Ship's name?

[naomi24]

I'm looking for the name of an Italian ship carrying British POWs, which was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Tunisia, possibly in the Gulf of Gabes, in January 1943. Any additional information about it would also be welcome. Thanks.

[Lonnie]

Hi naomi,
I found this in a blog, it fits the bill, but i'm not 100% certain, a more extensive search may confirm or not.
I couldn't find the date for it.

Submarine HMS P 38 torpedoes and sinks Italian merchant Ariosto (4116 BRT) off Tunisia. 138 Allied POW's are lost. (Dave Shirlaw)

[naomi24]

Oh, thanks Lonnie. That's great. I'll dig around a bit and let you know if I come up with anything else. Thank you.

[Bellringer]

Ask on the Merchant Navy Association web site.
www.mna.org.uk
There is a chap on there who will probably know the answer.

[naomi24]

Thank you Bellringer.

[Lonnie]

Hi naomi,
I was just wondering if you'd had any luck in your quest for information about this ship.

I'm not being nosey, just curious.

[naomi24]

Hi Lonnie, I had a look at the name you so very kindly found for me, and it seems likely, although the people on the sites I looked at swiftly moved on to talking about other ships that sank in other areas. I haven't had much time for the past couple of days - and something like this needs time - but I will certainly take Bellringer's advice and pursue it further. I'll let you know if I come up with anything. Thanks for asking.

[delboy3]

Was it the Citta' di Genova? Although from what I've read, this went down in the Ionian Sea and was carrying Greek POWs.

Check out this site:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime- 1a.html