SS Petrella was a German merchant ship, which was torpedoed and sunk on 8 February 1944, north of Souda Bay, Crete, killing some 2,670 of the Italian POWs aboard.[2]
The ship was built under the name Pasteur as a cargo liner, one of a class of nine ships ordered by the French government to replenish its merchant fleet after the losses of World War I. The ship was launched on 3 February 1923 from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard at Graville, Le Havre.[3] On 11 July she was sold to the Plisson et Cie company of Bayonne, entering service on 10 August 1923.[1] The following year she was sold to the Cie des Chargeurs Français, and in 1925 was chartered to the Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie shipping line, a subsidiary of the Ballande & Fils group, for service to New Caledonia.[1] In June 1928 the ship was bought by the Compagnie Générale d'Armement Maritime (CGAM) and renamed Aveyron. She was operated by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) company, and was finally transferred to the ownership of CGT in 1939.[1]
On 10 July 1941, following the French armistice the ship was transferred to the ownership of the Italian Government, and renamed Capo Pino was operated by the Cia Genovese di Navigazione à Vapore, based at Genoa.[1]
The ship was captured by the Germans at Patras, Greece, on 8 September 1943, following the announcement of the Italian capitulation.[3] She was renamed Petrella and operated under the ownership of the Mittelmeer-Reederei GmbH [de] of Hamburg,[1] a state-owned company that managed captured ships in the Mediterranean on behalf of the German Wehrmacht, with civilian crews under military jurisdiction.[4]
Sinkingedit
Crete had been captured by the Germans in May/June 1941, and was occupied by a mixed German-Italian force as "Fortress Crete". The Italian 51st Infantry Division Siena consisted of some 21,700 men, and occupied the easternmost prefecture of Lasithi. Following the armistice of September 1943 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 as military internees to perform forced labour. A minority chose to continue the fight and formed the Legione Italiana Volontari Creta.
As ordered by Adolf Hitler, the Italian internees were transported back to Germany.[citation needed] On 8 February 1944, some 3,173 prisoners were crammed into the hull of the Petrella. The ship was detected by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Sportsman and torpedoed, despite the Petrella having been clearly marked as a prisoner of war transport.[5] Some 2,670 prisoners died when the ship sank; a factor in the high death toll was that the guards did not open the holds where the POWs were and fired on those trying to get out.[6]
^ abcdef"Pasteur". uim.marine.free.fr. 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
^"Petrella Passenger/Cargo Ship (1923–1944)". wrecksite.eu. 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
^ ab. French Lines Association. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
^"Deutsche Mittelmeer-Reederei". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
^Chronik des Seekrieges 1939-1945, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, entry on February 1944
^Helgason, Guðmundur (2013). "HMS Sportsman (P229)". uboat.net. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
petrella, german, merchant, ship, which, torpedoed, sunk, february, 1944, north, souda, crete, killing, some, italian, pows, aboard, historyfrancenamepasteur, 1923, 1928, aveyron, 1928, 1941, ownerplisson, bayonne, 1923, 1924, compagnie, chargeurs, français, 1. SS Petrella was a German merchant ship which was torpedoed and sunk on 8 February 1944 north of Souda Bay Crete killing some 2 670 of the Italian POWs aboard 2 HistoryFranceNamePasteur 1923 1928 Aveyron 1928 1941 OwnerPlisson et Cie de Bayonne 1923 1924 Compagnie des Chargeurs Francais 1924 1928 Compagnie Generale d Armement Maritime 1928 1939 Compagnie Generale Transatlantique 1939 1941 BuilderAteliers et Chantiers de la Gironde Graville Le HavreLaunched3 February 1923In service10 August 1923IdentificationOfficial number 5606113FateTransferred to Italy 10 July 1941ItalyNameCapo PinoOwnerGovernment of ItalyOperatorCia Genovese di Navigazione a Vapore SA GenoaAcquired10 July 1941FateCaptured by Germany 8 September 1943GermanyNamePetrellaOwnerMittelmeer Reederei GmbHAcquired8 September 1943FateSunk 8 February 1944General characteristics 1 TypeCargo linerTonnage4 785 GRT 6 500 DWTLength110 6 m 362 ft 10 in o aBeam14 98 m 49 ft 2 in Propulsion1 2 500 hp 1 864 kW 3 cylinder inverted triple expansion steam engine 1 shaftSpeed12 knots 22 km h 14 mph Contents 1 Service history 1 1 Sinking 2 See also 3 ReferencesService history editThe ship was built under the name Pasteur as a cargo liner one of a class of nine ships ordered by the French government to replenish its merchant fleet after the losses of World War I The ship was launched on 3 February 1923 from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard at Graville Le Havre 3 On 11 July she was sold to the Plisson et Cie company of Bayonne entering service on 10 August 1923 1 The following year she was sold to the Cie des Chargeurs Francais and in 1925 was chartered to the Compagnie Navale de l Oceanie shipping line a subsidiary of the Ballande amp Fils group for service to New Caledonia 1 In June 1928 the ship was bought by the Compagnie Generale d Armement Maritime CGAM and renamed Aveyron She was operated by the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique CGT company and was finally transferred to the ownership of CGT in 1939 1 On 10 July 1941 following the French armistice the ship was transferred to the ownership of the Italian Government and renamed Capo Pino was operated by the Cia Genovese di Navigazione a Vapore based at Genoa 1 The ship was captured by the Germans at Patras Greece on 8 September 1943 following the announcement of the Italian capitulation 3 She was renamed Petrella and operated under the ownership of the Mittelmeer Reederei GmbH de of Hamburg 1 a state owned company that managed captured ships in the Mediterranean on behalf of the German Wehrmacht with civilian crews under military jurisdiction 4 Sinking edit Crete had been captured by the Germans in May June 1941 and was occupied by a mixed German Italian force as Fortress Crete The Italian 51st Infantry Division Siena consisted of some 21 700 men and occupied the easternmost prefecture of Lasithi Following the armistice of September 1943 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 as military internees to perform forced labour A minority chose to continue the fight and formed the Legione Italiana Volontari Creta As ordered by Adolf Hitler the Italian internees were transported back to Germany citation needed On 8 February 1944 some 3 173 prisoners were crammed into the hull of the Petrella The ship was detected by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Sportsman and torpedoed despite the Petrella having been clearly marked as a prisoner of war transport 5 Some 2 670 prisoners died when the ship sank a factor in the high death toll was that the guards did not open the holds where the POWs were and fired on those trying to get out 6 See also editMS Sinfra SS Oria Sinking of the SS Tanais List by death toll of ships sunk by submarinesReferences edit a b c d e f Pasteur uim marine free fr 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Petrella Passenger Cargo Ship 1923 1944 wrecksite eu 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 a b Cargo ship Aveyron French Lines Association 2013 Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Deutsche Mittelmeer Reederei Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart 2009 Archived from the original on 12 February 2013 Retrieved 1 July 2013 Chronik des Seekrieges 1939 1945 Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek entry on February 1944 Helgason Gudmundur 2013 HMS Sportsman P229 uboat net Retrieved 1 July 2013 35 32 N 24 18 E 35 533 N 24 300 E 35 533 24 300 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS Petrella amp oldid 1209873357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
