HISTORY
The VELOCE was a 5464-ton steamship, built at the Linthouse shipyard of Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. of Govan (Glasgow) for the Anchor Line Ltd. of Glasgow, under the name Media. She was 125 metres long and 16,2 metres wide.
In 1935 it was purchased by the shipowner Achille Lauro of Naples, and in June 1940 it was requisitioned by the Navy for war needs.
At 11 pm on November 30, 1942, she set sail in convoy from Naples bound for Tripoli with on board a cargo of petrol, artillery pieces, about fifty vehicles, artillery tractors, 10 tanks and 79 passing soldiers, including Italian soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Regiment and German soldiers, in addition to the 56 men of her crew.
It was a particularly dramatic moment in the North African campaign, with Axis troops retreating into the desert after their defeat at El Alamein. The cities of Tobruk and Benghazi had already fallen, and this would be one of the last convoys bound for Tripoli, which would also fall a few weeks later.
Convoy "C" consisted of the VELOCE, the steamship CHISONE, and the military tanker DEVOLI (the latter bound for Trapani), escorted by the torpedo boats LUPO, ARETUSA, and SAGITTARIO. While en route, on December 1st, the torpedo boat ARDENTE joined the convoy's escort, while the SAGITTARIO suffered a breakdown and was forced to return to Trapani.
Information regarding the convoy's composition and departure was intercepted by the British ULTRA service, which alerted operational command. The convoy was intercepted and shadowed by aerial reconnaissance aircraft from the night of its departure: on several occasions, Supermarina intercepted their communications regarding the convoy's position.
On December 2, 11 Albacore torpedo bombers from Malta attacked the ships around 20:00 PM, illuminating the scene with a large number of flares. VELOCE managed to evade a first torpedo and shoot down the torpedo bomber that had launched it, but at 20:15 PM, she was hit in the stern by a second torpedo, which set the ship ablaze and immobilized her.
The LUPO remained to assist the stricken steamer, while the rest of the convoy proceeded to Tripoli.
Meanwhile, at 14:23 PM, Force K, composed of the destroyers of the 14th Destroyer Fleet JERVIS, NUBIAN, KELVIN, and JAVELIN, had set sail from Malta to intercept and attack the ships of the convoy. Around 5:30 PM, NUBIAN's radar located VELOCE and LUPO, which shortly thereafter became visible to the naked eye due to the fire raging on VELOCE. The British destroyers, after maneuvering to position themselves for the attack, fired several illuminating shells and then took aim at LUPO, taking the ship completely by surprise, bombarding her and sinking her in five minutes, before she could even attempt any reaction. Almost all of LUPO's crew perished in the attack and sinking.
Around 11:45 PM, the VELOCE was also sunk by cannon fire. Sixty-three people on board lost their lives, including the ship's commander, Captain Pietro Vasta.
THE WRECK
The wreck of the VELOCE was discovered by a SDSS team (M. Arena, M. Cottafava, L. Pasqui, and D. Gualdani) in 2011, at 34°29'N, 11°31'E, approximately 90 miles SW of Lampedusa and 20 miles off the Kerkennah Islands. The wreck lies at a depth of 48 meters, on its keel, intact from bow to stern. Near the stern, there is a large gash on the port side, probably caused by the torpedo explosion. The propeller is missing, apparently torn off, perhaps by the explosion. On the aft forecastle deck is the 120mm gun, swiveled toward 7 o'clock and with an elevation of approximately 30°. Of the two masts, bow and stern, only stumps a few meters high remain. The VELOCE's four holds are all accessible and full of vehicles and artillery pieces of which a precise inventory has not yet been carried out.
Artillery tractors are present in hold No. 3 and in hold No. 1. In hold No. 1, access to which is dangerous both due to the risk of collapse and the large amount of accumulated sediment, there are 10 Panzer IVs, many of which are almost completely buried in the sediment.
The massive engine room rooms have been affected by impressive collapses compared to the situation documented in 2011, when they still maintained substantial structural integrity.
EXPLOSIVES AND HYDROCARBONS
No explosive materials were observed on the wreck.
The VELOCE carried 690 tons of fuel for the army and 540 for the Luftwaffe
LIFE ON THE WRECK
The VELOCE wreck is teeming with marine life of all kinds, from sponges and other encrusting organisms to large sedentary and pelagic fish. On the wreck, you can encounter numerous dusky groupers, American groupers, common snappers, amberjacks, white sea breams, brown meagres, and damselfish.
THE MODEL
The three-dimensional model of the wreck is the result of 34.958 photographs, taken in the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Their creation required over 12 hours of bottom time on the wreck while their processing required many days of calculation.
Photos: S. Gualtieri, M. Arena, K. Beemster Leverenz, P. Brandt.
Elaboration: S. Gualtieri, K. Beemster Leverenz, N. 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 Tour of the Veloce 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