SS Rio de Janeiro was a German cargo steamship owned by the Hamburg Südamerikanische shipping company and registered in Hamburg. She was built as Santa Ines in 1914 and renamed Rio de Janeiro in 1921. Until World War II she carried passengers and freight between Germany and South America.

Quick Facts History, General characteristics ...

Rio de Janeiro
History
Name	1914: Santa Ines 1921: Rio de Janeiro
Namesake	1921: Rio de Janeiro
Owner	Hamburg Südamerikanische DG
Operator	1914–40: Hamburg Süd 1940: Kriegsmarine
Port of registry	Hamburg
Builder	Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack
Launched	3 April 1914
Completed	1914
Out of service	8 April 1940
Identification	1914–33: code letters RBVH 1934–40 call sign: DHUC
Fate	Sunk by torpedo, 8 April 1940
General characteristics
Class and type	Santa-class cargo and passenger ship
Tonnage	5,261 GRT, 3,194 NRT
Length	401.9 ft (122.5 m)
Beam	55.0 ft (16.8 m)
Depth	27.8 ft (8.5 m)
Decks	3
Installed power	380 NHP
Propulsion	Triple-expansion engine, single screw
Speed	10 kn (19 km/h)
Crew	50

Close

On 7 March 1940 Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine requisitioned her to carry troops and equipment before Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway and Denmark, began on 9 April 1940.^[1][2]

Bremer Vulkan built Santa Ines, launching her on 3 April 1914 and completing her later that year. Her registered length was 401.9 ft (122.5 m), her beam was 55.0 ft (16.8 m), and her depth was 27.8 ft (8.5 m). She had three decks, and her tonnages were 5,261 GRT and 3,194 NRT. She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 380 NHP.^[3]

Hamburg Süd registered the ship in Hamburg. Her code letters were RBVH^[3] until 1933–34, when they were superseded by the call sign DHUC.^[4]

The secret plan for the ship was to arrive at Bergen immediately after German troops had captured the city. Aboard Rio de Janeiro were 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, less than a day before the attack on Norway began, a surfaced submarine was sighted off Lillesand. At first it was thought to be a German submarine, but it turned out to be the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł, operating with the British Royal Navy. It had 85 A painted on the tower. The submarine signalled for Rio de Janeiro to stop, which she did. The Polish submarine commander, Lieutenant Jan Grudziński, then ordered the ship to surrender or be sunk, but Rio de Janeiro did not reply.

The Polish submarine then torpedoed the ship, which took in water and began sinking.^[5][6] The crew and soldiers on board began to jump into the sea. Grudziński informed the British Admiralty about the sinking of this northbound transport ship with German troops.

At 12.00, an aircraft from the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service started circling around the sinking ship. At 12.50, from a submerged position, the submarine torpedoed the ship a second time. The torpedo hit the ammunition store, causing an explosion. About 180 men survived the sinking and were rescued from the sea and taken by local vessels to Lillesand and Kristiansand. About 200 died.^[1][7]

Survivors told Norwegian officials that the ship's destination had been Bergen. The facts that there were horses aboard and that many of the dead and survivors were wearing military uniforms caused an alert to the central authorities. However, the government did not realize that a German invasion was imminent.^[7]

The exact location of the wreck of Rio de Janeiro was unknown for many years. Fishermen over the years caught parts from the wreck in their fishing nets in this area, and the Royal Norwegian Navy tried to find the wreck.

In June 2015, more than 75 years after the torpedoing, the wreck was finally located by a Norwegian diving company at about 135 metres (443 ft) depth off Lillesand. The wreck is considered a war memorial and thus protected by Norwegian law.^[8][9]