SS Loreto (1912)
| History | |
|---|---|
| France, Italy | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Builder | Sunderland Shipbuilding Co, Sunderland |
| Yard number | 268 |
| Launched | 25 January 1912 |
| Completed | 1912 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk, 13 October 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 223.0 ft (68.0 m) |
| Beam | 33.0 ft (10.1 m) |
| Depth | 13.8 ft (4.2 m) |
| Installed power | 127 NHP |
| Propulsion | 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine; single screw |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h) |
SS Loreto, formerly Astrée, was a 1,069 GRT cargo steamship that was built in England in 1912 for French owners and bought in 1933 by Italian owners who renamed her Loreto. In 1942 a Royal Navy submarine sank her in the Tyrrhenian Sea, killing 130 British Indian Army prisoners of war who were aboard.
Building and career
[edit]The Sunderland Shipbuilding Company of Sunderland, County Durham built the ship in 1912 as Astrée for G Lamy et Compagnie of Caen, France. She was managed for G Lamy by the Société Navale Caennaise. In 1933 Italian owners bought her, renamed her Loreto and appointed Lauro Lines to manage her.[1] She passed through at least two individual owners[2][3][4] until by 1937 Lauro Lines itself owned the ship.[5]
The ship had a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine built by the North Eastern Marine Engineering Company of Newcastle.[3] It developed 127 NHP, drove a single screw[3] and gave the ship a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h).[1]
Loss
[edit]On 9 October the UK Government Code and Cypher School intercepted an enemy signal about Loreto and transmitted an Ultra warning:
"Loreto will sail from Tripoli at 9.00 a.m. of the 9th, speed 7 knots, and should arrive to Naples at 07.30 a.m. of the 13th. It will transport 350 POWs."[6]
On 13 October 1942 Loreto was in the Tyrrhenian Sea about 8 nautical miles (15 km) west of Capo Gallo, near Palermo, Sicily.[1] At 1732 hrs the British U-class submarine HMS Unruffled torpedoed and sank her, killing 130 British Indian Army POWs who were on the cargo ship.[6] Unruffled may not have received the signal, or she may not have identified Loreto before firing.
See also
[edit]- Sebastiano Veniero, an Italian merchant ship that a Royal Navy submarine sank in December 1941, killing at least 300 UK and Dominion PoWs.
- Nino Bixio, an Italian cargo ship that a Royal Navy submarine sank in August 1942, killing 336 UK, Dominion and Allied PoWs.
- Scillin, an Italian cargo ship that a Royal Navy submarine sank in November 1942, killing 830 Allied PoWs.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Vleeggert, Nico (12 March 2014). "SS Loreto (+1942)". WreckSite. wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1932. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ a b c Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1933. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1935. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships (PDF). London: Lloyd's Register. 1937. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ a b Greene & Massignani 1994, p. 183
Sources
[edit]- Greene, Jack; Massignani, Alessandro (1994). Rommel's North Africa Campaign: September 1940–November 1942. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group. p. 183. ISBN 1-58097-018-4.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1942 | |
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