Médie
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The Médie (I) was a passenger ship put into service in 1912 by the French shipping company Compagnie de Navigation Paquet, which was used as a troop transport during the First World War from 1915 . On September 23, 1917, the Médie was sunk in the Mediterranean by a German submarine , killing 250 passengers, crew members and soldiers.
The ship
The 117.6 meter long and 14 meter wide steamship Médie was built at the Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne-sur-Mer in the south of France . The Médie , which measured 4770 GRT and had a deadweight of 8030 tons, belonged to the shipping company Compagnie de Navigation Paquet, based in Marseille , which operated passenger and freight traffic from France to Morocco , French West Africa and the Canary Islands .
The Médie had two chimneys, two masts and a single propeller . She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine that developed 3800 hp and allowed a speed of 13.5 knots. The passenger accommodations were designed for 52 first class passengers and 60 second class passengers. On-board amenities included a salon, smoking room , promenade decks and private baths. The ship was equipped with wireless telegraph equipment and six watertight bulkheads .
The Médie was launched in 1911 and completed in February 1912. Together with the steamers Iméréthie (3490 BRT), Phrygie (3882 BRT) and Ionie (4536 BRT) the Médie operated the express route from Marseille to Constantinople (now Istanbul ). On May 1, 1915, the ship was requisitioned by the French government for military service and used as a troop transport from then on. However, civilian passengers continued to be carried.
Sinking
On Saturday, September 22, 1917, the Médie set off under the command of Captain André Mitrecey for a crossing from Bône in northeast Algeria to Marseille. On board were 67 crew members and 563 passengers, including troops and civilians. The ship also had ammunition loaded. The Médie drove in a convoy that included the passenger ships Biskra (660 passengers) and Empire (1809 passengers), the destroyer Hallebarde , the gunboat Bouffonne and the trawlers Corse and Verdon .
At 8:52 a.m. the following day, the Médie was shaken by an explosion about 120 nautical miles northwest of Cape Bougaroni. She had been hit in the rear area of the starboard side by a torpedo from the German submarine UC 27 (Kapitänleutnant Gerhard Schulz). The ship was quickly flip side , went up in flames and began the stern forward to fall. Within seven minutes was MEDIE almost vertically on the position 39 ° 9 ' N , 5 ° 23' O below.
250 passengers and crew members died. A man was also killed on board the Empire when an accident occurred while the lifeboats swung out. The survivors of the Médie were taken on board by the other ships in the convoy.