Boats

Fratelli Bandiera was a medium-range submarine, leader of the class (Bandiera) of the same name. Designed in 1927 by Colonel Curio Bernardis and belonging to the “Bernardis” type with a single hull with resistant central double bottoms and external counter-hulls, the Bandiera were an improved and enlarged version of the previous Pisani class, from which they differed for greater autonomy and speed when submerged, and a greater number of torpedo tubes (eight instead of six).

Fratelli Bandiera during the war with the modified cunning tower and painting schema

Brief and Partial Chronology

February 11th, 1928

Set-up started at the Trieste Shipyard in Monfalcone (construction number 187).

August 7th, 1929

Bandiera was launched at the Trieste Shipyard in Monfalcone.

The launch of the submarine Fratelli Bandiera

August 12^th (or September 10^th), 1930

Entry into active service. Together with the twin boats Luciano Manara, Ciro Menotti and Santorre Santarosa (and for a period, also the minelayer submarine Filippo Corridoni), Bandiera formed the VI Submarine Squadron of medium range, based in Taranto.

1932

The VI Medium Range Submarine Squadron was renamed VII Medium Range Submarine Squadron, also based in Taranto. The Bandiera was visited by P. Yu. Oras, head of the technical-scientific committee of the Soviet Navy.  The U.S.S.R.’s navy was interested in the Italian shipbuilding industry, from which in the years that follow, it had several new units designed and built.

1932-1933

The commander of the Bandiera is the Lieutenant Commander Primo Longobardo.

July 1932, Bandiera with the original cunning tower, but with the bow already modified.
(From STORIA militare)

1933

The VII Medium Range Submarine Squadron was transferred to Brindisi, from where it carried out training activities and short cruises in Italian waters. The Bandiera cruised the eastern Mediterranean, calling at various ports in Greece and passing through Tobruk and Tripoli before returning to Italy.

1934

The VII Medium Range Submarine Squadron was renamed VI Medium Range Submarine Squadron, and it was transferred to Naples.

December 23rd, 1934

At 9.15 AM, while Bandiera was leaving the moorings of the port of Monfalcone to move to Pula, there was an explosion in the crankcase of the portside diesel engine, which had just started. The explosion injured twelve men (according to another source, ten) who were in the engine room at the time. The sailors who were on deck at the time of the explosion rushed to the stern hatch and helped the injured personnel getting out, and then, together with the firefighters of the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico, to extinguish the small fires that the explosion had set in the diesel engine room and in the adjacent ones.

The wounded were taken to the nearby CRDA infirmary, where they received first aid. One of them, the chief mechanic Lorenzo Bettini, died after a quarter of an hour. The others were taken to the civil hospital of Monfalcone. The second chief mechanic Antonio Ruggero, one of the injured, would later recount the incident to the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Navy to investigate the tragic accident: “On the 23rd at 9.15 AM I was in the Diesel Engines room, I was in the corridor intent on monitoring the lubrication of the portside M.T., when I heard a loud bang and I was hit by the flames and a wave of air. The walkway collapsed under me, and I was about to plummet into the bilge when I clung to the circulating oil drainpipes. I groped my way to the stern hatch and as soon as it was clear I came on deck. I was taken to the CRDA infirmary where I received first aid…”

End of 1935

Bandiera was deployed in Tobruk together with the boats of the same class.

1936

Bandiera was transferred to Massawa during the Ethiopian War, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe Moschini, to verify the operational capabilities of the class in hot climates.

Bandiera in Massawa

Spring 1938

The boat returned to Italy and was stationed in Messina, where it was part of the XXXII Submarine Squadron (later XXXIV Submarine Squadron) together with Manara, Menotti and Santarosa.

May 5th, 1938

Under the command of the Lieutenant Commander Carlo Liannazza, Bandiera took part, together with the boats of the same class, in the naval magazine “H” organized in the Gulf of Naples for Adolf Hitler’s visit to Italy.

1939

Bandiera underwent a period of maintenance work in Messina. In the same year, the boat was visited in Augusta by Benito Mussolini and the commander-in-chief of the submarine squadron, Admiral Antonio Legnani.

Bandiera in Messina in 1939
(Collection Ennio Bartoli)

June 18th, 1939

Bandiera received the combat flag in Cagliari.

March 22nd, 1940

Lieutenant Renato Maria Pelella, 32, from Torre del Greco, takes command of the Bandiera.

June 1st, 1940

Bandiera made a sortie from Trapani for training from 7.20 AM to noon, having covered 36 miles.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into the war, Bandiera, together with Manara, Menotti and Santarosa, formed the XXXIII Submarine Squadron, part of the VIII Grupsom, based in Trapani (another source speaks of the III Grupsom of Messina).

June 17th, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Renato Maria Pelella, Bandiera left Trapani at 11.55 AM for a patrol in the area bounded by the parallels 37°20′ N and 38°00′ N and the meridians 00°00′ W and 00°40′ W, twenty (or 29) miles west of Cape Palos (Spain). During the mission, the submarine encountered Spanish ships and even an Italian one on several occasions, thus having to abandon the attack maneuvers each time.

June 21st, 1940

In the evening, Bandiera detects the engines of a ship about 7 km away on the hydrophones; At 08:11 PM (according to another source, 07:45 PM) the submarine launched a 533 mm torpedo type W 260 against it from 1,200 meters away, in position 37°03′ N and 00°42′ W (about twenty miles west of Cape Palos). The torpedo misses the target, probably due to rough seas. (Another source claims that this incident took place on June 19th).

July 1st, 1940

Bandiera returned to Trapani at 9.46 AM, after having covered 1,418 miles.

July 8th, 1940

The boat set sail from Trapani at 8.15 AM for training, under the command of Lieutenant Renato Maria Pelella and returned to port at 10.35 AM.

July 11th, 1940

Lieutenant Pelella left command of the Bandiera to Lieutenant Carlo Fecia di Cossato

July 16th, 1940

At 00.15 Bandiera sailed from Trapani under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Fecia di Cossato for a patrol in position 37°55′ N and 09°20′ E. After a few hours, however, he was ordered to return, reaching the base at 6:50 AM after traveling 63.5 miles.

July 16th, 1940

Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, 38 years old, took command of the Bandiera.

August 2nd, 1940

At 8.16 AM, Bandiera, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, left Trapani for training, returning at 11.20 AM after having covered 21 miles.

August 22nd, 1940

Bandiera left Tapani at 4:05 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, to move to Naples.

August 23rd, 1940

The boat arrived in Naples at 12:18 PM, after having travelled 210 miles.

September 21^st through September 27th, 1940

Training sorties from Naples.

September 30rd, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, Bandiera left Naples at 18.15 to move to Trapani.

October 1st, 1940

The boat arrived in Trapani at 01.50 PM, after having covered 204 miles.

October 4th, 1940

Training sorties from Trapani.

October 7th, 1940

Bandiera left Trapani at 2.48 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, to move to Messina.

October 8th, 1940

He arrived in Messina at 8.25 AM, after having covered 184 miles.

October 12th, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, Bandiera sailed from Messina at 09:00 PM for a patrol south of Crete in the area between the meridians 24°50′ E and 25°40′ E and the parallels 34°10′ N and 34°45′ N.

October 18th, 1940

At 11:40 PM, south of Crete, Bandiera sighted two destroyers engaged in anti-submarine search from 1,200 meters and dove 60 meters to avoid being located. That is what happens. (According to another source, this episode would have taken place on October 21st and Bandiera attempted to attack the destroyers, was detected, and bombarded with depth charges without however suffering damage).

October 25th, 1940

The boat returned to Messina at 8.50 AM, after having covered 1335 miles.

November 8th, 1940

Bandiera sailed from Messina at 05.05 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, for a patrol southeast of Malta, in position 34°45′ N and 15°40′ E. with four other submarines (Topazio, Corallo, Goffredo Mameli, Pier Capponi), to form a barrage about ninety miles south/southeast of Malta to counter the British operation “Coat”.

November 13th, 1940

Bandiera returned to Messina at 4:20 PM, after traveling 696 miles without sighting anything.

November 15th, 1940

The boat sailed from Messina at 23:45 for another patrol southeast of Malta, this time within a radius of twenty miles from 34°20′ N and 16°00′ E.

November 19th, 1940

Recalled by Maricosom, Bandiera returned to Messina at 5.15 PM. During the mission, the crew spotted only one plane, at a great distance. The, it left again at 07:00 PM for another patrol southeast of Malta, in the same area as the previous one.

November 23rd, 1940

The boat returned to Messina at 02.30 PM, after having covered 1,164 miles. During this patrol, the crew spotted only one aircraft.

December 4th, 1940

The boat left Messina, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, from 08.15 AM to 03:00 PM travelling 56 miles.

December 9th, 1940

Bandiera left Messina at 4.40 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, to move to Trapani.

December 10th, 1940

The boat arrived in Trapani at 12.45 PM, after having covered 187 miles.

December 22nd, 1940

Bandiera set sail from Trapani at 8 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, for a patrol in the Strait of Sicily, for a length of twenty miles along an axis oriented to the southeast from point 36°20′ N and 13°00′ E.

December 27th, 1940

The boat r to Trapani at 1:30 PM, after having covered 552 miles.

January 7th, 1941

The boat sailed from Trapani at 6 PM under the command of Lieutenant Pietro Prosperini, for a patrol in the Strait of Sicily along the meridian starting from point 36°25′ N and 12°40′ E.

January 10th, 1941

Between 7:45 and 8:36 AM, Bandiera, lurking thirty miles southeast of Pantelleria, detected on the hydrophones the explosions in the distance of six approaching bombs. The explosions are most likely linked to the passage, not far away, of a British convoy sailing from Gibraltar to Malta and Piraeus as part of the complex operation “Excess”, which involves the simultaneous transit of a total of four convoys.

January 13th, 1941

The boat returned to Trapani at 10:00 AM, after having covered 664 miles.

February 24th, 1941

Still under the command of Lieutenant Prosperini, Bandiera left Trapani at02:00 PM to move to Naples.

February 25th, 1941

The boat arrived in Naples at 01:00 PM, after traveling 206 miles.

February 25^th, through April 9^th, 1941

Under maintenance in Naples. During this period, Lieutenant Prosperini left the command of the Bandiera, which was provisionally taken over by Sub-Lieutenant Giovanni Manunta (from February 25th to March 25th) and then by Franco Fiaschi (from March 25th to April 9th). At the end of the maintenance work, Lieutenant Carlo Forni, 32, from Genoa, took over command.

April 16^th through May 20th, 1941

Once maintenance was completed, Bandiera exited Naples for several training cruises.

May 20th, 1941

Bandiera left for Trapani at 02.15 PM (according to another source 06.30 PM), under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Forni.

May 21st, 1941

The boat arrived in Trapani at 08:00 AM (according to another source, 01.30 PM), after having covered 184 miles (according to another source, 202).

May 28^th through June 3rd, 1941

Training cruises.

June 5th, 1941

Bandiera set sail from Trapani at 11.40 PM, under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Forni, for a patrol in position 38°20′ N and 10°00′ E, off Capo Spartivento in Sardinia. The boat was to patrol, together with the submarines Manara and Diaspro, the waters west of Sicily in case British Force H, which has been reported to leave Gibraltar, which escorting a British convoy bound for Malta with supplies where to be detected.

June 12th, 1941

The boat returned to Trapani at 6.40 AM after having covered 1,185 miles without having sighted anything.

June 19th, 1941

At 2.15 PM, Bandiera (Lieutenant Carlo Forni) left Trapani to move to Messina.

June 20th, 1941

The boat arrived in Messina at 08:00 AM, after having covered 184 miles.

June 30th, 1941

The boat left Messina at 2.15 PM, still under the command of Lieutenant Forni, to return to Trapani.

July 1st, 1941

Bandiera arrived in Trapani at 8.20 AM, after having covered 186 miles.

July 4^th through July 22nd, 1941

Three sorties from Trapani for short training cruises.

July 22nd, 1941

Bandiera set sail from Trapani at 06.40 PM for a patrol southeast of the Island of Pantelleria, in position 36°40′ N and 12°40′ E, under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Forni. There, it was to form a barrage between Pantelleria and Malta together with her sister boat Luciano Manara and two other submarines, Dessiè and Ruggiero Settimo, to contrast to the British operation “Substance”, consisting of sending to Malta a convoy.

July 23rd, 1941

At 7.20 PM, Bandiera sighted a convoy of six ships (“Substance”) from a distance of 16 km, with a course of 250° and a speed of 14 knots, southeast of Pantelleria. It could not get close enough to attack, so it just sent the discovery signal.

At 9:23 PM, while on the surface, the Bandiera sighted a large ship about 7,000 meters away, but lost contact at 9:50 PM (according to another source, Bandiera sighted first Force H and then the convoy, but failed to get into a favorable position to attack either formation.)

July 24th, 1941

At 7.05 AM, still southeast of Pantelleria, Bandiera sighted a motorboat sailing at 14 knots from 13 km away. Approaching to attack, at 7:45 AM the submarine sighted a destroyer at a distance of 3,000 meters and approached it to attack, but a maneuver of the destroyer thwarted the attempt. Having returned his attention to the motor ship, however, Bandiera was unable to get close enough, and had to give up the attack.

July 27th, 1941

Bandiera arrived in Trapani at 10.40 AM, after having covered 509 miles.

July 31st, 1941

At 03.50 PM, Bandiera (Lieutenant Carlo Forni) sailed from Trapani for a patrol east of Pantelleria, in position 36°40′ N and 12°50′ E, again forming a barrage between Pantelleria and Malta with Manara, Tembien and Zaffiro in contrast to another British operation to supply Malta, “Style”.

August 3rd, 1941

At 3:50 AM, Bandiera received a signal of discovery of a damaged cruiser and headed for the indicated position to attack it but did not sight anything.

August 5th, 1941

The boat returned to Trapani at 08:00 AM, after having covered 584 miles, without having sighted any enemy ships.

August 22nd, 1941

At 08.10 PM, Bandiera (Lieutenant Carlo Forni) sailed from Trapani for a patrol off Ras Mustafà and Kelibia, in an area bounded by the meridian 11°12′ E, the Tunisian coast and the parallels 36°53′ N and 36°57′ N (according to another source, it initially received orders to patrol a sector located south of Pantelleria, and then move off Cape Bon).

August 24th, 1941

Bandiera and the submarines Squalo, Topazio and Tritone form a barrage in the Strait of Sicily together with thirteen MAS, to intercept an alleged British convoy sailing from Gibraltar to Malta, following the sighting of large British naval forces.

August 27th, 1941

At 2:58 AM a silhouette was sighted two and a half miles away, and at 3:15 AM, in position 36°50′ N and 11°07′ E (east of Cape Ras Mustafa), Bandiera launched two torpedoes against it from 1,200 meters away, without success.

M/V Deucalion. On 12 August 1942, five German Heinkel He 111 hit it and it was later scuttled by HMS Bramham.

The target was the British motor ship Deucalion, sailing from Valletta to Gibraltar under the command of Captain Percival John Pycraft. It was one of the merchant ships that arrived in Malta in July as part of operation “Substance”, which were now returning unloaded to Gibraltar sailing alone. The motor ship did not even notice the attack. However, he realized it when at 3.18 AM Bandiera, in pursuit after having launched the signal of discovery, opened fire with the cannon from 3,000 meters away. Deucalion maneuvers at high speed, making it difficult to adjust aiming at the target, and reacted in turn with its cannon.  The ship’s shots exploded a few meters from the Bandiera, temporarily blinding the gunners and killing two men, the hydrophone operator sailor Antonio Colucci, 17 years old, from Cirò, and the signal sergeant Giovanni Pinasio, 21 years old, from Piran.

(The register of the fallen and missing of the Navy in the Second World War, however, indicates somewhat different dates and places of death: Colucci in Palestine on August 16th, 1945, and Pinasio in Italy on April 26th, 1944).

For its part, Bandiera managed to hit the mine guard equipment on the left side with a shot. On the British ship it was believed to have been hit by coastal batteries, or to have caused a mine to explode. The brief clash ended at 3.55 AM, in position 36°58′ N and 11°06′ E, as Deucalion managed to outrun the pursuer thanks to its greater speed (according to another source, Commander Forni, believing that he was dealing with a fast and well-armed auxiliary cruiser, decided to break contact and disengage by diving). Bandiera fired a total of twelve shots.

The British destroyer H.M.S. Farndale, which at this juncture had joined forces with Deucalion to take over escort duties, spotted an object in the darkness but did not realize that it was a submarine.

The navigation of the Deucalion to Gibraltar was very eventful: before meeting Bandiera the motor ship has already detonated a mine with the cable of and was fruitlessly shelled by the French coastal batteries of Tunisia, and after the encounter with Bandiera it still run into two MAS (which will not attack it, considering it a French ship) and will also overcome unscathed another attacks by the submarine Squalo and four torpedo bombers – one of which hit the motor ship with a torpedo which did not explode – before arriving in Gibraltar.

September 1st, 1941

At 10.59, Bandiera, sighting a French merchant ship five miles from Ras Mustafa, ordered it to stop by firing a warning shot, then sent on board an inspection squad. It thus emerges that the steamer iwas the Strasbourgeois, of 2,895 GRT, sailing from Casablanca to Sfax with a cargo of barley, of which navigation Bandiera had not been informed in advance. Once it has been established that everything was in order, the French ship was allowed to continue.

September 3rd, 1941

At 9.46 AM, Bandiera sighted off Ras Mustafà another French merchant ship whose presence was not preannounced, the Nantaise, sailing from Port de Bouc to Susa. Once again, the ship was stopped and then allowed to continue after an examination of the documents.

September 5th, 1941

Bandiera returned to Trapani at 3.25 PM, after having covered 1,199 miles.

September 25th, 1941

At 06.26 PM, Bandiera, under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Forni, sailed from Trapani for a patrol off the coast of Algeria and southwest of Sardinia, in an area bounded by the meridians 07°20′ E and 07°40′ E and the parallels 37°50′ N and 38°10′ N. It was to form a barrage north of Cape Ferrat and southwest of Sardinia together with another submarine, Squalo (according to another source also a third, Delfino), to intercept a British naval force that had sailed from Gibraltar as part of Operation “Halberd”, which had begun on September 24th.

September 27th, 1941

At 11:40 PM, a submarine was sighted 1,000 meters away, believed to be Italian, and not wanting to risk, Forni ordered them to leave the area.

September 28th, 1941

At 08:50 PM, Bandiera was ordered to move to 37°20′ N and 07°30′ E, to intercept an enemy ship – again the Deucalion – which was believed – wrongly – to have been damaged by aircraft in that position. Arriving at the indicated spot at midnight, however, Bandiera did not find anything.

September 29th, 1941

At 00.50, in position 37°20′ N and 07°30′ E (for another source, 37°26′ N and 07°14′ E), a submarine resembling the Squalo was sighted; However, Forni decides to leave as a precaution.

At 7:52 AM, two destroyers were sighted 10 km away; one of them, the British H.M.S. Gurkha, in turn sighted the Bandiera and hunted it from 8.16 AM to 11.30 AM, launching 14 depth charges adjusted to explode at depths between 45 and 90 meters. The submarine managed to get away without being damaged.

September 30th, 1941

At 1:05 AM, in position 37°20′ N and 07°30′ E, Bandiera sighted an unknown submarine and moved away to avoid incidents; it was probably Squalo.

October 1st, 1941

Bandiera returned to Trapani at 11.15 PM, after having covered 955 miles.

October 3rd, 1941

Still under the command of Lieutenant Forni, the boat sailed from Trapani at 06.27 PM for a patrol 6 miles south-south-west of Punta Bassana (Marettimo).

October 4th, 1941

At 3:45 AM, eight miles south of Marettimo, Bandiera sighted an enemy submarine, with a course of 160° and a speed of 12 knots, from 2.5 km away. The boat was the British H.M.S. Urge, returning to Malta at the end of a patrol. Bandiera veered portside to approach and attack, but when the distance had dropped to 1000-1200 meters, at 3.55 AM, H.M.S. Urge dove rapidly (in 40 seconds) and contact was lost.

At 6:17 PM, 5.5 miles by 275° from Punta Sottile, a buoy was sighted drifting, detached from a minefield and it was sunk with musket and machine gun fire. Three minutes later, an Italian submarine was sighted, believed to be Ambra or Ametista (it was Ametista). At 8.40 PM, Bandiera returned to Trapani, after having covered 140 miles.

October 7th, 1941

At 8.40 AM, while Bandiera was moored in Trapani near the submarines Squalo and Narvalo, a shot was accidentally fired from Squalo’s cannon: the accident caused one wounded on Bandiera – a sailor – one on the Squalo, and one dead and two wounded on the Narvalo.

October 10th, 1941

Bandiera set sail from Trapani at 6.15 PM, still under the command of Lieutenant Forni, for a patrol between the meridians 10°00′ E and 10°20′ E and the parallels 37°20′ N and 37°40′ N, east of the Galite.

October 16th, 1941

Bandiera and the submarine Aradam were ordered to form a barrage between the Galite and Cape Bougaroni following the departure from Gibraltar of Force. A total of 11 submarines are deployed in the Strait of Sicily to form a barrage: Bandiera, Ambra, Ametista, Corallo, Diaspro, Alagi, Squalo, Serpente, Turchese, Narvalo, and Delfino.

October 18, 1941

October 20th, 1941

Bandiera returned to Trapani at 11.36.

November 11th, 1941

At 9.25 PM, Bandiera, under the command of Lieutenant Forni, sailed from Trapani to patrol the “K.2” area, between the meridians 36°53′ N and 36°57′ N, the parallel 11°12′ E and the Tunisian coast.

November 17th, 1941

The boat was ordered to move to the west of Malta, in an area bounded by the meridians 13°10′ E and 13°40′ E and the parallels 35°00′ N and 35°40′ N.

November 19th, 1941

Bandiera returned to Trapani at 7:50 PM, at the end of an uneventful mission, in which the boat covered 1,097 miles.

November 26th, 1941

The boat left Trapani at 2.15 PM, still under the command of Lieutenant Forni, to move to Naples.

November 27th, 1941

Bandiera arrived in Naples at noon, after having covered 186 miles. There, it began a period of maintenance work.

December 8th, 1941

Lieutenant Forni handed over command to Amedeo Stinchi, 30, from Naples.

December 29th, 1941

Lieutenant Stinchi was replaced by Massimiliano Iasiello, 30, from Ancona.

February 3rd, 1942

Lieutenant Iasiello left command of Bandiera, replaced by Libero Sauro, 37, from Koper.

March 5th, 1942

Once work was completed, Bandiera set sail from Naples for a training trip at 9.20 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Libero Sauro, returning to port at 1.10 PM, after having covered 28 miles.

March 10^th through March 11th, 1942

Training cruises from Naples.

March 15th, 1942

Lieutenant Sauro handed over the command of Bandiera to Mario Vannutelli, 35, from Apuania.

March 17^th through April 3rd, 1942

Training cruises.

April 3rd, 1942

At 9:15 PM, the Bandiera, still under the command of Lieutenant Vannutelli, left Naples to move to Pula, where it took up service at the Submarine School, to which it had been assigned as a training unit in consideration of its wear and tear, along with the submarines Manara and Menotti.

April 4th, 1942

Cruise across the Strait of Messina, escorted by the small auxiliary escort ship Lago Tana.

April 6th, 1942

At 10.20 AM he sighted a drifting mine in position 41°37′ N and 17°15′ E, sinking it with machine gun fire.

April 7th, 1942

Bandiera arrived in Pula at 9:25 AM, after having travelled 926 miles.

Bandiera in Pula with the new mimetic painting schema
(Naval History and Heritage Command)

April 12th, 1942

The boat set sail from Pula at 6.28 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Mario Vannutelli, for an exercise together with the auxiliary escort ship F 95 San Giorgio. The submarine Vettor Pisani, which left Fiume, also joined the exercise; at the end of the exercise, Bandiera also headed towards Rijeka, where it arrived at 11.51 after having covered 58 miles.

April 15, through June 30^th, 1942

Training cruises from Rijeka

July 1st, 1942

Still under the command of Lieutenant Mario Vannutelli, Bandiera left Rijeka at 6.10 AM to move to Pula, where it arrived at 12.03 PM, after having covered 58 miles.

July 2^nd through August 18^th,1942

Training cruises from PUla

August 20, 1942

At 02.05 AM Bandiera left Pula under the command of Lieutenant Vannutelli to move to Venice, at the same time carrying out a defensive hydrophone patrol.

August 21st, 1942

The boat arrived in Venice at 09:00 AM, after having travelled 82.8 miles.

August 22nd, 1942

The boat left Venice at 11:00 PM and returned to Pula.

August 23rd, 1942

Bandiera arrived in Pula at 07:00 AM, after having travelled 73.5 miles.

August 27th, 1942, through August 30th, 1943

Assigned to the Pula submarine school where the boat completed many training cruises from Pula and Rijeka.

August 30th, 1943

At 1.47 AM the Bandiera, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rodolfo Scarelli, sailed from Susak to Brindisi. At 8:50 AM, a German plane was sighted, with which recognition signals were exchanged.

September 1st, 1943

Bandiera reached Brindisi at 6.40 AM, after having covered 453 miles.

September 7th, 1943

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rodolfo Scarelli, Bandiera sailed from Brindisi at 06.19 PM to reach an ambush sector in the Ionian Sea. Maricosom (the Submarine Squadron Command), having received news of the sighting of the Anglo-American invasion fleet heading towards the coasts of southern Italy, gave the go-ahead for the “Zeta” Plan for the protection of the coasts of Southern Italy.

As part of the “Zeta” Plan, the Bandiera was sent to form a barrage in the Ionian Sea (between the eastern coasts of Sicily and Calabria and Cape Santa Maria di Leuca in Puglia) together with seven other submarines (Squalo, Marcantonio Bragadin, Jalea, Zoea, Luigi Settembrini, Onice and Vortice.

September 8th, 1943

The announcement of the armistice between Italy and the Allies surprises Bandiera in the Ionian Sea.

At 7:50 PM, eight minutes after the EIAR announced the news to the nation (the Allies announced it at 6:30 PM, via Radio Algiers), Maricosom issued the message to all submarines at sea: “On receipt of this order, assume a task exclusively I repeat exclusively exploratory,” followed at 9:10 PM by “Upon receipt of this message, cease all hostilities to the accused received.” At 9:50 PM, Maricosom ordered all submarines: “Dive immediately to a depth of 80 meters alt At 08:00 AM on the 9th, emerge remaining on the surface flying the national flag and a black ribbon at the bow periscope STOP You will receive further orders alt Accuse received.”

Commander Scarelli of Bandiera decides to consult with the commanders of Squalo (Lieutenant Carlo Girola) and Bragadin (Lieutenant Alpinolo Cinti), lurking in contiguous areas: while Girola and Cinti decide to reach Augusta, a Sicilian port under British control, Scarelli sets course for Taranto.

September 11th, 1943

Damaged by bombers attack, Bandiera reached Taranto at 08.40 PM, after having covered 704 miles.

September 12th, 1943

The boat left Taranto at 9.40 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Aredio Galzigna, together with the submarines Atropo and Jalea to move to Malta, as per armistice provisions. The group was accompanied by the destroyer Augusto Riboty and the British destroyer H.M.S. Troubridge.

September 13th, 1943

Bandiera arrived in Malta at 08:40  PM(after having covered 331 miles), along with Atropos, Gialea and Riboty. The four vessels, together with the torpedo boats Libra and Orione, the seaplane carrier Giuseppe Miraglia and the submarine Ciro Menotti, went to moor in St. Paul’s Bay.

September 19th, 1943

Lieutenant Galzigna was replaced in command of Bandiera by Lieutenant Giuseppe Ridella, 24, from Ferrara.

September 21st, 1943

The Italian submarines in Malta, previously scattered in the various moorings of the island, were grouped into two groups, one concentrated in Marsa Scirocco and the other in São Paulo.

Bandiera was temporarily stationed in the mooring of Marsa Scirocco, together with nine other submarines (Atropo, Axum, Bragadin, Corridoni, Giada, Marea, Nichelio, Settembrini, Vortice; from 6 October also Turchese), under the “dependence” of the battleship Giulio Cesare.

Bandiera in Malta. The boat is the third one from the left.
(From STORIA militare)

November 19th, 1943

Under the command of Lieutenant Giuseppe Ridella, Bandiera left Malta at 04.15 PM to return to Italy, together with the submarines Brin, Squalo and Settembrini and with the escort of the corvette Chimera.

November 20th, 1943

Bandiera arrived in Augusta at 11:00 AM, after having covered 125 miles.

November 21st, 1943

Lieutenant Ridella was replaced in command of Bandiera by Ugo Esmenard, 25, from Bologna.

November 23rd, 1943

Under the command of Lieutenant Ugo Esmenard, Bandiera left Augusta at 6.40 AM, together with the Squalo and the British destroyer H.M.S. Paladin, to move to Naples.

November 24, 1943

The boat arrived in Naples at 12:35 PM, after traveling 253.8 miles. There, it entered the shipyard for a long period of work, during which the commander as changed several times; On December 17^th, 1943 Lieutenant Commander Marco Revedin, 32 years old, from Bologna, took command, who was then replaced on April 20^th, 1944 by Lieutenant Carlo Girola, 29 years old, from La Spezia.

April 29^th through July 21st, 1944

Small cruises for sea trial.

July 30, 1944

Bandiera left Naples at 05:34 PM, together with the torpedo boat Nicola Fabrizi, to move to Augusta.

July 31st, 1944

The boat arrived in Augusta at 6:58 PM, having covered 245.2 miles.

August 4th, 1944

Bandiera left Augusta at 09:00 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Girola, to move to Taranto, together with the corvette Cormorano.

August 5th, 1944

The boat arrived in Taranto at 4:28 PM, after having covered 262 miles.

August 7th, 1944, through October 21^st, 1944

Several small patrols off Taranto for training.

October 29th, 1944

Bandiera left Taranto at 7.23 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Girola, to move to Augusta, together with the Jalea and the torpedo boat Animoso.

October 30th, 1944

The boat arrived in Augusta at 12:53 PM, having covered 248 miles.

November 3rd, 1944

Under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Girola, the Bandiera left Augusta at 6.30 AM, together with the Jalea and the British armed fishing boat Stroma, to move to Malta.

November 4th, 1944

The boat arrived in Malta at 2.55 PM, having covered 214.2 miles.

November 7th, 1944

Bandiera (Lieutenant Carlo Girola) and Jalea left Malta at 6.08 AM to move to Port Said, but Bandiera suffered a breakdown that forced it to return to Malta, where it moored at 01.48 PM, after having covered 59.5 miles.

November 9th, 1944, through November 12, 1944

Sea trial following repairs.

November 13th, 1944

Under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Girola, the Bandiera left Malta at 5.55 AM to move to Alexandria, Egypt.

November 17th, 1944

The boat arrived in Alexandria at 10:35 AM, having traveled 892 miles.

December 2nd, 1944

Still under the command of Lieutenant Carlo Girola, the Bandiera left Alexandria at 16:43 bound for Haifa (British Palestine), together with the submarine Zoea.

December 4th, 1944

Bandiera arrived in Haifa at 6:34 AM, after traveling 312 miles, passing under the command of the Levant Submarine Group Command. This group was established in October 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Carlo Liannazza (who is also commander of the Italian Higher Naval Command of the Levant, Maricosulev Haifa). The submarines, attached to the Royal Navy’s 1st Submarine Flotilla, were used to train British corvettes in the Alexandria area.

December 12nd, 1944 Through September 23^rd, 1945

Training patrols from Haifa and Alexandria.

October 6th, 1945

Bandiera left Alessandria at 6:06 AM, under the command of Lieutenant Eugenio Parodi, to finally return to Italy.

October 10th, 1945

The boat arrived in Brindisi at 01:15 PM, after having covered 859 miles. It was then laid up in decommissioning.

February 1st, 1948

Removed from the list of active ships and later demolished.

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Medium Range	39		15976	1899	131	136.45	5.69

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
08/27/1941	02:58	C.C. Carlo Forni	Mediterranean	36°50’N-11°07’E		Torpedo	Failed	Deucalion	Motor Freighter	7740	Great Britain

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Colucci	Antonio	Sergeant	Sergente	8/27/1941
Pinasio	Giovanni	Naval Rating	Comune	8/27/1941

Millelire was a Balilla-class ocean-going submarine (displacement of 1,427 tons on the surface and 1,874 tons submerged). In the Second World War the boat carried out a total of 11 war missions (4 patrols and 7 transfers), covering a total of 5,121 miles on the surface and 927 submerged, and spending 57 days at sea.

Millelire along the boat of the same class Humaytà built for the Brazilian Navy in Muggiano, 1927

Brief and Partial Chronology.

January 19th, 1925

Millelire was set up in the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyard (La Spezia).

September 19th, 1927

The boat was launched at the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyard (La Spezia). Godmother was Anita Susini-Millelire, great-granddaughter of Domenico Millelire after which the boat was named. During the tests, the submarine dove to a depth of 122 meters, 12 more than the maximum depth called for by the project.

August 21st, 1928

Millelire entered active service. With the twin boats Balilla, Enrico Toti and Antonio Sciesa the boat formed the I Submarine Squadron (called “large cruising” because it was composed of ocean-going submarines with great autonomy), based in La Spezia.

September 20th, 1928

At 10.40 AM Millelire (Lieutenant Commander Carlo Savio) received the combat flag in a solemn ceremony in La Maddalena (Sardinia), the birthplace of the eponymous patriot, offered by the citizens of La Maddalena. The flag was delivered by a citizen committee chaired by retired Lieutenant Commander Paolino Spano, an elderly veteran of the Sardinian Royal Navy. The submarine was moored for the occasion to the east of the pier of Punta Nera, between this pier and the floating battery Faà di Bruno. The ceremony was attended by two great-grandchildren of Domenico Millelire, Anita Susini-Millelire and Francesco Romeo, as well as the maritime military commander of Sardinia, Rear Admiral Fermo Spano, other senior officers of the Maddalena stronghold, local civil authorities, some representatives of neighboring municipalities, local associations and numerous Maddalena residents.

Millelire receiving the combat flag in La Maddalena

The battle flag was blessed by the parish priest of La Maddalena, Antonio Vico, and then delivered to Commander Savio by Anita Susini-Millelire. For the occasion, the banner that had flown on the fort of Sant’Andrea back in 1793, during the victorious battle fought between the Sardinian garrison led by Domenico Millelire and the French attackers that included a young Napoleon, was also carried on board Millelire.

At the end of the ceremony, refreshments were offered on board to the authorities, and the public was granted a visit to the submarine, with a continuous influx of visitors throughout the day. In the evening, the officers of Millelire were invited to a dance party held in the Town Hall of La Maddalena. Earlier, Commander Savio had a bronze wreath made by the Arsenal of La Spezia (which was still located there) placed on the tomb of the eponymous hero of the submarine, in the Maddalena cemetery, with the dedication “The submarine Domenico Millelire to the Hero whose name it bears – September 1928“.

March 1929

The four Balilla-class submarines cruised to Lisbon. Millelire was the first Italian submarine to cruise in the Atlantic (except for those built in Canada during the First World War, which crossed the ocean for the delivery voyage). According to another source, Millelire, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Pietro Parenti, made the cruise together with the smaller submarine Goffredo Mameli, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Valerio Della Campana.

1930

Millelire and Toti travelled back to Lisbon. On July 15th, 1930, the crews of the two submarines were invited to a reception at the headquarters of the Italian Fascist Party in Lisbon. In this period, the commander of Millelire was the Lieutenant Commander Carlo Margottini.

March-October 1933

Together with the Balilla (Commander Valerio Della Campana, commander of the support group) and the gunboats Giuseppe Biglieri and Pellegrino Matteucci, Millelire (Lieutenant Commander Franco Zannoni) was used in the North Atlantic in support of the Decennial Air Cruise (or North-Atlantic Air Cruise; Orbetello-Chicago-New York-Rome, July 1st – August 2nd,1933) by Italo Balbo.

Millelire acts as a radio beacon, direction finding station and communication center, carrying out meteorological observations and communicating weather conditions to Balbo’s planes, crossing the entire Atlantic and arriving in the United States. In addition to these services, the presence of support units was also important for the eventuality of accidents or emergencies, which fortunately will not occur.

Given that the mission took place in stormy, foggy waters strewn with drifting blocks of ice, the General Staff of the Navy considered light cruisers and destroyers unsuitable for this task, as they were too “delicate” and with relatively limited range. On the other hand, the two Balilla-class submarines were chosen because of their great autonomy, their robustness, and their seaworthiness. The use of the two boats in the North Atlantic was also seen by the Navy’s top management as an excellent opportunity to verify the behavior of submarines and crews in extreme weather and sea conditions, and thus gain experience that may be useful in the event of war.

Balbo’s planes (25 Savoia Marchetti S. 55 seaplanes), taking off from Orbetello, stopped in Amsterdam, Londonderry, and Reykjavik (thus covering a total of 4,300 km), then cross the Atlantic from Reykjavik to Cartwright, Canada, with a journey of 2,400 km.

The Millelire in Boston, May 1st, 1933; in the background the gunboats Biglieri and Matteucci
(Leslie Jones/Boston Public Library)

It was precisely in the Reykjavik-Cartwright section, the most difficult (the northernmost route, at the limits of the autonomy of the planes of the time, previously crossed by other planes only five times, and only with an intermediate stopover in Greenland. Moreover, in a sea area characterized by frequent storms, persistent fog and drifting icebergs, the support of the naval units was decisive. The ships were arranged to form an “airway” (already tested, with satisfactory results, in the Londonerry-Reykjavik stage), with the use of a total of eleven units, all equipped with radios identical to those supplied with seaplanes as well as “Marconi” radio direction finders. In the first section of the route (Iceland-Cape Farewell) four chartered whalers were arranged for the crossing, while in the next stretch (Cape Farewell-Cartwright) five units were positioned, staggered at regular intervals (about 120 miles between one ship and another), in order: whaling ship San Sebastiano; Millelire; Balilla; Ticket holders; icebreaker Greased. Matteucci and Malaga whaler were instead sent to collateral observation points. Geophysicists embarked on some of the ships to perform meteorological observations.

Balbo’s air squadron took off from Reykjavik on 12 July 1933; The planes encounter fog and rainfall but were guided by the electromagnetic waves of the “airway”, flying over the different naval units positioned along the route one after the other: some were seen, while others, not visible due to fog and rain, were detected with radio direction finding measurements. Between 2.50 p.m. and 5.15 p.m., the seaplanes fly over Millelire, Balilla and Biglieri, whose crews wave their arms in enthusiastic greetings.

Once all in Cartwright, as scheduled, the seaplanes continue the cruise, stopping in Shediac, Montreal, Chicago, and New York, and then returning to Shediac, stopping at Shoal Harbour and crossing the Atlantic again, touching Ponta Delgada and Lisbon and finally arriving in Rome.

In addition to the function of supporting the aircraft involved in the flight, the cruise of Millelire and Balilla also allowed the Navy to test the oceanic qualities of the Balilla class, with results that were judged positive. In the “free” moments, when they were not engaged in weather surveys or communicating with aircraft, the two submarines carry out underwater navigation exercises and simulations of attack on the surface (with the cannon) and in the dive (with the torpedoes). From these experiences, the group leader Della Campana draws the following conclusions, which he indicated in his report: navigation on the surface in the part of the ocean crossed (almost at the limits with the Arctic) was rather difficult, and so was the work of the lookouts, who due to the prohibitive conditions cannot search and spot targets on the surface; Navigation at periscope altitude was possible, although with some difficulty, but observation at periscope was almost impossible; rough seas and frequent high waves at those latitudes would greatly disturb the launch of torpedoes, diverting them from the trajectory; The weather and sea conditions of the area crossed would not prevent navigation (which, however, would have to take place mostly underwater, emerging only to change the air and recharge the batteries), but would make offensive activity almost impossible.

In Chicago, Millelire and Balilla were visited with great interest by Italo Balbo, who then gave a greeting speech to the crews, finally greeting all the officers and sailors one by one at the end of the meeting.

May 1st, 1933

Millelire, Balilla, Biglieri, and Matteucci arrived in Boston.

August 22nd, 1933

Millelire, which was still in the United States, visited New York. It was the first foreign submarine to visit the major U.S. city since the end of World War I.

September 28th, 1933

On their return from the support mission of the air cruise, Millelire, Balilla, Biglieri, and Matteucci were visited in Civitavecchia by Benito Mussolini and the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Giuseppe Sirianni.

In total, Millelire covered 15,000 miles for the mission to support the transatlantic flight, calling at Madeira, Bermuda and all the main ports on the Atlantic coast of Canada and the United States. The mission, particularly demanding due to its long duration and the nautical and meteorological difficulties encountered, and always overcome, and the efficient assistance given to the aircraft (especially regarding radio links) earned praises to the commanders of Millelire and the other units involved.

1934

Millelire and Balilla made a cruise to Alexandria in Egypt, calling in the port of Piraeus on the outward journey and the ports of Italian North Africa on the return.

The Odero-Terni-Orlando 120/27 mm anti-aircraft gun mod. In 1924, due to its unsatisfactory performance, was removed. The weapon, together with those taken from Balilla, Toti and Sciesa, was destined for the anti-aircraft defense of Augusta and Messina. In its place, a 120/45 mm OTO mod. 1931, positioned on deck instead of in the conning tower as before (to increase stability). At the same time, the two single 13.2/76 mm anti-aircraft guns were replaced with two twin guns of the same type.

December 17th, 1936

The command of Millelire was assumed by the Lieutenant Commander Alberto Manlio Ginocchio.

1937

Millelire participated in the Spanish Civil War by performing two clandestine missions in support of the Nationalist forces. During these missions, the second lieutenant Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia, future ace of Italian submarines, served on Millelire as a navigation officer.

In the same years, Lieutenant Gino Birindelli, future Gold Medal for Valor, was the commander of Millelire, and in this period Lieutenant Luigi Longanesi Cattani, another future ace, was embarked on Millelire, and carried out his training for command there.

January 23rd, 1937

Millelire (Lieutenant Commander Alberto Ginocchio), part of the II Submarine Group of Naples, departed La Spezia to carry out its first clandestine mission during the Spanish Civil War.

In the second half of January, a total of twelve submarines (Millelire, Galileo Galilei, Enrico Tazzoli, Torricelli, Giovanni Bausan, Tito Speri, Ciro Menotti, Pietro Micca, Ettore Fieramosca, Otaria, Diamante and Jantina) were sent to the waters between Almeria and Barcelona, interdicting traffic to the ports of Republican Spain. Millelire was assigned to an ambush sector off the coast of Cartagena.

January 31st, 1937

The boat ended the mission by reaching La Maddalena, without having sighted any Republican ship.

August 31st, 1937

Millelire (Lieutenant Commander Giovanni Onis), now part of the I Submarine Group of La Spezia, departed from La Spezia for its second clandestine mission of the Spanish war: this time, the assigned sector was off the coast of Valencia.

September 6th, 1937

The boat returned to La Spezia without having encountered any Republican ship. Millelire with original identification code “ML”, was changed to “MI” after the entry into service of the new submarine Marcello (to which the letters “ML” went)

Millelire with the new identification code (pennant number)

1938

Assigned to the XV Submarine Squadron (I Submarine Group, based in La Spezia), composed of the largest submarines of the Regia Marina: Millelire and its three twin boats, the three units of the Calvi class – Pietro Calvi, Giuseppe Finzi and Enrico Tazzoli – and the Ettore Fieramosca.

May 5th, 1938

Millelire took part in the naval magazine “H” organized in the Gulf of Naples for Adolf Hitler’s visit to Italy.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into the World War II, Millelire, together with Balilla, Enrico Toti and Antonio Sciesa, formed the XL Submarine Squadron (dependent on the IV Grupsom of Taranto), based in Brindisi (but according to a source Millelire was in Naples at the time of the declaration of war).

August 19th, 1940

Millelire set sail for his first war patrol, an ambush at the mouth of the Caso Channel, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Francesco De Rosa De Leo.

September 4th, 1940

The boat returned to base.

September 5th, 1940

When the British Mediterranean Fleet, returning from Operation Hats, entered the dredged channel to return to Alexandria, Egypt, the destroyer H.M.S. Hereward made sonar contact, and the British fleet made an emergency approach to thwart any launches. The submarine located by the Hereward, according to some sources, could have been Millelire, or the Giovanni Da Procida.

November 12th, 1940

In Taranto, Millelire, together with the tugboat Teseo, the factory ship Quarnaro and the water tanker Po, was among the units sent to assist the battleship Littorio, hit by three torpedoes during the famous night attack by British torpedo bombers (“Night of Taranto”). Millelire and Teseo flank the battleship torpedoed on the port side, while the Po was positioned on the starboard side.

November 14th, 1940

The boat went to patrol the Otranto Channel, protecting convoys carrying troops and supplies to Albania.

November 17th, 1940

At dusk, west of the Island of Fano, Millelire sighted an enemy submarine and fired two torpedoes at it, to no avail.

November 22nd, 1940

The boat returned to base.

December 13th, 1940

Millelire sets sail for the third was patrol in the waters of the Island of Fano.

December 17th, 1940

The boat ended the mission by returning to base.

1940-1941

According to a source, during the final days of a mission off the coast of Algeria, Millelire came across a small boat carrying the crew of a downed Italian CANT Z. seaplane (Lieutenant Pilot Cesare Palmieri), which was rescued. However, it does not appear that Millelire carried out missions in those waters, or that in general it carried out other war patrols in addition to those listed in this chronology, which is why an error about the name of the submarine is quite probable.

January 21st, 1941

Millelire was sent to lie in wait west of Pag (according to another source, in the Otranto Channel), returning to base at the end of the month.

1941

For a few months, Millelire was assigned as a training unit to the Submarine School of Pula, together with the Balilla and other older submarines of the Regia Marina (Toti, Des Geneys and others).

May 15th, 1941

Decommissioned and renamed G.R. 248, the submarinewas transformed into a floating fuel depot (G.R. means “Floating Refueling”, a term that identified the tanks for port use registered in the Register of Ships instead of that of the Navy roster).

According to other sources, it was laid up on April 15th, 1941, but this was an error: “Lost military ships” of the U.S.M.M. indicates the date of April 15, and it was also the most logical, given that Millelire was assigned the initials G.R. 248 following that (G.R. 247) assigned to the Balilla, which was disarmed on April 28th (this would not have been the case if Millelire had been the first to be decommissioned).

July-December 1941

The former Millelire was used to supply electricity during the recovery operations of the battleship Conte di Cavour, sunk by British torpedo bombers in the roadstead of Taranto the previous November. The energy supplied by the generators of Millelire and other units was used to power the pumps that expel the water from the hull of the sunken battleship, allowing it to be brought back to the surface.

Gasoline and latex

For about a year the G.R. 248 was used only for port use, but in the summer of 1942, while the fighting around El Alamein was raging in Egypt, the General Staff of the Navy, pressed by increasingly insistent requests for fuel from the German Command, decided among other things – together with the adoption of other measures to increase the amount of fuel sent to North Africa,  such as the use of the auxiliary cruisers Barletta and Brioni and that of destroyers (which, however, took place only from the autumn) – to use Millelire to transport fuel to North Africa. Completely emptied of its internal equipment, traveling semi-submerged in tow of the destroyer Saetta (equipped with special equipment for fast trailers), the former Millelire could have transported about 1030 tons of fuel in its compartments-tanks (another source speaks of 600 tons of gasoline in cans) at a relatively high speed.

G.R. 248, formerly Millelire, while being used by Pirelli as a floating depot

The former submarine was thus subjected to heavy modifications: the conning tower, the main and auxiliary engines, the propellers and any other superfluous parts for the new use were eliminated, until an empty shell was left. The hull was then divided into watertight compartments, each of which would serve as a tanker, and the bow was modified to have a more hydrodynamic shape, which would allow the unit to be towed at a speed of 18 knots.

On 13 July 1942 the G.R. 248 “carried out” its first mission of this type, being towed from Navarino to Suda by the Saetta, escorted by the torpedo boat Pollux.

Two months later, at 8.45 AM on September 13^th, 1942, the former Millelire left Taranto in tow of the Saetta (Lieutenant Commander Enea Picchio) carrying 690 tons of fuel (247 of gasoline and 443 of diesel) destined for Tobruk. Towing could take place at 14 knots, faster than most merchant ships of the time. Saetta and Millelire were escorted by the old torpedo boat Castelfidardo.

Arriving at Navarino at 11 AM on 14 September, the two ships and the submarine departed at 7:15 AM proceeding at 14 knots along the coastal routes of western Greece. During the voyage, the units were flown over by reconnaissance planes, but arrived unscathed in Tobruk at 10 AM. on 17 September.

At 04:00 PM on October 11^th, 1942, the G.R. 248 left Tobruk again in tow of the Saetta (Lieutenant Commander Enea Picchio), in convoy with the motor ship Col di Lana. The strange convoy was escorted by the destroyer Freccia (Commander Giuseppe Andriani) and the torpedo boats Lupo (Lieutenant Commander Carlo Zinchi) and Antares (Lieutenant Commander Maurizio Ciccone). Between 00:00 and 01:40 2 October 12th, the convoy was attacked by bombers about seventy miles north of Tobruk; Around 01:00 AM Antares was hit by some bombs, suffering serious damage and losses among the crew (31 dead and 37 wounded), having to be taken in tow by Lupo, which took it to Suda (where they arrived at 01:00 PM the following day).

The rest of the convoy continued and, at 05:00 PM on the 12th, split: Col di Lana, Freccia and the torpedo boat Perseo (sent by Suda) headed for Piraeus, while the Saetta, with the former Millelire in tow, set course for Navarino, escorted by the torpedo boat Lira, sent by Suda. Destroyers, torpedo boats, and barges arrived at Navarino at 2:30 AM. Overall, the results of the use of Millelire for the transport of fuel in North Africa were judged to be positive.

When the Allies landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943, the former Millelire was on that island. Upon the U.S. occupation of Palermo, in July 1943, the wreck of the submarine-barge was found sunk in the port of that city. There it remained for two and a half years, until the war was long over, and on February 28th, 1946, the hull of the former submarine was brought back to the surface.

On October 18^th,1946 Millelire was officially removed from the roster of the Navy but it did not go for demolition, it was instead purchased by the Pirelli Company, which transformed it into a barge-depot for the transport of rubber latex and used it in this function, moored alternately in Genoa or La Spezia (San Bartolomeo area). 

In this new form (without a conning tower, and with a heavily modified hull), Millelire thus found itself to be the last submarine of the Regia Marina still in existence: the boats that had survived the conflict had all been scrapped in 1948 by the terms of the peace treaty, with the exception of Giada and Vortece. These two, after a long service in the Navy after the war,  went through the blowtorch at the end of the sixties;. Even the few submarines that ended up in the hands of other navies for capture or transfer – the Greek Matrozos ex Perla, the French Narval ex Bronzo, the British P 711 ex Galilei, the Yugoslav Sava ex Nautilo, the Soviet S 32 ex Marea and S 41 ex Nichelio – had by then all been scrapped.

But the long history of Millelire also saw its epilogue at last. No longer considered useful even by Pirelli, in 1977 the last survivor of what had once been the second largest underwater fleet in the world was quietly scrapped.

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Oceanic	11		5121	907	57	105.75	4.41

Balilla was an ocean-going submarine, leader of the class of the same name. During World War II, the boat carried out only six missions (three patrols and as many transfer), covering a total of 3,271 miles on the surface and 440 in immersion and spending a total of 32 days at sea, before being relegated to training duties and then disarmed.

The boat’s motto was “Che l’inse?” (Genoese dialect: “la comincio [la rivolta]?”, a phase pronounced by Giovanbattista Perasso, known as Balilla, in unleashing the revolt that led to the expulsion of Austrian troops from Genoa in 1746).

“Che l’inse?”, meaning “Should I start it?”, referring to the Genoese revolt against the Austrians.

Brief and Partial Chronology

January 12th, 1925

Laid out at the Ansaldo San Giorgio del Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia (construction number 202). The construction was directed by engineer Carlo Lardera, a former officer of the Naval Engineers, who according to a source also participated in the design of the class.

February 20th, 1927

Balilla was launch at the Odero Terni Orlando shipyards (new name assumed by the shipyards after the absorption of Ansaldo San Giorgio by the OTO) in Muggiano.

Launch of the submarine Balilla

The event also received some attention in the international press: the “Ashburton Guardian” and the “Otago Daily Times”, for example, described it as “the world’s first submarine capable of diving to 300 feet [90 meters] and sailing at 19 knots on the surface and 10 knots submerged”.

During the subsequent tests, conducted under the supervision of the director of the Muggiano shipyard, engineer Giovanni Dujardin, Balilla descended to a depth of 110 meters.

July 21st, 1928

Balilla entered active service. With the twin boats Enrico Toti, Antonio Sciesa and Domenico Millelire it formed the I Submarine Squadron (called “large cruising” because it was composed of ocean-going submarines of great autonomy), which was part of the submarine flotilla of La Spezia.

July 1928

During a diving test, Balilla set a record by reaching a depth of 105 meters.

April 1929

In Genoa, the birthplace of the eponymous patriot, Balilla receives the combat flag, offered by the Opera Nazionale Balilla (O.N.B.,  was a Fascist youth organization). it was handed over to the commander of Balilla by the president of the O.N.B., Renato Ricci. The flag box, made of walnut burl by the Roman cabinet-maker N. Babusci and with gold and ivory friezes, was designed by the famous architect Enrico Del Debbio, who was also director of the technical office of the Opera Nazionale Balilla.

1929

The four Balilla-class submarines made a cruise with a stopover in the Mediterranean and Atlantic ports of Spain, arriving as far as Lisbon in Portugal.

1930

Balilla and Sciesa completed a cruise to the Canary Islands and then to Northern Europe, to Antwerp.

1933

Balilla cruised all the way to New York, Boston and Halifax.

Balilla in Boston
 (Leslie Jones Collection – Boston Public Library)

1934

Modifications in the artillery armament: the Odero-Terni-Orlando 120/27 mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 1924, given its unsatisfactory performance, was replaced with a more modern 120/45 mm OTO Mod. 1931, positioned on deck instead of in the conning tower as before (in order to increase stability). The previous 120/27 gun (which has the distinction of being the largest caliber anti-aircraft gun ever made in Italy) was instead destined for the anti-aircraft defense of Augusta and Messina, together with those taken from Toti, Sciesa and Millelire. The two single 13.2 mm anti-aircraft guns are replaced by two twin guns of the same caliber. At the same time, the masts of the radio antennas (tubular, foldable, 15 meters long) were eliminated following the adoption of a new type of antenna.

The same year, Balilla and Millelire make a cruise to Alexandria in Egypt, touching Piraeus on the outward journey and the ports of Italian North Africa on the return.

November 26th, 1936

Balilla and twins take part in the naval parade organized in the Gulf of Naples in honor of the regent of Hungary, Admiral Miklós Horthy, who was visiting Italy.

1936

According to some sources (including “History of Italian Jews” and “The Right and the Jews: An Italian History”), in 1936 Balilla participated clandestinely in the Spanish Civil War, in support of the Franco faction, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sergio Lusena.

Commander Lusena was proposed, for his conduct during the “Spanish” missions, for a medal of valor, which, however, he never received: shortly after the enactment of the racial laws of 1938, in fact, he was forced to leave the Navy because he was Jewish.

From other sources, however, (starting with Francesco Mattesini’s essay “The Italian Air and Naval Blockade in the Spanish War”), it would appear that the submarine commanded by Lusena during the Spanish War was not Balilla, but the Archimede and then the Galileo Ferraris.

In the following years, during the Second World War, Commander Lusena was only able to watch the departure of submarines for their war missions from the docks of their bases: “… He waved his hand at his old comrades. Tears ran down his cheeks…”

February 3rd, 1937

Balilla (Lieutenant Commander Stefano Pugliese), part of the III Submarine Group of Naples, left La Spezia for a “clandestine” mission in the context of the Spanish Civil War: a patrol between Malaga and Almeria.

February 18th or 19th, 1937

Balilla returned to base after a mission in which it began four attack maneuvers but did not complete any of them. This Balilla mission is the last of the first Italian underwater campaign launched against the traffic of supplies directed towards the ports of Republican Spain; A second, larger campaign will follow a few months later.

In this period (until October 1938) the second lieutenant Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia, future ace of the Atlantic and Gold Medal for Military Valor, also served on Balilla. Already at this time, according to a source, Balilla would have begun to record a reduction in its war efficiency, due to its age and intense service in previous years.

1938

Balilla, Toti, Sciesa and Millelire were assigned to the XV Submarine Squadron of the I Grupsom (La Spezia), formed by the largest ocean-going submarines of the Regia Marina: in addition to the four “Balilla”, also the Ettore Fieramosca and the three of the Calvi class (Pietro Calvi, Giuseppe Finzi, Enrico Tazzoli) were part of the squadron.

May 5th, 1938

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sergio Lusena, Balilla took part in the naval magazine “H” organized in the Gulf of Naples for Adolf Hitler’s visit to Italy

1939

Balilla was based in La Spezia, along with the boat of the same class Toti and Sciesa. In the 1930s, submarines of the class made small cruises in the Mediterranean.

March 16th, 1940

During an exercise off the coast of Pula, Balilla collided with the steamer Albachiara, sustaining damage.

April 13th, 1940

Command of Balilla was assumed by the Lieutenant Commander Michele Morisiani.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s enter into World War II, Balilla (Lieutenant Commander Michele Morisiani) was part of the XL Submarine Squadron (which it forms together with the similar boats Millelire, Toti and Sciesa), part of the IV Grupsom of Taranto but based in Brindisi (according to another source, the XL Squadron belongs to the Brindisi Submarine Flotilla).

June 12th, 1940

During his first war patrol, an ambush south of Corfu, Balilla (Lieutenant Commander Michele Morisiani) was heavily attacked by planes and damaged, to the point of having to return to base.

(According to the British War Cabinet’s “Weekly Résumé of the Naval, Military and Air Situation” covering the period from June 27^th to July 4^th, 1940, Balilla was attacked and badly damaged by the Australian destroyers H.M.A.S. Stuart and H.M.A.S. Voyager and the British H.M.S. Decoy. However, it is not clear what the source of this news is and its accuracy arises doubts).

July 12th, 1940

Balilla set sail from Brindisi under the command of Lieutenant Commander Cesare Girosi for his second war patrol, an ambush south of Crete, on the junction between Cape Krio and Alexandria in Egypt. Shortly before reaching the assigned area, the mission had to be interrupted due to the sudden illness of Commander Girosi.

August 10th, 1940

Balilla was sent on patrol south of Crete.

August 16th, 1940

Balilla returned to base after an uneventful mission. This was the third and last patrol. After that, just two months after the beginning of the conflict, Balilla, too old (it is among the oldest submarines in the Regia Marina) and worn out to be destined for war missions, was reassigned to training duties at the Submarine School in Pula.

1940-1941

For a few months, until it was decommissioned, Balilla was used as a training unit at the Submarine School in Pula, together with the Millelire and other older submarines of the Regia Marina (Toti, Des Geneys and others).

April 28th, 1941

Balilla was laid up. Subsequently, it was transformed into a fuel depot, with the name GR 247 (G.R. means “Floating Supply”, a term that identified the tanks for port use registered in the Register of Ships instead of that of the military units).

Early May 1942

The conversion work into a fuel depot barge was completed. It involved the elimination of the Conning tower and the removal of engines, propellers, and armament, leaving only an empty shell. The interior of the hull has been divided into watertight compartments, each of which constitutes a tank in which the fuel would be stored. The shape of the bow was also modified so that it would be possible to sail in tow at a speed of 18 knots. The capacity of the GR 247 was 1,030 tons of fuel. Once the conversion work was completed, some towing tests were also carried out.

The drawing of the former Balilla, now a floating fuel depot

May 2nd, 1943

The former Balilla, now GR 247, arrived in Chalcis. After this mission, GR 247 was supposed to be towed to Volos, but instead appears to have remained in Chalcis. From the summer of 1943 to the autumn of 1944 the traces of the former Balilla were lost: there is no mention of it in any document. Falling into German hands after the armistice of Cassibile (8 September 1943), the submarine-barge was sunk by the latter in Chalcis in October 1944, immediately before their retreat, in order to obstruct that port. It was in Chalcis that the Greeks found the wreck of the former Balilla after the departure of the Germans. Recovered by a team of the company Οργανισμού Ανελκύσεως Ναυαγίων (Organismoú Anelkýseos Navagíon), the wreck was assigned to the Hellenic Navy.

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Oceanic	6		3271	440	32	115.97	4.83

From a publication of the United States Division of Naval Intelligence – Identification & Characteristic Section – Publication O.N.I 220-A Serial 2 August, 1942

Archimede

Argo

Argonauta

Balilla

Bragadin

Brin

Calvi

Fieramosca

Foca

Liuzzi

Mameli

Manara

Marcello

Micca

Pisani

Settembrini

Squalo

Salpa was an Argonaut-class coastal submarine (650 tons displacement on the surface and 800 tons submerged). During the war the boat completed 11 offensive and exploratory patrols and 4 transfer missions, covering 9,087 miles on the surface and 1,668 submerged.

Salpa soon after launch in Taranto

Brief and Partial Chronology

April 23rd, 1930

Setting up began at the Franco Tosi shipyards in Taranto.

May 8th, 1932

Salpa was launch at the Franco Tosi shipyard in Taranto.

December 12th, 1932

Salpa entered active service.

1933

Along with the leader of the class Argonauta and the similar boat Fisalia, Salpa made a training cruise in the Dodecanese, making several stopovers in Libya on the way back.

1936

Salpa was deployed in the Red Sea for a few months, together with the similar boat Serpente, to verify the suitability of the Argonauta class to operate in those waters. During this period, the commander of Salpa was Lieutenant Commander Mario Tabucchi. Subsequently, together with the Serpent, it was first deployed in the Aegean Sea and later in Tobruk.

Officers and sailors in colonial attire on the Salpa arriving in Massawa in 1936
(Giovanni Celeste Collection)

December 15th, 1939

Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo, 32, from Maglie (Puglie), assumed command of Salpa.

June 6th, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo, Salpa departed Taranto for a patrol 10-15 miles south of the island of Gaudos (near Crete), where it formed a barrage together with the submarines Bagnolini, Tarantini, and Giuliani (positioned about 20 miles from each other). Salpa was the only boat not to spot anything.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into the World War II, Salpa (Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo) belonged to the XLV Submarine Squadron of the IV Grupsom of Taranto, which it formed together with the similar boat Serpente (according to another source, however, at the outbreak of the war the two boats were part of the Tobruk Submarine Group). Salpa was already at sea for the patrol that had begun on June 6th.

June 16th, 1940

The boat completed the patrol by reaching Gallipoli, without encountering any enemy ships. The same day the unit returned from Gallipoli to Taranto, sailing together with the submarines Captain Tarantini and Ruggiero Settimo and with the escort of the destroyer Zeffiro.

June 27th, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo, Salpa departs from Taranto bound for 33°46′ N and 23°10′ E, where it was to be part of a barrage between Gavdos and Derna with the submarines Ondina, Anfitrite and Uebi Scebeli.

June 29th, 1940

While sailing toward the ambush area, Salpa was attacked by the British destroyers H.M.S. Dainty, H.M.S. Defender and H.M.S. Ilex (Force “B”), at sea for an anti-submarine sweep to protect the British operation “MA. 3” (sending convoys between Malta, Egypt, and Greece) and already responsible, in the previous days, for the sinking of the Italian submarines Consul General Liuzzi and Uebi Scebeli (and perhaps also of the Argonauta). The encounter is not accidental: some sailors of H.M.S. Dainty, before the Uebi Scebeli sank, went on board, and captured various documents, one of which reports that Salpa was lurking in position 33°46′ N and 23°10′ E, so Force B consequently headed towards the indicated position.

Salpa was sighted by an anti-submarine aircraft and then subjected to precise and heavy hunting with depth charges (especially by H.M.S. Dainty, which wrongly believes to have sunk it).

July 1st, 1940

In the morning, Salpa was again located and attacked by two destroyers, the British H.M.S. Hostile and the Australian H.M.A.S. Stuart. H.M.S. Hostile located and attacked the submarine at 10:30 AM but could only use the bomb launchers, as the depth charge bomb dumper had jammed. H.M.A.S. Stuart, on the contrary, launches a “package” of depth charges at 10.50 AM and immediately afterwards passes again and launches six more bombs, causing serious damage to Salpa which descends to 60 meters and warned another six explosions of depth charges. The damage sustained forced the submarine to abort the mission and head for Benghazi.

July 3rd, 1940

Salpa arrived in Benghazi, where some temporary repairs were carried out.

July 16th, 1940

The boat left Benghazi for Taranto.

July 19th, 1940

Salpa arrived in Taranto.

July 22nd, 1940

The boat left Taranto for Pula, where he would undergo more extensive repair work.

July 24th, 1940

Salpa arrived in Pula, where it remained for repairs until September 20th.

September 21, 1940

Salpa departed Pula for exercises, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo.

September 25th, 1940

Another exit from Pula for exercise.

September 29th, 1940

Another exit from Pula for exercise.

October 8th, 1940

Salpa left Pula for Taranto, under the command of the Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo bound for Taranto.

October 10th, 1940

The boat arrived in Taranto.

October 12th, 1940

The boat departed from Taranto for exercise.

October 18th, 1940

Another exit from Taranto for exercise.

October 20th, 1940

Further exit from Taranto for exercise.

October 22nd, 1940

Another outing from Taranto for exercise.

October 24th, 1940

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Antonio Biondo, Salpa departed from Taranto for a patrol in the waters of Cyrenaica. However, it had to abort the mission and head for Brindisi due to damage caused by adverse weather conditions and battery problems.

October 26th, 1940

At noon, Salpa sighted off the coast of Santa Maria di Leuca a battleship, 7 km away, identified as of the Andrea Doria class. It was the Andrea Doria itself, sailing from Pula to Taranto without a destroyer escort as bad weather forced them to return to base, unable to maintain a speed of 15 knots. Andrea Doria made the recognition signal, but since Salpa was too slow to respond, the battleship fired two salvos in its direction. A cease fire was called when the submarine finally managed to execute the correct signal. Salpa reached Brindisi the same evening and remained there until the beginning of December.

November 25th, 1940

While Salpa was under construction, Lieutenant Commander Biondo handed over command to sub-lieutenant Filiberto Sturlese, 35, from Campiglia Marittima (Livorno).

December 3rd, 1940

The boat left Brindisi for exercise, under the command of Second Lieutenant Filiberto Sturlese.

December 14th, 1940

Sub-lieutenant Sturlese was replaced by Lieutenant Commander Emilio Berengan, 36, from Venice.

December 20th, 1940

Salpa left Brindisi for exercise.

December 21st, 1940

Salpa set sail from Brindisi for a patrol in the Otranto Channel, to defend the traffic between Italy and Albania, and still under the command of Lieutenant Commander Emilio Berengan.

December 30th, 1940

The boat reached Augusta after an uneventful mission, it had only picked up the sound of engines and distant explosions.

January 3rd, 1941

Lieutenant Commander Berengan left the command of Salpa, which the following day was taken over by Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia, 32 years old, from Forenza (Potenza).

January 26^th and 27th, 1941

Salpa carried out a hydrophone patrol off the coast of Augusta, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia, without any noteworthy events.

January 31st, 1941

The boat set sail from Augusta for a patrol in the waters of Cyrenaica, still under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia.

February 3rd, 1941

At two o’clock in the morning, while proceeding from Augusta towards Derna during the approach navigation to its patrol sector (located in the waters of Marsa Matruh), the crew sighted three British destroyers engaged in systematic anti-submarine search, which spotted the boat and bombarded it heavily with depth charges until 4 p.m. Salpa was later damaged by an anti-submarine aircraft and then forced to abandon the mission following damage to the batteries.

February 5th, 1941

Salpa returned to Augusta, leaving immediately afterwards for Messina.

February 6th, 1941

The boat arrived in Messina.

February 10th, 1941

Salpa left Messina for Taranto, for the third long period of maintenance work in the space of a few months.

In the late afternoon, during the transfer navigation, Salpa was sighted from 7,300 meters away by the British submarine H.M.S. Rover (Lieutenant Commander Hubert Anthony Lucius Marsham, who identified his target as a Perla-class unit), which at 5.52 PM launched five torpedoes (a sixth did not start because it was defective) from 1,370 meters away,  5.5 miles by 278° from Punta Stilo. Salpa sighted two torpedo trails on the starboard side (at 6.15 PM, according to her commander’s report) and avoided them by putting a full rudder to port. He then continued sailing and at 11 PM meeting a convoy (German steamers Arta, Maritza, and Heraklea escorted by the destroyer Baleno) sailing from Bari to Messina, warned them of the danger.

February 11th, 1941

Salpa arrived in Taranto, where it remains under repair until March 20th.

February 14th, 1941

The boat left Taranto for sea trials, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia.

March 24th, 1941

Exit from Taranto for exercise.

March 31st, 1941

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia, Salpa sailed from Taranto for another patrol in the Otranto Channel, off Capo Krio on the Albanian coast, to defend the traffic between Italy and Albania. It did spot anything except a few MAS.

April 14th, 1941

The boat returned to Taranto.

April 25^th and 26th, 1941

Hydrophone patrol in the Gulf of Taranto, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Coscia. No major events reported.

April 27^th and 28th, 1941

Another hydrophone patrol in the Gulf of Taranto. No events worth mentioning. Upon returning from the patrol, Commander Coscia disembarked and was replaced by the Florentine Lieutenant Renato Guagni, 30 years old, who would be the last commander of Salpa.

May 5^th and 6^th,1941

Salpa left Taranto for exercise under the command of Lieutenant Renato Guagni, together with the old submarine H 8 and with the escort of the auxiliary escort ship F 46 Limbara.

May 9th, 1941

Salpa set sail from Taranto under the command of Lieutenant Renato Guagni for a patrol southwest of Crete.

May 14th, 1941

Salpa was relocated off the coast of Egypt for two days, then returned to the waters of Crete.

May 25th, 1941

Salpa concludes the mission by reaching Messina. No noteworthy events occurred, it only picked up on engine noises.

June 12th, 1941

Salpa left Messina for exercise, under the command of Lieutenant Renato Guagni, with the escort of the Arcioni patrol boat of the Guardia di Finanza.

Duel Between Submarines

At 9:55 PM on June 18th, 1941, Salpa, under the command of Lieutenant Renato Guagni, departed Messina for a mission in Cyrenaic-Egyptian waters. Its patrol sector was located between Ras Uleima (Gulf of Sollum) and Marsa Matruh, with the task of attacking enemy traffic in the coastal waters of Cyrenaica. More precisely, the assigned area was delimited by the meridians 26°20′ E and 26°40′ E, and by the parallel 31°55′ N and by the Egyptian coast (according to German sources, however, the area was between the meridians 25°00′ E and 25°20′ E and the parallels 32°27′ N and 32°40′ N). It was planned that the submarine would arrive in its operational sector on the night of June 21st, and then remain there until the evening of June 30th, after which it was to reach Leros.

Like too many other boats, however, Salpa did not respond to radio calls after its departure. In the end, the submarine command had to resign itself to it: the submarine and its 48 crew were swallowed up by the Mediterranean. On July 20th, 1941, the men of Salpa, five officers and 43 non-commissioned officers and sailors, were reported missing.

The truth, as was often the case in such cases, was learned from the British archives after the war.

At 7:57 AM on June 27th, 1941, the British submarine H.M.S. Triumph (Lieutenant Wilfrid John Wentworth Woods), while submerged off Marsa Matruh, had sighted what at first appeared to be the masts of a small ship: five minutes later, however, the British commander realized that what he was observing was a submarine which had probably just surfaced, about 1,800 meters away. Woods had identified his opponent as an Italian unit of the Perla class, estimating its course as 003° and its speed at 10 knots.

H.M.S. Triumph fate was as tragic as the one of Salpa. It was probably lost due to Italian mines off Cape Sounion between December 26th, 1941, and January 9th, 1942. In June 2023 Greek researchers led by Kostas Thoktaridis discovered the lost submarine at a depth of 203 meters. Lowered periscopes, sealed hatches, and extended diving planes would indicate that the submarine was submerged when it hit a mine.

The maneuvers of the Italian submarine prevented the British submarine from attacking with the torpedo while submerged, so, at 8.11 AM, H.M.S. Triumph had surfaced and opened fire with the deck gun and the Lewis machine guns from 1,370 meters away. On Salpa, too, the gunners had prepared the gun, but after firing five shots, all of which had fallen long, they had abandoned the gun and descended below deck. H.M.S. Triumph had fired 33 rounds with the 101 mm gun (as well as 330 rounds with the Lewis machine guns), scoring five hits and almost immobilizing Salpa, which had begun to sink aft. By 8:18 AM, the British unit had launched two torpedoes from just 550 meters away. The first of the two weapons had proved defective and had deviated course by turning left, but the second had hit the target, and Salpa had disappeared in a huge column of smoke and splashing water, after which debris had rained down on the entire surrounding area. When everything had thinned out, only a large patch of naphtha had appeared on the surface: no survivors were in sight. Salpa had sunk in position 32°05′ N and 26°47′ E (or 28°47′ E), taking all the crew with it.

For this action, Commander Woods of Triumph received the Distinguished Service Order, while his second Richard Gatehouse was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

The sinking of Salpa in the logbook of the Triumph (from Uboat.net):

“08:00 hours – A surfaced submarine was sighted about 2,000 yards away. As the enemy maneuvering made it impossible to make a submerged torpedo attack Triumph surfaced at 08:11 hours and opened fire with the deck and Lewis guns from 1,500 yards.

The enemy also manned his deck gun. After firing 33 rounds (with 5 hits) the enemy was almost stopped and appeared to be sinking by the stern. The enemy’s gun crew, after firing five rounds that all went over, abandoned their gun, and went below.

08:18 hours – Fired two torpedoes from 600 yards. The second torpedo hit the enemy submarine. An enormous column of smoke and water shot into the air and debris showered all round. A large pool of oil appeared but no survivors were seen in the water.”

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	15		9087	1668	82	131.16	5.46

Actions

Date

Time

Captain

Area

Coordinates

Convoy

Weapon

Result

Ship

Type

Tonns

Flag

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Alessi	Romeo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Anderbegani	Giordano	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Benecchi	Nando	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Bergotes	Domenico	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Bertani	Lionello	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Caimi	Felice	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Cammisa	Aniello	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Castellano	Catello	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Ciccone	Antonio	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Citi	Cito	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Crispoldi	Crispoldo	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	6/27/1941
Di Filato	Alberto	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Elia	Cosimo	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Fannio	Giovanni	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Federighi	Cleto	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Filippi	Alessandro	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Fintar	Antonio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Galdi	Angelo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Gatti	Mario	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Guagni	Renato	Lieutenant	Tenente di Vascello	6/27/1941
Kosmina	Antonio	Sergeant	Sergente	6/27/1941
La Forgia	Corrado	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Lagi	Armando	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Liguoro	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Magarelli	Mauro	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Merli	Guido	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Mocilio	Piero	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Morello	Salvatore	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Neri	Alfredo	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Paganelli	Renzo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Paladini	Deris	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Palazzo	Raffaele	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Petaccini	Leo	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Piazzolla	Antonio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Premuda	Giovanni	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	6/27/1941
Prendin	Rino	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Ridi	Duilio	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Rosini	Giovanni	Ensign	Guardiamarina	6/27/1941
Scognamiglio	Umberto	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Scorsolini	Manlio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Tanganelli	Idilio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/27/1941
Traina	Luigi	Sublieutenant G.N.	Tenente G.N.	6/27/1941
Vassallo	Ugo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Veccia	Lorenzo	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Villa	Carlo	Naval Rating	Comune	6/27/1941
Viscogliesi	Giuseppe	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	6/27/1941
Vittori	Manlio	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	6/27/1941

The submarine Jantina was an Argonaut-class coastal submarine (650 tons surface displacement and 800 tons submerged displacement). Together with its sister boat Jalea, it differed from the other units in the class by a different engine apparatus (FIAT diesel engines and CRDA electric motors, while Salpa and Serpente had Tosi diesel engines, Marelli electric motors, while Argonauta, Medusa and Fisalia had both diesel and CRDA electric engines).

The unit carried out 7 offensive/exploratory missions in the war and 4 for transfer or exercise, covering a total of 5,634 miles on the surface and 1,203 submerged, spending 72 days at sea.

Brief and Partial Chronology

January 20th, 1930

Set-up began at the Odero Terni Orlando’s Muggiano shipyards (La Spezia).

May 16th, 1932

Jantina was launched at the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyard (La Spezia).

Jantina after it was launched

March 1st, 1933

Official entry into active service. Jantina was initially assigned to a “mixed” squadron (i.e., made up of submarines of different classes) based in La Spezia. In the same year, the painter Anselmo Bucci made a trip to Jantina. One of its first commanders was Lieutenant Giuseppe De Angioy.

Jantina while been fitted before deployment. The other submarine is the sister boat Jalea

End of 1935

Jantina and her sister ship Medusa were deployed in the Dodecanese, assigned to the Leros Submarine Group, remaining there for about a year.

December 10th, 1936

Lieutenant Cristiano Masi assumed command of Jantina.

January 24th, 1937

Jantina (Lieutenant Commander Cristiano Masi), part of the VI Submarine Group of Leros, set sail from La Spezia to carry out a clandestine mission in the waters off Barcelona as part of the Italian underwater operations during the Spanish Civil War. Italian submarines operated in support of Francisco Franco’s Spanish Nationalist forces, trying to hinder the flow of supplies for the Spanish Republican troops.

January 31st, 1937

After patrolling the Barcelona area for a week to no avail, Jantina returned to La Maddalena. On the return voyage, the submarine suffered a breakdown, and had to be towed to port by the light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia.

August 14th, 1937

Jantina (Lieutenant Gustavo Miniero), while assigned to the I Submarine Group of La Spezia, sailed again from La Spezia for another clandestine mission off the coast off Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. In this period, the rules of engagement – which impose the utmost secrecy, since there is no formal state of war between Italy and Republican Spain, and therefore the activity of Italian submarines was illegal – prescribed to attack: the military vessels of Republican Spain, Republican or Soviet merchant shipping in both territorial and international waters, merchant vessels of any nationality which are caught sailing at night with their lights off within three miles of the Spanish coast controlled by the Republicans, or which are under escort by Republican ships, or which are at night sailing with their lights out under the escort of warships of any nationality.

August 17th, 1937

On the night of the 17th, off the coast of Barcelona, Jantina sighted a destroyer and fired two torpedoes without being able to hit the target. The destroyer retaliated with a heavy hunt with depth charges, but the submarine did not suffer any damage.

August 22nd, 1937

Jantina returned to La Maddalena, thus concluding its second and last “Spanish” mission.

June 19th, 1938

Jantina received the combat flag, donated by the city of Bergamo and delivered by Countess Laura Calvi Roncalli, provincial trustee of the women’s fascist organization. Both Jantina and the twin boat Jalea spent most of the period immediately preceding World War II in the Dodecanese.

May 10th, 1940

Jantina, together with the submarines Ametista, Jalea, Delfino, and Zaffiro, left Messina to move to the island of Leros, the main naval base of the Italian Dodecanese. The transfer of the five submarines was arranged to reinforce the submarine forces deployed in the Dodecanese (Tricheco, Squalo, and Narvalo submarines), in preparation for the now imminent war. A few days later, the five boats crossed the Aegean and reached their destination.

June 10th, 1940

Italy entered the Second World War. Jantina (Lieutenant Commander Vincenzo Politi) was part of the LII Submarine Squadron (V Grupsom), based in Leros, along with the similar boats Zaffiro, Ametista and Jalea. The day of the declaration of war, Jantina set sail for the first mission, a patrol in the Kasos Channel (between Crete and the island of Kasos) in an area adjacent to that assigned to Jalea.

June 20th, 1940

Jantina left the patrol area to return to base, without encountering any enemy ships.

June 21st, 1940

The boat returned to Leros.

July 2nd, 1940

Jantina set sail for a new mission, a patrol of the channel between Cerigo and Cerigotto.

July 8th, 1940

During the afternoon, Jantina detected the sounds of propellers of naval units passing through the area on the hydrophones but failed to spot enemy ships.

July 13th, 1940

The boat returned to base.

In this period, food rationing began in Leros: from the entry into the war until the fall of Greece and Crete (April-May 1941), in fact, the Dodecanese found itself substantially under naval blockade, supplied only by a few solitary ships sent every few months with the bare necessities to ward off the specter of hunger. In Leros, however, the situation was less problematic than elsewhere, because the Navy, unlike the Army and the civil administration, has long since created substantial reserves of food for its personnel. For the others, life in Leros passes monotonously: the war seems far away, the only ones who participated were the planes and submarines, such as Jantina, which “went to look for it” outside the waters of the Dodecanese.

August 17th, 1940

Jantina left Leros for another mission, a patrol of the waters between Cape Sidero and the Cyclades Islands.

August 31st, 1940

The boat returned to Leros, at the end of an unsuccessful mission.

September 5^th through -October 10^th, 1940

Round of routine maintenance work in the local shipyard. During this period, on September 20th, the first British air attack on Leros took place. All bombs fell in the countryside, without causing damage to military installations, despite claims to the contrary in British bulletins. The only victim of the raid was a Greek farmer, killed by a bomb along with some animals.

October 24th-25th 1940

Jantina was sent on patrol between the islands of Scio and Kaloyeri (Aegean Sea).

November 26th, 1940

Second British bombing of Leros: this time the bombers, Fairey Swordfish led by Lieutenant Richard W. V. Hamilton of the 819th Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm (who in peacetime had stayed in Leros as a tourist, which had allowed him to observe the military installations on the island), conducted an attack at low altitude under cover of darkness,  They took the Italian defenses by surprise, and managed to inflict considerable damage on the ground installations, causing about forty victims and also hitting the barracks used by the submarine crews with two bombs. On the other hand, naval units, including submarines, did not suffer any damage.

A few days later, the British bombers returned, again led by Hamilton: this time, however, the defenses were on alert and set a trap for the attackers, letting them get close enough before opening fire. Hamilton’s plane was shot down by battery 306, crashing and causing the death of the pilot and the entire crew. Other planes were hit and were seen falling into the sea. On the Italian side, there were no losses.

The following day, the remains of Lieutenant Hamilton and his men were buried in the cemetery of Temenia with solemn honors. This failure would mark the end of British air attacks on Leros for a long time.

December 3rd, 1940

Jantina was sent on patrol off the Cyclades Islands.

December 4th, 1940

Following serious breakdowns which occurred on the first day in the area of operations, Jantina had to interrupt the mission and return early to Taranto for the works.

On the same day, the British code breakers of Bletchley Park (later to become known as “ULTRA”, a name not yet assumed at the time), probably on the basis of some ciphers captured in the previous months on board captured Italian submarines (Galileo Galilei) or boarded before the sinking (Durbo, Uebi Scebeli), managed to decipher some Italian communications that allowed them to communicate to the command in Alexandria in Egypt that Jantina was at that moment in an area of operations between 36°30′ N and 37°00′ N and between 26°30′ E. However, the information did not translate into an attack on the submarine (perhaps because it had to leave that sector the same day to return to base).

December 20^th, 1940, through May 30^th, 1941

Jantina was in the shipyard of Taranto undergoing extensive work.

Jantina at the quay of the 1st Grupsom in La Spezia. At the end of the period of work carried out in the La Spezia’s shipyard: a splash guard was made under the windows of the bridge, and an experimental camouflage scheme was applied (in March 1941), with spots with straight edges in iron gray on a light ash background. Based on comparative tests with other submarines equipped with other camouflage schemes, a standard camouflage scheme would later be defined which was then be applied to all submarines in the Mediterranean
(From MILITARY HISTORY)

June 1941

Once the work was completed, Jantina was relocated to Augusta.

June 11th, 1941

The boat left Augusta for a patrol off the coast of Haifa.

June 15th, 1941

Afflicted by engine failures, Jantina had to divert to Leros.

June 21st, 1941

Once repairs were completed, Jantina (Lieutenant Commander Vincenzo Politi) left Leros for a mission in Egyptian waters.

June 27th, 1941

At 5:45 AM, immediately after arriving in the assigned area, Jantina sighted in position 31°34′ N and 27°28′ E (off Marsa Matruh) a unit identified as a “Hero-class” (i.e., H-class) destroyer, and launched a torpedo at close range. As it disengaged by diving (for a source, after the scheduled time for launch), Jantina distinctly hears a loud detonation.

The unit attacked was the Australian sloop H.M.A.S. Parramatta (Lieutenant Commander Jefferson Hirst Walker), sailing towards Marsa Matruh, which was not hit. The torpedo, set for an excessive depth – since H.M.A.S. Parramatta has a slightly lower draft than an H-class destroyer – passed under its hull without exploding. H.M.A.S. Parramatta counterattacked with depth charges, and later the destroyer H.M.A.S. Stuart (Captain Hector Macdonald Laws Waller), also Australian, joined the chase. (According to another source, probably erroneous, the target attacked and missed by Jantina was the British destroyer H.M.S. Hotspur, belonging to the H class).

Immediately after the attack, Jantina was subjected to heavy hunting with depth charges by ships and planes, which lasted for a total of forty-eight hours. Janita finally managed to escape the hunt, but seriously damaged, with numerous breakdowns, damaged machinery, dangerous water infiltration and severe air leaks, had to return to Leros.

For the action of June 27th, to which at the time the Italian side erroneously attributed the sinking of a destroyer (due to the explosion heard after the launch of the torpedoes), Commander Politi received a Silver Medal for Military Valor  with this motivation: “Commander of a submarine, in a daring war mission, resolutely attacked the enemy by sinking a ct. enemy, demonstrating high aggressive spirit, serene daring and very high professional qualities. Signaled by a violent, prolonged hunt, he maneuvered with skill and courage, succeeding, despite the serious breakdowns suffered, in disengaging and bringing the unit under his command to base. In the fulfilment of his task, he made an ardent and passionate contribution to his soul, tempered by the hard school of duty and sacrifice, giving proof of superb military virtues”).

The rest of the crew was also be decorated for action; the second in command Loggini, the chief engineer Pirro, the navigation officer Colombo, the midshipman Giadrossi, the chief electrician Polito and the chief mechanic Da Rold received the Bronze Medal for Military Valor, the rest of the crew the War Cross for Military Valor. The decorations, however, were almost all awarded posthumously.

The Sinking

The serious damage suffered during the last mission off the coast of Egypt had reduced Jantina “to a state of inefficiency” and could not be repaired with the modest means available in the Dodecanese. Consequently, it was necessary to send it to Italy to carry out the necessary repairs, even if the transfer in those conditions (the damage suffered prevented it from diving), having to make a long journey in waters infested by enemy submarines: it was anything but simple.

It was decided that from Leros Jantina would first reach Corinth and then Messina, and then continue to Naples, its destination, where it would enter the dock for the works. According to other sources, however, Jantina was to have sailed from Leros to Brindisi, and repair work were to be carried out in this base.

In any case, in the early hours of July 5^th, 1941, Jantina left Leros to return to Italy. It was commanded, as in all missions since the beginning of the war a year earlier, by the Lieutenant Commander Vincenzo Politi. Due to the damage suffered, the submarine had to complete the entire navigation while remaining on the surface, with all the risks that that entailed.

Unfortunately, Jantina didn’t have to go far before it ran into one of these dangers. At 5:46 PM on July 5th, the British submarine H.M.S. Torbay (Lieutenant Commander Anthony Cecil Capel Miers), being 11.5 miles by 240° from the Greek island of Stapodia, sighted another submarine sailing on the surface, four miles away, on 080° bearing; It was Jantina.

H.M.S. Torbay immediately approached in the direction of the newcomer, and at 6:16 PM, arriving in a position suitable for launch, launched six torpedoes from a distance of 1,370 meters. The sun was setting.

H.M.S. Tombay. The skipper, Lieutenant Commander Anthony Cecil Capel Miers, in July 1941, on his first patrol from Alexandria, was involved in two incidents of alleged war crimes. On two occasions after sinking enemy ships, Lt.Cdr. Miers had H.M.S. Torbay’s crew fire on troops as they swam in the water. Lt.Cdr. Miers made no attempt to hide his actions and reported it in his official logs.

On Jantina, which at that time was across the island of Mykonos (mentioned by Italian sources as Mykoni or Mykoni), no one suspected anything. At 6.15 PM, according to Italian sources – two torpedo trails were sighted, very close, and the crew realized that they were under attack. Unfortunately, it was already too late: the torpedoes, when they were sighted, were too close, and it was not possible to avoid them. Hit by two of the weapons, one at the bow and the other amidships, Jantina sank in less than a minute, in position 37°21′ N and 25°20′ E (according to Italian sources; in the Aegean Sea, three or four miles south of Mykonos) or 37°30′ N and 25°00′ E (according to British sources; east of Mykonos; another British source states “south of Melos” but this is certainly a mistake).

On H.M.S. Torbay, one minute after the launch, “an explosion was recorded, followed ten seconds later by a tremendous double explosion,” which shook the British boat violently, causing some minor damage. When Miers glanced at the periscope, he saw an approaching plane, so he decided to descend into the depths and move away (according to one source, the plane also dropped a depth charge at H.M.S. Torbay, but it did not suffer any major damage).

Most of the 47 (according to another source 48) men who made up the crew of Jantina were below deck at the time of the torpedoing. They had no escape and sank with the submarine. The men on the bridge were thrown overboard by the explosion, and found themselves in the water, confused and groggy. Only six survived, swimming to nearby Mykonos: Ensign Michele Giadrossi, and five non-commissioned officers and sailors.

Commander Politi, three other officers, and 37 non-commissioned officers, sub-chiefs and sailors perished with Jantina.

Note – An Internet source (ANMI – Italian Association Navy Veterans – Gaeta website) reports, in addition to the 41 names listed above, also those of six other fallen:

• Sailor Sebastiano Agliano
• Chief of First Class Arturo Brandani
• Sailor Tommaso Ferragina
• Sailor Alberto Morbin
• Sailor Giuseppe Poggi
• Sailor Giuseppe Tesoriero.

In the list of the fallen and missing of the Navy in the Second World War, however, the name of Sebastiano Agliano does not appear, while Brandani, Ferragina, Morbin, Poggi and Tesoriero all belong to the crew not of Jantina, but of the submarine Sirena: Brandani, Ferragina, Poggi and Tesoriero died on April 10th, 1943 in the bombing of the base of La Maddalena, while Morbin died in Italy at the end of the war,  November 24th, 1946.

After a few days, only five bodies could be recovered: those of Commander Politi, the Assistant Chief Engine Engineer Sante Bobbo, the Second Chief Torpedo Pilot Valdemaro Castagneto, the Chief Mechanic Amleto Cerutti, and Sailor Electrician Middel Costa. They were buried in the cemetery of Leros.

On July 10th, 1941, Captain Aldo Cocchia, military commander of Leros, wrote in his diary:

“… Today we feel a very different emotion at the sad ceremony of the funeral of the Lieutenant Commander Politi, commander of the submarine Jantina. Jantina had departed from Leros two days ago bound for Italy and, when we greeted with affectionate cordiality this submarine that was returning after a period of good work in the Aegean, we would never have thought that its hours were numbered. Off the coast of Miconi, Jantina was torpedoed by an enemy submarine and sank rapidly, taking almost all of its crew with it. Rescue vessels departed from Leros and Dira, but unfortunately, they managed to save only two young officers and recover the bodies of the commander and four men. Admiral Biancheri spoke at the funeral and spoke a few words, but there were no words that could express our emotion.”

Later, in his memoir “Convoys”, Cocchia describes the small cemetery of Leros in which the remains of Commander Politi and the four men recovered from the sea rested for some time, until the post-war period:

“No, there is nothing very suggestive or poetic about our cemetery, located, as it is, on the barren hill, enclosed by a white wall. A few stunted and withered cypresses, almost all planted this year [1941], fail to create that atmosphere of sweet recollection typical of country graveyards. The altar against the back wall is too open, too exposed to invite prayer. The tombs are lined up in several rows, as if the soldiers and sailors sleeping there were still in line. And perhaps their spirits are now in line, framed as a time to watch over us as we continue their work. Tombs all the same, without monuments and without epigraphs, all covered with a concrete slab surmounted by a cross, all bordered by a band of flowers – anemones, dahlias, chrysanthemums – all with a bronze plate on which are imprinted a name, two dates. Nothing else. Under the grey concrete slabs lie sailors and soldiers who have fallen while serving, in aerial bombardment, in war, for whatever reason. The last arrivals were the five of the submarine Jantina. In a corner of the cemetery rest English airmen shot down by our artillery, and among them is Captain Hamilton who for many years had come, in peace, on vacation in Leros.”

Commander Politi and Sub-Chief Bobbo rest today at the Memorial of the Fallen Overseas in Bari. Almost all the other men of Jantina, to use the words of Aldo Cocchia referring to the many sailors and airmen who left Leros and never returned, “now sleep under the great blue shroud of the sea”.

After eight decades of oblivion, the wreck of Jantina was spotted in November 2021 by a group of Greek divers from Kostas Thoctarides, during the inspection of a submarine fiber-optic cable. The unfortunate submarine now lies at a depth of 103 meters, lying on its left side. It is well preserved and generally intact, except for the extreme bow, removed by the explosion of one of the torpedoes. The hatch of the conning tower is open, and the periscopes are lowered, since the vessel was on the surface when it was sunk.

Images of the relict of Jantina, a war grave, by Kostas Thoctarides

The sinking of Jantina in the Torbay logbook (from Uboat.net):

“At 19:46 hours, while Torbay was in position 240° Stapodia Island 11.5 nautical miles, a submarine was sighted bearing 080° 4 nautical miles away. Torbay at once turned to engage the target.

At 20:16 hours 6 torpedoes were fired from 1,500 yards. One minute later an explosion was heard followed by a tremendous double explosion 10 seconds later. The explosion shook Torbay violently causing some light damage. When Lt.Cdr. Miers took a look through the periscope an aircraft was seen approaching so he took Torbay deep.”

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	11		5634	1203	72	94.96	3.96

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
06/21/1941	05:45	C.C. Vincenzo Politi	Mediterranean	31°34’N-27°28’E		Torpedo	Failed	H.M.A.S. Parramatta	Sloop	1060	Australia

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Agliano	Sebastiano	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Bobbo	Sante	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Bornacin	Domenico	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Bossi	Guerrino	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Brandami	Arturo	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	7/5/1941
Brescia	Vito	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Casadio	Aurelio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Castagneto	Valdemaro	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	7/5/1941
Cella	Luciano	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Cerotti	Amieto	Chief 3rd Class	Capo di 3a Classe	7/5/1941
Colombo	Augusto	Ensign	Guardiamarina	7/5/1941
Conte	Antonio	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Corrado	RÈ	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Costa	Middel	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
D’arco	Salvatore	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Darold	Bruno	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	7/5/1941
Esposito	Rosario	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Fardelli	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Feola	Attilio	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Ferragina	Tommaso	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Ferrigno	Antonio	Sergeant	Sergente	7/5/1941
Furettini	Martino	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	7/5/1941
Gulinelli	Francesco	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Laraspata	Vito	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Loggini	Vittorio	Lieutenant	Tenente di Vascello	7/5/1941
Maritano	Ermanno	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Mologni	Pietro	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Montagna	Giacomo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	7/5/1941
Monticelli	Saverio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Morbin	Alberto	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Muollo	Alfonso	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Pascale	Gerardo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	7/5/1941
Pirro	Guido	Sublieutenant G.N.	Tenente G.N.	7/5/1941
Poggi	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Politi	Vincenzo	Lieutenant Commander	Capitano di Corvetta	7/5/1941
Polito	Giovanni	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	7/5/1941
Rossi	Matteo	Sergeant	Sergente	7/5/1941
Selvaggio	Vinicio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Sgroi	Vincenzo	Sergeant	Sergente	7/5/1941
Sorrentino	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Tesoriero	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Trombetti	Ruggiero	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Vecchietti	Armando	Sergeant	Sergente	7/5/1941
Zaccaro	Beniamino	Sergeant	Sergente	7/5/1941
Zagnoli	Arturo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941
Zenier	Gino	Naval Rating	Comune	7/5/1941
Zoli	Michele	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	7/5/1941

The submarine Serpente was Argonauta-class coastal submarine (650 tons displacement on the surface and 800 tons submerged). The boat completed 29 war missions (17 patrols and 12 transfers), covering 11,731 miles on the surface and 2,708 submerged, and 105 training sorties.

The submarine Serpente with the camouflage used later in the conflict and the modified conning tower

Brief and Partial Chronology

April 23rd, 1930

Setting up started at the Franco Tosi shipyards in Taranto. Initially, the name chosen was Nautilus, but in 1931 it was changed to Serpente.

February 28th, 1932

Serpente  was launched at the Franco Tosi shipyard in Taranto.

July 1932

During exercises and sea trials, a crew member is “forgotten” outside during the diving manoeuvre. He ended up in the water and was rescued several hours later by the submarine Luigi Settembrini. A few days later, Serpente will also hit a quay in Tarant. A few days later, its commander, Cordero di Montezemolo, was replaced.

November 12th, 1932

Entry into active service. Followed by assignment to the VIII Submarine Squadron, which the boat formed together with the submarines of the same class Salpa and the larger Luigi Settembrini and Ruggiero Settimo, also newly built.

April 25th, 1933

An explosion which occurred in a battery room while the Serpent was being repaired in Taranto, killed a civilian worker, and injured seven others.

Serpente in Taranto. In the drydock also the Destroyer Carducci

1934

Serpente made a cruise to the Balearic Islands and to some ports in Spain.

January 21st, 1935

The boat was sent from Brindisi to go to the rescue, with other units, of the French seaplane “Normandie”, ditched in the Otranto Channel due to engine failure and in prohibitive sea conditions, The plane was flying from Saigon to Marseille via Corfu and Naples. However, the intervention of the Serpent would be superfluous, as the motor ship Paganini, was closest to the scene of the accident and therefore diverted to the spot and was able to save the six occupants of the seaplane and also recover luggage and mail bags before the aircraft sank in rough seas.

1936

Deployed in Taranto, then in the Red Sea for a few months, together with her sister submarine Salpa, to verify the suitability of the Argonauta class boats to operate in those waters.

Subsequently, together with the Salpa, it was first deployed in the Aegean Sea and later in Tobruk. During this period, Lieutenant Aldo Enrici was the commander of the Serpente. Serpentyed participated, as part of a “special mission” under the command of Emilio Francardi, to the Spanish Civil War.

1938

Moved to Leros, then to Rhodes.

1939

Relocated in Tobruk.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into the World War II, Serpente and her twin boat Salpa formed the XLV Submarine Squadron of the IV Grupsom, based in Taranto (according to another source, however, at the outbreak of the war the two boats were part of the Tobruk Submarine Group). Later, the Serpent was transferred to Augusta.

July 22^nd, 1940

Serpente departs Taranto for a patrol in the Gulf of Solum which is aborted due to a severe breakdown with an electric motor, returning to base on the 28^th.

September 19th, 1940

At 8:34 PM, 59 miles south of Morciano di Leuca, Serpente (Lieutenant Vittorio Emanuele Tognelli) launched three torpedoes against a submarine, believed to be enemy. Actually, it was an Italian boat, the Marcantonio Colonna: fortunately, it managed to avoid the torpedoes.

September 23rd, 1940

The boat went south of Crete together with the submarines Ambra and Goffredo Mameli.

October 1st, 1940

Spotted by a British formation off the coast of Crete, Serpente was damaged by destroyers with depth charges, being forced to return to base due to the damage suffered.

December 16^th – 25th, 1940

The boat went to patrol, together with the submarines Dessiè and Fratelli Bandiera, in the waters around Malta.

December 20th, 1940

At 1:02 AM, Serpente (Lieutenant Commander Antonio Dotta), while on the surface (in position 35°30′ N and 16°20′ E), launched two torpedoes from less than 2,000 meters against the penultimate unit (estimated to be a light cruiser) of a formation that Dotta believed to be composed of three cruisers and a thin unit, perhaps a destroyer (these were the three cruisers that formed the protection force of the British convoy “M.W. 5” bound for Malta,  located a few miles further south), 85 miles southeast of Malta.

Dotta believed that he had hit a cruiser with one or two torpedoes (having heard an explosion two minutes after launch, having dived deep to avoid the reaction). The action and the optimistic assessment of its outcome would also be reported in the war bulletin number of December 26th: “The submarine Serpente, under the command of Lieutenant Antonio Dotta, on the night between the 20th and the 21st attacked an enemy naval formation in the central Mediterranean, launching two torpedoes against a light cruiser and sinking it as was ascertained by aerial reconnaissance“.

In reality, no ships were hit (the British ships did not even realize that they have been attacked). Some sources would initially attribute (and still attribute) the sinking of the British destroyer H.M.S. Hyperion to the action of Serpente, but this unit sank due to a collision with an Italian mine (belonging to the 4 AN barrage) only two days later and at a distance of 300 miles (in position 37°40′ N and 11°31′ E).

1941

Serpente operated mainly in the western Mediterranean, in particular off Algiers and Oran.

Serpente in Cagliari with an initial attempt to a camouflage with small spots painting on the conning tower
(From “Storia Militare”)

January 12th, 1941

The boat was sent on patrol off the coast of Derna.

March 2, 1941

The boat was sent on patrol in the waters of Cyrenaica.

August 24th, 1941

Serpente was sent to lie in wait, with three other submarines, southwest of Sardinia, in opposition to the British operation “Style” (sending a convoy of supplies to Malta), forming a barrage along with Alagi, Aradam and Diaspro, but failed to detect any enemy units.

September 26th, 1941

Serpente (Lieutenant Renato Ferrini) was sent, with three other submarines (Axum, Aradam and Diaspro), to lie in a defensive ambush east of the Balearic Islands and north of Cape Bougaroni during the British operation “Halberd”, consisting of sending a convoy to Malta (military tanker Breconshire and cargo ships Ajax, City of Lincoln, City of Calcutta, Clan MacDonald,  Clan Ferguson, Rowallan Castle, Imperial Star and Dunedin Star with a total cargo of 81,000 tons of supplies), but which the Italian command believed to be an attempt at a naval bombardment against the Italian coast. However, the British squadron at sea did not pass through this area, so the boat was moved further south.

September 29th, 1941

Serpent sighted, off the coast of Spain, an enemy formation consisting of a battleship escorted by four destroyers (part of Force H – battleships H.M.S. Rodney, H.M.S. Nelson and H.M.S. Prince of Wales, aircraft carriers H.M.S. Ark Royal, light cruisers H.M.S. Kenya, H.M.S. Edinburgh, H.M.S. Sheffield, H.M.S. Euryalus and H.M.S. Hermione, British destroyers H.M.S. Cossack, H.M.S. Duncan, H.M.S. Farndale, H.M.S. Foresight, H.M.S.  Forestr, H.M.S. Fury, H.M.S. Gurkha, H.M.S. Heythrop, H.M.S. Laforey, H.M.S. Lance, H.M.S. Legion, H.M.S. Lightning, H.M.S.  Lively, H.M.S. Oribi and H.M.S. Zulu, as well as the Polish Garland and Piorun and the Dutch Isaac Sweers – at sea for “Halberd” and precisely to cover, at a distance, convoys GM 2 and MG. 2) sailing west at 16 knots, 25 miles north-northwest of Cape Bougaroni.

Serpente in Cagliari, October 1st, 1942. On the foreground Lieutenant Renato Ferrini>
(From “Storia Militare)

Initially, the submarine maneuvers to attack the battleships, but fails due to the obstacle posed by the escort, as well as the fact that the ships proceed zigzagging. Subsequently, at 4:45 PM, Serpente launched two torpedoes from the aft tubes against one of the four destroyers (in position 37°22′ N and 06°16′ E), wrongly believing to have scored a hit (having heard a bang 50 seconds after launch, while disengaging, but this was probably due to the depth charges launched in reaction). Two of the British destroyers, H.M.S. Legion and H.M.S. Lively, spotted torpedo trails and immediately counterattacked with depth charges, but the submarine emerged unscathed from the counterattack.

October 17th, 1941

Serpente was sent on patrol north of Cap de Fer (Algeria) together with the submarines Turchese, Alagi and Diaspro.

May 4th, 1942

The boat was assigned to the Submarine School in Pula (Mariscuolasom), on behalf of which it carried out 105 training sorties, as well as some ambush missions in the Upper Adriatic. (According to another source, it was assigned to Mariscuolasom, along with the twin boats Medusa and Jalea, in 1941.)

(From ‘Storia Militare”)Serpente during a training patrol in the Upper Adriatic photographed from a corvette.
Serpente during a training patrol in the Upper Adriatic photographed from a corvette.

The armistice and the end

The armistice of September 8^th, 1943, caught Serpent still in Pula, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Raffaele Allegri. The submarine was in dry dock in the Scoglio Olivi shipyard, but, unlike many other ships caught at work and sabotaged or captured due to the impossibility of being able to leave, it could be immediately put back into the water and prepared for departure.

It left Pula on September 9^th. The submarine Serpent set course first for Lošinj, then Ancona, where the boat arrived at 7.39 AM on the 11th. The submarine Ametista, which had arrived a few hours earlier from Rijeka, and the pocket submarines CB 11 and CB 12 were already present in the Doric port. Serpente and Ametista were both plagued by breakdowns, which had forced them to stop in Ancona.

At 03:00 PM on September 12th, all four boats left Ancona bound for Puglia with Serpente towing CB 12, the Ametista towing CB 11. The voyage of the two larger submarines, however, ended a little further on, seven miles northeast of Numana, off Monte Conero. The commanding officers of Ametista and Serpente dropped the towlines and scuttled their boats, respectively at 5:00 PM and 5.30 PM on September 12^th, 1943. The two CBs continued alone to the Tremiti, Islands from where they then reached Brindisi and Taranto.

The crew of Serpente was rescued by a fishing boat passing nearby and disembarked in Civitanova Marche. The population of Numana and Sirolo provided the survivors with dry civilian clothing.

The men who made up the crews of the two submarines, like hundreds of thousands of other soldiers in Italy and in the occupied territories, had to split up, making opposing choices. Some of them went to the North, where they enlisted in the ranks of the X Flotilla MAS of the Italian Social Republic. Others headed south, where they managed to rejoin the ranks of the Regia Marina (according to an unverifiable source of dubious reliability, the entire crew of Serpente headed north and then entered the X MAS).

Not a single man died on Serpent during three years of war, but one of its crew members did not see the end of the conflict either. Stoker sailor Antonio Giuffrida, twenty-one years old from Milan, was among the men of Serpent who became part of the X MAS of the RSI, convinced like many, that he would continue to fight against the Allies. Instead, he found himself assigned to Arona in a unit assigned to anti-partisan repression. Not intending to fight against other Italians, Giuffrida deserted and returned to Milan, but was captured by his former comrades on the tip of a spy, brought back to Arona (Novara) and shot in the courtyard of the De Filippi high school at 7:40 PM of December 5th, 1944.

At the end of the war, Commander Allegri, like the commander of Ametista Lieutenant Luigi Ginocchio, was arrested and tried by the Military Court of Genoa on charges of disobeying orders and for “loss of ship”. The sentence in the first trial, in February 1949, was six years in prison for both. In 1950 the appeal process took place, in which the lawyers highlighted the ability and valor demonstrated in war by the two commanders, and pointed out that the orders were to deliver the ships to the Allies, but also to scuttle the obsolete and inefficient ones. Disorientation caused by the confused situation of the armistice was also highlighted, which had prevented Commander Allegri from calmly evaluating what to do despite the clear orders of the Naval Command of Ancona. This led, on January 19th, 1950, to a reduction in sentence, with a suspended sentence.

While the judicial aftermath of the affair was concluded, the material existence of the two submarines in the waters of Ancona also came to a definitive end. A diver from Ancona, perhaps Elso Tonnarelli, found the wrecks at a depth of 20-25 meters, on the muddy seabed off the Conero, in an area where strong currents made diving difficult. This did not stop the recovery proposals: for Serpente, the Dorica Company for Maritime Works and Recoveries srl and the Cesare Davanzali Company joined forces. The Ancona divers Alessandro Savini and Mariano Rinaldi worked on the recovery, and later Antonio Moroni of the «Davanzali».

In the six years it had spent underwater, Serpent had progressively sunk into the muddy seabed, which had covered it for two-thirds, leaving only the bow and conning tower sticking out. The interior had also filled with mud, due to the hatches left open for scuttling, so that it had to be emptied to lighten it so that it could be lifted again. The difficulties were not few, divers, given the modest depth, began to spend long periods of time diving without adhering to the prescribed times for decompression. The Naval Command provided some lifting cylinders, but the strong storms forced the work to be postponed for month, A narrow tunnel was dug in the seabed, under the hull of the wreck, through which large chains were then passed which were then hooked to the lifting cylinders. At that point, all that remained was to fill the cylinders with air. The submarine detached from the seabed that had housed it for six years, and returned, in July 1949, to see daylight.

However, only for a short time: once recovered, the submarine was towed to the nearby port of Ancona and scrapped in 1950.

The relict of Serpente in Ancona, 1950
 (From “Palombari dorici” by Luigi Borsini))

The 102/35 mm gun was returned to the Navy (which had already removed Serpent from its roster on February 27^th, 1947). The sale of the lead contained in the boat’s batteries, over nine tons, yielded 8,000,000 lire (TN 624.61 ITL = $1 in 1950, equivalent to $ 165,000 in 2024) to the salvagers. Part of the steel of the hull, with a high nickel content (and whose value had risen with the outbreak of the crisis that would later lead to the Korean War), was sold to the Pieralisi Workshops in Jesi.

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	29		11731	2708	123	117.39	4.89

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
9/19/1940	20.34	C.C. Antonio Dotta	Mediterranean	Santa Maria di Leuca		Torpedo	Failed	Colonna	Submarine	880	Italy
12/20/1940	01.02	C.C. Antonio Dotta	Mediterranean	35°30’N-16°20’E		Torpedo	Failed	H.M.S. Hyperion	Destroyer		Great Britain

Crew Members Lost

Last Name

First Name

Rank

Italian Rank

Date

Fisalia was a coastal submarine of the Argonaut-class (650 tons displacement on the surface and 800 tons submerged). The boat completed 7 patrols and 8 transfer missions during the war, covering a total of 6,181 miles on the surface and 2,190 miles submerged, as well as 46 training sorties.

Brief and Partial Chronology

November 20th, 1929

Setting up in the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico in Monfalcone (construction number 226).

May 2nd, 1931

Fisalia was launch at the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico in Monfalcone.

Fisalia ready for launch
 (From “I sommergibili di Monfalcone” by Alessandro Turrini, Rivista Marittima n. 11 – November 1998)

June 4th, 1932

Entry into service. For a few months he remained in the Upper Adriatic, especially in Pula.

Fisalia in Taranto, October 31st, 1932
(Giorgio Parodi Collection)

1933

Fisalia completed a long training cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean together with the boat of the same class Salpa and Argonauta (in the Dodecanese, with stops in Libya on the way back), then, under the command of Lieutenant Giorgio Bernabò, it was deployed to Messina (III Submarine Group) and assigned to training tasks in the metropolitan ports for the next four years, carrying out several training cruises.

February 1937

The command of Fisalia was assumed by the Lieutenant Commander Francesco Dell’Anno.

August 17^th through 29^th, 1937

Fisalia clandestinely participated to the Spanish Civil War with an unsuccessful 12-day mission. Setting sail from Messina on August 17th, Fisalia (still under the command of Lieutenant Bernabò) patrolled a sector north of Pantelleria, between Cape Lilybaeum and Cape Bon. During the mission, the boat began 22 attack maneuvers, but did not complete any of them, due to uncertainty about the identity of the targets. Fisalia returned to Messina on the 29th. At the end of this mission, it was deployed to Tobruk.

Fisalia in Messina
(Maurizio Brescia Collection)

December 26th, 1937

Lieutenant Carlo Todaro (29 years old, from Trapani) took command of Fisalia.

October 18th, 1938

Lieutenant Todaro handed over command of Fisalia to Lieutenant Girolamo Acunto.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into the World War II, Fisalia was part of the LXI Submarine Squadron (VI Grupsom, based in Tobruk), along with the class leader Argonauta and the submarines Naiade, Sirena and Smeraldo.

June 12th, 1940

Fisalia (Lieutenant Girolamo Acunto) was sent off the coast of Alexandria for offensive patrol. He remained in the area for only two days, during which time he sighted a merchant ship, which he attacked but failed to hit.

June 15th, 1940

On his way back to Tobruk, Fisalia was attacked by a submarine with a torpedo, but avoided it with a quick maneuver. (TN The submarine in question was H.M.S. Rosqual, Lieutenant Commander Ronald Hugh Dewhurst)

July 12th, 1940

Still under the command of Lieutenant Acunto, Fisalia sailed for a mission north of the Gulf of Sollum, but on reaching the assigned sector it was located by three escort ships and subjected to violent anti-submarine attacks. With various apparatuses seriously damaged, it has to go back to base.

July 13th, 1940

Fisalia arrived in Tobruk. Once repaired, it carries out new offensive patrols, all of which were unsuccessful.

October 14th, 1940

The boat was reassigned to the Submarine School in Pula.

October 14^th,1940 through March 10^th, 1941

Fisalia completed 46 training sorties for the Submarine School in Pula.

After 10 March, the boat carried out various offensive missions in Egyptian waters.

March 15^th through 26th, 1941

Fisalia was sent to patrol the waters of the Otranto Channel to protect traffic between Italy and Albania.

April 22nd, 1941

Fisalia was sent on patrol in the waters of Cyrenaica, where it sighted a large cruiser off the Egyptian coast, but was unable to get into a favorable position to launch torpedoes (i.e., to reduce the distances sufficiently).

May 20th, 1941

Fisalia was sent to lie in wait in the waters between Crete, Alexandria and Sollum, along with the submarines Uarsciek, Topazio, Adua, Tricheco, Malachite, Squalo, Smeraldo, Dessiè, and Sirena, in support of the German invasion of Crete.

According to an unverifiable source, twice during this mission Fisalia was spotted by several enemy destroyers and subjected to heavy hunts with depth charges (hundreds) that lasted for several hours.

The Sinking

On the morning of September 23^rd, 1941, Fisalia, still under the command of Girolamo Acunto (who had just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander), sailed from Leros for a patrol between Jaffa and Haifa. After the departure, however, Fisalia was never heard from again.

It was later learned, from British sources, that on September 28th the British corvette H.M.S. Hyacinth (Lieutenant Commander Frank Clifford Hopkins; according to one version the ship was conducting an anti-submarine patrol off Jaffa, according to another it acted instead in defense of a convoy) had located Fisalia submerged 25 miles northwest of Jaffa and had sunk it with a precise and lethal launch of depth charges in position 32°19′ N and 34°17′ E . All crewmembers – 5 officers, 14 non-commissioned officers, 27 non-commissioned officers and sailors – still rest in their “iron coffin”.

H.M.S. Hyacinth was a Flower-class corvette. In 1943 it was transferred to Greece

According to an unverifiable source, the wreck of Fisalia was located 27 miles off the Israeli coast, at a great depth.

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	2	2	6955	1149	73	111.01	4.63

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
06/12/1940		T.V. Girolamo Acunto	Mediterranean	Off Alexandria		Torpedo	Failed	Unknown	Ship		Unknown

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Acunto	Girolamo	Lieutenant Commander	Capitano di Corvetta	9/28/1941
Antonante	Michele	Chief 3rd Class	Capo di 3a Classe	9/28/1941
Ardetti	Antonio	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Baggi	Luigi	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Barbieri	Osvaldo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Basile	Bartolo	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Battain	Mario	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Bobbio	Giovanni	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Bossio	Alberto	Lieutenant	Tenente di Vascello	9/28/1941
Bozzotta	Salvatore	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Briga	Antonio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Brunetti	Raffaello	Ensign	Guardiamarina	9/28/1941
Bruno	Vinicio	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Bruzzo	Renato	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Cum	Giovanni	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
De Palma	Alfredo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Dell’Angelo	Albino	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Di Pasquale	Vittorio	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Esposito	Simone	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Faggion	Guido	Sergeant	Sergente	9/28/1941
Ferraro	Valerio	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	9/28/1941
Fiorentino	Antonio	Sergeant	Sergente	9/28/1941
Furlan	Ferdinando	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Gragnani	Rodolfo	Sublieutenant G.N.	Tenente G.N.	9/28/1941
Lampani	Renato	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	9/28/1941
Lerici	Federico	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Lo Forti	Rosario	Sergeant	Sergente	9/28/1941
Lotti	Vasco	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Manta	Oronzo	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Marconi	Rodolfo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Marino	Antonino	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Mattera	Luigi	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Miceli	Antonino	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Molfino	Giacomo	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Morgera	Francesco	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Piscelli	Salvatore	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Provera	Adriano	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Puce	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Ruccia	Vito	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	9/28/1941
Sirletti	Emilio	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Spina	Carlo	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Staiano	Alberto	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Tanfani	Ezio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	9/28/1941
Tosini	Livio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941
Zacchini	Alceo	Naval Rating	Comune	9/28/1941
Zanello	Gildo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	9/28/1941

The submarine Tembien was an Adwa-class coastal submarine (698 tons displacement on the surface and 866 tons submerged). During the war the boat completed a total of 10 patrols and 6 training and transfer missions, covering 9,806 miles on the surface and 1,881 submerged.

Brief and partial chronology

February 6th, 1937

Setting up in the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyards.

February 6th, 1938

Tembien was launched in the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyards.

The launch of Tembien in Muggiano, La Spezia

July 1st, 1938

The boat entered service.

August 10th, 1938

Placed under Maricosom (the Command of the Italian submarine fleet), Tembien was assigned to the V Submarine Group of Leros and deployed on that island. There it carried out training and endurance cruises.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s entry into World War II, Tembien was stationed in Messina, part of the XXXV Submarine Squadron (III Submarine Group), along with the boat of the same class Durbo and Beilul. The commander of the submarine was Commander Primo Longobardo, who, however, would leave after a few days, having been assigned to a new post.

July 1st, 1940

The boat was sent to lie in wait off the coast of Malta.

July 5th, 1940

Tembien returned to base.

July 1940

The boat took to the sea for the second war patrol but had to interrupt it before reaching the ambush area and returned to base due to a breakdown.

August 1st, 1940

Tambien was sent off the coast of Crete for an ambush.

August 6th, 1940

The boat returned to base, after patrolling the waters of Sollum as well.

September 23rd, 1940

Tembien was sent to lie in wait off the coast of Tobruk.

September 28th, 1940

Tembien participated, unsuccessfully, in the fight against the British operation “MB. 5”, consisting of sending to Malta 1,200 men and a cargo of supplies by means of the light cruisers H.M.S. Liverpool and H.M.S. Gloucester, with the support of two battleships (H.M.S. Valiant and H.M.S. Warspite), an aircraft carrier (H.M.S. Illustrious), two light cruisers (H.M.S. Orion and H.M.A.S. Sydney), a heavy cruiser (H.M.S. York) and eleven destroyers.

October 6th, 1940

The boat returned to base. Thereafter, Lieutenant Guido Gozzi assumed command.

November 21st, 1940

Short night ambush mission off Malta.

November 22nd, 1940

Another short night ambush to the west of Malta.

November 26th, 1940

Return was sent to ambush west of Malta, 26 miles west of Comino (islet located between Malta and Gozo), to participate in the fight against the British operation “Collar” (transfer of ships from Alexandria to Gibraltar, dispatch of convoys with supplies from Gibraltar to Malta and the ports of the Levant, all with the help of Force H and the Mediterranean Fleet:  the outcome would be the inconclusive Battle of Cape Teulada).

November 27th, 1940

At 11:24 PM, Tembien (Lieutenant Guido Gozzi) sighted three large warships to the south, advancing at an estimated speed of 9 knots and on an estimated course of 320° (to the northwest). This was the British 3rd Cruiser Squadron (heavy cruiser H.M.S. York, light cruisers H.M.S. Glasgow and H.M.S. Gloucester), at sea as part of the British convoy traffic connected with Operation Collar. At 11:28 PM (another source 10:26 PM), in position 36°00′ N and 14°47′ E (or 13°47′ E), the submarine launched two torpedoes from 1,500 meters (other sources speak of 500 meters).

Since the weapons miss the target, Tembien further reduces the distance, down to less than 1,000 meters. Then, at 11:33 PM (or 11:34 PM the boat launched two more torpedoes. This time a loud bang was heard after 45 seconds, but the torpedoes had misfired again. Tembien, which had disengaged with rapid immersion, was briefly hunted with depth charges (according to another source, the British units did not realize that they had been attacked).

November 30th, 1940

Tembien returned to base.

January 1st, 1941

The boat was sent off Sollum.

January 8th, 1941

At 00.45 Tembien (Lieutenant Guido Gozzi) sighted a large steamer off Bardia and attacked it with the launch torpedoes in rapid succession: these, however, had an irregular course and did not hit the target.

Lieutenant Guido Gozzi was born in Bologna on October 25th, 1910

It was the first case in which there was an irregular torpedo race in the Regia Marina. An investigation by the General Directorate of Naval Weapons and Armaments would follow and discovered that some components of the torpedo guidance devices, in a batch produced by the torpedo factory of Rijeka, were stressed at the time when the torpedoes were launched, thus preventing the weapon from maintaining it course.

January 12th, 1941

The boat returned to base.

February 3rd, 1941

Ambush off the coast of Malta.

February 12th, 1941

Tembien returned to base and entered the shipyard for routine maintenance work.

February-June 1941

At the shipyard undergoing repairs and maintenance.

Tembien in 1941 after a period in the shipyard. Note the ‘German’ style conning tower and the mimetic painting.
(From “Sommergibili italiani” by Alessandro Turrini andOttorino Ottone Miozzi, USMM)

June 12th, 1941

Sailor Gennaro Ietro, 30, from Caserta, died aboard Tembien in the central Mediterranean.

June 26th, 1941

Sent off the coast of Cyrenaica.

June 29th, 1941

At 08:41 PM Tembien sighted a formation of British ships off Ras Azzaz, 100 miles east of Tobruk: they were the destroyers H.M.S. Defender (Lieutenant Commander Gilbert Lescombie Farnfield) and H.M.S Waterhen (Lieutenant Commander James Hamilton Swain), sailing from Tobruk (besieged by Axis forces) to Alexandria with troops of the 6th Australian Division.

Just as Tembien was observing them, the two destroyers were attacked, off Sollum, by 19 Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” dive bombers, 12 Germans (Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 of the Luftwaffe) and 7 Italians (239th Dive Bombing Squadron of the Regia Aeronautica, Captain Giuseppe Cenni). One of the latter, piloted by Master Sergeant Ennio Tarantola, hit H.M.S. Waterhen at the stern with a 500 kg bomb. The damage was immediately very serious; the engine and boiler rooms were immediately flooded, and the crew began to abandon ship.

Tembien tried to approach to deliver the coup de grace to the damaged destroyer, but H.M.S. Defender – which was also approaching, to take H.M.S.  Waterhen in tow – sighted it (not far away, forward) and opened fire on it, forcing it to launch two torpedoes blindly (from the aft tubes, from less than 600 meters) and then quickly dove.

On the other hand, according to another source, Tembien arrived and sighted a destroyer that seems to be proceeding at low speed, 600 meters away (H.M.S. Waterhen, already damaged by the attack), launched torpedoes against it and only after the launch was sighted and forced to disengage from a second destroyer (H.M.S. Defender), which tried unsuccessfully to ram it.

In any case, the torpedoes failed to hit the target and Tembien disengaged diving, evading the hunt with depth charges without taking damage. H.M.S. Waterhen, irreparably damaged by the bomb, sank on its own at 1.50 AM the following day, capsizing in position 32°15′ N and 25°20′ E (seven miles north of Sidi el Barrani), after a vain attempt to tow it by H.M.S. Defender.

July 3rd, 1941

Tembien returned to base.

Ramming

On July 31^st, 1941, Tembien, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Guido Gozzi, sailed from Augusta (according to other sources, Messina) bound west of Malta, where it was to form, along with three other units (Fratelli Bandiera, Luciano Manara and Zaffiro), a barrage of submarines in order to intercept British naval forces that had been reported as being in transit in the Strait of Sicily.

In fact, the British operation “Style” was in progress, which consisted of sending to Malta the minelayer cruiser H.M.S. Manxman and the light cruisers H.M.S. Hermione and H.M.S. Arethusa (Force X), on a mission of fast transport of 1,746 men (70 officers and 1,676 non-commissioned officers and soldiers, some of whom remained in Gibraltar when the steamer Leinster, part of the former convoy “Substance” bound for Malta, had run aground.  As a diversionary action, the British would also carry out a bombardment of Porto Conte and Alghero by the destroyers H.M.S. Maori and H.M.S. Cossack and aircrafts from the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Ark Royal (which took place between 2.15 Am and 4.45 Am on 1 August, with negligible damage).

The ships bound for Malta had left Gibraltar at six o’clock in the morning of July 30th, and at 5.30 PM news (that Force H had left Gibraltar at 7:00 AM heading east) had reached Supermarina, which had immediately ordered the dispatch of various submarines (in addition to Tembien, Zaffiro, Bandiera and Manara between Malta and Pantelleria,  four other boats were deployed to the southwest of Sardinia: Alagi, Aradam, Diaspro and Serpente), as well as various other measures (suspension of traffic in the Central Mediterranean, concentration of 13 MAS in Pantelleria, preparation of the 6 torpedo boats available in Sicily, aerial reconnaissance over large areas of both Mediterranean basins).

Supermarina had already been alarmed by the intensification, in the previous days, of enemy radio traffic of an operational nature and air attacks against maritime reconnaissance air bases in Sicily and Sardinia, as well as by the appearance of British reconnaissance in Taranto and in the bases of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea.

On August 1st, Tembien reached the ambush area, located in the southern area of the submarine barrage. In the early hours of August 2nd, Tembien was on the surface – it will never be known whether to recharge its batteries, or to approach the British formation (which was crossing its ambush zone) and attack, or for different reasons – when it was spotted by an aircraft from H.M.S. Ark Royal. Shortly afterwards – at three o’clock in the morning – the light cruiser H.M.S. Hermione (Captain Geoffrey Nigel Oliver), which was sailing at 28 knots towards Malta, sighted it in turn and maneuvered to ram it. The bow of H.M.S. Hermione, launched at high speed, cut the Italian submarine in two, sinking it in position 36°21′ N and 12°40′ E (halfway between Pantelleria and Malta, southeast of Pantelleria), off the coast of Tunis and southwest of Sicily. H.M.S. Arethusa and H.M.S. Manxman, which were following H.M.S. Hermione, collided with the already half-submerged wreck of the Italian boat when they passed over the spot where it had sunk.

Commander Gozzi, 4 other officers and 37 non-commissioned officers and sailors died. There were no survivors. It was not entirely clear whether the entire crew sank with the submarine, or whether some men (perhaps being on deck or on the conning tower) ended up in the sea but were not recovered by the British ships, which continued at full force towards Malta. Albert Pettman, chief stoker of H.M.S. Manxman, noted in his diary that ” H.M.S. Hermione rams a U-Boat [a term often misused by the British sailors of the time, to indicate Axis submarines in general] and cuts it in two, none of the crew were saved as we must be well away before day break”)”.

A painting by Marc Stone portraying the sinking of Tambien
(UK National Archives)

H.M.S. Hermione suffered only minor damage in the ramming (a six-meter waterway in the bow, which, however, did not prevent it from continuing at full speed towards its destination). On arrival in Malta three hours later, a “piece” of Tembien was found crumpled around the bow of the cruiser. Some of the wreckage of the submarine was recovered and turned into “souvenirs” or good luck charms, such as a piece of iron that was forged into a horseshoe shape. After returning to Gibraltar (August 4th), the cruiser spent a few days repairing the damage to the bow. Commander Oliver later received the Distinguished Service Order for the sinking of Tembien.

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	16		9806	1881	102	114.58	4.77

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
11/26/1940	22.26	T.V. Guido Gozzi	Mediterranean	36°00’N-14°47’E		Torpedo	Failed	York	Heavy Cruiser		Great Britain
11/26/1940	22.33	T.V. Guido Gozzi	Mediterranean	36°00’N-13°47’E		Torpedo	Failed	Glocester	Light Cruiser		Great Britain

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Appaia	Luigi	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Argentini	Egidio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Bottazzi	Carlo	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Bozzo	Vincenzo	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	8/2/1941
Buscemi	Salvatore	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Conte	Enrico	Sublieutenant G.N.	Tenente G.N.	8/2/1941
Cornia	Camillo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Della Valle	Gaspare	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Di Gelido	Vincenzo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Di Giulio	Venanzio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Esposito	Giuseppe	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Fabbri	Adolfo	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Fanzini	Onorio	Chief 3rd Class	Capo di 3a Classe	8/2/1941
Ferrari	Eugenio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Gala	Paolino	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Gambi	Franco	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Giagnacovo	Emilio	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Giannini	Giannino	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Gozzi	Guido	Lieutenant	Tenente di Vascello	8/2/1941
Introini	Herve	Sergeant	Sergente	8/2/1941
Ladisa	Francesco	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Lanfranchi	Luigi	Ensign	Guardiamarina	8/2/1941
Lettieri	Raffaele	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Ietro	Gennaro	Naval Rating	Comune	6/12/1941
Lucchetti	Giovanni	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Magnani	Tommaso	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	8/2/1941
Mazzella	Silverio	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Moto	Romeo	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Nardini	Mario	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Orru	Mario	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Paolantonio	Francesco	Sergeant	Sergente	8/2/1941
Pedicini	Gabriele	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Pisini	Raffaele	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Ritonnato	Federico	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Salatino	Salvatore	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Siroti	Fernando	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	8/2/1941
Tarrana	Benedetto	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Toccarino	Michele	Sergeant	Sergente	8/2/1941
Ugolini	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941
Vassena	Carlo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Venturi	Umberto	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	8/2/1941
Viesti	Renato	Naval Rating	Comune	8/2/1941

Neghelli was an Adwa-class coastal submarine (displacement of 698 tons on the surface and 866 tons submerged). The boat completed 9 war missions (5 patrols and 4 transfers), covering 5,226 miles on the surface and 714 submerged and damaging two ships including the light cruiser H.M.S. Coventry.

Brief and partial chronology

February 25th, 1937

Set-up in the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano shipyards (La Spezia).

Neghelli still on the slip

November 7th, 1937

Launched in the Odero Terni Orlando del Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyards.

The launch of Neghelli

February 28th, 1938

Neghelli entered into service.

March 3rd, 1938

Placed under the command of the Submarine Fleet Command (Maricosom). The boat completed an endurance training cruise in the Dodecanese, then was deployed to Leros.

Some crewmembers from the submarine Neghelli in Leros
Photo taken by the militarized worker Oscar Natale Formaro, at the time in service at the naval workshop of San Giorgio in Leros and provided by Giovanni Lanzillotta

May 1940

Transferred to La Spezia.

June 10th, 1940

Upon Italy’s enter the World War II, Neghelli, which with the boatsof the same class  Gondar, Ascianghi and Scirè formed the XV Submarine Squadron of the I Grupsom (La Spezia), was sent on an exploratory mission west of the Gulf of Genoa.

June 14th, 1940

The boat returned to base without spotting any enemy units.

August 1st, 1940

Neghelli (Lieutenant Carlo Ferracuti) was sent north of Cape Bougaroni for an ambush on the British Force H, which had left Gibraltar. The submarines Scirè, Argo, Turchese, Medusa, Axum, Jaspro and Luciano Manara were also sent to the same area and for the same reason.

Lieutenant Carlo Ferracuti

August 5th, 1940

At 6.50 PM, west of Point Asinara (Sardinia), Neghelli was attacked with two torpedoes by an enemy submarine. The boat managed to evade weapons with a prompt maneuver. (TN While reported in the official records of the Italian Navy – Volume XIII “I Sommergibili in Mediterraneo” Tomo I, Page 76 -, there is no report of such an attack in the British records nor it is reported by naval historian and researcher Jürgen Rohwer – “Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two”)

December 1940

A new mission, still under the command of Lieutenant Ferracuti, 45 miles north of Marsa Matruh, until Christmas. In the same area, the submarines Naiade and Narvalo were on patrol to counter the British naval forces sent to shell the Italian positions on the Cyrenian coasts in support of the advance of the land forces.

December 13th, 1940

At 08:22 PM, Neghelli, while on the surface, sighted the British light cruiser H.M.S. Coventry (Captain David Gilmour), part of the “Stand-by Bombarding Force” engaged in the bombardment of Italian coastal roads and fortifications as part of Operation “Compass”, the British offensive that would lead to the fall of Cyrenaica (Ferracuti, however, mistook his target for a larger and more modern Southampton-class cruiser).

Approaching on the surface, in position 32°37′ N and 26°44′ E (80 miles north-northwest of Marsa Matruh and 40 miles northeast of Sidi el Barrani), at 08:36 PM (or 08:42 PM) the submarine launched a salvo of four torpedoes (three 533 mm and one 450 mm) against the cruiser, then remained on the surface without moving away so that it could observe the result of the launch. One of the four torpedoes hit H.M.S. Coventry forward of the bridge, removing most of the forward hull (but without causing any loss among the crew); the cruiser reacts by opening fire on Neghelli, which however manages to escape without damage (while the next day the Naiade, who was in the same area, will be the unfortunate victim of an attack).

H.M.S. Coventry was a Ceres sub-class of the Royal Navy’s C-type light cruisers

H.M.S. Coventry managed to return to Alexandria, escorted by the destroyers H.M.S. Jervis, H.M.S. Janus, and H.M.S. Hereward, but needed repairs that lasted until January 20^th, 1941 (returning to operation in March) and suffered a permanent decrease in speed from 29 knots to 23 knots.

Neghelli’s action was announced in war bulletin no. 191 of December 15^th, 1940, which spoke of the sinking, and not damage, of the British cruiser (“The submarine Neghelli, under the command of corvette captain Carlo Ferracuti, torpedoed and sank off the Egyptian coast an enemy cruiser of the Southampton type“). Commander Ferracuti would be decorated with a Silver Medal for Military Valor.

The Last Attack

On January 14^th, 1941, Neghelli, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Carlo Ferracuti and with 46 crewmen (5 officers and 41 non-commissioned officers, sub-chiefs and sailors; another officer, Giacomo Gaudino, remained ashore due to a sudden fever), left Leros for a new mission off the Aegean islands, an offensive ambush on the route to Piraeus. The boat, however, was never heard from again after leaving the base.

The tale of Neghelli’s last attack was learned at the end of the war, from the archives of the former enemy. On the morning of January 19^th, 1941, Ferracuti’s boat attacked the Greek destroyer Psara without result, and then, at 11:53 AM, the British convoy “AS. 12′, sailing from Piraeus (from where it had departed at eight o’clock that day) to Alexandria as part of the British operation ‘Excess’ with the steamers Clan Cumming, Clan MacDonald and Empire Song escorted by the British anti-aircraft cruiser H.M.S. Calcutta and the destroyers, also British, H.M.S. Defender, H.M.S. Janus and H.M.S. Greyhound. Neghelli hit the Clan Cumming (7,264 GRT) with a torpedo, in position 37°15′ N and 24°04′ E (off the island of Agios Georgios, 20 miles east-north-east of the island of Serifos and 25 miles south of Piraeus), damaging it so badly that it was forced to return to Piraeus escorted by H.M.S. Janus.

S/S Clan Cumming

Immediately afterwards H.M.S. Greyhound (Commander Walter Roger Marshall-A’Deane) counterattacked with depth charges (also assisted by another destroyer, H.M.S. Ilex, which, however, did not drop any depth charges), sinking Neghelli with its entire crew 48 miles by 160.4° from Athens, 40 miles northeast of the island of Falkonera (TN also known as Gerakoulia).

H.M.S. Greyhound’s anti-submarine action was considered to have had “questionable results”, but Neghelli never returned to base, and, although there was no news of it since its departure from Leros on January 14th, there were no other Italian submarines in the area that could have torpedoed the Cumming Clan, nor were there any that were lost during that period. (TN H.M.S. Greyhound obtained an ASDIC contact at 1,800 meters and carried out three attacks with a total of eighteen depth-charges (5 at 11:30 AM, 6 at 11:39 AM and 7 at 11:46 AM) set at 30, 45, 75 and 150 meters, however no result, such as a debris or a oil, could be observed.)

Some Greek sources still attribute the sinking of Neghelli to the Greek submarine Triton (under the command of Lieutenant Dyonisios Zeppos, who was promoted for this alleged success), which at 00.17 AM on  January 9^th, 1941, while submerged in the Otranto channel, launched two torpedoes against a submarine sighted in the moonlight and claimed to have seen it explode and sink (the submarine was seen only by Commander Zeppos,  whose account was partially corroborated by the third officer and a sailor, who heard the explosion and saw a column of smoke through the periscope but they were unable to figure out what kind of unit had been hit). This was not possible, given that on January 9^th, Neghelli was still in port (which the unit left only five days later). Probably the Triton attacked another unit, mistaken for a submarine, and – since there were no compatible losses in terms of date and place – the sinking was only an erroneous impression like those obtained in countless circumstances by submariners of all navies.

A second Silver Medal for Military Valour was awarded to the memory of Commander Carlo Ferracuti, born in San Pietro di Feletto (TV) on  January 9^th, 1906, with the following motivation:

«Commander of a submarine deployed in waters particularly dangerous to the adversary, he carried out numerous war missions, torpedoing, among other things, a cruiser of 9,000 tons. In the midst of dangers and many pitfalls, he showed serene courage, professional skill and contempt for danger. He disappeared at sea fighting for his homeland following the sinking of the Unit under his command.

Mediterranean, 10 June 1940 – 22 January 1941.”

Original Italian text by Lorenzo Colombo adapted and translated by Cristiano D’Adamo

Operational Records

Type	Patrols (Med.)	Patrols (Other)	NM Surface	NM Sub.	Days at Sea	NM/Day	Average Speed
Submarine – Coastal	9		5226	714	51	116.47	4.85

Actions

Date	Time	Captain	Area	Coordinates	Convoy	Weapon	Result	Ship	Type	Tonns	Flag
12/13/1940	22:22	T.V. Carlo Ferracuti	Mediterranean	32°37’N-26°44’E		Torpedo	Damaged	H.M.S. Coventry	Anti-Aircraft Cruiser	4190	Great Britain
1/19/1941		T.V. Carlo Ferracuti	Mediterranean			Torpedo	Failed	Psara	Destroyer		Greece
1/19/1941	11:53	T.V. Carlo Ferracuti	Mediterranean	37°15’N-24°04’E		Torpedo	Damaged	Clan Cumming	Steam Freighter	7264	Great Britain

Crew Members Lost

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Italian Rank	Date
Ammaturo	Ascanio	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Baggioli	Alessandro	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Becciolini	Stefano	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Begherini	Ghino	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
Blazer	Ferruccio	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Brignola	Mario	Sublieutenant	Sottotenente di Vascello	1/19/1941
Carli	Egidio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
De benedictis	Giacinto	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
Delfino	Cristoforo	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Delfino	Lorenzo	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Di Martino	Angelo	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Ferracuti	Carlo	Lieutenant Commander	Capitano di Corvetta	1/19/1941
Fiorino	Vito	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Gaiardelli	Luigi	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Gelli	Ludovico	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Gentino	Dino	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Giacomazzo	Giuseppe	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Guaschi	Angelo	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Guglia	Rodolfo	Ensign	Guardiamarina	1/19/1941
Iacobellis	Luigi	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Iodice	Nicola	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Lacirignola	Giovanni	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Lanna	Pasquale	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Luise	Guido	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Macchia	Edoardo	Chief 1st Class	Capo di 1a Classe	1/19/1941
Manfrini	Rino	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Marsilio	Costantino	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Marzetti	Raffaele	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Masserani	Giuseppe	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
Mattiazzi	Ugolino	Chief 3rd Class	Capo di 3a Classe	1/19/1941
Mazza	Ezio	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Molaro	Adolfo	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Munafa	Giuseppe	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Niola	Costantino	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Paladini	Francesco	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Petrucci	Giorgio	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Pizzorna	Giuseppe	Ensign	Guardiamarina	1/19/1941
Pucci	Ezio	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
Rezzani	Francesco	Lieutenant Other Branches	Capitano G.N.	1/19/1941
Ricca	Renato	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Sangani	Giuseppe	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Saverino	Giuseppe	Junior Chief	Sottocapo	1/19/1941
Tarantino	Edoardo	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	1/19/1941
Tucci	Armando	Sergeant	Sergente	1/19/1941
Vallini	Augusto	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Valsecchi	Pietro	Naval Rating	Comune	1/19/1941
Meneghelli	Ardito	Chief 2nd Class	Capo di 2a Classe	6/7/1942