Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines

Type	Cargo ship
Country	Greek
Built	1905	GRT	2,883

Date of attack	18 Dec 1940	Time	0525+
Fate	Sunk by submarine Veniero (C.C. Manlio Petroni)
Position of attack	54° 24'N, 19° 04'W
Complement	19 (no casualties, 8 survivors)
Convoy	S.C.15d
Notes	At 0515 hours, Veniero sighted a merchant vessel at 3,500 metres. When the range had closed to 800 metres, a torpedo (450mm) was fired from a bow tube. It missed astern. The target was the Greek steamer *Anastassia* (2,883 GRT, built 1905) from convoy SC.15d on passage from Halifax to Belfast. At 0525 hours, Veniero had reverted course to make a stern shot (533mm) from a distance of 500 metres but and it hit amidship. Shortly after, as *Anastassia* was settling very slowly, Veniero fired off three rounds, two of which hit to accelerate her sinking. In fact, she had not yet sunk as she would be found derelict on 20th December. Veniero later returned and picked up eight survivors although this was against her orders. Nineteen were killed or missing.