The SS Austria was a steam and sail passenger sip operated by the Hamburg-America Line and built by Caird & Co, Greenock in 1857. First chartered by the British government as used as a transport ship, damage to the ship caused the charter to be cancelled.
Chartered by the British Government as an Indian Mutiny troop transport. 5 October 1857, sailed from Cork, but suffered severe storm damage in the Bay of Biscay, and forced to return to Plymouth; after a second attempt to sail was abandoned when her machinery broke, the British Government cancelled its charter.
The ship left Hamburg, Germany on September 1, 1858 headed for New York. On September 13th, Captain F.A. Heydtmann ordered the steerage to be fumigated before they reached the port in New York. This was done by dipping a red-hot chain into a bucket of tar which would produce toxic fumes and fumigate the area. But the chain became too hot for the boatswain to hold, and he dropped it on the deck, which immediately burst into flame, setting the ship ablaze. The crew in the engine room were asphyxiated, and the helmsman abandoned his post.
With the ship traveling at half speed, and with no helmsman or engine, it was impossible to control the ship. The Austria turned into the wind, and the flames spread down the length of the ship. Of the 538 passengers and crew aboard, only 91 survived. Of the 91 survivors, 69 were taken on board the French barque Maurice and 22 were rescued from the burning by the Norwegian ship Catarina.
The ship continued to burn and sunk about 500 miles east of Newfoundland.