| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | MS Rio de Janeiro Formerly MS Santa Ines |
| Owner: | Hamburg Süd |
| Operator: | Kriegsmarine |
| Port of registry: | Stettin, Germany (1914–33) Stettin (1933–40) |
| Builder: | Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack |
| Launched: | 3 April 1914 |
| Out of service: | 8 April 1940 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk 8 April 1940 |
| Status: | The wreck`s position is unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 5177 grt |
| Length: | 122m |
| Beam: | 17m |
| Crew: | 50 |
MS Rio de Janeiro was a German motor ship and a cargo ship, owned by the shipping company Hamburg Süd and home ported in Stettin. She was launched on 3 April 1914 as Santa Ines and later renamed Rio de Janeiro. She was requisitioned by the Deutsche Kriegsmarine for transportation of troops 7 March 1940, before Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway and Denmark, began on 9 April 1940. [1]
Contents |
The secret plan for the ship was to arrive at Bergen right after German troops had captured the town. On board Rio de Janeiro there were a total of 50 crew and 330 soldiers. Her cargo consisted of six 2 cm FlaK 30 and four 10.5 cm FlaK 38 anti-aircraft guns, 73 horses, 71 vehicles and 292 tons of provisions, animal feed, fuel and ammunition.
The ship left Stettin on 6 April 1940 at 3 AM. Two days later, at 11.15, only hours before the attack on Norway began, off Lillesand a submarine in surface position was discovered. At first it was thought to be a German submarine, but it turned out to be a Polish submarine under British command, and had "85 A" painted at the tower. The submarine signalled Rio de Janeiro to stop, and the order was followed. Next order was to bring the papers of the ship over to the submarine and surrender, or to sink the ship, but nothing happened. The Polish submarine ORP Orzeł then torpedoed the ship, and she took in water and sank. The crew and soldiers on board began to jump into the sea. At 12.00, an aircraft from the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service started circling around the sinking ship. At 12.50, the submarine torpedoed the ship from a dived position for a second time. The torpedo hit the ammunition depot, which caused an explosion. About 180 survived the sinking, and were brought by local vessels to Lillesand and Kristiansand. About 200 did not survive.
Norwegian officials were told by survivors that the ship's destination had been Bergen. The fact that there were horses on board and that many of the dead and survivors were wearing military uniforms, lead to alarming of central authorities.
The wreck of Rio de Janeiro has never been found, its exact position is unknown.