HMAT Wandilla

SS ''Wandilla'' was a steamship built in 1912 for the Adelaide Steamship Company. The ship operated on the Fremantle to Sydney run until 1915, when she was acquired for military service and redesignated HMAT ''Wandilla''. Initially used as a troop transport, the vessel was converted to a hospital ship in 1916. ''Wandilla'' was returned to her owners at the end of the war, then was sold to the Bermuda & West Indies SS Company and renamed ''Fort St. George'' in 1921. She was sold in 1935 to Lloyd Triestino and renamed ''Cesarea'' before being renamed ''Arno'' in 1938. At the start of World War II, the ship was acquired by the Regia Marina for use as a hospital ship. She was sunk by British aircraft on 10 September 1942.

Design and construction

The ship was built in 1912, by William Beardmore and Company, Glasgow, together with her sister ships SS ''Warilda'' and SS ''Willochra''.

Operational history

She was used on the Fremantle to Sydney passenger-cargo service until May 1915. After the start of World War I, ''Wandilla'' was one of several Adelaide Steamship Company vessels requisitioned for military service. The ship was initially used as a troop transport under the designation His Majesty's Australian Transport (HMAT) ''Wandilla'', and delivered Australian soldiers to Europe.Wylie, Ron (2006)
The Australian Merchant Navy: Adelaide Steamship
. Retrieved 2009-11-11. In July 1916, the vessel was converted into a hospital ship. While serving as a hospital ship, she was torpedoed by a U-boat in February 1918, although the torpedo failed to explode. ''Wandilla'' was manned by Australian officers and (during part of her service) Australian crews. Commonwealth control ended 24 January 1917.

After being returned to her owners in 1919, she continued plying the coastal passenger-cargo service until 1921; Adelaide Steamship Company felt that there was no future in coastal passenger services, and ''Wandilla'' was sold to the Bermuda & West Indies SS Company and renamed ''Fort St. George''. She was modified by replacing her cargo holds with water tanks to supply fresh water to the hotels in Bermuda. She was also modified to accommodate 380 first class and 50 second class passengers. She collided with White Star Line's in 1924 while in New York City, and was out of service for a period of time for repairs. She was sold in 1935 to Lloyd Triestino, Trieste and renamed ''Cesarea'' before being renamed ''Arno'' in 1938.

Fate

The ''Arno'' was requisitioned as a hospital ship by the Regia Marina during World War II. The ship and its crew members were featured in the 1941 Italian propaganda film '' The White Ship'' (Italian: ''La nave bianca''). The ''Arno'' was sunk by aerial torpedoes from the Royal Air Force on 10 September 1942 at , about north-east of Ras el Tin, near Tobruk. It has been alleged that a German radio message decoded on 31 August 1942 showed that the ship was being used to carry supplies to Benghazi in violation of the Hague Convention, making the sinking a justified attack. However, as noted by lawyer Alfred-Maurice de Zayas in his 1979 work '' The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939–1945'', the Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau identified the sinking of the ''Wandilla'' was a war crime.

References

External links

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
Transporting the 1st AIF.
Clyde-built ships register

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wandilla
Iron and steel steamships of Australia
Passenger ships of Australia
Troop ships of Australia
World War I auxiliary ships of Australia
Hospital ships of Australia
Hospital ships of Italy
Hospital ships in World War I
Hospital ships in World War II
World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
World War II naval ships of Italy
Ships sunk by British aircraft
Ships of the Australian Army
Maritime incidents in September 1942
1912 ships