SS Maloja (1906)

Last updated
History
Civil Ensign of Switzerland.svg
Name
  • Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Tosto (1906-1932)
  • Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg Panis (1932-1937)
  • Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Highbury (1937-1938)
  • Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg Nora (1938-1940)
  • Civil Ensign of Switzerland.svg Maloja (1940-1943)
OwnerSwiss Shipping Co. Ltd.
Port of registry Civil Ensign of Switzerland.svg Basel, Switzerland
BuilderAustin S. P. & Son Ltd.
Yard number236
Launched5 June 1906
CompletedJuly 1906
AcquiredJuly 1906
Maiden voyageJuly 1906
In serviceJuly 1906
Out of service7 September 1943
Identification
  • ICS Hotel.svg ICS Bravo.svg ICS Delta.svg ICS India.svg HBDI
  • Official No.: 2
FateSunk 7 September 1943
General characteristics
Type Cargo ship
Tonnage1,781  GRT
Length81.59 metres (267 ft 8 in)
Beam11.52 metres (37 ft 10 in)
Depth5.28 metres (17 ft 4 in)
Installed power1 x 3-cyl. triple expansion engine
PropulsionScrew propeller
Speed9 knots
Crew23

SS Maloja was a Swiss cargo ship that was mistakenly sunk by German aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea off Cap Revellata, Corsica on 7 September 1943 while she was travelling from Lisbon, Portugal to Genoa, Italy while carrying a cargo of 1800 tons of copra oil and 220 tons of bagged copra. [1] [2]

Contents

Construction

Maloja was built at the Austin S. P. & Son Ltd. shipyard in Sunderland, United Kingdom in June 1906, where she was launched and completed that same year. The ship was 81.59 metres (267 ft 8 in) long, had a beam of 11.52 metres (37 ft 10 in) and had a depth of 5.28 metres (17 ft 4 in). She was assessed at 1,781  GRT and had a three cylinder triple expansion engine driving a single screw propeller. The ship could generate 1200 r.h.p. with a speed of 9 knots. [1]

Sinking

Maloja was travelling from Lisbon, Portugal to Genoa, Italy while carrying a cargo of 1800 tons of copra oil and 220 tons of bagged copra when on 7 September 1943 at 16:15, she was mistakenly attacked by 10 German aircraft with machine guns and torpedoes in the Mediterranean Sea off Cap Revellata, Corsica. The ship caught fire after a torpedo hit and sank in 7 minutes with the loss of three of her 23 crew members. The 20 survivors rowed a distance of some 65 km to Calvi Corsica in one of the remaining shot up lifeboats over night. They arrived the morning of 8 September 1943 alive, but shattered and many with injuries. From the bay in Calvi they were received by the occupying Italien forces and all taken to the military hospital in Calvi. [3]

Wreck

The wreck of Maloja lies at ( 42°50′N08°11′E / 42.833°N 8.183°E / 42.833; 8.183 ). [3]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Pogy</i> (SS-266) Submarine of the United States

USS Pogy (SS-266), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pogy, or menhaden. She was credited with sinking 16 ships totaling 62,633 gross register tons during World War II.

German submarine U-303 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She saw service in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and sank one freighter of 4,959 GRT in her two short and uneventful war patrols. Built in 1941 and 1942 at Lübeck, U-303 was a Type VIIC U-boat, capable of lengthy ocean patrols and of operating in distant environments.

German submarine <i>U-201</i> German World War II submarine

German submarine U-201 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine in World War II.

German submarine U-183 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. She was commissioned on 1 April 1942, one of the first IXC/40 boats, somewhat larger and faster than the IXC type. She began her service life in the 4th U-boat Flotilla, a training organization, moving on to the 2nd, then the 33rd Flotilla, both operational or front outfits.

German submarine U-221 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

German submarine U-217 was a Type VIID mine-laying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Yugoslav destroyer <i>Dubrovnik</i> Yugoslav ship built in 1930–31

Dubrovnik was a flotilla leader built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow in 1930 and 1931. She was one of the largest destroyers of her time. Resembling contemporary British designs, Dubrovnik was a fast ship with a main armament of four Czechoslovak-built Škoda 140 mm (5.5 in) guns in single mounts. She was intended to be the first of three flotilla leaders built for Yugoslavia, but was the only one completed. During her service with the Royal Yugoslav Navy, Dubrovnik undertook several peacetime cruises through the Mediterranean, the Turkish Straits and the Black Sea. In October 1934, she conveyed King Alexander to France for a state visit, and carried his body back to Yugoslavia following his assassination in Marseille.

German submarine <i>U-96</i> (1940) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-96 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. It was made famous after the war in Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 bestselling novel Das Boot and the 1981 Oscar-nominated film adaptation of the same name, both based on his experience on the submarine as a war correspondent in 1941.

HMS <i>Saracen</i> (P247) S-class submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1942, Saracen conducted a patrol in the North Sea where she sank a German U-boat. She was then assigned to the 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, from where she made three patrols; on her second, she sank an Italian submarine. Saracen was then reassigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers, French North Africa.

German submarine <i>U-101</i> (1940) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-101 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She had a highly successful career.

German submarine <i>U-46</i> (1938) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-46 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She had a highly successful career during the war.

German submarine <i>U-81</i> (1941) Type VIIC U-boat of the navy of Nazi Germany (Kriegsmarine)

German submarine U-81 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the navy (Kriegsmarine) of Nazi Germany during World War II, famous for sinking the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

German submarine U-73 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down by Vegesacker Werft, Germany as yard number 1 on 5 November 1939, launched on 27 July 1940 and commissioned on 30 September of the same year under Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Helmut Rosenbaum.

German submarine U-607 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during the Second World War. She was commissioned on 29 January 1942 and was sunk on 13 July 1943, having sunk four ships and damaged two others. Her commanders were Ernst Mengersen and Wolf Jeschonnek.

German submarine U-374 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was ordered on 23 September 1939. Her keel was laid down by Howaldtswerke in Kiel on 18 December 1939, she was launched on 10 May 1941 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 21 June 1941 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Unno von Fischel.

German submarine U-602 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 8 February 1941 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 578, launched on 30 October 1941 and commissioned on 29 December 1941 under Oberleutnant zur See Philipp Schüler.

German submarine U-960 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 20 March 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 160, launched on 3 December 1942 and commissioned on 28 January 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Günther Heinrich.

<i>Calvi</i>-class submarine

The Calvi class was a class of three submarines built by Oderno-Terni-Orlando in Genoa for the Royal Italian Navy. The submarines were built in 1935, and all three served in the Mediterranean at the start of the Second World War. The boats were transferred to the BETASOM Atlantic submarine base at Bordeaux in August 1940. In December 1941 the boats were used for a rescue mission of 254 sailors from the sunken German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis. After Calvi had been sunk, Finzi and Tazzoli were selected for conversion to "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. Cargo capacity of 160 tons reduced reserve buoyancy from 20–25% to 3.5–6%; and armament was reduced to defensive machine guns.

German submarine U-956 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 20 February 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 156, launched on 14 November 1942 and commissioned on 6 January 1943 under Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Dieter Mohs.

Italian submarine <i>Enrico Tazzoli</i> (1935) Italian submarine

Enrico Tazzoli was one of three Calvi-class submarines built for the Regia Marina during the 1930s. Completed in 1936, she played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists. She operated in the Atlantic during the Second World War and was second only to the submarine Leonardo da Vinci as the highest scoring Italian submarine of the conflict. Enrico Tazzoli was converted in 1943 to be a submarine transport for blockade-running between Europe and the Far East. She was lost on her first voyage in this role.

References

  1. 1 2 "SS Maloja [+1943]". wrecksite.eu. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  2. "Tosto". Wear bulit ships. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 "MALOJA". test.swiss-ships.ch. Retrieved 1 July 2020.