Italian submarine fates
Ships hit by Italian submarines
Skåne
| Type | Cargo ship | |||
| Country |  Swedish | |||
| Built | 1921 | GRT | 4,528 | |
| Date of attack | 7 Mar 1942 | Time | 0552 1945/6 (e) | |
| Fate | Sunk by submarine Giuseppe Finzi (C.C. Ugo Giudice) | |||
| Position of attack | 22° 42'N, 60° 07'W | |||
| Complement | 34 (no casualties, 34 survivors) | |||
| Convoy | ||||
| Notes | At 1435 hours on 6th March 1942, Giudice sighted a vessel from a distance of 8,000 metres and trailed her with the intention of attacking after dusk. The attack finally occurred at 0150 hours on the 7th, Giuseppe Finzi firing two bow torpedoes (533mm) and both hit. This was the Swedish Skåne (4528 GRT, built 1921) steering 163° at 9 knots [also reported as Boren, ex Skåne]. She was on a trip from New York to Bombay, carrying 7,500 tons of general cargo and some trucks and armoured cars on deck. The vessel was only damaged and Captain Cronberg and his crew began to abandon ship. At 0254 hours, a third torpedo was fired and again hit the Swedish Skåne. She was sinking very slowly and the submarine fired 7 rounds to finish her off. At 0502 hours, gunfire was resumed with another 18 rounds, pumped into her hull rendering the ship in a sinking condition. At 0620 hours, the submarine was forced to dive because of an aircraft with lights on (which was probably a commercial one). An explosion was heard at 0700 hours and Skåne must have sunk at this time. The crew of thirty-four (including two women) had taken to two lifeboats and were all picked up the next day by the American freighter Ipswich. The survivors believed that they had been attacked by two submarines, one of them of the PIETRO MICCA type, the confusion certainly arose from Finzi carrying attacks from both sides. It was suspected that the vessel may have been boarded by the Italian submarine (this was not the case) but the American authorities were relieved to note that no US Navy codes were carried. On 8th March, between 1130 and 1700 hours, the submarine reloaded her forward tubes with three torpedoes which were carried on deck. | |||