SMS ''Teodo'' was a 6,561 ton collier built in 1915 for the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

. She was ceded to Italy in 1921 as a war reparation. She was renamed ''Barbana'' in 1924 and ''Barbana G'' in 1926. In 1940, she was seized by the United Kingdom and renamed ''Empire Airman''. On 21 September 1940, ''Empire Airman'' was torpedoed and sunk by .

History

SMS ''Teodo'' was built by

Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) ("Technical Establishment of Trieste") was a private shipbuilding company based in Trieste from the mid-19th to early 20th century, and the most important naval shipbuilding firm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

as yard number 501 and launched on 8 January 1913, being completed on 17 February 1916. SMS ''Teodo'' was a Pola Class collier of the

. At the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, under Article 137 of the

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

, SMS ''Teodo'' was classed as a merchant ship and passed to the Italian Government Ministry of Transport. In 1924, she was passed to the Italian Ministry of Marine, and renamed ''Barbana''. In 1926, she was sold to the Società Anonima di Navigazione Garibaldi, Genoa and renamed ''Barbana G''. On 6 November 1929, she collided with the Italian cargo ship in the

Nieuwe Waterweg The Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway") is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg conn ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, Netherlands. ''Atlantide'' was consequently beached. ''Barbana G'' was captured off

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

and taken to

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

on 10 June 1940 and passed to the Ministry of War Transport, being renamed ''Empire Airman'' under the management of Mark Whitwill & Sons Ltd,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Convoys

;HX 72

Convoy HX 72 HX 72 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX convoys, HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. The convoy comprised 43 ships of which 11 were sunk and another damaged by German U-boats who suffered no losses. Backg ...

sailed from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

on 9 September 1940. ''Empire Airman'' was carrying a cargo of iron ore, she was bound for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. At 00:22 on 22 September, ''Empire Airman'' was hit by a torpedo fired by ''U-100''. The ship was taken in tow, but sank on 23 September at . Thirty three of the thirty seven crew were killed in the attack. Four survivors were rescued by HMS ''La Malouine''. Those lost on ''Empire Airman'' are commemorated at the

Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...

, London.

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers IMO or Imo may refer to: Biology and medicine * Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland * Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies * Isomaltooligosa ...

. ''Barbana G'' had the Official Number 1496 on the Italian register. ''Empire Airman'' had the Official Number 165788 on

Lloyds Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

. ''Barbana G'' used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

NFVZ. ''Empire Airman'' used the Code Letters GLZT

External links

List of dead from ''Empire Airman''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teodo Pola-class colliers 1915 ships Ships built in Trieste World War I naval ships of Austria-Hungary Steamships of Austria-Hungary Merchant ships of Italy Steamships of Italy Maritime incidents in 1929 World War II merchant ships of Italy Maritime incidents in June 1940 Ministry of War Transport ships Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II Maritime incidents in September 1940 Captured ships Shipwrecks of Ireland