HISTORY
LUPO was a Spica-class torpedo boat of the Alcione series, built at the Carnaro shipyard in Fiume and launched in 1937. She was 81,42 meters long, 7,92 meters wide, and had a displacement of 1050 tons at full load. Her armament consisted of three 100/47 mm guns, eight 13,2 mm machine guns (replaced in 1941 by eight 20/65 mm machine guns), four 450 mm torpedo tubes, and two depth charge launchers. She entered service with the Italian Royal Navy on February 20, 1938.
When Italy entered the war, LUPO was squadron leader of the VIII Torpedo Boat Squadron, based in Rhodes.
Following a courageous action in defense of a convoy carrying German troops during the invasion of the island of Crete, attacked by a force of three British cruisers and four destroyers, LUPO was awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor, while her commander, Frigate Captain Francesco Mimbelli, was awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor.
After intense activity in the Aegean waters, from mid-1942 the LUPO also began to operate on the routes to Libya to escort convoys.
On 30 November 1942, the LUPO set sail from Naples under the command of Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe Folli to escort convoy “C”, composed of the steamships CHISONE and VELOCE, headed for Tripoli, together with the torpedo boats SAGITTARIO (which later returned to Trapani due to damage), ARDITO and ARETUSA.
Around 2000 on December 2, the convoy was attacked by Albacore torpedo bombers from 821st and 828th Squadrons, which had taken off from Malta. During the attack, the steamer VELOCE, after shooting down one of the attacking aircraft, was hit by a torpedo and immobilized by flames. The LUPO remained on site to provide assistance, while the rest of the convoy continued to Tripoli.
During the rescue operations, around 2330:4 PM, the ships were attacked by Force K, coming from Malta and consisting of the British destroyers JERVIS, NUBIAN, KELVIN, and JAVELIN. Caught completely by surprise and targeted by the guns of four destroyers, the LUPO had no opportunity to react and sank within minutes. The British ships then also finished off the VELOCE with cannon fire, sinking her, before disappearing into the night.
Of the LUPO's crew, only 29 men survived, picked up by the torpedo boat ARDENTE the next morning. 134 men, including officers, petty officers, and sailors, lost their lives, including Commander Folli.
THE WRECK
The wreck of the LUPO was discovered by a SDSS team (M. Arena, M. Cottafava, L. Pasqui, and D. Gualdani) in 2011, at 34°27'N, 11°28'E, approximately 96 miles SW of Lampedusa and 20 miles off the Kerkennah Islands. The wreck lies in a single section at 50 meters of depth, listed approximately 30° to starboard, with the starboard end of the main deck practically touching the seabed. The last few meters of the bow are broken into a section bent perpendicularly to port of the rest of the hull.
The forward 100 mm gun is in place, traversed 5° to starboard, with an elevation of approximately 20°. The 100 mm guns Nos. 3 and 4, aft, are respectively traversed abeam to starboard, with elevation 0 for No. 3, and at 45° to the hull, with elevation of approximately 20° for No. 4. The aft twin torpedo launcher is in place, traversed 45° to port with respect to the hull; the two torpedo heads have fallen to the ground, on the deck of the wreck, mixed up among the wreckage and nets. The forward torpedo launcher, which in 2011 was also erected and traversed to starboard, was knocked down by a net that tore off the two launch tubes and now covers the entire installation. One of the torpedo heads is on the ground, on the ship's bridge. On the port side, at the height of the superstructure that housed the bridge, there is a twin 20/65 machine gun.
The rest of the ship is completely devastated and covered in nets. Certainly, part of the devastation is due to the fighting and the sinking process, but the nets entangled in the wreck over the years have caused much of the damage. Between the first dive conducted in 2011 and those conducted ten years later, in 2021, the condition of the wreck has significantly deteriorated: the bridge structure, which in 2011 was clearly visible and partially erected, is now completely destroyed and covered in nets to the point of being unrecognizable. Overall, it is a great shame that such a historic wreck, a glorious ship and a war cemetery, has been defaced in this way.
The wreck has been visited on several occasions with the aim of at least partially clearing it of nets, and some nets have been removed in collaboration with the organization Ghost Divers, which specializes in these operations. However, the quantity of nets covering the wreck is so daunting, and many dedicated dives would be necessary before significant results could be achieved.
The seabed near the wreck is composed of fine, muddy sediment, and the wreck site has always been murky with poor visibility.
EXPLOSIVES AND HYDROCARBONS
At least three torpedo heads are visible among the wreckage. It is also likely that a number of depth charges are present on the wreck, covered by nets.
LIFE ON THE WRECK
The LUPO wreck is populated by encrusting organisms, sponges, algae, ducts, groupers, snappers, white bream, and damselfish. Given the number of purse seine nets found lost on the wreck, it is likely that schools of amberjack are also frequented.
THE MODEL
The model was created by processing approximately 11.000 photographs taken in 2023 during four dives. The model took several days to develop.
Photo: S. Gualtieri, M. Arena, C. De Seta.
Elaborations: S. Gualtieri, K. Beemster Leverenz, NS Arena.
JOURNEY INTO THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL WRECK
3D photogrammetry of the wreck, freely accessible
Immersive 360° video up to 8K resolution in 3D viewable with smartphone, laptop or
Head set “A Wolf Tour with SDSS”
The 3D file to print it with a 3D printer
Virtual tour of the wreck in a virtual reconstruction
Cargo manifest
Ship's plan sheet
Bonus video of some wrecks from the Battle of the Convoys