The Lugano was part of convoy HH24 which the Drake was escorting when she was torpedoed north of Rathlin.  Lugano along with some other ships of the convoy were instructed to disperse to Rathlin Sound but unknown to the convoy controller, the submarine which had torpedoed Drake was also heading for the Sound.  When the Lugano was 2 miles SW of Bull Point, she was hit amidships by a torpedo from U.79 and sank almost immediately but there was no loss of life.  The crew were able to take to the boats and were picked up by other ships of the convoy.  The Lugano was a ship only 6 months old and was built by Irvine’s Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. West Hartlepool.

Diving information – The Lugano is lying upright in 90 metres approximately 2 miles SW of Bull Point. Echo soundings taken over the wreck have shown that it is only 80 metres to deck level. The wreck has not been dived so far, for obvious reasons, namely that the currents over the wreck are very strong as she is lying out in the main tidal stream but there is a slack of about 20 minutes on the turn of the tide. At the time of her loss the Lugano was on passage from Norfolk (Virginia) to Liverpool with a cargo of cotton, steel and alcohol.