SS Linz

SS Linz.
History
Austria-Hungary
Name	Linz
Owner	Lloyd Austriaco
Port of registry	Trieste, Italy
Builder	Lloyd Austriaco
Yard number	116
Launched	20 April 1909
Completed	1909
Fate	Struck a mine and sunk 19 March 1918
General characteristics
Type	Ocean Liner
Tonnage	3,819 GRT
Length	105 metres (344 ft 6 in)
Beam	13.3 metres (43 ft 8 in)
Depth	9.8 metres (32 ft 2 in)
Installed power	Triple expansion steam engine
Propulsion	Screw propeller
Speed	12.5 knots
Capacity	1003 passengers and crew

SS Linz was an Austro-Hungarian Ocean Liner that hit a mine in the Adriatic Sea 4 miles northwest of the Cape of Rodon, while she was travelling from Fiume, Croatia to Durazzo, Albania under command of Captain Tonello Hugo.

Construction

Linz was constructed in 1909 at the Lloyd Austriaco shipyard in Trieste, Italy. She was requisitioned by the Austro-Hungarian Navy and used to transport troops and prisoners on Albanian routes.

The ship was 105 metres (344 ft 6 in) long, with a beam of 13.3 metres (43 ft 8 in) and a depth of 9.8 metres (32 ft 2 in). The ship was assessed at 3,819 GRT. She had a triple-expansion steam engine driving a single propeller and the engine was rated at 390 nhp (291 kW).

Sinking

Linz was sunk on 19 March 1918. Linz was on a voyage from Fiume in what is now Croatia, to Durazzo in what is now Albania, escorted by three Austro-Hungarian Navy ships – the Tátra-class destroyer SMS Balaton and the torpedo boats SMS Tb-74 and SMS Tb-98. The ship officially had 1,003 passengers on board, of which 413 were Italian prisoners-of-war being transported to labour camps in Albania. After a stop in the port of Zelenika, Linz hit a mine – although witnesses claimed to have seen a torpedo wake – at 00:25 hours and sank 20 minutes later, 4 nautical miles (7.4 kilometres) northwest of Cape Rodonit in the Adriatic Sea. A total of 697 passengers and crew died, including 283 Italian prisoners-of-war and an International Red Cross nurse. Balaton and the two torpedo boats saved 306 passengers and crew. An enemy submarine unsuccessfully attacked Tb-98.

References

• Russell, Gareth (November 3, 2020). The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era. 9781501176739. - Total pages: 448
• wrecksite (2022). "SS Linz (+1918)". wrecksite.eu. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
• Silvia (10 October 2013). "Piroscafo LINZ, 19 Marzo 1918" (in Italian). pietrigrandeguerra.it. Retrieved February 20, 2022.