SS Athos

The  SS Athos was a French cargo-passenger ship, launched in 1915, that was sunk in the Mediterranean by the Geman submarine U-65 during World War I.

The construction of the ship started on 25 July 1914 by the Messageries Maritimes in Dunkirk, but halted when the city was bombed during the First Battle of Ypres. The ship was towed to Saint Nazaire, where it was completed as a troopship and not, as intended, as a passenger ship.

Displacing 12,644 tonnes, the ship was 156.48 metres long, with a beam of 18.84 metres.Her top speed was 17,5 knots. Her first voyage was to China, leaving on 28 November 1915. Her second was between 29 Oktober and 26 December 1916 from Marseille to Yokohama and back.

On her third voyage, the Athos was torpedoed on 17 February 1917 at 12.27 by Geman submarine U-65, 180 seamiles south east of Malta. The U-boat commander was Hermann von Fischel. Aboard the Athos were 1.950 people, including Captain Eugène Dorise, many Chinese labourers, a large continent Senegalese soldiers, and civil passengers, including women and children. The ship sank in 14 minutes time, taking with here 754 people, including the captain and 11 crew. The survivors were picked up by the escort ships Enseigne Henry and Mameluck as well as by gunboat Moqueuse and Torpedoboat Baliste.