SS Gallia

SS Gallia was a transatlantic ocean liner converted into a troopship in 1915. She was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea on 4 October 1916 with great loss of life.

Salon de musique aboard Gallia
Gallia in 1913
History
France
Name: SS Gallia
Owner: Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique
Builder: Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer
Completed: 1913
Fate: Sunk, 4 October 1916
General characteristics
Class and type: Ocean liner
Tonnage: 14,966 GRT
Length: 174.7 m
Beam: 19.1 m
Depth: max. 11,2 m
Installed power: 26.000 PS (19.123 kW)
Speed: max. 18 knots (33 km/h)
Capacity: 6,000 passengers

Gallia was built as an ocean liner for service between France and South America. She sailed between Bordeaux and Rio de Janeiro in 10 days, and between Bordeaux and Buenos Aires in 13 days. The ship, with several others, was refitted for use as a troopship during World War I.

On 3 October 1916, Gallia left Toulon unescorted, destined for Thessaloniki in Greece. Aboard were 2,350 people (1,650 French soldiers, 350 Serbian soldiers, and 350 crew members) and a cargo of artillery and ammunition. The next day, between Sardinia and Tunisia, she was hit by a torpedo from the German submarine U-35 commanded by Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière.

Ammunition aboard Gallia exploded, and the ship sank in 15 minutes. Because of the rapid sinking, panic broke out on board resulting in lifeboats capsizing, and thousands of soldiers jumping overboard. The ship′s radio was disabled by the explosions, preventing the sending of a distress signal. The next day the French Navy's protected cruiser Châteaurenault rescued the remaining survivors.

About 600 people died as a result of the sinking. A list of missing personnel was published on 31 October 1917 by the Tribunal Civil of Toulon. It contained the names of 44 sailors and 553 soldiers. Several individual soldiers known by their family members to have perished are not on the list. The Serbian soldiers were also not included.

It was one of the worst maritime disasters ever involving a single French ship.

See also
  • List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines

References
  • Paquebots de Daniel Hillion, éd. Ouest-France, 1992, p. 24.
  • Du Manoir (Archives de la Marine - Rapport de l'Enseigne de vaisseau Le Courtois du Manoir).
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: SS Gallia". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
  • Maritime quest
  • testimonies of survivors, list of victims (in French)
  • Technical data, pictures, lists of names
  • Wreck site

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