasts of the Isle of Wight to witness a burning ship according to newspaper reports of 6th September1924.
The 2,626 German steamship Bosphorus was sighted 2 miles off the Needles flying the signal: “I am on fire”.
The stricken vessel was enveloped in a smoke screen as she was bought up the Solent, her forecastle and a hold burning furiously. The ship’s cargo – bales of tobacco leaf and stacks of oil cake – were destroyed in the conflagration.
Tugs were rushed to the assistance of the Bosphorus, which towed her up the Solent. Hoses from the tug Neptune poured water into the hold with no apparent effect.
British firemen and German crew members fought the flames together with redoubled energy when the steamer cast anchor in Lymington.
Late in the evening on the day in which the fire had first been reported, the fire had been subdued by the tugs.
