The Artiglio salvaged gold arrested at Plymouth

On 27 June 1932 the Artiglio arrived in Plymouth to have its gold from the salvage operation of the P&O ocean liner SS Egypt ‘arrested’. Amateur cinematographer, Claude Endicott is there to film it. Commendatore Quaglia sent a message to Lloyd’s and steamed for Plymouth, where among those to greet him are Sir Percy Mackinnon, Chairman of Lloyd’s, and Sir Joseph Lowrey, Secretary of the Salvage Association. The Artiglio’s initial haul amounts to £180,000 in gold bullion.

The P&O liner SS Egypt sank in the Bay of Biscay in 1922, loaded with gold, silver and coins worth £36m at today's rates. The liner had been on its way to Bombay when it was hit by the French cargo steamer the Seine. The SORIMA-sponsored Artiglio won the salvage contract and found the wreck in 1930 but the first Artiglio boat was blown up on an operation in the South of France causing loss of life. A new Artiglio boat was equipped with Alberto Gianni's "torretta butoscopica". The recovery led by chief diver,  Mario Raffaelli together with his team of divers, Raffaello Mancini, Fortunato Sondini, and Giovanni Lenci occurred at a depth of 130 metres deemed impossible to reach at the time.