SS Sussex was a cross-Channel passenger ferry, built in 1896 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). After the LBSCR came to a co-operation agreement with the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'État Français, she transferred to their fleet under a French flag. Sussex became the focus of an international incident when she was severely damaged by a torpedo from a German U-boat in 1916 and at least 50 passengers died. After the war she was repaired and sold to Greece in 1919, being renamed Aghia Sophia. Following a fire in 1921, the ship was scrapped.
Description and construction
Built in 1896 by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton at a cost of UK£60,016 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company, with some participation of the French Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest (CF de l'Ouest) which had been operating the Newhaven-Dieppe service jointly since 1863.[1][2] Sussex was an almost exact replacement of the 1893-built Seaford, which sank in 1895 after collision with another LBSCR vessel, the cargo ship Lyon; in the light of that sinking, an extra watertight bulkhead was incorporated.[1]