Sussex (French passenger ferry)

The Sussex was a cross-channel passenger ferry, which became the focus of an international incident when she was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in 1916.

"Sussex" was a twin-screw steamship of 1,353 tons; [Bridgeland, p81] originally British-owned, she was acquired by the French State Railway service in January 1914 [ [http://perso.orange.fr/saint-sevin/1916.htm villemoissons-sur-orge 1916] ] .

On 24 March 1916, while on passage from Folkestone, England, to Dieppe, France, she was irreperably damaged in a torpedo attack by the German U-Boat "UB-29". Although the forepart of the ship was completely destroyed, and many of the lifeboats were launched, she remained afloat and was eventually towed stern-first into Boulogne-sur-Mer harbour.

Approximately fifty lives were lost in the attack; a number of people were killed by the torpedo explosion, and others were drowned or died of exposure after abandoning the ship; reportedly, at least two of the lifeboats capsized. [Bridgeland, p82] The dead including the celebrated Spanish composer Enrique Granados and his wife. Although no US citizens were killed, the incident enraged public opinion in the United States of America, and caused a heated diplomatic exchange between the US and German governments. [Bridgeland, pp89-98] . In May 1916, Germany issued a declaration, the so-called Sussex pledge, which effectively represented the suspension of the "intensified" U-boat campaign. [ [http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1098.html Attack on the Sussex, March 24, 1916] ]

References

*Tony Bridgeland. "Outrage at Sea: Naval Atrocities in the First World War". Pen and Sword Books, 2002. ISBN 0-85052-877-1
*"Attack on the Sussex, March 24, 1916" - article at [http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1098.html U-S-History.com]
*French-language account at [http://perso.orange.fr/saint-sevin/1916.htm villemoissons-sur-orge 1916]

Notes