SS ''Djemnah'' was a French

cargo-passenger ship A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

, launched in 1875, that was sunk in the Mediterranean by the German submarine ''UB-105'' during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Description

Displacing 5,400 tonnes, the ship was 125 metres long, with a beam of 12.1 metres. Her top speed was 14 knots. The ship could carry 1385 passengers (83 in First Class, 42 in Second, 60 in Third and 1,200 below decks).

History

The ''Djemnah'' was built in La Ciotat in 1875 for the shipping company

Messageries Maritimes ''Messageries Maritimes'' was a French merchant shipping company. It was originally created in 1851 as ''Messageries nationales'', later called ''Messageries impériales'', and from 1871, ''Compagnie des messageries maritimes'', casually known as ...

. The ship was used as a line ship to the Far East and to the Southern Indian Ocean. On 4 November 1878, ''Djemnah'' was driven ashore at

La Joliette La Joliette (; Occitan: La Jolieta) is a neighbourhood of the 2nd arrondissement of Marseille located at the start of the autonomous port of Marseille. Overview It contains the Docks de Marseille and Marseille Cathedral. The area is the centre ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

. She was on a voyage from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Her 141 passengers were taken off. She was later refloated and put back to Marseille. Filipino polymath and patriot

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

sailed aboard Djemnah during his trip to Europe to pursue medicine and continue the

propaganda movement The Propaganda Movement encompassed the activities of a group of Filipinos who called for political reforms in their land in the late 19th century, and produced books, leaflets, and newspaper articles to educate others about their goals and is ...

there with fellow Ilustrados in Spain. On 6 July 1918, the ship left from

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

for

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, with a crew of 153, 601 passengers and 530 tons of cargo. On 14 July the ship was 69 nautical miles north from the Libyan coast when she was torpedoed at 21.32 by the German submarine ''UB-105'' under command of

Wilhelm Marschall Wilhelm Marschall (30 September 1886 – 20 March 1976) was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I. The ''Pour le Mérite'' ...

. The ship sank in two minutes, taking with her 436 people, including the captain. 110 survivors were picked up by the trawler ''Presidency'' and 218 by the British escort HMS ''Mallow''.

External links

Technical data of the ''Djemnah''
*
French Lines

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djemnah 1874 ships Ships built in France World War I passenger ships of France World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in November 1878 Maritime incidents in 1918 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I