SS Linz

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).

Linz was sunk on 19 March 1918.[1][2][A 2] 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.[3] An enemy submarine unsuccessfully attacked Tb-98.[1]

• 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.