SS Gallia

SS Gallia was an Transatlantic ocean liner transformed to a troopship in 1915, torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea on 4 October 1916 with great loss of life.

The Gallia was built as an ocean liner between France and South America. It sailed between Bordeaux and Rio de Janeiro in 10 days, and between Bordeaux and Buenos-Aires in 13 days. The ship was refitted for troop transport during World War I.

On 3 October 1916, she left Toulon alone, destined for Thessaloniki in Greece. Aboard were 2,350 people (1,650 French soldiers, 350 Serbian soldiers and 350 sailors), artillery and ammunition. The next day, between Sardinia and Tunisia, the ship was hit by one torpedo from the German U-boat SMU U-35 (Germany) under command of Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière.

Ammunition aboard the Gallia also exploded and the ship sank in 15 minutes time. Panic broke out, life boats capsized and hundreds of soldiers jumped overboard. The radio had been disabled by the explosions before a mayday could be sent. The next day, French protected cruiser Châteaurenault picked up the survivors.

The exact number of casualties will never be known, but estimates vary between 600 and 1,800. It was, in any case, one of the worst maritime disasters ever with a single French ship.

Links

 * SS Gallia, on of the 20 largest ships sunk in WW I
 * Maritime quest
 * testimonies of survivors, list of victims (in French)
 * Technical data, pictures, lists of names
 * Wreck site