dampfer AGHIA ZONI P.

[Dido]

Τhe page on AGHIA ZONI P. at: www.historisches-marinearchiv.de/projekte/verluste_griechenland/ausgabe2.php?where_value=2&lang=1
contains a photo (attachment 1) that is not the correct vessel as it shows the 1869-built French cargo ship SAINT MARC.

It is apparent that the mentioned collector "G.Kamakaris" collected this photo from the Greek maritime portal nautilia.gr. To be precise, I had uploaded this photo (with delcampe.net mentioned as its source) at the webpage: www.nautilia.gr/forum/showthread.php?98521-%C1%E3%DF%E1-%C6%FE%ED%E7-%C1%F1%E3%EF%F3%F4%FC%EB%E9%EF%ED-%CC%DE%EB%EF%F2-Saint-Marc-Argostolion-Milos-Aghia-Zoni&p=538215#post538215 (attachment 2) where we discussed about AGHIA ZONI (ex-SAINT MARC) and the 1899-built AGHIA ZONI P. (ex-TARANTO).
Unfortunately the "good collector" was not careful and copied a photo of AGHIA ZONI (ex-SAINT MARC), then cropped it and offered it to SVG as a photo of AGHIA ZONI P. Somehow, the same "laundry" technique is evident in other photos appearing in SVG as supplied by "G. Kamakaris" ...

Back to more interesting issues, I would like to add that TARANTO was sold in 1931 to Levante Commercial Shipping, Larnaca and hoisted the British flag. She was supposed to sail from Piraeus to Izmir-Cyprus-Haifa under the new name GEORGIOS, but the renaming did not took place.
In 1933 TARANTO was sold to G. Papagiannakis and registered in Piraeus as AGHIA ZONI P.
In 1934 she was sold to Arg. Tangos (not 1940 as mentioned in SVG) but in the same year she reverted to Papagiannakis' ownership following a legal battle.
She went aground at Kyparisia on 11/2/1940 and although later refloated she was abandoned there as a total loss.

A photo of AGHIA ZONI P. and data on some voyages to Palestine with Jewish immigrants can be found at: http://www.nostal.co.il/Site.asp?table=Terms&option=single&serial=13005&subject=%E0%E5%F0%E9%E5%FA%20%EE%F2%F4%E9%EC%E9%ED&portal=%E4%F2%F4%EC%E4%20%E5%F2%EC%E9%E5%FA%20%EC%E0%94%E9#

[Dido]

Byron Tesapsides has shared the attached photo in the "WWII Vehicles in Greece" group in facebook. The location was identified as Kyparissia and the exposed wreck belongs to the AGIA ZONI P.

Regarding the fate of the wreck, it was not scrapped by the Italian occupation forces as suggested at HMA:

13.04.1940 erfolgloser Bergungsversuch durch Hochseebergungsschlepper IRINI VERNICOS. Das Schiff wurde als Totalverlust erklärt und lag bis Sommer 1940 vor Ort. Vermutlich später von der italienischen Besatzungsarmee abgewrackt*. [G][H]

I translate the following from the book "Salvaging History":

"She was refloated [in 4.40] but grounded again to avoid sinking because of breaches. She is mentioned in a document of Aug.1945 of the Messinian Naval Division as "inside port, useless, salvage difficult" The wreck was auctioned by O.A.N. (Shipwreck Salvage Organization) in Dec.1950."

I attach a corresponding entry from O.A.N.'s records stating that the wreck was allocated for refloating (or scrapping) to Koutouvelis & Eustathiou.

[Dimitris Galon]

Danke für die Info
Gruß
DG