HMS Osmanieh
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMS Osmanieh |
| Owner | Khedivial Mail Steamship & Graving Dock Co., Ltd |
| Builder | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson |
| Yard number | 761 |
| Launched | 9 May 1906 |
| Completed | August 1906 |
| Fate | sunk by mine 31 Dec 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger and cargo |
| Tonnage | 4,041 tons |
| Length | 109.79 m (360.2 ft) |
| Beam | 13.77 m (45.2 ft) |
| Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) |
Remarks
Owned by the Khedivial Mail Steamship & Graving Dock Co, Ltd. This company was founded in 1898 to keep ships and ports in service with the Egyptian government. However, the ships sailed under the British flag and ran between Alexandria, Constantinople, Syria and other Mediterranean ports.
It served from 12 May 1916 as a troopship and supply ship for the Royal Navy in the First World War. On 23 Jun 1917 the ship avoided two torpedoes when it was attacked by a German submarine. She was not to be so lucky on December 31, 1917. On 17 Dec 1917, Osmanieh carrying soldiers and medical personnel left Southampton and set a course for Alexandria with a stopover in the southern Italian port city of Taranto. Taranto was reached on 28 December and Alexandria on 31 December. Even before the harbour entrance, the steamer was struck amidships on the starboard side On 17 December 1917, Osmanieh carrying soldiers and medical personnel left Southampton and set a course for Alexandria with a stopover in the southern Italian port city of Taranto. Taranto was reached on 28 December and Alexandria on 31 December. Even before the harbour entrance, the steamer was struck amidships on the starboard side when the Osmanieh struck a mine laid by the Imperial German Naval U-boat SM UC-34 and sank in five to seven minutes with the loss of 209 lives, including eight nurses.
Soldiers carried
28th Battalion from Gallipoli to Mudros 13 Dec 1915