Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines

Type	Cargo ship
Country	Greek
Built	1915	GRT	3,687

Date of attack	1 Oct 1940	Time	1615-1955
Fate	Sunk by submarine Maggiore Francesco Baracca (C.C. Enrico Bertarelli)
Position of attack	40° 04'N, 17° 10'W
Complement	26 (no casualties, 26 survivors)
Convoy
Notes	At 1615 hours, a steamer was observed at a distance of 15,000 metres on an easterly course. Baracca increased speed to give chase,which was made difficult by the heavy seas (Force 5). The vessel was finally stopped with a warning burst of machine gun fire. She was ordered to send a boat with her papers. This was the Greek *Aghios Nicolaos* (3,687 GRT, 1915) on passage from Santa Fé to Belfast carrying 2,200 tons of zinc and 3,982 tons of wood. C.C. Bertarelli briefly considered capturing her, but this would prove too difficult. He gave the crew 30 minutes to abandon ship. When the time had elapsed, the submarine opened fire with about 40 rounds and she sank at 1955 hours. The twenty-six survivors were later rescued by Spanish vessels. There were no casualties.