The

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

ship ''Ramb I'' was a pre-war "

banana boat Banana Boat is a Polish a cappella sextet, authoring and performing original songs representing the genre of neo-shanties. Being one of the pioneers of the new genre, the group retains its simultaneous focus on contemporary interpretations of ...

" converted to an

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ''Ramb I'' operated as an armed merchant in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

and was ordered to sail to Japan after the fall of

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. She was sunk in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

before she could reach her intended destination.Kelly & Laycock, 2015, p. 148

Details and construction

In the second half of the 1930s Ministry of the Colonies of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

placed an order for four ships to transport bananas from

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. These ships had to have a large enough cargo capacity, and big endurance to be able to sail without any intermediate stops. These four refrigerating vessels were put under control of the Regia Azienda Monopolio delle Banane (RAMB) with headquarters in Rome. Two were built by CRDA at

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

, and two, including ''Ramb I'', at the

Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company based in Genoa, Italy. The original parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., was founded in 1853, and merged with Finmeccanica in 1993 (now Leonardo S.p.A.). In 2024, the company's share ...

shipyards in

Sestri Ponente Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa. Geography It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its po ...

. ''Ramb I'' was built between October 1936 and December 1937 (hull number 308). Medium-small but very modern vessels for the era, the four RAMBs could carry approximately 2,400 tons of cargo, as well as 12 passengers. Two passengers could be accommodated in a luxury apartment with a bedroom, living room and facilities, and 10 in twin bedrooms. The ship had a private deck reserved for passengers (separate from the crew), a dining room with views, and two verandas for the smokers. Passenger accommodations were air-conditioned. ''Ramb I'' could reach a speed of 18.50 knots, its cruising speed was 17 knots, and its displacement was 3,667 tons. The propulsion machinery consisted of two two-stroke

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

diesel engines with nine cylinders. According to legislative provision, these ships were constructed with the possibility of transforming them into auxiliary cruisers, so there was enough space left on deck to accommodate four 120mm cannons. Cannons and the matériel required for the military upgrade were stored in

for two ships, and in

for the other two. In the two years of peace, ''Ramb I'' took bananas from Italian Somaliland to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, and carried various goods to

on her return journeys.

Operational history

On June 9, 1940, ''Ramb I'' was requisitioned in

by the

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

and was made a part of Red Sea Flotilla. At the time of Italy's entry into

, only one of four vessels was located in the Mediterranean (''Ramb III''), while the other three were in the Red Sea without any possibility of returning to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. ''Ramb I'' was upgraded in

with four 120/40 cannons and two (or four) 13.2 mm

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

anti-aircraft guns. During military operations in Eastern Africa ''Ramb I'' was not very active. All her activity amounted to a single and unsuccessful raid in the

on an enemy merchant in August 1940. Apart from some short patrols along the

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

coast, the ship was mainly used for

's anti-aircraft defense against air bombardments. With the start of

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and the defeat of the Italian troops at

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya, the village ...

on 9–12 December 1940, it became clear that it would be impossible for Italian troops in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

to reach

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

to break its isolation. The fuel supplies were dwindling and were projected to be exhausted by June 1941.Dupuis, 2014, pp. 24–26 In anticipation of the inevitable fall of the colony, a plan was developed to send as many ships as possible to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

or occupied

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and to destroy all other ships that could not make the journey. Colonial ship ''Eritrea'', ''Ramb I'' and ''Ramb II'' were among the ships that were sent out to the Far East. ''Ramb I'', ''Ramb II'' and ''Eritrea'' left

around February 20, 1941, with both

auxiliary cruisers An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

heading to

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, and ''Eritrea'' to

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

. After departing from

, all three ships first passed by

Perim Perim (), also called Mayyun () in Arabic, is a Yemeni volcanic island in the Strait of Mandeb at the south entrance into the Red Sea, off the south-west coast of Yemen. It administratively belongs to Dhubab District or Bab al-Mandab District ...

evading the Royal Navy ships and Royal Air Force aircraft based at

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

and

Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

, then the

Bab el-Mandeb The Bab-el-Mandeb (), the Gate of Grief or the Gate of Tears, is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and by extension the Indian Ocean. ...

Strait and the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

and entered the

Sinking

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

light cruiser , which had just escorted convoy US-9 to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, was sailing in the northern Arabian Sea searching for the German cruiser ''Admiral Scheer'' believed to be in the area, as well as German raider ships disguised as merchants. After receiving news of the fall of

on February 25, 1941 captain of the cruiser, Robert Hesketh Bevan, RN changed the course north around 7:00 when ''Leander'' was 28 miles north of the equator and 320 miles west of the

Maldive Islands The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the Asian c ...

. He believed that some Italian ships fleeing from Italian Somaliland and heading to the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

could travel through this area. At 5:10 (Italian time) on February 27, 1941, ''Ramb I'' navigating in the northern Arabian Sea was sighted by ''Leander''. The cruiser closed to less than 6 miles and signaled ''Ramb I'' with a projector to stop the engines and provide their documents (the Italian ship flew the British flag at the time). ''Ramb I'' replied with false information, and ''Leander'' demanded the secret war code. Not being able to answer this question, Captain Bonezzi came to the conclusion that there was no alternative to fighting. The British flag was lowered and the Italian Tricolor was hoisted, and ''Ramb I'' opened fire from against the enemy cruiser, commencing a fight that lasted twenty minutes. ''Leander'' was hit once, and replied with five salvos within the next minute, leaving ''Ramb I'' seriously damaged and on fire. She lowered her flag and ''Leander'' stopped firing.Waters, 2008, pp. 21–22 ''Leander'' came closer, and Captain Bonezzi gave an order to abandon and scuttle the ship. ''Leander'' rescued ''Ramb I''s captain and 112 men, of whom one later died from burns. The scuttling charges detonated shortly thereafter, causing ''Ramb I'' to sink in the position . ''Leander'' disembarked the survivors at

Addu Atoll Seenu Atoll, historically known as Addu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540& ...

, and the tanker ''Pearleaf'' subsequently transported the survivors to prisoner of war camps in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links