SS Karnak was a French Passenger ship turned Troop transport that the German submarine SM U-32 torpedoed on 27 November 1916 in the Mediterranean Sea 70nmi south south east of Valletta, Malta. Karnak was carrying mostly troops from Marseille and Malta to Saloniki, Greece.[1]
Karnak was built at the Messageries Maritimes shipyard in La Ciotat, France in 1898. Where she was launched and completed the following year. The ship was 142m (466feet) long, had a beam of 15.5m (50.9feet) and had a depth of 11m (36feet). She was assessed at and had 2 x 3 cyl. triple expansion engines driving two screw propellers. The ship could reach a maximum speed of 18 knots with her 20 boilers generating 832 n.h.p.. She also had 2 funnels and a white hull which was later repainted to black.[2]
During World War I Karnak was used as a Troop transport by the French admiralty mainly on the route Marseille - Malta - Saloniki. It was during a voyage from Malta to Saloniki, Greece when the with troops crowded Karnak was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine SM U-32 on 27 November 1916, 70nmi south south east of Valletta, Malta. The ship sank in 15 minutes and claimed the lives of 17 people, but the number of survivors is unknown.[2]
The wreck of Karnak lies at (35.1167°N 40°W).[1]