SS Rastrello

SS Rastrello was an Italian cargo ship that was sunk in a British air raid on 16 June 1940 in Naples, Italy.[1]

History
Name:
  • Navarre (1904-1911)
  • Atle Jarl (1911-1916)
  • Atle Jarl (1916-1918)
  • Atle Jarl (1918-1922)
  • Barbara (1922-1925)
  • Morava (1925-1933)
  • Soussien (1933-1937)
  • Rastrello (1937-1940)
Owner: Soc Ricuperi Marittima
Port of registry: Genoa, Italy
Builder: Irvine's Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Ltd.
Yard number: 30
Launched: 22 January 1904
Completed: February 1904
Acquired: February 1904
Maiden voyage: February 1904
In service: February 1904
Out of service: 16 June 1940
Identification:
  • ISLQ
  • IMO/Off. no.: 2140
Fate: Sunk in a British air raid
General characteristics
Type: Cargo ship
Tonnage: 1,249 GRT
Length: 70.1 metres (230 ft 0 in)
Beam: 10.4 metres (34 ft 1 in)
Depth: 4.5 metres (14 ft 9 in)
Installed power: 1 x 3 cyl. triple expansion engine
Propulsion: Screw propeller
Speed: 11 knots

Construction

Rastrello was built at the Irvine's Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Ltd. shipyard in Hartlepool, United Kingdom in January 1904. Where she was launched and completed that same year. The ship was 70.1 metres (230 ft 0 in) long, had a beam of 10.4 metres (34 ft 1 in) and had a depth of 4.5 metres (14 ft 9 in). She was assessed at 1,249 GRT and had 1 x 3 cyl. triple expansion engine driving a screw propeller. The ship could reach a maximum speed of 11 knots and could generate 212 n.h.p. thanks to her two boilers.[2]

First World War Capture

Despite being built as the British cargo ship Navarre, Rastrello was sold to Norway for 900.000 NOK in 1911 alongside SS Narbonneand renamed Atle Jarl. She continued serving as a Norwegian ship during the first half of World War I before being captured as a prize by the German submarine U-78 in the North Sea 16 nautical miles (30 km) south west of Norway on 21 October 1916, while she was travelling from Trondheim, Norway to Newcastle, United Kingdom with a stop over at Bergen, Norway while carrying general cargo. Rastrello (then Atle Jarl) was taken to Kiel, Germany and used by the Kaiserliche Marine as a headquarters for the defense of Kiel and as an accommodation ship for mine warfare research.[3]

Interbellum and First Sinking

After the war in 1919, Rastrello (at this time still named Atle Jarl) was again used as a cargo ship by the new German government with her home port in Hamburg, Germany. Disaster would strike Rastrello that same year as on 20 November 1919 she sank after hitting a mine near Öland, Sweden while she was on a voyage from Luleå, Sweden to Amsterdam, the Netherlands with a cargo of wood. She was refloated on 28 June 1920 and repaired, re-entering to service that same year.[4]

World War II and Final Sinking

Rastrello finally received her name when she was bought by Italy in May 1937 with her new homeport in Genoa, Italy. When World War II broke out in September 1939, Italy found herself allied with Germany and Japan to form the Axis powers which meant that Rastrello would become a potential target for Allied attacks. That feared attack eventually occurred on 16 June 1940 when Rastrello was hit and sunk by bombs during a British air raid on Naples, Italy with no reported loss of life.[4]

Wreck

The wreck of Rastrello was lifted and broken up not long after she sank.[4]

gollark: pastebin run 7HSiHybr
gollark: Compile it yourself.
gollark: Potentially.
gollark: There was a 2 minute window when a broken update was pushed but I doubt they were that unlucky.
gollark: Allegedly.

References
  1. "1940 Juni". wlb-stuttgart.de. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. "SS Rastrello [+1940]". wrecksite.eu. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. "Naval Events, June 1940". naval-history.net. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. "1911 DS ATLE JARL (1) (TRH110191102)". skipshistorie.net. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
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