MV Nino Bixio
| Company type | Merchant vessel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping |
| Founded | 1941 in Genoa, Italy |
| Founder | Giovanni Ansaldo and Company |
| Defunct | 1971 |
| Fate | Dismantled at La Spezia in 1971 |
| Headquarters | Genoa , Italy |
Area served | International (including North Africa, Italy, New Zealand) |
| Products | Merchant shipping services |
MV Nino Bixio was an Italian merchant vessel constructed by Giovanni Ansaldo and Company in Genoa during 1941 for the Genoese shipping enterprise Gruppo Garibaldi. In 1942, a Royal Navy submarine torpedoed her, resulting in the deaths of 336 Allied prisoners of war aboard. Despite the damage, she was salvaged, restored, and remained active in commercial service until 1970 before being dismantled at La Spezia in 1971.
Construction
Built by Giovanni Ansaldo and Company in 1941, Nino Bixio was commissioned by the Garibaldi group and managed through its subsidiary SA Cooperativa di Navigazione. The ship was named to honor Nino Bixio, a prominent Italian military leader and politician from the nineteenth century who served under Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Completed in November 1941, she featured a modern design powered by a diesel engine that drove a single propeller shaft, enabling a cruising speed of approximately 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]
Torpedoing and aftermath
On 16 August 1942, Nino Bixio along with another Italian cargo vessel, Sestriere, embarked thousands of prisoners of war from the North African Campaign at Benghazi in Libya. The prisoners were split alphabetically by surname: those with names beginning A through L boarded Sestriere, while those with surnames M through Z were placed aboard Nino Bixio. Most POWs were confined within the ships' cargo holds, with Nino Bixio carrying roughly 3,200 prisoners.
The convoy set sail for Brindisi in Italy under escort from destroyers Saetta and Nicoloso da Recco, as well as torpedo boats Castore and Orione.
The British T-class submarine Error: {{HMS}} invalid control parameter: N98 (help) intercepted the convoy despite aerial reinforcements accompanying the escorts. At 16:33 on 17 August, Turbulent launched four torpedoes toward the two cargo ships before diving to avoid countermeasures. One torpedo malfunctioned due to a gyroscope failure and circled near the submerged submarine multiple times.
While Sestriere escaped without damage, three torpedoes struck Nino Bixio. Two detonated—one within her No. 1 hold and another in the engine room—while the third hit her rudder but failed to explode, disabling her steering. Although she took on water and settled slightly, her watertight bulkheads prevented sinking.
Accounts differ regarding counter-attacks against Turbulent; some suggest Italian naval escorts attempted depth charging, while others report no such response. Regardless, the submarine evaded capture. The destroyer Saetta took Nino Bixio under tow while torpedo boats Castore and Orione conducted search operations for survivors. The cruiser Luigi Cadorna later joined the search efforts alongside a hospital ship that received injured personnel.
Saetta towed the damaged vessel to Pylos in Italian-occupied Greece's Peloponnese region, where she was beached. Subsequently, she was moved to Venice and scuttled as a blockship to guard the harbor. Survivors were transported via Corinth to Bari in Italy before being relocated to prisoner of war Camp 57 at Grupignano/San Mauro, situated roughly −15 -km[convert: unknown unit] east of Udine in northeastern Italy.[2]
Casualties and memorials
The assault resulted in the deaths of 336 Allied prisoners of war and caused injuries to many others. The Nino Bixio was equipped with shelter deck holds. In the No. 1 hold, the explosion destroyed the two wooden ladders connecting the shelter deck to the lower section of the hold, which complicated rescue efforts for those trapped in the flooded area. However, the two ladders leading from the upper part of the hold to the deck remained intact, allowing prisoners on that level to escape. Numerous individuals, including a significant number of British Indian Army PoWs, chose to jump into the sea. As it became evident that the vessel would not sink, many others opted to remain onboard.
Among those who perished, 184 were in No. 1 hold: comprising 116 New Zealanders, 41 Australians, 16 from the United Kingdom, and 11 South Africans. Additionally, seven Free French prisoners in No. 2 hold lost their lives. Indian Army PoWs were housed in No. 3 hold, but exact casualty figures for this group remain unknown. Several Italian guards stationed on deck were also among the fatalities.
Some deceased were recovered and brought ashore. Twenty New Zealand soldiers are interred at Pylos, with their names inscribed on the CWGC's Phaleron War Memorial in Athens. Most of those who died were lost at sea and are thus honored on the Alamein Memorial in Western Egypt.
In 1943, a chapel was constructed at PoW Camp 57 and consecrated shortly before the Armistice of Cassibile. Although the camp itself was dismantled after World War II, the chapel underwent restoration during the 1990s. In the 21st century, a white marble plaque commemorating the 116 New Zealanders and 41 Australians who died aboard Nino Bixio was installed within this chapel.
Postwar service
After being raised and refurbished in 1952, Nino Bixio resumed civilian operations. During her postwar voyages, she called at several ports in New Zealand, including Wellington, where a wreath-laying ceremony took place on her foredeck on 25 January 1955.
The vessel was retired from commercial use in 1970 and reached La Spezia on 28 November of that year. Dismantling work commenced in August 1971.
See also
- Sebastiano Veniero, an Italian merchant vessel sunk by a Royal Navy submarine in December 1941, resulting in over 300 UK and Dominion PoW deaths.
- Loreto, an Italian cargo ship torpedoed by a Royal Navy submarine in October 1942, causing the deaths of 130 Indian PoWs.
- Scillin, an Italian cargo ship sunk by a Royal Navy submarine in November 1942 with a loss of approximately 830 Allied PoWs.