Ramb IV was an Italian hospital ship, built at

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

by the United Yards of the Adriatic (''Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico'', CRDA) in 1938. ''Ramb IV'' was the last of four sister ships all built to the same design. The other ships were the , , and the . The four ships were built for the Royal Banana Monopoly Business (''Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane''). These ships were originally devised as "

banana boats A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distingu ...

" for transporting refrigerated bananas from Somaliland and Eritrea in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the S ...

. In the event of war, the design of ''Ramb IV'' allowed it to be refitted as an "

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...

" for commerce raiding. She was 3,667 tons displacement, oil powered, and capable of knots. Following a declaration of war, ''Ramb IV'' was capable of being armed with two guns and eight anti-aircraft guns and of becoming an

. Instead, ''Ramb IV'' was converted into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

for the Italian Royal Navy (''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

''). The goal of ''Ramb IV'', in case of fall of Eritrea, was transporting Italian wounded back to Italy. However, this mission was impossible because of the British control of the Suez Canal. In addition, it would have been suicide to attempt to round the Cape of Good Hope and enter the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

past

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. The work to convert the banana boat to a hospital ship was performed at the Eritrean port of Massawa. ''Ramb IV'' was part of the Italian Navy's

Red Sea Flotilla The Red Sea Flotilla (''Flottiglia del mar rosso'') was part of the ''Regia Marina Italia'' (Italian Royal Navy) based at Massawa in the colony of Italian Eritrea, part of Italian East Africa. During World War II, the Red Sea Flotilla was active a ...

. When the port of Massawa fell on 10 April 1941 during the East African Campaign, the British captured ''Ramb IV''. Pressed into British service, she then operated in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and later off

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. ''Ramb IV'' was bombed and set afire by German aircraft and sank off

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

on 10 May 1942.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramb 4 Naval ships of Italy captured by the United Kingdom during World War II Hospital ships of Italy Hospital ships in World War II World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German aircraft 1937 ships RAMB ships Ships built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico Ships built in Monfalcone Maritime incidents in May 1942 Captured ships

See also

References

Bibliography