Sinking of the SS Tanais

History
Name
  • Holywood (1907–1935)
  • Tanais (1935–1944)
NamesakeTanais (1935–1944)
Owner
  • Wm France, Fenwick & Co (1907–1935)
  • Stefanos Synodinos (1935–1941)
  • Mittelmeer-Reederei (1942–1944)
Operator
  • Wm France, Fenwick & Co (1907–1935)
  • Stefanos Synodinos (1935–1941)
  • Mittelmeer-Reederei (1942–1944)
Port of registry
BuilderJohn Blumer & Co, Sunderland
Yard number193
Launched14 December 1906
CompletedJanuary 1907
Identification
FateTorpedoed and sunk on 9 June 1944
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage1,545 GRT 965 NRT
Length244.4 ft (74.5 m)
Beam38.0 ft (11.6 m)
Draught16 ft 7 in (5.05 m)
Depth15.8 ft (4.8 m)
Decks1
Installed power214 NHP
Propulsion3-cylinder triple-expansion engine
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew12 + 14 anti-aircraft gunners

SS Tanais (Greek: Τάναϊς), mistakenly referred to as Danae or Danais (Δανάη / Δαναΐς), was a British-built, Greek-owned cargo ship that German occupational forces in Greece requisitioned in World War II. On 9 June 1944, Royal Navy submarine HMS Vivid sank her off Heraklion, Crete, with Tanais sinking in just 12 seconds. Almost everyone onboard died, including hundreds of deported Cretan Jews and Christians and Italian prisoners of war who were onboard. Sources differ as to the number of people who died in the sinking; estimates vary between 425 and 1,000.[1]

  1. ^ Spector, Shmuel (2001). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust. Vol. I: A–J. Yad Vashem; New York University Press. p. 282. ISBN 0814793762.