Italian ship Ramb I
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The Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I was built at Genoa by Ansaldo in 1937. She was 3,667 tons displacement, oil powered, and capable of 18½ knots.
She was the first of four ships of her design. The others were the Ramb II, the Ramb III, and the Ramb IV. They were built for the Royal Banana Monopoly Business (Regia Azienda Monopolio Banane) and originally intended to be "banana boats", transporting refrigerated bananas from Somaliland and Eritrea in Italian East Africa.
The design of Ramb I, however, enabled it to be refitted as an "auxiliary cruiser" for commerce raiding and, following Italy's declaration of war on 10 June 1940, she joined the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) as part of the Italian Navy's Red Sea Flotilla. The conversion of the banana boat to an armed auxiliary cruiser was done at the Eritrean port of Massawa, where she was armed with two 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns and eight 13.2 mm anti-aircraft guns.
Ramb I had an unsuccessful foray into the Red Sea.
In February 1941, as the East African Campaign began to go badly for the Italians, Massawa, Ramb I's home port, became threatened. With the Italian colonial ship Eritrea and Ramb II, Ramb I slipped through the British blockade off Perim and sailed into the Indian Ocean on 20 February 1941. Ramb I was intended to raid shipping off the Dutch East Indies.
Acting on reports of commerce raiders in the area, the Royal New Zealand Navy cruiser HMNZS Leander was sent to patrol the area of the Indian Ocean to the south and slightly west of India. On 27 February, Leander intercepted Ramb I off the Maldive Islands and challenged her. Ramb I attempted to bluff Leander with misleading signals but, although Ramb I was not flying Italian colours, Leander ordered her to stop. The Italian flag was raised and Ramb I simultaneously opened fire from 3,000 yards (3,000 m), splinters from her first salvo hitting the Leander. Leander replied with five salvoes within the next minute, leaving Ramb I seriously damaged and on fire. She struck her colours and Leander ceased firing.
Ramb I had been badly damaged and, as Leander closed, the order to abandon ship was given. Ramb I was destroyed by an explosion after the majority of the crew had abandoned her. 113 men, including her captain, were rescued by the Leander, of whom one later died from burns. The survivors of Ramb I were disembarked at Addu Atoll and subsequently transported to prisoner of war camps in Colombo, Ceylon by the tanker Pearleaf.
