Africa (steamer)

Characteristics and activities of the ship

The Africa was a steamer mixed, i.e. intended to transport passengers and goods. The construction of this ship was entrusted to the English building sites Sawn Hunter and Wigam Richarson of Newcastle upon the Tyne where it is launched on November 21st, 1907.

Its length is of 119,17 meters, its width of 14,75 meters; Hollow 7,50 meters; the draft is of 6,46 meters with a port into heavy of: 7832 tons; its gross tonnage is of: 5406 barrel X, that clear of: 2889 barrels.

The ship is partitioned in fourteen tight compartments. Side Veritas (first dimension), it, of course, is followed by this Société of classification.

For its propulsion it has two steam engines with developing triple expansion: 7200 horses, actuating two propellers. The vapor is obtained by six cylindrical boilers (for the machines and the auxiliaries).
Cruising speed (of exploitation) is from 12 to 13 node S but 17,5 nodes are reached during the speed trials carried out on April 14th, 1908.

The Africa can transport 79 passengers in First class, 68 in second and 80 in third class but it can also take on board passengers of tween deck. For the first class, there are two types of cabins: “of luxury” or “semi-luxury”.

This ship as served during all the First World War with one of its two chimneys painted in yellow to make believe as it belonged to a Belgian company which (at the time) repatriated soldiers German S (in truth it brought colonial troops and material to help the France to gain the war of distinct).

Its line of cruising was the axis Bordeaux - Dakar - Tenerife but its register mentioned just the last port touched before the date of entry in Bordeaux and for the exits, the first ports of calls, does not refer to many the port of French Western Africa to where the steamer forwarded its goods.

Let us note that there was three different named boats Africa controlled by other maritime company: two cargo liners (of which one was torpedoed in the night from August 3rd to 4th 1917, fortunately without any victim) and of a Chalutier which acted as “ taxi ” for America.

Ordering ship: Who had Antoine and his crew

Born on August 27th, 1877 with Paimpol, Antoine is 43 years old when one entrusts in January 1920 to him the command of the Africa . As of 17 years, he wants to be a sailor; its first loading on a Four-master (the Northern ) dated September 29th, 1894. Follows after a long list of more or less important ships, it will be even officer on the majority of them.

The crew, as for him, is composed of 135 men of crew including three foams. Young person, Emile Menou, 14 years old will perish at the time of the shipwreck whereas it was its first (and unfortunately its last) loading.

Passengers and loading at the time of the drama

The exact number of passengers, embarked before the shipwreck, remained a long time dubious with all the African soldiers, the third classes, the black workers… but it is known from now on that it rose (any confused class) with 602 passengers including 28 nonAfrican soldiers, 192 Tirailleur S Indigène S, ten civil natives known as of the “ laptots ”, 106 people of first class (children included/understood which was 19), 67 others of second class and 81 of third class of which some were piled up on the tween deck with the “ laptots ”. It should be noted that two passengers (Misters Brigou and Mérigault) had not embarked contrary to M and Mrs. Arnaudet and their two children who would have embarked at the last minute on the steamer.

Only 34 people (1 passenger and 33 team members) will return from this tour.

These passengers are not to in no case tourists one finds there ten monk, much soldiers, civils servant of high ranking and their subordinates, tradesmen, representatives of large industrial subsidiary companies come to invest in Africa but also of young wives, sometimes accompanied by their children, joining their husbands.

Let us not forget that the Africa was a cargo and passenger ship which transported also cargo. This loading would have risen with five hundred tons of “ divers ” mainly of the postal Parcels, the manufactured goods, the champagne… the trunk of edge would have contained 20 franc million in tickets for various auxiliary companies and the legend would like that one of the member of the clergy present on the boat led gold with him (entrusted by the pope) to build a cathedral in Dakar.

Shipwreck

January 10th, 1920 towards 10:00 or 11:00 (the reports/ratios diverge and one does not know the true hour yet) of water is engulfed in the fixes boiler room without have manages it to determine the place of the crack, the head mechanic Gaston Bellanger warns the commander and asks him to adopt a more favorable pace to decrease Roulis and Tangage. The commander accepts and slows down his pace, at this time nobody cannot accept an important water way especially that the pumps are activated. The night fall, the temperature drops quickly and the sea grows hollow. More important still, water in the boiler rooms could not be pumped and increased even a little, the holds machines are put in communication with the ballast in order to be able to pump since this ballast. Another element comes a little more to be sharp with this slow descent into Hell. Indeed the boilers had been cleaned for the departure of Africa and the filth should have been gone up on the bridge to be then thrown to the sea but that had not been done (one did not have to shock the passengers of 1st class by the horrible vision of filth on the bridge). Filth thus stored close to the boiler rooms " baladant" with rolling ends up reversing itself on the ground, stopping the pumps consequently occasion, pumps which were useless since it pumped the water of the cooling system which was useful for the boiler rooms.

It is a disaster. The pumps are stopped and the men present on the spot cannot hold upright because of the filth which soils the parquet floor but they continue to pump them-even to it water by their clean means (the water rise was rather slow).

Outside the wind becomes increasingly strong, the storm watches for. The commander Dù brings together his officers and puts agreement with them quickly, it is thus decided to travel towards Pallice. A first radio message is sent the 11 as of 0:05 bound for the company of the brought together Chargers announcing that Africa following damages and at the heavy weather was going to travel on Bordeaux or Pallice (the choice of the port of slackening was however well decided before). The ship is at this time with 70 miles in the S 70 W (250°) of Coubre, the plate of Rochebonne is under the wind with surroundings 55 miles in the NR 15th but nobody on board must think of it at this time.

To gain the port of slackening (Pallice thus), the road is with the NR 50 E. It is necessary thus to transfer edge this operation is ordered at once the decision taken. The bars is put on the left to come on Bâbord but the ship misses stays, speed is too weak, one thus carries out a second test on Tribord while using bars and driving, driving port side to ahead support the operation at once after this second attempt the Servomoteur stops functioning making them miss the operation once again. The servo-motor restarts and several successive operations are tried to give the ship on the road of Pallice. These tests proved to be vain the boat each time fell down through to the sea, wind and sea of the port side part thus brings back Korea (second of the commander). The second captain notes then that the ship leans a little more still (undoubtedly with starboard although nobody confirmed it). The storm was transformed into Ouragan.

The machine starboard is with water, notes the second lieutenant it is very difficult to make it turn and that of port side goes only in reduced pace being given the little of pressure provided by three boilers and a difficult heating. In spite of these problems the Africa holds the course between the North-West of the compass and north, it does not control any more through with the wind.

At seven o'clock in the morning, on January 11th, Who had Antoine, ordering of Africa announces situation in which it is and asks help by TSF. This request is received at once, as well with Rochefort as in Bordeaux, and he is requested from two tug boats of the National marine based in Rochefort (the Cèdre and the Victoire ) to prepare to install to help the Africa they are right only of small units more Remorqueur S of port that of sea.

It should be noted that all communications with the ships " sauveteurs" and the ground will be done from now on in Morse. The same year (1920) the communication in phone (by the word) will be possible but none the ships (disabled as well as rescuers) is equipped with this system.

As of 8:30 a ship will appear the Ceylon larger than the Africa and more powerful speed question, it was built the same year as the Africa by the same building site, and belongs to the same company (brought together Chargers). The Ceylon was a postal cargo liner, it had left Bordeaux on January 10th to go in South America. It thus presented to the outlet of the master keys the Bad ones towards 5:30, with about the same conditions height of tide as the Africa but with the wind in the back. Less 2:00 after the Africa informed the company which it required an immediate assistance, he is diverted towards the position of the ship in distress.

The passengers during this time are practically all sick one their gives drugs to try to make them pass sea sickness to them , the drugs do not have any effect and plunge the passengers in a state second. Only some had to realize of the catastrophe which was in hand by listening to the bits of the crew and the return tickets of the mechanics pumping water. The passengers did not perhaps even perceive the changes of pace and course.

January 11th with 14:00, bad news once more, the commander of the Africa has just learned that the two tug boats ( Cèdre and Victoire ) could not exceed the island-in Aix because of the bad weather. Towards 15:30 the Ceylon announces its arrival with the steamer Africa . Towards 16:00 the Ceylon proposes with the Africa to tow it but the commander of the Africa answers him that it is impossible to carry out this operation and just asks him to escort it, the Ceylon accepts and the Africa painfully tries to still go back on the way with only one machine in operating condition. It is 15:00, at this time the plate of Rochebonne is with 17 miles in the 53° and the lightship (automatic buoy which will play a part in this drama) with a score of miles in the 57°.

Towards 18:00 the last machine moving (machine port side) slows down and stops for lack of pressure. The drivers have water to the belly and the provisioning of coal is almost impossible. The Africa is again abused by the wind and derives to approximately 7 to 8 miles from the lightship from Rochebonne. Finally, after several tests to start again the machine port side, the engine room is abandoned with 20:00. Towards 21:30 the Africa announces that it will be obliged to stop its Dynamo, its light dies out and it cannot operate any more but with its apparatus of help. While continuing to go up, water invaded all the machines and the boiler room but not the other compartments isolated by watertight bulkheads. The Ceylon is always in the surroundings but the private Africa of electricity cannot be any more seen by the Ceylon which had moved away to avoid a Abordage and to run up against the shallow waters of Rochebonne of full whip. The Africa drift slowly towards the lightship of Rochebonne.

The radio operator of the steamer still functions using the spare batteries but is however not used. And sudden on January 11th with 22:00 the boat very runs up against blow the lightship by starboard in front of and by through hold n°2 but the buoy does not stop there and continues to run up against several times the ship and was released only at the end of 7 to 8 minutes. Immediately the crew notes a strong water way in installations of the 3rd classes, they does not arrive at the butcher and makes evacuate all the passengers and the personnel by closing the tight doors of these various compartments, the operation is finished with 23:30 approximately. To note that all the passengers received the order to put their life jackets as of 20:00.

At midnight the commander decides that it is time to launch the life rafts to the sea. It is decided that one would launch in first the boats of port side. Boat 6 cannot be launched, boats 4 and 2 are thus launched with 2 men of crew by boat but hardly the passengers ready to go down towards the boats that those are projected in the sea with the men of crew. He was time maintaining to launch the boats of starboard boat 1 is launched but nobody can take seat inside, boat 3 is not carried him also with some men on his board he does not remain any more but the boat 5 which transports two Second Master S of the Navy, a civil passenger (only the civil survivor) and two other team members but also the second lieutenant, a foam and the boatswain . The majority of the passengers, patients and frightened, did not want to climb on board lifeboats. Only some Senegalese Tirailleurs will take seat on board the rafts which were not put yet at floods. In any event even if the passengers had wanted to embark in the boats, there would not have been enough place, indeed it were only 6 whale-boats (lifeboats of the time), 7th had been carried at the time of the storm, there thus remained only 2 or 3 rafts for the 602 people on board.

The crew is not blâmable in these circumstances, they did everything to force the passengers to embark and are assembled in the boats only at the last minute. The commander Dû remained at his station until the end and forever left his ship contrary to the assumptions put forth about it. Its last action is to have made assemble the passengers on the bridge of the crew (the culminating point of the ship) and to have awaited peacefully the sea which absorbed its ship.

Assessment

There were only 34 survivors out of the 602 people on board, those are the 12 men of the whale-boats 5 (which transports also the only civil one surviving) which will accost with Saint-Vincent-on-Jard and the 23 others having been fished out by the Ceylon , 9 men will be fished out in a whale-boat and 13 Senegalese on a raft, one of them (Mamadou Diaye) will not die on the bridge of the ship rescuer.

It should be also stated that the civil passenger (Jean-Georges Métayer, 3rd class), after having joined the dry land instead of following his fellow-citizens for a interrogation of the authorities in connection with the shipwreck, will join Bordeaux and give his version of the facts to the newspaper the Small Gironde but its version was not published.

Some bodies will be fished out by boats run on the spot of the shipwreck, 12 will be fished out by the Hippopotame and 5 bodies by the Cèdre , it are all that these boats will find on the spot of the disaster.

3 to 4 days later all the Garde-côtes will be mobilized to seek the bodies (failing itself or drifting near to the coast). On Wednesday, January 14 a Dirigeable of the Defense of Rochefort announced a certain number of bodies between Grouin of the Neck (the Section-on-Sea) and the Barges. Three submarine chasers will be also sent in the close zones, the hunter n°17 will find bodies. A raft in good state was also found on the coast with on its board 2 shoes, 3 life belts and 2 cover-chiefs. A boat will be also found in trimmings but the first bodies réapparaîtont not before at least 1 month, the majority being terribly mutilated will not be recognized and will finish in the common grave. Some only will be recognized by personal objects (like the commander Whom had by its alliance with its name above) of others will be also found in fishing nets. But of people not having any scruple will not hesitate to strip the corpses of their goods.

The nautical investigation and the Africa in the policy

After the first two bâclées investigations and quickly forgotten clearing the company of the brought together Chargers, a third will make surface 12 years after the drama, pouring a few million francs only to the most fortunate families. The company of the brought together Chargers was shown not to have put sufficient lifeboats on the steamer and not to have maintained it enough (water way). Despite everything, the company will be of new cleared time and even some victims (3rd classes especially) will be obliged to pay Damages towards the company.

The track of the charge of the company being quickly dissipated (in spite of some controls of the company badly carried out towards the Africa ), the victims' families will then attack the crew, which will be cleared him also: indeed people thought that the crew was perfectly inefficient whereas the 3/4 of the crew knew their ship well (some even had sailed above for soon 10 years).

On the political plan, the Africa will be used as attack for the deputies of left (France is in full presidential election at the time of the drama) showing the line to have bleached the company of the brought together Chargers. The idea of creation of a unit of rescue at sea will be initially considered then quickly abandoned fault of means.

Africa forgotten of all

Three months after the disaster, nobody spoke any more Africa, with share the inhabitants of the Vendean coast. It is however the greatest French maritime catastrophe, it does not exist any commemoration of this event, which has occurred 2 years after the end of the First World War which had done so many deaths, this catastrophe will seem tiny. Moreover, occurred in at the same time as the elections, the majority of the newspapers were satisfied just a half paragraph concerning the Africa , stuck between two pages of claims copying from the others and giving idea distorts it that the steamer had been crushed against the plate of Rochebonne. There exists any commemorative plaque, no vault, only some old women Tombe S still point out the disaster.

In 1990, the Ivory Coast created a stamp with the effigy of the Africa , that remains well little but it is well the only mark of remembering for the moment.

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