HISTORY
INGO was a 3950-ton steamship launched in 1926 by J. Frerichs & Co., Nordenham, for Nordeutscher Lloyd (NDL) of Bremen. She was 116,5 metres (375 ft) long and 15,3 metres (50 ft) wide, had a crew of 40, and was capable of a speed of 11 knots.
In October 1935, perhaps as part of the reorganization of the maritime territories of German shipping companies, she was added to the Hamburg-Bremen Africa line, owned by Norddeutscher Lloyds and operated by the Woermann Line. In 1939, at the outbreak of war, she was laid up in Trieste, where she was later requisitioned for war transport, retaining her German crew.
It departed Naples for Tripoli on January 25, 1941, on its first military transport, carrying materials and personnel from Flak Regt 38 of the German X Air Corps, assigned to the anti-aircraft defense of the Benina-Benghazi airport. It was in convoy with the German steamer DUISBURG, which was carrying supplies for the Italian army, and was escorted by the small auxiliary cruiser LAGO TANA. After stopping in Palermo, the convoy departed at 7:00 AM on the morning of the 26th, escorted by the auxiliary cruiser CARALIS, which had replaced LAGO TANA.
At 11:40 PM, after passing Cape Bon, the convoy was attacked by the British submarine UPHOLDER, which launched two torpedoes at the merchant ships. The torpedoes were avoided by maneuvering, and the submarine abandoned the attack, while the CARALIS abandoned its pursuit so as not to abandon the convoy.
At around 10.30 on the 27th the convoy was spotted by an RAF Short S.25 Sunderland reconnaissance flying boat which, after reporting the discovery, continued to shadow the convoy, keeping at a distance of over 10.000 metres, out of range of the ships' anti-aircraft fire.
At 11:30, a strike force of seven Swordfish from the 830th Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), six of them armed with torpedoes and one, the squadron leader, with four 250-pound bombs, took off from Malta. Two Fulmar fighter escorts followed at 12:15. At 13:45, the entire strike group reached the convoy. At 13:50, the squadron leader dive-bombed the CARALIS, keeping the sun at his back, but missed. Simultaneously, the torpedo bombers split into two groups and attacked the two merchantmen. One of the torpedoes struck the INGO amidships, to starboard. The ship broke in two and sank after 15 minutes, while the attacking aircraft returned unharmed to Malta.
The two surviving ships, also joined by the torpedo boat ORIONE, recovered 256 shipwrecked people from the INGO
Five crewmen and three gunners lost their lives in the sinking.
The next day, about 20 miles north of Tripoli, the submarine UPHOLDER struck the DUISBURG with a torpedo. However, the latter remained afloat and could be towed to Tripoli.
THE WRECK
The wreck of the INGO was discovered in 2008 by a team from the SDSS (M. Arena, M. Cottafava) at 34°25'N, 11°47'E. It is approximately 75 miles SW of Lampedusa, 115 miles NE of Tripoli, and 30 miles off Kerkennah. After years of searching for its identification, the wreck was definitively identified as the INGO thanks to the work carried out by Keith Kreitner with the assistance of Dimitry Galon, based on the collapsed hull profile and other distinctive features, and also thanks to the crucial archival material kindly provided to the SDSS by Andreas, which includes the photograph taken by the British reconnaissance aircraft of the sinking ship broken in two.
The wreck lies at a depth of 56 meters, broken into two sections positioned side by side and practically touching each other: the bow section is almost completely upside down, listed to starboard, with the bow pointing toward the stern of the other section. It includes holds Nos. 1 and 2, which, as of 2024, have not yet been explored. The main section, on the other hand, is on the keel and extends from the far stern to the central superstructure, except for the section that housed the bridge, which is likely destroyed. It includes the engine room and holds Nos. 3 and 4. The three-bladed propeller is in place, and inside the hull, in one of the covers, is the spare propeller. The sterncastle contains a very unusual auxiliary wheelhouse, comprising two large bronze rudders and an engine telegraph. The mast is erected and so are the pairs of loading derricks of holds no. 4 and no. 2.
The holds contain numerous trucks, cars, sidecars, at least three 20mm Flak rounds and at least two 60mm searchlights; a number of helmets, individual weapons and baggage are also visible, as well as a multitude of crates, carts and containers of all kinds.
EXPLOSIVES AND HYDROCARBONS
No significant quantities of explosive materials were found, although it's almost certain that the wreck contains at least a significant number of artillery shells. Looking into the holds of the still unexplored bow section, dozens of fuel drums can be seen.
LIFE ON THE WRECK
The INGO wreck is teeming with marine life of all kinds. Large, sedentary fish such as dusky groupers, American groupers, common snappers, white bream, and brown meagres inhabit the area, and it is frequented by large amberjacks. Numerous lost nets and filaments litter the wreck, which is constantly subject to fishing using various methods and equipment.
THE MODEL
The three-dimensional model of the wreck is the result of 24.000 photographs taken during the 2024 campaign. Their creation required approximately 8 hours of bottom time on the wreck, while their subsequent processing required several days of computing.
Photographers: M. Arena, S. Gualtieri, 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 “An Ingo 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