HMHS Mustapha
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMHS Mustapha |
| Owner | Cie. De Navigation Mixte, Marseille |
| Builder | Forges & Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-Sur-Mer. |
| Yard number | 1055 |
| Launched | 1912 |
| Out of service | 19 Apr 1941 |
| Fate | sunk during air raid |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | passenger ship |
| Tonnage | 3,257 tons |
| Length | 344.5 ft (105.0m) |
| Beam | 44.6 ft (13.59 m) |
| Depth | 6.7m |
| Propulsion | single screw |
| Speed | 16 knots (29.63 km/h) |
Remarks
Built for French company Cie. De Navigation Mixte, Marseille and named SS Theodre Mante she was taken over by the French Navy from 1914 until 1919 when she returned to her owners who continued to operate her until 1933 with the new name SS Mustapha II. Renamed again in 1933, to SS Djebel-Antar, she was sold in 1937 to the British firm Stanhope Steamship Co who named her SS Helendra. In 1938 they sold her into Panamanian ownership who renamed her SS Margit.
The SS Margit arrived in Malta on 17th April 1939 and while waiting for her crew to arrive war broke out. During an air raid on 19th April 1941 while moored in Kalkara Creek (buoy no. 14) the SS Margit was hit by Ju 87s, the damage was extensive; fire spread out, she listed to portside and sank.