SS Mendi
Passenger steamship that sank after a collision south of the Isle of Wight / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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SS Mendi was a British 4,230 GRT passenger steamship that was built in 1905 and, as a troopship, sank after collision with great loss of life in 1917.
Mendi dressed overall | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Mendi |
Namesake | Mendi people of West Africa |
Owner | British and African Steam Navigation Company Ltd, Liverpool |
Operator | Elder Dempster & Co, Liverpool |
Builder | Alexander Stephen and Sons |
Yard number | 404 |
Launched | 19 June 1905 |
Fate | Requisitioned 1916 |
United Kingdom | |
Reclassified | Troopship |
Fate | Sank after collision on 21 February 1917 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 4,230 GRT, 2,639 NRT |
Length | 370.2 ft (112.8 m) |
Beam | 46.2 ft (14.1 m) |
Depth of hold | 23.3 ft (7.1 m) |
Propulsion | triple expansion steam engine |
Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Alexander Stephen and Sons of Linthouse in Glasgow, Scotland launched her on 18 June 1905 for the British and African Steam Navigation Company, which appointed group company Elder Dempster & Co to manage her on their Liverpool-West Africa trades.[1][2] In 1916 during the First World War the UK Admiralty chartered her as a troopship. On 21 February 1917 a large cargo steamship, Darro, collided with her in the English Channel south of the Isle of Wight.[2] Mendi sank, killing 646 people, mostly black South African troops, as well as white Southern African officers and NCOs, and crew.[3][4] The new port admin building at the Port of Ngqura, South Africa, has been named eMendi in commemoration of the SS Mendi.