HRVATSKI RESTAURATORSKI ZAVOD

Odjel za podvodnu arheologiju

Cvijete Zuzorić 43, 10 000 Zagreb
tel.+0385/1/6116848 fax.+0385/1/6116849

Krunoslav Zubčić
dipl.arheolog
E-mail:kruno.zubcic@gmail.com
RESEARCH OF THE „GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI“ SHIPWRECK

• The ship Giuseppe Garibaldi is the second

largest WWI shipwreck in the eastern
Adriatic.

2010IPSIT
For a long time it has been the goal of many expeditions
intending to find the wreck. It was finally discovered by a group
of Czech divers in 2008
In the second expedition a member of the group,
Jan Otys, tragically died during the dive. The ship
lies on a depth of 120m, approx. 9 miles south-
east of Cavtat.
The ship Giuseppe Garibaldi belongs to the armoured cruiser
type. The first ship of the Giuseppe Garibaldi class was made
in 1894, and a total of 10 ships of the class was made,
mostly for Argentine, Spain and Japan
Italy had only three ships of this kind
The dimensions total length – 111m, width – 18m,
draft – 7900 t, speed – max 20 knots, crew – approx.
555
Armature – cannons 1x254mm, 2x203mm,
14x152mm, 10x76mm, 4 torpedos; armouring –
between 75-150mm
• On the beginning of World war I, after Italy
joined the conflict, the Austro-Hungarian navy
attacked the Italian coastal towns (Ancona,
Rimini, Pesaro...), destroying their infrastructure
– railways, etc. The Italian navy makes a similar
action, trying to destroy the railway
communication Dubrovnik – Cavtat – Zelenika,
the main supply line for Boka Kotorska, at the
time the main harbour
On July 17th of 1915 two groups of the Italian navy return to
attack the coastal infrastructure between Dubrovnik and Cavtat.
However, they are noticed by the observation station on
Radostak hill. The information is sent to commander Rudolf
Singule and the sub U4 is sent against the enemy boats. At 3.35
AM the submarine notices the enemy ship Garibaldi, and follows
it for almost an hour on its route towards Dubrovnik and after
the change of course, to Boka. At 4.36 AM Singule launches two
torpedos from a distance of 600m.
The damage causes the ship to sink in just 3 minutes. 525 sailors
with the admiral were saved, and 53 men died
Because of the great depth of the wrack it was
decided to use manned submersible for research
It is a submarine for three persons, named Eurosub, with a
maximum working depth of 200m. It was built in Germany
• Next step in research:

• 1. side-scan survey of the wreck and site AUV

• 2. Filming the details of the wreck ROV

Thank you!