page_title: HMHS Rewa
section_title: Sinking
hierarchical_section_title: HMHS Rewa / Sinking
caption_attribution_description: The sinking of the British Hospital Ship "Rewa". General Collections Keywords: naval and military, 20th century
context_page_description: HMHS Rewa was a steamship originally built for the British-India Steam Navigation Company for their mail and passenger service but requisitioned in August 1914 and fitted out for use as a British hospital ship during the First World War. On 4 January 1918, she was hit and sunk by a torpedo from the German U-boat U-55.
context_section_description: On 4 January 1918, Rewa was returning to Britain from Malta with 279 wounded officers aboard. Neutral inspectors from Spain had boarded the ship in Gibraltar to confirm that she had no military function. At 11:15, she was hit by a torpedo 19 mi (31 km) off Hartland Point. The ship took around two hours to sink, allowing all wounded and ship's crew to board lifeboats except for the four engine men who died in the initial explosion.
caption: The sinking of the British Hospital Ship Rewa
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