SS Polynesien (1890)

History
NameSS Polynesien
OwnerMessageries Maritimes, Marseille
BuilderMessageries Maritimes, La Ciotat
Yard number97
Launched1890
FateSunk on 10 August 1918
General characteristics
Tonnage6,659 gross register tons (GRT)
Length152.5 m (500 ft)
Beam15.1 m (50 ft)
Depth10.4 m (34 ft)
Installed power818 nhp
Propulsion
Sail plan3-masted barque rigged
Speed17.5 kn (20.1 mph)
Milunka Savić, who survived the sinking of the Polynesien.

SS Polynesien was a French passenger ship that was sunk on 10 August 1918 in the Mediterranean Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) off Valletta, Malta, by a torpedo launched by SM UC-22, captained by Eberhard Weichold.[1][2][3]

The ship was en route from Bizerte, Tunisia, to Thessaloniki, Greece. On board was a detachment of cadets and personnel of the Royal Serbian Army, including Serb heroine Milunka Savić. Most of the cadets survived the sinking, as did Savić, but eleven crew members and six passengers died.[4]

The survivors were taken to Malta and recuperated at Cottonera Hospital.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ SS Polynesien (I) (+1918). Wreck Site. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ^ Le Polynesien. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Calypso Sub-Aqua Club. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ^ Professional Diving Schools Association. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Serbian Post from Malta" by Milan Radovanović & Slobodan Sokolović, The London Philatelist, Vol. 124, September 2015, No. 1428, pp. 338-341.
  5. ^ Pics by Maltese nurse Mary Muscat may be seen here: http://agiusww1.com/page-57/
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Polynesien". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
  • http://www.maritimequest.com/daily_event_archive/2010/08_august/10_ss_polynesien.htm