Construction of the ship started on 25 July 1914 in Dunkirk, but was halted when the city was bombed during the
First Battle of Ypres. The ship was towed to
Saint Nazaire, where it was completed as a
troopship and not, as intended, as a passenger ship. Measuring 12,644
gross register tons, the ship was long, with a beam of . Her speed was . Her first voyage was to China, leaving on 28 November 1915. Her second was between 29 October and 26 December 1916 from Marseille to Yokohama and back. At 12:27 on 17 February 1917, during her third voyage,
Athos was torpedoed by the German submarine commanded by
Hermann von Fischel, while
east by south of
Malta. Aboard
Athos were 1,950 people, including the crew,
Chinese Labour Corps, a large continent of
Senegalese Tirailleurs soldiers, and civilian passengers, including women and children. The ship sank in 14 minutes taking with her 754 people, including the captain and 11 crew members. The survivors were picked up by the escort ships
Enseigne Henry and Mameluck, as well as the gunboat
Moqueuse and the torpedo-boat
Baliste. ==References==