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{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
'''Mefkure''' was a motor ] chartered to carry ] refugees from ] to ], sailing under the ] and ] flags. On ], ], while crossing the ], it was ] by the ] ] ''SC 215'' and sunk, killing 345 people.<ref>, New York Times, August 17, 1944</ref>
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Monument to STRUMA and MEFKURE in Ashdod.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption= Monument to the vessels '']'' and ''Mefküre'' in ]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship flag=
|Ship name= MV ''Mefküre''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator= Jean D Pandelis<ref name=Wertheimer>{{cite web |url= http://www.wertheimer.info/family/GRAMPS/Haapalah/plc/2/7/bea98dbf1dc6d1a1772.html |title=מפקורה SS Mefküre Mafkura Mefkura |website=Haapalah Aliyah Bet Database|date=27 September 2011 |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched= 1929<ref name=WreckSite>{{cite web |url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?188063 |title=SV Mefkure (+1944) |last=Lettens |first=Jan |date=24 December 2012 |work=The Wreck Site |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= 5 August 1944<ref name=WreckSite/>
|Ship registry= {{flagicon|Turkey|civil}} Istanbul or ]<ref name=Warsailors>{{cite web |url= http://warsailors.com/forum/read.php?1,51090,51093 |last=Lawson |first=Siri Holm |work=Norwegian Merchant Fleet WW II |title=Re: Identity of MEFKURE sunk 1944. |publisher=Warsailors |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate= Sunk by Soviet submarine {{ship|Soviet submarine|Shch-215||2}}, 5 August 1944<ref name=WreckSite/>
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= motor ]<ref name=WreckSite/>
|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|52}}<ref name=Wertheimer/> or {{GRT|120}};<ref name=Warsailors/> {{NRT|40}}<ref name=Warsailors/>
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length= {{convert|35|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=Wertheimer/>
|Ship beam= {{convert|8|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=Wertheimer/>
|Ship draught=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*diesel engine of about 75 ];<ref name=Warsailors/>
*single screw
|Ship speed=*maximum {{convert|11.5|kn}};<ref name=Wertheimer/>
*cruising speed {{convert|9|kn}}<ref name=Wertheimer/>
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew= 7<ref name=Wertheimer/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
]

'''MV ''Mefküre''''' (often referred to as '''''Mefkura''''') was a Turkish wooden-hulled<ref name=Wertheimer/> motor ] chartered to carry ]ish ] refugees from ] to ], sailing under the ]<ref name=WreckSite/> and ] flags. On 5 August 1944 a ] sank her in the ] by ] and machine gun fire, killing more than 300 refugees.

==Final voyage and sinking==
On 3 August 1944 three small old merchant ships, overcrowded with about 1,000 Jewish refugees, left the Romanian port of ] at about 20:30 hrs. Sailing instructions from the German naval authorities were for ''Morina'' with 308 passengers to sail first, followed by ''Bulbul'' with 390 people, and lastly by ''Mefküre'' with 320 refugees (the exact number may be slightly different) on board. The vessels were ordered to sail from position 43°43'N 29°08'E strictly southward, which would lead them directly into the Bosphorus.<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|1991|loc=Document 17}}</ref> Armed ships of the ] escorted the convoy and provided signal flags to aid their passage from the harbour and through the mined area of the approaches.

On 5 August 1944, about 40 minutes after midnight ''Mefküre'' was about {{convert|25|mi}} northeast of ] in Turkey when flares from an unknown vessel illuminated her.<ref name=Wertheimer/> ''Mefküre'' failed to respond and carried on.<ref name=Wertheimer/> In the same night, at 02:00 hrs, the German ] at Cape ] in the Gulf of Burgas intercepted a radio signal of the Soviet {{sclass2|Shchuka|submarine}}, {{ship|Soviet submarine|Shch-215||2}}, with a bearing of 116 degrees. "This bearing crossed the course of ''Mefkure'' and the two Turkish vessels almost exactly at the area where ''Mefkure'' was sunk during that night."<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|1991|p=5}}</ref> The German historian Jürgen Rohwer claimed ''Shch-215'' as the vessel which then attacked.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5046.html |title=Shch-215 |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |date=1995–2013 |work=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref> ''Shch-215'' fired 90 rounds from her 45-mm guns and 650 rounds from her 7.62&nbsp;mm machine guns.<ref name=Deepstorm>{{cite web |url= http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/17-45/sh%20X/Sh-215/Sh-215.htm |last=Nikolaev |first=Aleksandr S |title=Щ-215, С-215 туп "Щ" X серии |work=Энциклопедия отечественного подводного флота |language=ru |access-date=27 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=fleet>{{cite web |url= http://flot.sevastopol.info/ship/podlodki/shya215.htm |script-title=ru:Подводная лодка "Щ-215" |work=Черноморский Флот информационный ресурс |language=ru |date=2000–2013 |access-date=27 March 2013}}</ref><ref name=Hurley>{{cite web |url= http://hurley.narod.ru/BOATS/sh215.htm |script-title=ru:Щ-215 |work=СОВЕТСКИЕ ПОДВОДНЫЕ ЛОДКИ |language=ru |date=23 April 2008 |access-date=27 March 2013}}</ref> ''Mefküre'' caught fire and sank. Her captain, Kazım Turan, and six of his crew escaped in the only available lifeboat, but only five of the refugees survived.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.karalahana.com/makaleler/tarih/karadenizde-batirilan-mefkure.htm |title=UNUTULMUŞ BİR TRAJEDİ: KARADENİZ'DE BATIRILAN MEFKÛRE-II |last=Danacioglu |first=Dr Esra |year=2012 |language=tr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915084546/http://karalahana.com/makaleler/tarih/karadenizde-batirilan-mefkure.htm |archive-date=2012-09-15 }}</ref> The number of refugees killed is unknown, but one estimate suggests it includes 37 children.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Hund2GMA/1944b.htm |title=Desastres Maritimos de la 2ª Guerra Mundial 1944 (Esta seccion sera traducida en breve) |work=Historia y Arqueologia Marítima Indice desastres... |publisher=Fundacion Histarmar |language=es |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref>

On 30 July 1944 submarine ''Shch-215'', under command of ] AI Strizhak, had departed from ], operating at the approaches off ]. This submarine, on the night of 5 August, claimed the sinking of a big ] with about 200 armed men aboard,<ref name=Deepstorm/><ref name=Hurley/> answering the attack with rifles and light machine guns, and in addition one ], possibly a life boat. ''Shch-215'' made the attack in position 42.00'N 28°42'E, at a distance of {{convert|19|nmi|lk=in}} westward from the ordered course of ''Mefküre''.

A fortnight after the sinking a JTA news report alleged that three German surface craft had sunk ''Mefküre''. The same report stated that ''Bulbul'' had been intercepted, too, but was allowed to proceed after identifying herself; at daybreak she rescued ''Mefküre''{{'}}s survivors.<ref name=JTA>{{cite news |url= http://www.jta.org/1944/08/22/archive/war-refugee-board-confirms-report-that-sinking-of-mefkure-by-germans-was-deliberate|title=War Refugee Board Confirms Report That Sinking of "Mefkure" by Germans Was Deliberate |agency=] |date=August 22, 1944 }}</ref> ''Bulbul'' continued to İğneada, whence her 395 refugees and the five surviving ''Mefküre'' refugees continued by road and rail to Istanbul. ''Morina'' also reached Turkey, and refugees from both ships continued overland to ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ofer |first=Dalia |title=Escaping the Holocaust: Illegal Immigration to the Land of Israel, 19391–944 |url=https://archive.org/details/escapingholocaus00ofer |url-access=limited |location=Oxford |publisher=] |year=1990 |isbn=0195063406 |pages=–266}}</ref>

==Memorials==
There are memorials to those killed aboard ''Mefküre'' at the ] Cemetery in the south of ] in Romania<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/holocaust/0179_Sinking_of_Mefkure.html |last=Leeson |first=Rosanne |title=The Sinking of the Mefkure |date=20 January 2009 |publisher=] |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref> and at ] in Israel.


==See also== ==See also==
*] *]
*]
*]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Albert |year=c. 1991 |title=The Mefkure Tragedy: an inquiry into the slayers' identity |edition=3rd revised |publisher=self-published |ref={{sfnref|Finkelstein|1991}}}} includes 19 documents and a list of 302 passengers (victims) of the ''Mefkure''
*{{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Albert |year=1993 |title=Tragedia "Mefkure": studiu asupra identităt̜ii asasinilor |publisher=A Finkelstein |isbn=2-9507-6970-5 }}
*{{cite book |last=Finkelstein |first=Albert |year=1997 |title=Etre ou ne pas naître: chronique de l'Holocauste en Roumanie |place=Paris |publisher=Etoile de la Pensée |isbn=2-214-10354-6 }}
*{{cite book |last=Rohwer |first=Jürgen |author-link=Jürgen Rohwer |title=Die Versenkung der jüdischen Flüchtlingstransporter Struma und Mefkure im Schwarzen Meer (Februar 1942, August 1944) |series= Schriften der Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Vol.4 |location=Frankfurt am Main |publisher=Bernard & Graefe. Verlag für Wehrwesen |year=1964 |language=de }}
*{{cite book |last=Rohwer |first=Jürgen |year=1986 |chapter=Jüdische Flüchtlingsschiffe im Schwarzen Meer (1934–1944) |editor-first=Ursula |editor-last=Büttner |title=Das Unrechtsregime |volume=2 |place=Hamburg |publisher=Christians Verlag |pages=1972–48 |isbn=3-7672-0963-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/dasunrechtsregim0000unse |url-access=limited }}


==External links== ==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Mefkure.htm |title=Mefkure –Definition |work=Zionism and Israel –Encyclopedic Dictionary}}
*
*{{cite web |url=http://www.turkishjews.com/struma/struma_tragedy.asp |last=Ozer |first=Ayfan |title=The Struma Tragedy |work=Turkish Jews |date=February 1992 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927145223/http://www.turkishjews.com/struma/struma_tragedy.asp |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}
*
*


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{{August 1944 shipwrecks}}


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Latest revision as of 14:25, 9 December 2024

Monument to the vessels Struma and Mefküre in Ashdod, Israel
History
NameMV Mefküre
OperatorJean D Pandelis
Port of registryTurkey Istanbul or Şile
Launched1929
Out of service5 August 1944
FateSunk by Soviet submarine Shch-215, 5 August 1944
General characteristics
Typemotor schooner
Tonnage52 GRT or 120 GRT; 40 NRT
Length35 m (115 ft)
Beam8 m (26 ft)
Propulsion
  • diesel engine of about 75 BHP;
  • single screw
Speed
  • maximum 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph);
  • cruising speed 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Crew7
Tel Aviv memorial plaque to Mefkure victims

MV Mefküre (often referred to as Mefkura) was a Turkish wooden-hulled motor schooner chartered to carry Jewish Holocaust refugees from Romania to Istanbul, sailing under the Turkish and Red Cross flags. On 5 August 1944 a Soviet submarine sank her in the Black Sea by cannon and machine gun fire, killing more than 300 refugees.

Final voyage and sinking

On 3 August 1944 three small old merchant ships, overcrowded with about 1,000 Jewish refugees, left the Romanian port of Constanța at about 20:30 hrs. Sailing instructions from the German naval authorities were for Morina with 308 passengers to sail first, followed by Bulbul with 390 people, and lastly by Mefküre with 320 refugees (the exact number may be slightly different) on board. The vessels were ordered to sail from position 43°43'N 29°08'E strictly southward, which would lead them directly into the Bosphorus. Armed ships of the Romanian Navy escorted the convoy and provided signal flags to aid their passage from the harbour and through the mined area of the approaches.

On 5 August 1944, about 40 minutes after midnight Mefküre was about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of İğneada in Turkey when flares from an unknown vessel illuminated her. Mefküre failed to respond and carried on. In the same night, at 02:00 hrs, the German radio direction-finding station at Cape Pomorie in the Gulf of Burgas intercepted a radio signal of the Soviet Shchuka-class submarine, Shch-215, with a bearing of 116 degrees. "This bearing crossed the course of Mefkure and the two Turkish vessels almost exactly at the area where Mefkure was sunk during that night." The German historian Jürgen Rohwer claimed Shch-215 as the vessel which then attacked. Shch-215 fired 90 rounds from her 45-mm guns and 650 rounds from her 7.62 mm machine guns. Mefküre caught fire and sank. Her captain, Kazım Turan, and six of his crew escaped in the only available lifeboat, but only five of the refugees survived. The number of refugees killed is unknown, but one estimate suggests it includes 37 children.

On 30 July 1944 submarine Shch-215, under command of Captain 3rd Rank AI Strizhak, had departed from Batum, operating at the approaches off Burgas. This submarine, on the night of 5 August, claimed the sinking of a big schooner with about 200 armed men aboard, answering the attack with rifles and light machine guns, and in addition one "barkass", possibly a life boat. Shch-215 made the attack in position 42.00'N 28°42'E, at a distance of 19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi) westward from the ordered course of Mefküre.

A fortnight after the sinking a JTA news report alleged that three German surface craft had sunk Mefküre. The same report stated that Bulbul had been intercepted, too, but was allowed to proceed after identifying herself; at daybreak she rescued Mefküre's survivors. Bulbul continued to İğneada, whence her 395 refugees and the five surviving Mefküre refugees continued by road and rail to Istanbul. Morina also reached Turkey, and refugees from both ships continued overland to Palestine.

Memorials

There are memorials to those killed aboard Mefküre at the Giurgiului Cemetery in the south of Bucharest in Romania and at Ashdod in Israel.

See also

References

  1. ^ "מפקורה SS Mefküre Mafkura Mefkura". Haapalah Aliyah Bet Database. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  2. ^ Lettens, Jan (24 December 2012). "SV Mefkure (+1944)". The Wreck Site. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  3. ^ Lawson, Siri Holm. "Re: Identity of MEFKURE sunk 1944". Norwegian Merchant Fleet WW II. Warsailors. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  4. Finkelstein 1991, Document 17
  5. Finkelstein 1991, p. 5
  6. Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). "Shch-215". uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  7. ^ Nikolaev, Aleksandr S. "Щ-215, С-215 туп "Щ" X серии". Энциклопедия отечественного подводного флота (in Russian). Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  8. Подводная лодка "Щ-215". Черноморский Флот информационный ресурс (in Russian). 2000–2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  9. ^ Щ-215. СОВЕТСКИЕ ПОДВОДНЫЕ ЛОДКИ (in Russian). 23 April 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  10. Danacioglu, Dr Esra (2012). "UNUTULMUŞ BİR TRAJEDİ: KARADENİZ'DE BATIRILAN MEFKÛRE-II" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2012-09-15.
  11. "Desastres Maritimos de la 2ª Guerra Mundial 1944 (Esta seccion sera traducida en breve)". Historia y Arqueologia Marítima Indice desastres... (in Spanish). Fundacion Histarmar. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  12. "War Refugee Board Confirms Report That Sinking of "Mefkure" by Germans Was Deliberate". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 22, 1944.
  13. Ofer, Dalia (1990). Escaping the Holocaust: Illegal Immigration to the Land of Israel, 19391–944. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 260–266. ISBN 0195063406.
  14. Leeson, Rosanne (20 January 2009). "The Sinking of the Mefkure". JewishGen. Retrieved 26 March 2013.

Further reading

  • Finkelstein, Albert (c. 1991). The Mefkure Tragedy: an inquiry into the slayers' identity (3rd revised ed.). self-published. includes 19 documents and a list of 302 passengers (victims) of the Mefkure
  • Finkelstein, Albert (1993). Tragedia "Mefkure": studiu asupra identităt̜ii asasinilor. A Finkelstein. ISBN 2-9507-6970-5.
  • Finkelstein, Albert (1997). Etre ou ne pas naître: chronique de l'Holocauste en Roumanie. Paris: Etoile de la Pensée. ISBN 2-214-10354-6.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (1964). Die Versenkung der jüdischen Flüchtlingstransporter Struma und Mefkure im Schwarzen Meer (Februar 1942, August 1944). Schriften der Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Vol.4 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Bernard & Graefe. Verlag für Wehrwesen.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (1986). "Jüdische Flüchtlingsschiffe im Schwarzen Meer (1934–1944)". In Büttner, Ursula (ed.). Das Unrechtsregime. Vol. 2. Hamburg: Christians Verlag. pp. 1972–48. ISBN 3-7672-0963-2.

External links

42°03′N 30°20′E / 42.050°N 30.333°E / 42.050; 30.333

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1944
Shipwrecks
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1943 1944 1945
July 1944 September 1944
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