MS Palatia (1928)
Encyclopedia
MS Palatia was a German liner
, built in 1928. After serving for several years on the Hamburg America Line
's route to the Caribbean
, she was sold to the Soviet Union
in 1940. Following the outbreak of war between Nazi Germany
and the Soviet Union in June 1941, she was captured by the Germans and pressed into Kriegsmarine
service.
She was sunk on 21 October 1942 by a Royal New Zealand Air Force
torpedo bomber
, while carrying a load of prisoners of war
intended for slave labour in German-occupied Norway
. In total, 986 people have later been reported killed in the incident; 915 prisoners, in addition to German soldiers and crew members.
in 1928, with yard number 273. Launched on 26 May 1928, and completed in October of the same year, she had a length of 114 metres, beam of 16.4 metres, draught of 6.9 metres and a tonnage of 3,979 ton
s. She was a single deck, steel-hulled ship with diesel engines, electric lights, wireless radio and a cruiser stern. The 6 cylinder diesel engine produced 3,500 horsepower, and gave Palatia a top speed of 12 knots.
and the Caribbean until the outbreak of the Second World War
.
, she was confiscated by the Kriegsmarine
on 22 June 1941 while in the German port city of Stettin
. She had her original name Palatia restored.
On her last mission she was used as a prisoner of war transport from Stettin to Ålesund
, via Kristiansand
, in order to bring slave labourers to work for the Nazi occupants. She carried 999 prisoners and a crew of 34, as well as a Norwegian pilot
.
, escorted by the submarine chaser
UJ 1704 and a Junkers Ju 88
. She had originally been part of a convoy of three vessels with three submarine chaser escorts from the port of Kristiansand, but the tanker Ostemor had suffered engine failure and the fellow prisoner ship Ostland (with 1,000 prisoners on board) had run aground. One of the escorts had also suffered engine failure. Palatia' s renewed departure from Kristiansand only occurred at 0900hrs. This left her in an exposed position in poor weather when, at 1505hrs, she was discovered by one of four Handley Page Hampden
torpedo bombers from No. 489 Squadron RNZAF of the RAF Coastal Command
that were patrolling the Norwegian coastline that day. At the time the weather was rainy, with winds from strong breeze to near gale and 5 metres (16.4 ft) waves.
Hampden XA-B, piloted by Flying Officer
J.J. Richardson, attacked at an altitude of 60 feet (18.3 m), launching a torpedo at a range of 550 metres (1,804.5 ft). The torpedo bomber escaped unscathed in cloud cover, despite heavy anti-aircraft fire
and an attempted intercept by the escorting Ju 88. The torpedo hit Palatia in the starboard side, near her engine room. Palatia sank within half an hour of the torpedo attack, at 57°58.1′"N 07°14′"E.
Following the torpedo hit panic broke loose on board Palatia, with prisoners attempting to break out of the cargo holds. During the rescue work the crew of UJ 1704 prioritized saving Germans, to the extent that small arms
were used against prisoners if they proved to be a hindrance for the rescue of Germans. Only prisoners on rafts or floating debris in the company of German survivors were retrieved. The rescue work was concluded at 1845hrs. In all only 78 prisoners and 108 Germans survived the sinking. After the incident the crew of Palatia was criticized in German reports for not having conducted the evacuation of the ship in an orderly manner, the sinking thus costing more German lives than might have been the case had the crew acted according to regulations.
The number of perished has been listed as 986 people, including 915 prisoners from the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. The incident was not reported in the censored press at the time.
For weeks after the sinking of Palatia large numbers of corpses floated ashore on the beaches of the Lista area. The bodies were collected and removed by the Germans. The sinking of Palatia is the second greatest ship disaster in Norwegian history
.
, the municipality of Lindesnes held a memorial service on 6 May 1995 in remembrance of the Palatia disaster. A exhibition with art and items relating to Palatia was also displayed.
The wreck was located in 1997, by the Royal Norwegian Navy
underwater search and recovery vessel Tyr
. A memorial was raised at Lindesnes and unveiled by King Harald V
of Norway on 21 September 1997. The memorial monument, titled Pax, was designed by sculptor Arne Vinje Gunnerud
. Pax consists of a Common Buzzard
in bronze with unfolded wings, on a platform of natural rock. The monument was built on the initiative of Sørlandet krigsminneforening (Southern Norway war memorial society) and Lindesnes municipality. A 986-strong choir, one singer for every life lost on the ship, sang at the unveiling of the monument.
Cargo liner
A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...
, built in 1928. After serving for several years on the Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
's route to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, she was sold to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1940. Following the outbreak of war between Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Soviet Union in June 1941, she was captured by the Germans and pressed into Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
service.
She was sunk on 21 October 1942 by a Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
, while carrying a load of prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
intended for slave labour in German-occupied Norway
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
. In total, 986 people have later been reported killed in the incident; 915 prisoners, in addition to German soldiers and crew members.
Construction
Palatia was built by Schiffswerft H. Koch A.G. in LübeckLübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
in 1928, with yard number 273. Launched on 26 May 1928, and completed in October of the same year, she had a length of 114 metres, beam of 16.4 metres, draught of 6.9 metres and a tonnage of 3,979 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s. She was a single deck, steel-hulled ship with diesel engines, electric lights, wireless radio and a cruiser stern. The 6 cylinder diesel engine produced 3,500 horsepower, and gave Palatia a top speed of 12 knots.
Hamburg America Line
For the first years of her service life, Palatia sailed for the Hamburg America Line. She sailed between HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and the Caribbean until the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Second World War
In 1940, during a period of improved relations between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Palatia was sold to the Soviet Union and renamed Khasan. After the German invasion of RussiaOperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, she was confiscated by the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
on 22 June 1941 while in the German port city of Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
. She had her original name Palatia restored.
On her last mission she was used as a prisoner of war transport from Stettin to Ålesund
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
, via Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, in order to bring slave labourers to work for the Nazi occupants. She carried 999 prisoners and a crew of 34, as well as a Norwegian pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
.
Sinking
On 21 October 1942 Palatia was sailing off LindesnesLindesnes
Lindesnes is a municipality in the county of Vest-Agder, Norway. Lindesnes was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the older municipalities of Spangereid, Sør-Audnedal, and Vigmostad....
, escorted by the submarine chaser
Submarine chaser
A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...
UJ 1704 and a Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
. She had originally been part of a convoy of three vessels with three submarine chaser escorts from the port of Kristiansand, but the tanker Ostemor had suffered engine failure and the fellow prisoner ship Ostland (with 1,000 prisoners on board) had run aground. One of the escorts had also suffered engine failure. Palatia
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
torpedo bombers from No. 489 Squadron RNZAF of the RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
that were patrolling the Norwegian coastline that day. At the time the weather was rainy, with winds from strong breeze to near gale and 5 metres (16.4 ft) waves.
Hampden XA-B, piloted by Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
J.J. Richardson, attacked at an altitude of 60 feet (18.3 m), launching a torpedo at a range of 550 metres (1,804.5 ft). The torpedo bomber escaped unscathed in cloud cover, despite heavy anti-aircraft fire
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
and an attempted intercept by the escorting Ju 88. The torpedo hit Palatia in the starboard side, near her engine room. Palatia sank within half an hour of the torpedo attack, at 57°58.1′"N 07°14′"E.
Following the torpedo hit panic broke loose on board Palatia, with prisoners attempting to break out of the cargo holds. During the rescue work the crew of UJ 1704 prioritized saving Germans, to the extent that small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
were used against prisoners if they proved to be a hindrance for the rescue of Germans. Only prisoners on rafts or floating debris in the company of German survivors were retrieved. The rescue work was concluded at 1845hrs. In all only 78 prisoners and 108 Germans survived the sinking. After the incident the crew of Palatia was criticized in German reports for not having conducted the evacuation of the ship in an orderly manner, the sinking thus costing more German lives than might have been the case had the crew acted according to regulations.
The number of perished has been listed as 986 people, including 915 prisoners from the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. The incident was not reported in the censored press at the time.
For weeks after the sinking of Palatia large numbers of corpses floated ashore on the beaches of the Lista area. The bodies were collected and removed by the Germans. The sinking of Palatia is the second greatest ship disaster in Norwegian history
History of Norway
The history of human settlement in what is present day Norway goes back at least 11,000 years, to the late Paleolithic. Archaeological finds in the county of Møre og Romsdal have been dated to 9,200 BC and are probably the remains of settlers from Doggerland, an area now submerged in the North Sea,...
.
Post-war wreck discovery and memorial
During the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in EuropeVictory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
, the municipality of Lindesnes held a memorial service on 6 May 1995 in remembrance of the Palatia disaster. A exhibition with art and items relating to Palatia was also displayed.
The wreck was located in 1997, by the Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
underwater search and recovery vessel Tyr
HNoMS Tyr (N50)
HNoMS Tyr is a mine control vessel used for underwater search and recovery by the Royal Norwegian Navy.-History:Tyr was built at Voldnes Skipsverft in 1981 and was used as an offshore standby-ship in the North Sea under the name MS Sandby Master...
. A memorial was raised at Lindesnes and unveiled by King Harald V
Harald V of Norway
Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991...
of Norway on 21 September 1997. The memorial monument, titled Pax, was designed by sculptor Arne Vinje Gunnerud
Arne Vinje Gunnerud
Arne Vinje Gunnerud was a Norwegian sculptor.Among his works are the tree sculpture Midgardsormen from 1973, the bronze sculpture Vettløyse from 1978 , Fenrisulven vil bryte seg løs from 1980 , and Bacalhaujagt from 1996...
. Pax consists of a Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
in bronze with unfolded wings, on a platform of natural rock. The monument was built on the initiative of Sørlandet krigsminneforening (Southern Norway war memorial society) and Lindesnes municipality. A 986-strong choir, one singer for every life lost on the ship, sang at the unveiling of the monument.