SS Tembien

Tembien was a two-deck steel-built, oil-driven cargo vessel. She had a gross register tonnage of 5,584 and measured {{convert|417|ft}} in length, {{convert|32|ft|2|in}} in width and {{convert|27|ft|5|in}} in depth. She was built by the Rickmers Group in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1914. Her 500–nominal horsepower engines were made by AG Weser of Bremen. During her career she sailed under the names Mouni, Milluna, Nwc.No.3, Franziska, Mabel, Syd.No.2 and Mabel Rickmers. By the Second World War she was in service as Tembien for the Italian Ignazio Messina company and was based out of Genoa.{{cite book |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1942 Steamers |date=1 January 1942 |publisher=Lloyd's Register |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T1KZEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}

Tembien left Trapani, Italy, for Tripoli, Libya on 16 February 1942, escorted by the destroyer {{ship|Italian destroyer|Saetta||2}} and arriving two days later. This journey went un-hindered by the Allies as Enigma decryptions (so-called Ultra intelligence) recorded only a convoy of unknown composition, and details of its position arrived too late for an attack to be made.{{cite book |last1=O'Hara |first1=Vincent |title=Six Victories: North Africa, Malta, and the Traffic War, November 1941–March 1942 |date=15 October 2019 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-68247-476-1 |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Je22DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}

On 27 February 1942 Tembien, having left Tripoli, was sailing around {{convert|25|mi}} to the west of the city, carrying 468 Allied prisoners of war from the North African campaign to Italy.{{cite book |last1=Wynn |first1=Stephen |title=HMS Turbulent |date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Pen and Sword Maritime |isbn=978-1-5267-3629-1 |pages=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQetEAAAQBAJ |language=en}} Although the wounded were often transported in hospital ships, which granted protective status, the Axis often transported unwounded prisoners in unmarked cargo vessels which made them indistinguishable from legitimate targets.{{cite book |title=Prisoners of War: Europe: 1939-1955 |date=5 May 2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-884039-8 |page=137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKJnEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}

Tembien was spotted by Lieutenant Commander David Wanklyn's submarine {{HMS|Upholder|P37|6}}. Two of Wanklyn's torpedoes struck the Tembien, causing her to sink and leading to the deaths of between 390 and 419 prisoners, 68 Italian crew members and 10 German guards. The route and manifest of the Tembien were known to the British through Ultra decryptions so it is not known why she was allowed to be attacked.{{cite book |last1=Sadkovich |first1=James J. |title=The Italian Navy in World War II |date=1994 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-28797-8 |page=234 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ngFnAAAAMAAJ |language=en}} One possibility is that to allow all prisoner-of-war ships safe passage on the basis of decrypted information would have alerted the Axis powers that the British had broken the Enigma codes.{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Bob |title=Prisoners of War: Europe: 1939-1956 |date=14 April 2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-257680-4 |page=137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KL9qEAAAQBAJ |language=en}} Sinkings of prisoner-of-war vessels decreased significantly later in 1942, suggesting a shift in policy.{{cite book |last1=Clayton |first1=Tim |title=Sea Wolves: The Extraordinary Story of Britain's WW2 Submarines |date=7 July 2011 |publisher=Little, Brown Book Group |isbn=978-0-7481-1936-3 |page=191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agxjTONldMEC |language=en}}

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{{February 1942 shipwrecks}}

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Category:1914 ships

Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)

Category:Maritime incidents in February 1942

Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea

Category:World War II merchant ships of Italy