SS Polynesien (1890)

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]

History
Name:	SS Polynesien
Owner:	Messageries Maritimes, Marseille
Builder:	Messageries Maritimes, La Ciotat
Yard number:	97
Launched:	1890
Fate:	Sunk on 10 August 1918
General characteristics
Tonnage:	6,659 gross register tons (GRT)
Length:	152.5 m (500 ft)
Beam:	15.1 m (50 ft)
Depth:	10.4 m (34 ft)
Installed power:	818 nhp
Propulsion:	1 x 3 cylinder triple expansion steam engine 12 x Belleville boilers Single shaft 1 x screw
Sail plan:	3-masted barque rigged
Speed:	17.5 kn (20.1 mph)

Milunka Savić, who survived the sinking of the Polynesien.

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

• SS Australien (1889)

References

1. SS Polynesien (I) (+1918). Wreck Site. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
2. Le Polynesien. Calypso Sub-Aqua Club. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
3. Professional Diving Schools Association. 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/

External links

• 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