SS Boccaccio

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History
Name
  • 1919: War Zenith
  • 1919: Tunisier
  • 1932: Boccaccio
Namesake
Owner
Port of registry
BuilderLloyd Royal Belge (GB) Ltd, Glasgow
Yard number11
Launched12 November 1919
CompletedDecember 1919
Identification
FateSunk by sabotage, 18 November 1937
General characteristics
Tonnage3,012  GRT, 2,045  NRT
Length331.0 ft (100.9 m)
Beam46.7 ft (14.2 m)
Draught12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Depth23.2 ft (7.1 m)
Decks2
Installed power1 × triple-expansion engine; 359 NHP
Propulsion1 × screw
Speed11.5 knots (21 km/h)
Sensors &
processing systems		by 1934: wireless direction finding

SS Boccaccio was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1919. She was a War Standard Type C ship: one of several standard designs issued by the UK Shipping Controller. Lloyd Royal Belge (LRB) built her in Glasgow. She was launched as War Zenith, but completed the following month as Tunisier. She was in Belgian ownership until 1932.

Contents

In 1932, Italian owners bought Tunisier, and renamed her Boccaccio. In 1937, she was carrying arms to the Nationalist part of Spain when a bomb exploded aboard her, sinking her off the coast of Brittany. One member of her crew was killed, but a Dutch cargo ship rescued 31 survivors.

Building

LRB built the ship at its own shipyard in Jordanvale, Glasgow, as yard number 11. Ships built for the Shipping Controller were given names prefixed with War, so she was launched on 12 November 1919 as War Zenith. However, LRB policy was to give each ship a French-language demonym ending in -ier, so she was completed that December as Tunisier. [1] [2]

The ship's registered length was 331.0 ft (100.9 m), her beam was 46.7 ft (14.2 m), her depth was 23.2 ft (7.1 m), and her draught was 12 ft 9 in (3.9 m). Her tonnages were 3,012  GRT and 2,045  NRT. She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine built by David Rowan & Co of Glasgow. It was rated at 359 NHP, [3] and gave her a speed of 11.5 knots (21 km/h). [4]

Changes of ownership

LRB registered Tunisier at Antwerp. Her code letters were MTUR. LRB got into financial difficulties during the Great Depression, and in 1930 it was taken over by Compagnie Maritime Belge. The merged company was named CMB (Lloyd Royal). [5]

In 1932, Adria Società Anonima di Navigazione Marittima bought Tunisier, renamed her Boccaccio, and registered her in Fiume in the then Italian Province of Fiume, which is now Rijeka in Croatia. Her code letters were NGQT. [6] By 1934, her call sign was IBLE, and this had superseded her code letters. [7] In December 1936, the Adria shipping company became part of a new state-owned corporation, 'Tirrenia' Società Anonima di Navigazione. [8]

Ernst Wollweber in 1932 Ernst Wollweber 1932.jpg
Ernst Wollweber in 1932

Loss

On 18 November 1937, Boccaccio was en route from Hamburg and Antwerp, and rounding the western tip of Brittany, when she sustained an explosion and sank [9] at position 48°12′N05°15′W / 48.200°N 5.250°W / 48.200; -5.250 . [1] Officially, she was laden with steel, general cargo, and about 1,000 tons of copper, and bound for Genoa. [1] However, she was also reported to be carrying arms and ammunition to supply the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War. [10] A network of anti-fascist saboteurs recruited by the German Communist agent Ernst Wollweber had planted dynamite aboard her, which detonated as she was passing from the English Channel into the Bay of Biscay. One member of the crew was killed. [11] A Netherland Line cargo motor ship, Tajandoen, rescued 31 survivors. [12] [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tunisier". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "War T – War Z". Standard WWI Ships. Mariners-List. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1922, TUN–TUR.
  4. ↑ "Ship Types". WWI Standard Ships. Mariners-List. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1931, TUN.
  6. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1933, BLU–BOE.
  7. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1934, BLY–BOH.
  8. ↑ Lloyd's Register 1937, BOC–BOI.
  9. ↑ "Ship Sinks in Channel". The Evening Star . Washington, DC. 18 November 1937. p. A-7 – via Chronicling America.
  10. ↑ "Arms Ship Sinks". The Washington Times . Washington, DC. 18 November 1937. p. 1 – via Chronicling America.
  11. ↑ "Sabotøren på Sinsen" (in Norwegian). NRK. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Casualty Reports". The Times. No. 47846. London. 19 November 1937. col. G, p. 28.
  13. ↑ "Italian steamer lost". The Times. No. 47846. London. 19 November 1937. col. G, p. 28.

Bibliography

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