HMHS Salta
From Our Contribution
 Imperial War Museum | |
 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMT Salta |
| Owner | Société Générale de Transport Maritime Steam |
| Builder | Société des Forges et Chantiers de la Medirerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer |
| Yard number | 1048 |
| Launched | 13 March 1911 |
| Completed | July 1911 |
| In service | 1911 |
| Out of service | 10 Apr 1917 |
| Fate | Sunk by a mine |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steam passenger liner |
| Tonnage | 7,728 tons |
| Length | 449.5 ft (137.0m) |
| Beam | 53.2 ft (16.2m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 15 knots (27.78 km/h) |
Contents
Remarks
Built for the Société Générale de Transport Maritime Steam. The Salta was chartered by the British Admiralty in February 1915 and converted into a hospital ship. The former liner was painted white with wide green stripes and the insignia of the Red Cross, according to the terms laid down in the Hague Convention of 1894. She served in the Mediterranean during the Gallipoli campaign before making at least one journey carrying Australian medical staff to France from Egypt.
On 10 Apr 1917 while returning to pick up wounded at the port of Le Havre, France, Salta struck a mine at 11:43, one mile (1.6 km) north of the entrance to the dam. A huge explosion smashed the hull near the stern in the engine room and hold number three. Water rushed into the disabled ship which listed to starboard and sank in less than 10 minutes. Of the 205 passengers and crew members, only 75 survived with nine nurses, 42 member of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and 79 crew drowned. The British patrol boat HMS P-26 attempted to come alongside to assist, but also struck a mine and sank.