The cargo S/S Gilda, loaded with magnesite and equipment at Triest, hit a mine 3.5 nautical miles WNW of Punta Salvore (Point Savudrija, Croatia) on June 23rd 1915. Gilda sank in three minutes time, but without loss of life.
The stem ship Gilda was built in 1881 as a steel schooner in the Vulcan A.G. shipyard. Features: GRT 859, NRT 500, length 62.8 m, width 8.1 m and height 5.7 m. In 1907, the shipowner Cosulich bought it for the company Austro Americana soc. di navigation.
First Worl War – 23 June 1915 A convoy of three steamers staeted from Trieste and headed past Savudrija to cross Kvarner during the night and reached a safe harbor by morning. They sailed one after the other on the same course of Brunette, Radium and Gilda. Gilda followed the others with her load of magnesite, when at 6:30 p.m. she encountered a mine. The detonation on the left side of the first warehouse was violent and tore off the bow, which is now standing vertically on the bottom in a distance of 50 m from the rest.
The ship sank within three minutes but all 22 crew members managed to klimb into a single rescue boat. 5 sailors were slightly wounded by shrapnel. They rowed into the port of Savudria.
Text: Danijel Germek
The Dive
We were invited by Danijel to dive from his sailing boat to scan the Gilda. Danijel were telling a lot about the story of Gilda and the other wrecks in this area. He is really an expert about the wrecks around Slovenia and Croatia.
The model
Due to the mine explosion, the wreck is split into two sections with a distance of 50m. I scanned the track to the bow area and integrated it into the model. You can download the model here: https://dive3d.eu/docs/download/