Information

Built at the Quarnaro shipyards in Fiume by the Italian Navy, the 32.9 m long and 7.9 m wide tug Colosso was launched on 12 February 1942. Equipped with a coal-fired steam engine, the Colosso towed the Viminale on 23 January 1943 from Palermo to Taranto via Messina. On 8 September 1943, she was requisitioned by the German army in Genoa. It was equipped with a machine gun at the front and a 40 mm Bofors gun at the rear, which have now disappeared. In April 1945, an Allied air attack sank the Colosso. The elements of the sinking are unclear as exploration of the wreck reveals no evidence of bombs or torpedoes. This wreck is located in the bay between Bonassola and Framura, north/northwest of Punta di Monte Grosso.

This last example of a Class V tug (Vigoroso) is however listed as having been sunk in Genoa! The Colosso lies on the sand, between 33 and 39 m deep. Through a hatch, you reach the forward hold. You recognize the lazarette, the crew's quarters with bunks and shelves. Enter the engine room, aft of the chimney, and detail the piping with valves and pressure gauges. Sometimes lobsters have taken up residence here. At the stern, the propeller and rudder appear huge in relation to the size of the ship. Mainly colonized by scorpion fish, the superstructures of the Colosso also concentrate on nudibranchs. The current is quite weak.

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