The SS Olivia was built in 1910 by the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Wallsend, England. Initially, the ship was designed to serve on the Liverpool-Australia route, but over the years, it changed hands several times, eventually coming under the ownership of the British-India Steam Navigation Company. At the outbreak of World War II, the SS Olivia was converted into a troop ship, playing a critical role in transporting soldiers and supplies.
The German U-boat U-38 continued to operate in the area, sinking more ships before eventually being scuttled in May 1945 as Allied forces closed in on Germany. ss olivia 2 dqyqt mp4 top
The sinking of the SS Olivia resulted in one of the most significant loss of life incidents of the war. Of the 1,572 people on board, only 488 survived. The survivors were rescued by nearby ships that received the distress calls. The SS Olivia's sinking was a major blow, not only due to the loss of life but also because of the strategic importance of the troops and supplies that were on board. The SS Olivia was built in 1910 by
On July 5, 1940, the SS Olivia set sail from Suez, bound for Freetown in Sierra Leone, with a crew of 392 and 1,180 passengers on board. The majority of the passengers were British soldiers, along with some civilians and Italian prisoners of war. The ship was headed to the Cape of Good Hope, where it would join a convoy to continue its journey to England. The German U-boat U-38 continued to operate in
The crew managed to send out distress signals before the situation rapidly deteriorated. Despite efforts to save the ship, the SS Olivia began to list severely and eventually sank just over an hour after the torpedo strike, at approximately 12:10 PM. The sinking occurred about 300 miles southeast of Port Elizabeth, South Africa.