SS Athos
| Career (France) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Athos |
| Namesake: | Athos |
| Owner: | Messageries Maritimes |
| Builder: | Ateliers et Chantiers De France, Dunkirk |
| Laid down: | 25 July 1914 |
| In service: | 28 November 1915 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk, 17 February 1917 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Cargo-passenger ship |
| Tonnage: | 12,698 GT 9,400 DWT |
| Displacement: | 18,570 metric tons |
| Length: | 161.7 m (530 ft 6 in) |
| Beam: | 18.83 m (61 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Capacity: |
|
SS Athos was a French cargo-passenger ship of the Messageries Maritimes, launched in 1915, that was sunk in the Mediterranean by the German submarine U-65 during World War I.
Ship history
Construction of the ship started on 25 July 1914 in Dunkirk, but was halted when the city was bombed during the First Battle of Ypres. The ship was towed to Saint Nazaire, where it was completed as a troopship and not, as intended, as a passenger ship. Displacing 12,644 tonnes, the ship was 156.48 metres long, with a beam of 18.84 metres. Her top speed was 17.5 knots.
Her first voyage was to China, leaving on 28 November 1915. Her second was between 29 October and 26 December 1916 from Marseille to Yokohama and back.
At 12.27 on 17 February 1917, during her third voyage, Athos was torpedoed by the German submarine U-65 commanded by Hermann von Fischel, while 180 nautical miles (330 km; 210 mi) east by south of Malta. Aboard the Athos were 1,950 people, including the crew, Chinese labourers, a large continent Senegalese soldiers, and civilian passengers, including women and children. The ship sank in 14 minutes taking with her 754 people, including the captain and 11 crewmembers. The survivors were picked up by the escort ships Enseigne Henry and Mameluck, as well as the gunboat Moqueuse and the torpedo-boat Baliste.
References
- ↑ Philippe, Ramona (2012). "Le paquebot Athos des Messageries Maritimes". messageries-maritimes.org. Retrieved 24 August 2014.