The Petrella was an German merchant ship, which sank on February 8, 1944 north of Suda Bay, Crete, killing some 2,670 Italian POWs.
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Fortress Crete, as it was known in World War II, had been captured by the Germans in the Battle of Crete in May 1941, and was occupied by a mixed German-Italian force.
The Italian garrison unit was the 51 Infantry Division Siena consisting of some 21,700 men, which occupied the easternmost prefecture of Lasithi.
On September 8, 1943 the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces was signed, and the Italians in Crete were disarmed by the Germans without major problems. As elsewhere, they were given the choice to continue the war alongside Germany, or to be sent to the Reich to do forced labor. A minority chose to continue the fight and formed the Legione Italiana Volontari Creta.
The Petrella was the former French merchant ship Aveyron of 4785 tons. As ordered by Adolf Hitler, the Italians were transported in often unseaworthy vessels, without any safety standard.
On February 8, 1944, some 3,173 prisoners were crammed into the hull of the Petrella.
The ship was detected by the British submarine HMS Sportsman and torpedoed. The ship did not sink immediately, but the German guards kept the POW quarters closed and fired at those who tried to break out.
Only 500 Italians managed to escape from the sinking ship. 2,670 drowned.