By mistake, the shipwreck was known for years as the German steamer Hans Schmidt.
The Greek iron cargo ship CONSTANTINOS was ran onto a mine between Pola & Venice when on route from Sicily for Trieste on the 3rd April 1919. She sank near Pula (Istria) without casualties. The ship’s crew was rescued by an Italian cruiser that rushed to the scene of the accident. The ship had been chartered at that time by the British government for the transport of military equipment.
The S/S Constantinos was built in 1884 by Mclntyre & Co Ltd., in Hebburn shipyards in Newcastle, Great Britain. The ship was launched on August 23, 1884.
Name: SIS Constantinos
Flag: Greek
Call Sign: HBNP
Construction Material: Iron
Size (GRT): 1781 Size (NRT): 1073
Length: 79 m x 11m x 5,4m
Forecastle: l0 m (33 ft)
Central Superstructure:22.5 m (74 ft)
Quarterdeck:26.8 m (88 ft)
Propulsion: Two-cylinder reciprocaring sream engines
Propellers:1
Speed: 10 knots
If you want to read more about the Constantinos, I can recommend this paper from Dimitris Galon: Link
Hans Schmidt
Constantios is still called “Hans Schmidt” at the diving centers. But the Hans Schmidt was much bigger than Constantinos. She was 117m long (instead of 79m) and 15.3m wide (Instead of 11m). I was able to measure the size of the Constantios wreck and it is for sure NOT the H.S.
Hans Schmidt sank after a mine impact near Pula on January 24, 1943. The correct identification was done after research form the Austrian Divers Mittermeyer and Bresser in 2015.
The wreck of Hans Schmidt was almost completely destroyed by a salvage company. You can find it here: Welmont
Bombs
The ship was attacked by an airplane with bombs. You can still see the bombs that didn’t explode on the sea bed. Imagine the plane flying over the ship dropping all these bombs. Only one or two of them hit the ship and created this huge explosion which made the big hole.
