wreck rap Text by Cesare Balzi Photos by Michele Favaron and Mauro Pazzi Translation by Peter Symes Edited by Catherine GS Lim In the Bay of Vlora (Valona), Albania, rest- ing at a depth of 35m, lies one of the largest and most impressive wrecks in the whole Adriatic, that of the Italian hospital ship Po, sunk by British torpedo bombers on 14 March 1941. In the darkness of the night, the attacking pilots were not aware that the ship was a hospital ship. In the attack that ensued, 21 on board the The Italian ship died, including three nurses; one of whom was Mussolini’s daughter, Edda Ciano, who was working Hospital Ship Po for the Red Cross. MAURO PAZZI The background Expedition in Albanian waters. The out there so many years ago. “The Ciano Mussolini, the daughter and wounded during the Second co, quite close to the coast. Thus, I am on the coast of the Bay of window of our hotel room over- Countess shipwrecked right on this of the Italian dictator who was World War. it would be possible the following Valona, together with Massimil- looks the nearby beach; and as beach,” an Albanian friend tells travelling on the hospital ship Po The Po arrived in the bay of Va- day to transfer the wounded on iano Canossa, Michele Favaron, my gaze wanders across the bay, me. “Italian soldiers arrived, they as a Red Cross nurse. The Po was lona on the evening of 14 March board to ambulances and trucks Edoardo Pavia, Mauro Pazzi and I cannot help but imagine the got her into a truck and took her one of the 22 white ships used 1941 and moored about a mile from the barracks of military hospi- Igli Pustina for the third IANTD historical hospital ship Po sitting away." The countess was Edda to repatriate sick, shipwrecked from the mouth of the River Sec- tal no. 403, which was located on 8 X-RAY MAG : 83 : 2018 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO wreck rap Historical photos of Po (top and left), which served as a hospital ship in WWI and WWII; Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers (top center) with HMS Ark Royal (far left) circa 1939 the hill behind us. By order of the During the ensuing turmoil, a Command of Marina di Valona, lifeboat capsized, drowning two the hospital ship was not illuminat- Red Cross nurses while a third lost ed by light during the night, as the her life trying to save them. Ten lights would have made it possible minutes after the torpedo struck, for British reconnaissance planes the ship sank, leaving only the to identify the other ships moored main mast, which for years indi- in the bay. cated the exact point of sinking, of eight boilers and two engines based at Pula at the tip of the Shortly after 11 o'clock that above water. which could propel the vessel at Istrian Peninsula, where she was evening, five British torpedo air- the decent speed of 17 knots. used as a barracks ship for the planes from a base on the Greek Wien, Vienna, Po. U-boat crews of the Kaiserliche island of Paramythia made it The ship was launched on 4 World War I Marine base in the Istrian port. across the Karaburuni Peninsula March 1911 by the Lloyd Austrian On 16 February 1916, after the On the night between 31 Oc- mountain range on the other side shipyard in Trieste, then part of outbreak of the First World War, it tober and 1 November 1918, the of the bay of Valona without be- the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was requisitioned by the Kaiserli- Wien, moored inside the port of ing intercepted. and named Wien (Vienna) for che und Königliche Kriegsmarine, Pula, became the target in an as- As it reached the sea, a torpe- the Austrian capital. Like her sister the Hapsburg Navy, and trans- sault by the Italian Royal Navy. UK GOVERNMENT / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / PUBLIC DOMAIN do was unleashed from a Sword- ship, the Helouan, the Wien was a formed into a hospital ship. In this Two special forces officers, fish torpedo bomber under the luxurious and fast steamer of 7,289 capacity, it was used for a few Raffaele Rossetti and Raffaele bus Unitis, an Austro-Hungarian did not reveal that he had placed command of Lieutenant Michael gross tons, 135m long and 16m months until, on 29 June 1916, she Paolucci, using an underwater dreadnought battleship, of the mines on the hull. Torrens-Spence. It hit the hospital wide. It was used for passenger ran aground and damaged her vehicle called mignatta, which Tegetthoff class. When the mines exploded, ship on the starboard side. In the transport on the route from Trieste propellers, after which she was re- was akin to riding a torpedo, After placing mines on the bat- the Viribus Unitis capsized and matter of a few minutes, the Po to Alexandria in Egypt. It had cab- turned to her owners, the Austrian managed to make their way tleship, Rosetti was discovered sank with heavy loss of life. After began to tilt, so the order was giv- ins for 185 first-class passengers, Lloyd for repairs. past the barriers and obstructions and captured. He informed his placing the charges, the manned en to abandon ship and launch 61 in second class and 54 in third On 7 December 1917, she was protecting the port and used captors that the ship was about torpedo was scuttled, activating the lifeboats. class. The engine system consisted requisitioned once more and limpet mines to sink the SMS Viri- to sink but was not believed as he its self-destruction mechanism. 9 X-RAY MAG : 83 : 2018 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO wreck rap Po THIS PAGE: Interior and exterior views of the wreck of the Italien hospital ship Po, Valona Bay, Albania MAURO PAZZI MAURO PAZZI Before exploding, the manned classified not as a hospital ship but tablished by the Geneva Conven- torpedo had come to rest near as some sort of intermediary infir- tion: white hull and superstructure, the Wien, and its explosion mary ship. The Italian government green belt interrupted by red caused the steamer to sink. wanted to take full advantage of crosses on the sides and the fun- Refloated and repaired in 1919, every single journey from Naples nels. the steamer was returned to her to Massawa, Ethiopia, by having it After working on the Libyan former owner who, since Trieste carry the soldiers and ammunition front, from Tripoli and Benghazi, had become part of Italy follow- on the outward journey and em- to repatriate the wounded of the ing the dissolution of the Austro- barking the wounded and sick on North African campaign, in Feb- Hungarian Empire, had changed the return journey. Hospital ships, ruary 1941, she was sent to the its name to (Società anonima di which were afforded protection Lower Adriatic to provide assis- Navigazione) Lloyd Triestino. It and had to be painted white tance to the wounded from the was registered under the Naples with green bands and red cross- Greek-Albanian front. Maritime Compartment, with the es, could not be used to carry Italianised name of Vienna, and healthy troops and supplies. The sinking returned to its previous functions After the colonial war, it was The legendary British 815th squad- as a steamer in 1921, on the Tri- returned to Lloyd Triestino, re- ron flying Swordfish biplane torpe- este - Venice - Brindisi - Alexandria named Po and returned to civil do bombers were transferred from route to Egypt. service. The last years of peace the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious passed until following Italy’s entry to the airfield on the Greek island Colonial war and WWII into the Second World War on of Paramythia near the Albanian Then, in 1935, with the outbreak 21 November 1940, it was again border on 12 March 1941. Their or- of war in Ethiopia, it was first char- requisitioned by the Italian Royal ders were to carry out raids on the tered and then requisitioned by Navy, which this time designated ports of Valona and Durazzo, and the Italian Navy for the transport it as a hospital ship. It was painted the Italian military bases of Berat of the wounded and sick, but according to the guidelines es- and Tirana. MAURO PAZZI 10 X-RAY MAG : 83 : 2018 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO wreck Mike Ball Dive rap EXPEDITIONS COD HOLE • CORAL SEA • GREAT BARRIER REEF • AUSTRALIA Expeditions On the Wild Side The Best Diving on the Coral Sea & Great Barrier Reef! Dive with giant potato cod, explore deep walls, witness shark action at Osprey Reef. MAURO PAZZI MAURO PAZZI THIS PAGE: Divers explore the interior of the Italian hospital ship Po Minke Whale Season! June-July Unique Opportunity on the Great Barrier Reef. At 9:15 p.m. on 14 March, the nearby ships, which were legiti- www.mikeball.com/minke Swordfish were each armed with mate targets, would have been a 730kg torpedo. They passed, at made visible too. Therefore, the 10,000ft of altitude, the mountain Marine Command gave orders to chain south of the bay of Vlora and obscure it, making it indistinguish- New Special Expeditions! reached the sea, thus seeing the able from normal transport vessels. Check out our website for details. Italian navy and merchant fleet vessels at anchor in the harbour.