| SS Loreto (1912) | |
|---|---|
| Career (France, Italy) | |
| Name: |
Astrée (1912–33) Loreto (1933–42) |
| Owner: |
G Lamy & Cie, Caen (1912–33) Giovanni Longobardo (1933–34) Giuseppe Parisi (1935) Achille Lauro (1937–42) |
| Operator: |
Société Navale Caennaise (1912–33) Lauro Lines (1933–42) |
| Port of registry: |
 Caen Naples |
| Builder: | Sunderland Shipbuilding Co, Sunderland |
| Yard number: | 268 |
| Completed: | 1912 |
| Identification: |
Italian official number 390     |
| Fate: | sunk by torpedo, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: |
1,069 GRT tonnage under deck 864 427 NRT |
| 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[]
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[]
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 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[]
- 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[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Vleeggert, Nico (12 March 2014). "SS Loreto (+1942)". WreckSite. wrecksite.eu. http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?156598. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1932. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=32b1049.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1933. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=33b0539.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1935. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=35b0504.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motor Ships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1937. http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=37b0535.pdf. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Greene & Massignani 1994, p. 183
Sources[]
- 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. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=p1ejC-gHzAcC&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=Loreto+%22prisoners+of+war%22&source=bl&ots=v_CA8XqejD&sig=1bTb8tyfw0WHq6DKchxNUxLtWuE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=89YeVOe3O6-S7Ab63IHwCg&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Loreto%20%22prisoners%20of%20war%22&f=false.
The original article can be found at SS Loreto (1912) and the edit history here.