SS ''Petrella'' was a German merchant ship, which was torpedoed and sunk on 8 February 1944, north of

Souda Bay Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akroti ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, killing some 2,670 of the Italian POWs aboard.

Service history

The ship was built under the name ''Pasteur'' as a

cargo liner 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 ...

, one of a class of nine ships ordered by the French government to replenish its merchant fleet after the losses of World War I. The ship was launched on 3 February 1923 from the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Gironde shipyard at Graville, Le Havre. On 11 July she was sold to the ''Plisson et Cie'' company of

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, entering service on 10 August 1923. The following year she was sold to the ''Cie des Chargeurs Français'', and in 1925 was chartered to the ''Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie'' shipping line, a subsidiary of the ''Ballande & Fils'' group, for service to

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. In June 1928 the ship was bought by the ''Compagnie Générale d'Armement Maritime'' (CGAM) and renamed ''Aveyron''. She was operated by the ''

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the name ''Compagnie ...

'' (CGT) company, and was finally transferred to the ownership of CGT in 1939. On 10 July 1941, following the French armistice the ship was transferred to the ownership of the Italian Government, and renamed ''Capo Pino'' was operated by the ''Cia Genovese di Navigazione à Vapore'', based at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. The ship was captured by the Germans at

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

, Greece, on 8 September 1943, following the announcement of the Italian capitulation. She was renamed ''Petrella'' and operated under the ownership of the of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, a

state-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

that managed captured ships in the Mediterranean on behalf of the German ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'', with civilian crews under military jurisdiction.

Sinking

Crete had been captured by the Germans in May/June 1941, and was occupied by a mixed German-Italian force as "

Fortress Crete Fortress Crete () was the term used during World War II by the German occupation forces to refer to the garrison and fortification of Crete. Background The Greek island of Crete was seized by the Axis after a fierce battle at the end of May 1 ...

". The Italian 51st Infantry Division Siena consisted of some 21,700 men, and occupied the easternmost prefecture of

Lasithi Lasithi () is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Thrypti in the ...

. Following the armistice of September 1943 the Italians in Crete were disarmed by the Germans without major problems. As elsewhere, they were given the choice to continue the war alongside Germany, or to be sent to the Reich as military internees to perform

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

. A minority chose to continue the fight and formed the ''Legione Italiana Volontari Creta''. As ordered by Adolf Hitler, the Italian internees were transported back to Germany. On 8 February 1944, some 3,173 prisoners were crammed into the hull of the ''Petrella''. The ship was detected by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

submarine and torpedoed, despite the ''Petrella'' having been clearly marked as a prisoner of war transport.''Chronik des Seekrieges 1939-1945'', Württembergische Landesbibliothek, entry on February 1944
/ref> Some 2,670 prisoners died when the ship sank; a factor in the high death toll was that the guards did not open the holds where the POWs were and fired on those trying to get out.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrella 1923 ships Ships built in France Ships of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique World War II merchant ships of Germany Maritime disasters Maritime incidents in February 1944 Ships sunk by British submarines World War II shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea Captured ships

Service history

Sinking

See also

References