This submarine (commonly called FAA DI BRUNO) was one of the two boats (the other one was the Smg. COMMANDER CAPPELLINI) of the class MARCELLO “improved”. They were both built by the O.T.O. shipyard of Muggiano (La Spezia) between 1938 and 1939, and were named after two Italian Captains who fought in the battle of Lissa.
The FAA DI BRUNO the day of its launch, June 18th, 1939 (Photo Turrini)
The FAA DI BRUNO the day of its launch, June 18th, 1939. (Photo Turrini) The FAA DI BRUNO was laid down on April 28th, 1938, launched on June 18th, 1939, and delivered to the Regia Marina on October 23rd, 1939.
Operational Life
Upon Italy’s entry into World War II (June 10th, 1940), the FAA DI BRUNO, under the command of the Lieutenant Aldo ENRICI, was assigned to the 12th Squadron of 1st the Submarine division based in La Spezia.
After two missions in the Mediterranean (from the 10th to the 16th of June and from the 15th to the 23rd of July 1940, off the coast of Oran), the boat was destined to operate in Atlantic. Assigned to BETASOM, the Command of the Italian Submarine base of Bordeaux, the FAA DI BRUNO departed La Spezia on August 28th, 1940 and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar between the 2nd and the 3rd of September. Strong submarine currents troubled the underwater crossing; with the sounding apparatus damaged, the boat twice sank to 140 meters crawling on the bottom, but fortunately without damages.
Having crossed the strait, the boat moved to its patrol area south of the Azores, where it remained from the 8th to the 24th of September. During this period, it made five sightings, three of which were followed by attacks, damaging vessels on the 8th and the 19th. On the 9th, the British tanker AURIS of 8,000 t. was also damaged. This ship was destined to become victim of an Italian submarine: on June 28th, 1941 it was sunk with four torpedoes by the Smg. DA VINCI (Lieutenant Ferdinando Calda), just North of Madeira. On September 24th, the boat left the patrol area navigating to Bordeaux where it arrived on October 5th, 1940.
October 5th, 1940:TheTORELLI and the FAA DI BRUNO arrive in Bordeaux (Photo U.S.M.M.)
On the 31st of October, the FAA DI BRUNO departed for its first, and unfortunately only mission in the Atlantic, patrolling west of Scotland. It was assigned the zone between 57°20’N and 58°20 N, west of the 20° meridian west. It should have re-entered on the 5th of January 1941.
After the departure all contacts with the boat were lost. The causes of its loss are still unknown. The enemy could have sunk it, but it could have also succumbed to a breakdown, possibly due to the rough sea, which in that season plagues the North Atlantic; or due to an internal fault, such as the explosion of hydrogen gas from the batteries. We do not even know if the boat ever reached the assigned patrol area.
Based on British documentation, in the post-war period it was possible to attribute the sinking of the FAA DI BRUNO to the British destroyer HMS HAVELOCK, which reported having attacked, on November 8th in position 56°01’N, 17°50’W, a submerged submarine and having seen broken off pieces, air bubbles, and fuel emerge.
Later, and considering that the events reported by the HAVELOCK had happened in a zone very distant from that which the FAA DI BRUNO would have crossed, a more accurate study of the positions and the events indicated that the boat attacked by the British vessel was the Smg. MARCONI. From this attack, the MARCONI had escaped almost unharmed.
Therefore, it is not even possible to define when this boat was lost and we have to conceal its loss under the generic and bureaucratic label “lost on an undefined date between October 31st, 1940 and January 5th, 1941”.
The R.Smg. Angelo EMO (named after the last Grand Admiral of the Republic of Venice) was one of a series of 11 boats of the Marcello Class. The boat was laid down at the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone on February 2nd, 1937, launched on June 29th, 1938, and delivered to the Italian Navy on October 10th of the same year. After a brief period of training and testing, the boat was assigned to the 22nd Squadron, 2nd Submarine Group with its base in Naples along with the Barbarigo, Morosini, Marconi, and Da Vinci. The EMO, which was lost in 1942, was credited with the sinking of two ships for a total of 10,958 t. and completed 20 patrols, including 7 war patrols, 1 emergency transport from Italy to North Africa and several training and transfer missions. It also completed 24 training sorties while assigned to the submarine school of Pula.
The EMO the day of its launch at the C.R.D.A. of Monfalcone (Photo Tunnini)
In July 1940, a few weeks after Italy’s declaration of war, the Italian Submarine Command organized a large and continuous patrol line east of the Strait of Gibraltar. The area in question was patrolled by a total of 11 boats divided into 3 groups. The EMO, along with the Marcello, Dandolo and Barbarigo, was assigned to the first group (Area B). This patrol started on July 1st and lasted for almost two weeks. The Emo and Marconi were assigned to the westernmost area. The EMO patrolled south of the meridian of Alboran (about halfway between the Moroccan and Spanish coast), while the Marconi was assigned north of this meridian and closer to the Spanish coast.
On July 6th, at 14:50 the boat sighted while submerged a large naval formation at about 12,000 meters which included an aircraft carrier, two battleships and several destroyers heading east and it maneuvered to attack, but a sudden change of course of the presumably British force foiled the attempt. Completed its patrol, the EMO returned to Naples.
At the end of this mission, the boat received orders to transfer to the Atlantic to become part of the new submarine base established in Bordeaux. It departed Naples August 27th, 1940 and, as part of the transfer mission, it began a war patrol in Atlantic. Here, on September 9th, in position 41º 27N, 21º 50W the EMO located the British steamship Saint Agnes (5199 t.), a straggler member of convoy SLS.46 which had left Freetown escorted by merchant cruiser Dunnottar Castle. All 64 crewmembers were later saved. The Saint Agnes, built in 1918 and previously known as the War Briton (1919), Titan (1925) and Cape St. Agnes (1937) belonged to the Saint Line LTD and it was both torpedoes and shelled. Completed the patrol, the EMO reached Bordeaux on October 3rd, 1940.
After a very brief stop, the EMO was again at sea departing on October 31st. A few days later, on the 2nd and 3rd of November, while enduring horrific weather conditions, the boat lost Junior Chief Giuseppe De Giobbi, one of the lookouts, and had Lt. Carlo Liannazza seriously hurt. Despite a lengthy search, the seam was never found. Unable continue its patrol, the EMO returned to base reaching it the 6th. Thereafter, Lt. Carlo Liannazza was transferred to the CAGNI, while Lt. Giuseppe Roselli Lorenzini (who eventually became the head of the Italian Navy from 1970 until 1973) became the new captain.
On December 5th, the EMO left for another patrol reaching the western shores of Scotland on the 14th and remaining in the general area until the 26th. There, it sighted and later attacked a 3 to 4,000 t. tanker, but failing to score a hit due to miserable weather conditions. On the 26th the crew sighted a destroyer which could not be attacked. Completed the patrol, the EMO reached Bordeaux on January 1st, 1941 where it remained for a prolonged period due to extensive maintenance work.
On March 3rd, the EMO was again at sea for a patrol West of Ireland. The boat was part of the Group “Velella” which included the Velella, Argo, Mocenigo, and the Veniero. The units were positioned in a large area between 59°30’N and 53°N and between 13°W and 25°W. Again, the German U-boats would patrol the area closer to the Irish and Scottish coast while the Italians, with their larger submarines, would patrol further west. On March 9th, while en route to intercept a convoy previously sighted by German airplanes, the EMO was attacked by a British aircraft which launched two bombs while the boat was submerged at about 60 feet. The diving planes go stuck and the boat first came to the surface and then plunged down to 330 feet. Later, the EMO began chasing the convoy even thought it had to break away due to the presence of an enemy destroyer.
On the 14th, in the early afternoon, perseverance was rewarded when the EMO attacked the British (indeed an American ship sailing under the Union jack and the authority of the Ministry of War Transport) steamship Western Chief (5759 t.) sinking it at 13:07 (Italian reports indicate the sinking late at night). This ship was a straggler part of convoy SC 24 which had left Halifax on February 28th and scheduled to arrive in Liverpool on the 19th of March and carried 7000 tons of steel. Of the43 crewmembers, 22 lost their lives.
On the 18th, the EMO sighted the Clan Maciver, a 4500 t. merchant ship which attempted to ram it and later hit it with the deck gun, but the submarine averted the peril, despite the proximity of the two vessels during the engagement, seeking refuge in the depths. The 19th of March, completed its patrol, the EMO was once again back in Bordeaux where it underwent regular refitting.
On May 5th, the submarine left base for a new patrol. With the general change of theater of operations for the Italian units from the North Atlantic to Gibraltar and the Azores, the EMO was assigned a patrol area west of Gibraltar lasting from the 22nd of the same month to June 6th. The same patrol included the Marconi, Argo, Mocenigo, Veniero, Brin, and Velella. In the morning of the 7th, the EMO attacked two different ships launching two torpedoes from a distance of 1500 meters and assuming success, but there is no record of these sinking. The two vessels were estimated to be around 1900 t. and 3000 t. After the attack, the submarine was hunted for hours by escort units, but eventually it made it back to base arriving in France on June 20th.
Italy’s adventurous entry into the war along with the Germans began having its catastrophic effects and, in early 1941, the situation in the Mediterranean was nearly desperate. The Italian High Command, following a personal intervention by Benito Mussolini, informed the Germans that the base in Bordeaux would be closed and all boats would return to Italy. Discussion took place at a very high level and eventually Adm. Dönitz was able to convince the Italians to maintain their base and only return a smaller number of submarines to the Mediterranean; the EMO was one of the boats selected for repatriation.
The EMO left La Pallice on August 20th soon after the Brin, completed a patrol off Gibraltar and later reached Naples on September 1st having crossed the Strait of Gibraltar first on the surface, and then submerged. From the Partenpean base it was then transferred to the submarine school in Pula (upper Adriatic, today part of Croatia). At the school, the EMO completed 24 training missions lasting until the end of the year. Between the 8th and 10th of November, the EMO was called back to active duty along with the Mameli for antisubmarine patrol in the upper Adriatic in support of the transfer of a large naval formation from Trieste to Venice.
Subsequently, it was ordered back to Taranto where it arrived on December 16th, 1941. From Taranto, the EMO began it new life as transport submarine ferrying much needed war material to the struggling armies in North Africa. On December 20th, the EMO carried 20 t. of aviation fuel, 32 t. of foodstuff, and 15 t. of ammunitions to Bardia (Bardiya) arriving there on the 25th. From there it returns to Suda for a new load, but upon its return to North Africa it could not enter the small port due to enemy fire from land-based artillery units which, in the meantime, had overtaken the Italian stronghold. Both the captain and helmsman Campisi were wounded in the action. After the failed mission, the EMO returned to Suda and from there to Taranto from which it was then reassigned to Cagliari.
From the Sardinian base, it completed several patrols. From April 17th through May 3rd off Cape Caxine. From May 13th through June 18th off the Algerian coast, and from June 23rd through July 16th south of Ibiza. None of the patrols produced any result. At the end of the last patrol, Lt. Cmdr. Roselli Lorenzini was transferred to the CAGNI, while Lt. Giuseppe Franco assumed command.
The EMO in Taranto in 1942 (Photo Beltrame)
From August 11th to the 17th, the EMO was assigned to a patrol area off Galite. During this mission, on the 12th, it attacked a warship firing 4 torpedoes and detecting explosions (after 1min 47sec, 2min 20 sec and 2 min 30 sec). Soon after, it was made object an intense pursuit. There is no record of any success in that area and on that date, but it was later ascertained that the unit attacked was the British destroyer H.M.S. Tartar. From the 18th through the 29th of October, the EMO was again on patrol off the Algerian coast. With the Allied landing in North Africa in full swing, the EMO was thrown into the fray. On November 7th, it left Cagliari for its last patrol. On the 11th, at around 13:00, off Algiers, it was attacked and hit by ASW Trawler HMS Lord Nuffield (FY 221) in position 36̊̊̊ 50 N, 02̊ 50 E. The captain took the boat to the surface and began fighting with the deck gun. With both diesel engines out of service, the boat was ordered scuttled. Fourteen of the crewmembers were lost in the action, including Ensign Mario Giacchelli, while the remaining crewmembers were rescued and captured by the enemy.
The EMO, built for the ‘guerre de course’ in the oceans performed well in those conditions, but was poorly suited for transport missions or for patrols in the shallow Mediterranean waters where targets were few and perils many.
The submarine DIASPRO belonged to the series “PERLA” of the coastal submarines of the class “600”. The class “600”, unanimously recognized as one of the best Italian submarines of the time, was divided into five series, all slightly different:
Series ARGONAUTA, 7 units Series SIRENA, 12 units Series PERLA, 10 units Series ADUA, 17 units, plus 3 for the Brazilian Navy Series PLATINO, 13 units
For a total of 59 boats for Italy and 3 for Brazil.
The series “PERLA” was built between 1935 and 1936, part by the CRDA shipyard of Monfalcone, Gorizia (6 units), and part by the Shipyard OTO of Muggiano, La Spezia (4 units). The DIASPRO was built in Molfalcone: laud down on September 29th, 1935. It was launched on July 5th, 1936 and delivered to the Navy on August 22nd of the same year.
Operational Life
The operational life of the DIASPRO began early on. Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe Mellina, the boat participated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The first patrol took place in 1937, north of Cape Bon (Tunisia), with an unsuccessful attack against two merchant ships. A second attack took place on September 1st in the waters off Benicarlò, north of Valencia, in which the British tanker WOODFORD of 6,987 t. was sunk. After the initial attack, and having avoided the first two torpedoes, the ship attempted to ram the submarine.
The DIASPRO in Cagliari – July 24th, 1941 (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
Upon Italy’s entry into the war (June 10th, 1940), the submarine was assigned to the 72nd Squadron of the 7th submarine group based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The war fought by the DIASPRO was long and hard, took place solely in the Mediterranean, and was intense: 53 operational patrols, of which 32 were offensive. It amounted to long and nerve-raking patrols, but lacked significant results. After all, in the Mediterranean, differently from the Atlantic, the enemy’s merchant traffic was limited and always heavily escorted. Nevertheless, the DIASPO was able to complete several attacks, but without tangible results (or at least this is what surfaced from post-war British documentation, but many times the weapons were heard to explode).
In the first two years of the war, the activity of the DIASPRO was almost exclusively restricted to the Channel of Sardinia. On September 1st, 1940 it was the object of a very harsh hunt by British aero naval units, and especially an airplane from which it defended itself with the machine guns, later being able to escape without damage.
With command transferred to Lieutenant Antonio Dotta, on July 22nd, 1941 while on patrol off Bougie (Algeria), the DIASPRO found itself in the middle of a large naval formation. It launched four torpedoes against an aircraft carrier, but failed to hit it, even if one of the weapons was heard to detonate. It then launched two torpedoes against one of the escort units, the destroyer H.M.S. NESTOR, missing it by “a hair”, as the British, who spotted the wave of the torpedoes, would later report.
From the 1st of April to September 10th, 1942 the boat was assigned to the submarine school of Pula where it completed 32 training missions with submarine cadets.
Returned to base, in November 1942 it again began operational activity. On the 8th, while submerged off Biserta (Tunisia), it had a small accident, fortunately not too serious: it collided with the submarine ALAGI. While the latter received damages which forced it to return to base, the DIASPRO was able to continue on with the patrol. On the 12th, it entered the Bay of Bougie where it attacked a large motor-ship, but the torpedoes failed to hit the target.
With the command of the boat transferred to Lieutenant Alberto Donato, on the night of July 13th, 1943 the DIASPO attacked a convoy in the waters off Cap de Fer (Algeria), but this time also the two torpedoes appeared to have failed to hit the target, despite the fact that after 2 minutes and 22 seconds, the time proscribed, two explosions were heard.
We insist on saying “it appeared” because there is a well-grounded suspicion that, in some cases, the British failed to report damages, even when these were quite possible. It could then be that the explosions heard were actual hits, but that they did not cause the loss of the ship. The fact that these events are not reported by the British documentation is not a guarantee of truthfulness, since the documents prepared at the time were useful to the propaganda and not to ascertain events. Even today, in the archives at the present time open to the public and accessible to everyone, there is a British resistance to admit (especially in the area of espionage) to facts already proven by other means. But let us return to the DIASPRO.
The DIASPRO docked alongside the BRAGADIN (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The last meaningful patrol before the armistice of September 8th, 1943 took place on August 18th, in the waters off Stromboli, when the boat launched two aft torpedoes against two destroyers, but without hitting them. The following day, while returning to Naples, the DIASPRO sighted two more destroyers, which were attacked with four torpedoes and, after the required time, two explosions were clearly heard. When, one hour later, the submarine surfaced, one of the two destroyers was still in the water and clearly damaged, but the boat had run out of torpedoes and could not but move on to Naples.
September 8th caught the DIASPRO at sea. Based on the clauses of the armistice, it should have sailed to Bona (Algeria), but due to technical problems it instead sailed to Cagliari. Up to that moment, the submarine had completed 53 patrols, with 806 days at sea for a total of 22,345 miles on the surface and 3,057 submerged.
Having completed the necessary repairs in Cagliari, in March 1944 the DIASPRO was transferred to Brindisi where it provided training support for the ships based in Brindisi and Taranto until April 1945. During this period, it also completed a special operation landing commandos in Zante and Cephalonia. In May 1945, it went to Malta to provide for anti-submarine training for allied ships.
Following the surrender of Japan in World War II, the DIASPRO returned to Taranto where it was removed from service. During the co-belligerence period, it completed 59 missions, 48 of which were for training, for a total of 4,030 miles.
On February 1st, 1948 the DIASPRO was definitely removed from service and, soon after, as prescribed by the armistice the blowtorch began the sad task of demolishing it. During its entire operational life, the DIASPRO had only one casualty: Sergeant Gaetano Loffredo.
The submarine DELFINO (the same name was assigned to the first Italian submarine designed and build by Gen. Pullino at the beginning of the last decade of the 18th century) belonged to the class “SQUALO”. This class derived from and was an improvement on the preceding classes “PISANI” and “BANDIERA”, and was efficient and reliable and, as a matter of fact, brought to an end the experimental period of Italian submarine naval constructions.
Monfalcone April 27th, 1930 the launch of the Delfino (Istituto Luce A057101 – no sound)
The “SQUALO” class included four boats: SQUALO (2), NARVALO (2), DELFINO (2) and TRICHECO (2), all built by the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone (Gorizia), between 1928 and 1931. The DELFINO was laid down on October 27th, 1928, launched on April 27th, 1930 and delivered to the Navy on June 19th, 1931.
Operational Life
Upon entering service, the DELFINO, along with the three other boats of the same class, was assigned to the 2nd Squadron based in La Spezia. In 1933, along with the TRICHECO, the boat completed a long cruise in the Black Sea. The following year, the four boats of the “SQUALO” class were transferred to Naples where they made up the 4th Submarine Squadron. From Naples, the DELFINO and TRICHECO completed a second cruise in the eastern Mediterranean. Toward the end of 1936, the boat began participating in the Spanish Civil War under the command of Lieutenant Folco Buonamici, completing a special mission from the 9th to the 24th of December. On patrol in the waters off Barcelona and Terragon, it attempted a single attack against a merchant ship, but failed to succeed.
In 1937, the DELFINO was assigned to the Red Sea. Later on, the four boats of the same class were reunited, first in 1938 as part of the 33rd Squadron of the 3rd Submarine Group based in Messina; later, in 1940, as part of the 51st Squadron of the 5th Submarine Group based in Leros (Greece).
Upon Italy’s entry into the war (June 10th 1940), the DELFINO was under the command of Lieutenant Giuseppe Aicardi and already on patrol off the Strait of Khesos (Greece). Other missions quickly followed, one after another. On July 18th, while on patrol in the Doros Channel, the DELFINO was attacked by a British submarine, but was able to avoid the torpedo. A few hours later, the boat again sighted the enemy vessel, this time launching a torpedo. A strong explosion and a tall column of water made the crew believe that the torpedo had reached its target, but there is no reference to this action in any British documentation.
A rare photo showing the explosion aboard the Greek Cruiser HELLI (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On August 15th, while on patrol off the Cyclades Islands, the DELFINO was the protagonist of a very sad episode, such as for a long time it was not mentioned in the official historical annals: the sinking of the old Greek light cruiser HELLI in the harbor of the Island of Tino, during the celebrations of Assumption. During the attack a merchant ship was also hit and sank into the shallow waters, while a third weapons hit the docks.
The attack, planned and executed in total secrecy (not even Count Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister knew about it), was ordered by the Italian Governor for the Aegean, the zealous and bellicose De Vecchi (he was part of the Fascist “quadrumvirato”), under instructions from his superiors (it appears that the order was issued by Mussolini himself, via Supermarina). De Vecchi augmented these orders when he gave instructions (verbally) to Captain Aicardi. The intention was to intimidate Greece, not yet involved in the conflict but under suspicion, and rightly so, of favoring British operations in the Aegean.
To Greek protests, the Italian government replied by rejecting all accusations, but was refuted by the recovery of debris of a torpedo of Italian manufacturing. To this, it was pathetically replied, attempting to shift the blame to England, that in the past some weapons from the Italian torpedo factory in Fiume had been sold to the British who had used them to inculpate the Italians.
After the war, Captain Aicardi reported that he had entered the bay to hit two small merchant ships when the Helli caught up with him and looked like it was moving against the submarine: the attack was inevitable. This was an ugly episode, useless and ignoble, which only achieved the result of provoking great resentment toward Italy. At the end of the conflict, within the peace treaty negotiations, Greece requested and obtained the assignment of the Italian cruiser Eugenio di Savoia as part of war reparations; it would be renamed Helli.
In November 1940, Lieutenant Aicardi passed the command of the DELFINO to Lieutenant Commander Alberto Avogadro di Cerrione. In the next mission, from November 25th to the 30th in the northern Aegean Sea, on the 29th he sighted a convoy against which two torpedoes were launched. Explosions were clearly heard and it was believed that, perhaps, the Greek destroyer PSARA might have been hit, but this was never confirmed.
On August 1st, 1941, during a patrol off Tobruk, the DELFINO was attacked by a British airplane type “Sunderland”, but it defended itself with the machine guns and was able to shoot it down, rescuing four members of the crew. The following missions, until February 1942, took place in the Sicilian Channel and in the waters of Malta. In February 1942, Captain Avogadro relinquished command to Lieutenant Mario Violante who held command until the loss of the boat. With the new captain, the DELFINO was assigned to the Submarine School in Pola where it completed 67 training sorties.
On November 10th, 1942 the boat was sent back to the frontline in Taranto, with the onerous task of transporting materiel to North Africa. During three missions, from November 13th 1942 to January 6th, 1943, the DELFINO transported over 200 tons of ammunitions and fuel. Thereafter, it entered the shipyard in Taranto for a period of refitting lasting until March 20th. After, it relocated to Augusta.
The DELFINO in 1942. Note the new conning tower modelled after the German U-Boats (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On March 23th at 12:15, the DELFINO left Taranto, followed by a pilot boat which was to escort it outside the harbor. Precisely an hour later, six and one half miles for 205° from the S. Vito lighthouse, a sudden failure of the rudder abruptly veered the submarine: collision with the pilot boat was inevitable. The gash produced by the collision aft was large. Any counteraction was inevitable: the boat sank rapidly taking with it 28 crew members. Up to that moment, the DELFINO had completed 29 missions for a total of 17,429 miles, 1,756 of which were underwater.
The Submarine Dandolo was laid down on June 14th, 1937 in the Monfalcone shipyard (Gulf of Trieste). It was one of the six boats of the Marconi class. Construction was completed on November 20th, 1938 with the official launch, and on March 25th, 1938 the boat was delivered to the Regia Marina. Assigned to the XXI Squadron along with the Marcello and Provana, the boat’s home base was Naples. This boat had one of the most intense operational lives in the Italian submarine fleet with 322 days at sea, 44,486 miles of navigation on the surface and 5,290 submerged for a total of 39 patrols.
R.Smg. Dandolo in Monfalcone
War activity for the Dandolo began with Italy’s the declaration of war on June 10th, 1940. The boat, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Riccardo Boris, was assigned to a patrol area about 25 miles SE of Cabo Palos (Cartagena) along with the Provana, Morosini and Faà di Bruno. On June 13th, the boat sighted a French naval formation of light cruisers and escort. It was the 3rd Cruiser Division, based in Toulon, which included the La Galissonière (which eventually became the Regia Marina’s FR 12), the Jean De Vienne (to become FR 11), and the Marseillaise – units of the same class – along with the escort of the destroyers Le Brestois and Boulonnais.
This French naval force, deployed to intercept a phantom German force which supposedly was in the process of reaching the Mediterranean to join the Italian Navy, became the target of the Dandolo’s rapid, but unlucky attack. The boat’s profile, at the time navigating at periscope depth, was easily detected by reconnaissance airplanes launched by the French units. Thus, the cruisers were fortuitously able to avoid the torpedoes, even if only by a few meters.
R.Smg. Dandolo in Palermo
In July 1940, a few weeks after Italy’s declaration of war, the Italian Submarine Command organized a large and continuous patrol line east of the Strait of Gibraltar. The area in question was patrolled by a total of 11 boats divided into 3 groups. The Dandolo, along with the Emo, Marcello and Barbarigo, was assigned to the first group. This patrol started on July 1st and lasted for almost two weeks. The Emo and Marconi were assigned to the westernmost area. The Emo patrolled south of the meridian of Alboran (about halfway between the Moroccan and Spanish coast), while the Marconi was assigned north of this meridian and closer to the Spanish coast. The Dandolo and the Barbarigo were instead placed along the line between Cabo the Gata and Cabo Falcon, near Almeria.
Later, the Dandolo was selected as one of the boats to be reassigned to the newly established Atlantic base in Bordeaux, codenamed Betasom. Around August 2nd, taking advantage of the new moon, Maricosom (Italian Submarine Command) ordered the boats Malaspina, Tazzoli, Cappellini and Glauco across the Strait of Gibraltar. About 10 days before departure day, due to breakdowns on some of the boats, the Barbarigo and the Dandolo were sent as replacements. After having left base on the 13th, the Dandolo began crossing the strait on the 16th. Following instructions received before departure, the captain navigated submerged up to the point between Point Europe (Gibraltar) and Point Almina (Ceuta), and on the surface passed Tangier. During navigation, the boat’s hydrophones picked up light units on patrol.
On the 17th, once reached the patrol area between Spain and the Azores Island, the Dandolo patrolled for almost three weeks. During this period it intercepted six isolated merchant ships, two of which from neutral countries. Of the other four, only two could be pursued. The first, the motor tanker Hermes of 3,768 t. was attacked on the 21st by torpedoes but only damaged. The second was the British merchantman Ilvington Court of 5,187 t. attacked on the 26th at around 18:00 in position 38º 57N, 13º 50 W and resulting in the sinking of the cargo ship. All 39 crewmembers were eventually rescued. Belonging to the Court Line Ltd, this merchantman was built in 1919 and had changed ownership four times.
The first attack demonstrated the Italian submarine’s struggle in sinking tankers, ships of great structural integrity and excellent buoyancy which required strikes to the last blow and great aggressiveness, skills these in which the Germans would demonstrate their mastery. Completed the patrol, the Dandolo reached Bordeaux for the first time on September 10th. Soon after its arrival, the boat entered the shipyard for alterations similarly completed on other boats. Although the base was not fully equipped, the submarines were refurbished, tested, and readied for action in less than 30 days. Eventually, this shipyard, in addition to regular maintenance work, completed various modifications, especially after the Germans and war experiences suggested some improvements.
In early October the first four Italian submarines left Bordeaux to participate in a joint operation with the U-Boats. The Dandolo, Malspina , Otaria and Barbarigo joined 11 German submarines in an operation against several British convoys. Other patrols involving more Italian submarines took place until early December. In all, 42 German U-Boats and 8 Italian “sommergibili” sank 74 ships. Unfortunately, the 310,565 tons sunk by the Germans dwarf the 25,600 tons sunk by the Italians. Thus, early German excitement waned and some recrimination surfaced, despite the Italians having lost two submarines, the Faà di Bruno and Tarantini, with all hands on board. During this patrol, the Dandolo made a single sighting on the 22nd, and return to base on the 15th of November.
After the necessary refitting, the Dandolo was again at sea. In the new mission, the boat would part of a group led by the Baracca and which included the Morosini, and the Otaria. The assignment was similar to the previous missions; the Italian boats, larger and with better endurance than the ones employed by the Germans, would patrol an area further west from the British Isles, while the U-boats and surface vessels would cover the area closer to the continent. Still under the command of Lieutenant Commander Riccardo Boris, the Dandolo left Bordeaux on January 24th, 1941. In the afternoon of the 31st, after having sighted the British tanker Pizarro, began an attack maneuver which was completed at night with the sinking of this ship of 1367 t. The sinking, reported in position 49º 30N, 19º 40W was achieved with the launch of torpedoes and caused the loss of 23 of the 29 crewmembers aboard the ship.
On February 2nd, the boat reached its patrol area where it began chasing the Dutch merchantman Prins Frederik Hendrik, but realizing that the Morosini was also un pursue, Captain Boris left the area. Lacking communication between boats, having two vessels in the same area was considered very dangerous. On the 18th, completed its patrol, the boat began the return voyage arriving around the Gironde on the 22nd. Here, while approaching the coast, the boat was attacked by was presumably a British submarine, but with a skilled maneuver the enemy’s torpedoes were avoided. Two days later, on the 24th, the boat returned to base and entered the shipyard for maintenance.
After the mediocre if not very limited results in the northern Atlantic, the new areas of operations for the “sharks of steel” of Betasom were the more temperate waters of the central Atlantic and the coast of Africa. The design of the Italian boats did not make them very suitable for the rough sea. The deck gun was practically unusable, and torpedoes were easily diverted by the heavy swell. The engine air intake and the design of the Italian conning towers made things even worse by making life aboard these vessels very difficult. On April 9th, a day before the Baracca, the Dandolo left for a patrol in the more temperate waters off the Strait of Gibraltar. The patrol area, split with the other boat by the 36th parallel, extended to the area west of Gibraltar. Having reached the patrol area on the 14th, two days later the Dandolo sighted in position 35º 26N, 7º 14W a battleship escorted by two destroyers. Considering the size of this force, probably it was a cruiser rather than a battleship. Despite the “full force ahead”, the boat failed to get close enough to the targets. Between the 16th and the 19th, the Dandolo joined the Baracca and Tazzoli in the pursue of a convoy, but on the 22nd the boat experienced serious breakdowns which left Captain Boris with no choice but return to base. At the end of the patrol, Captain Boris was replaced by Lieutenant Walter Auconi.
R.Smg. Dandolo in Cagliari
During this period, the Italian government wanted to return all submarines located in Bordeaux back to Italy. The issue was discussed at the highest levels, especially because Germany had only 30 submarines operational and needed the presence of the Italian boats. The German submarines were smaller and better suited for the Mediterranean, the Italian boats larger and more useful in the Atlantic. Still, Mussolini received permission from Hitler to withdraw the Italian submarines and on June 8th an order was issued in accordance. Soon after, on the 14th, Admiral Doenitz went to Berlin to request the reversal of this order. Admirals Reader, Weicholz, Riccardi and Parona were called to resolve a very difficult diplomatic and military situation. Finally, a compromise was reached; of the 27 Italian submarines still operating in the Atlantic, only 14 would be sent back. Eventually, due to war losses, only 10 submarines made the journey back, among them the Dandolo (the other boats were the Argo, Veniero, Brin, Mocenigo, Velella, Emo, Otaria, Perla, and the Guglielmotti).
The Dandolo left Bordeaux on June 19th, a day after the Glauco, but even before attempting the crossing of the strait it had to return to base due to a malfunction. The Glauco had the same fate. Repairs did not last long and on the 26th the boat was again at sea. On July 2nd, soon after midnight, the Dandolo crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on the surface taking advantage of a quarter moon and cloud coverage. The Glauco was less fortunate and was lost along with part of the crew. Having completed its first Atlantic experience, the Dandolo returned to Naples arriving on July 7th.
Here began a long and arduous period which will end with Italy’s surrender to then continue with Italy’s participation along the Allies.
This is a summary of the Dandolo’s activity in the Mediterranean.
From September 16th through October 1st, 1941: patrol of Cape Tenes, Spain. From November 2nd, through 11th: patrol off Tangier. On the 4th, the boat attacked and damaged the French tanker Tarn of 4,220 t. in position 36 49N, 2 20E, even though it belonged to the Vichy Government and thus neutral. On the 8th, the boat sank the Spanish merchantman Castillo Oropesa of 6600 t., another neutral ship, belonging to the “Cerencia De Burques Mercantes Para Servicio Oficiales”. From December 10th, patrol off Malia (Greece) interrupted due to a new assignment. From December 12th through the 21st: transport mission to Bardia (Lybia) with arrival on the 18th with a load of 12 t. Then, it continued on to Suda (Greece) arriving the 20th and Taranto, arriving the 23rd. From February 12 through 23rd: patrol of off Cyrenaica (Libya). From March 1st through April 1st: Patrol off Cabo Ténès. At the end of the patrol, Lieutenant Commander Alberto Campanella assumed command of the boat. From July 15th through 22nd: after repositioning to Cagliari, patrol off the Balearic Islands where the Dandolo launched 4 torpedoes against the British aircraft carrier Eagle missing the target. At the ned of this patrol, new change in command with the arrival of Lieutenant Giovanni Febbraio. From August 11tth through 14th: patrol off the Tunisian coast interrupted due to enemy attack which caused damages. From October 12th trhough16th: patrol off the Algerian coast also interrupted due to breakdowns. At the end of the patrol, another change in command with Lieutenant Giacomo Scano assuming the helm. From November 20th through December 4th: patrol off Philippeville including a failed attack egaist enemy vessel on the 27th. From December 29th through January 1st, 1943: patrol off Cape Bon and attack against a merchantman. From January 4th through 5th: patrol off La Galite. From January 22nd: patrol off Cape Bougaroni and Cape Carebon. On the morning of the 23rd, attack against an enemy convoy which returned fire causing damage. From April 18th through May 4th: patrol off Cape de Fer. From July 15th through 18th: patrol off the Sicilian coast where on the 16th the Dandolo attacked and seriously damaged the British light cruiser Cleopatra of 5,450 t. The following day it was attacked by enemy aircrafts and two bombs lodged themselves in the outer hull without exploding. After the attack, the boat made it to Crotone (Calabria) and then Taranto.
On Armistice Day (September 8th, 1943), the boat was in dry dock. After a period of activity along the Allies in Mediterranean, the Dandolo was transferred to America where in completed 113 patrols covering 16000 miles. In November 144 it was in the Bermudas, in 1945 in New London and then Guantanamo (Cuba). At the end of the conflict, the submarine was allowed back to Taranto.
After the peace treaty, which barred Italy from owning any submarines, the boat was assigned to the United States which, due to the minimal strategic value, ordered its demolition which took place after the boat was stricken off on February 1st, 1948. This was the Dandolo inglorious end after 10 years of intense activity.
After a regular shakedown period, the submarine Leonardo Da Vinci, under the command of C.C. Ferdinando Calda, left Naples on September 22nd 1940 for newly established submarine base of Bordeaux. After the crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, which took place on the 27th – a few days before the new moon of September 30th – the boat was sighted by two British destroyers, forcing a crash dive.
The Leonardo Da Vinci arriving in Bordeaux (Photo Bundersarchiv)
On October 2nd, after having reached the Atlantic Ocean, the Da Vinci attacked an armed ship (auxiliary cruiser) of notable dimensions (the name is unknown). While on the surface, the Da Vinci found itself in the proximity of the old aircraft carrier Argus and, under artillery attack, dived very quickly. October 8th saw another fruitless attack; this time against an armed ship, possibly a passenger liner. From the 16th to the 21st of October, the Da Vinci remained north of the Azores Islands where it conducted two chases which failed due to the superior speed of the enemy. Later, the boat moved to the area just off Lisbon from the 21st to the 27th of October. Finally, on October 31st, the boat reached BETASOM. The Da Vinci was one of the twelve boats that would reach Bordeaux during the month of October (Emo, Tarantini, Torelli, Faà di Bruno, Otaria, Baracca, Giuliani, Glauco, Calvi, Tazzoli, Argo).
After less than two months of waiting at the base, the Da Vinci departed for her second Atlantic mission on December 21st, 1940. A week later, on the 28th, it was already off the Irish coast. On the 30th, Captain Calda received a signal with the position of a British convoy, but due to a navigational error, he failed to intercept it. Here the boat continued her patrol without intercepting any enemy shipping. On the 16th, while en route for the base, it attacked without success an identified enemy destroyer. On the evening of January 20th, the submarine reentered the submarine base in Bordeaux.
1941
The Da Vinci would leave again from the Aquitaine ‘s base on March 26th, but two days later it had to abandon mission because of a failure to one of the ball bearings of the primary electric motor. In a few days the breakdown was mended and the Da Vinci went back to sea on April 4th. From the 11th to the 27th of the same month, the boat remained in an area west of Ireland but, due to lack of enemy shipping, it abandoned the ineffective mission to reenter BETASOM on May 4th.
The Leonardo Da Vinci returning to Bordeaux after its first patrol. Men from the S. Marco regiment are presenting arms. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On June 18th, the Da Vinci left Bordeaux for a mission west of the Strait of Gibraltar. On the 24th, it detected an aircraft carrier escorted by destroyers but did not succeed in reaching an acceptable position of attack due to the reaction of the escort. Four days later, on June 28th, it found and sank the British oil-tanker AURIS of 8.030 t. striking the ship with four of the eight launched torpedoes. This oil tanker of Italian construction (Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico) had been built in 1935 for the oil company Shell. The position of the sinking is given at 34°27’N 11°57’W from British sources and 34°28’N, 11°59’W from Italian sources. There were 32 casualties, and 27 survivors. On July 18, having reached the limit of its range, the Da Vinci left the area and returned to Bordeaux.
On August 15th, the Da Vinci was again at sea for a hunting mission off the Azores Islands. On the 19th, at 11.57 o’clock, the boat was attacked in position 35°17’N, 10°37’W by an airplane type Consolidated Catalina. In the same area, the crew made various sightings, but failed to make contact with the enemy shipping due to the prompt action of the escort units, which did not cause any damage. On September 24th, the boat was again returning to base where it would remain in the shipyard until the end of October for refurbishing. During this pause, C.C. Caldo was replaced by C.C. Luigi Longanesi Cattani. The just concluded action against convoy HG.73 had been organized in collaboration with B.d.U, and Donitz complimented the Italian allies for the collaboration provided.
At the end of the repair work, and after some testing, on November 19th the Da Vinci left again for a new mission, this time south of the Azores islands. The departure, as it would happen various times, did not take place from Bordeaux but from the auxiliary base at La Pallice, near La Rochelle. On December 2nd, the commander was forced to abort the mission because of serious damage to the horizontal rudders, and the boat reentered Bordeaux on December 2nd.
1942
After some alteration to increase its range, the Da Vinci left again on the 28th of January 1942; this time it would be for the first mission along the Brazilian coasts, which would be reached after a navigation of one month. After these structural alterations, the buoyancy of the boat had been reduced to only 10%. After reaching the pre-assigned area just off the Antilles, the crew ascertained the absence of enemy shipping and moved closer to the New York – Brazil trade route.
The Leonardo Da Vinci returning to Bordeaux after its seventh patrol. March 1942. (Photo courtesy Paolo Hoffmann)
On February 25th, the Da Vinci sank the Brazilian SS CADEBELO of 3.557 t. which had left Philadelphia on the 14th, and which was followed on the 27th of the same month by the Latvian SS EVERASMA of 3.644 t. The “Cadebello” was an old ship (1917) of German construction and belonging to the “Companhia de Navegacao Lloyd Brasilero”; there were no survivors. The position of this sinking is approximately given at 16°N 49°W. The “Everasma” belonged to the “Francis Grauds Company” and had been built by the British shipyard Duncans in 1920. The position of the second sinking is approximately given at 17°N 48°W. This ship was part of convoy TAW12 and there were 15 survivors. The 11th of March, the Da Vinci left the sector to reenter Bordeaux.
On May 9th, the Da Vinci was once again on a mission; this time between Porto Natal and Bahia. On June 2nd, near the Liberian coast, just off Cape Las Palmas, it sank with torpedoes the Panamanian schooner REINE MARIE STEWART of 1.087 t. The position of this sinking is given at 7°16’N, 13°20’W and there is no information regarding the sunken boat or possible survivors.
On the 7th, the Da Vinci intercepted and sank the Danish M/v CHILE of 6.956 t., in service to the British, and on the 10th the Dutch M/n ALIOTH of 5.483 t. The “Chile” was built by the Burmeister & Wain’s Maskin of Copenhagen in 1915 and belonged to the shipping company “Ostasiatiske Compagni”. Five crewmembers perished and the remaining 39 were rescued. The “Alioth”, a ship of recent construction (1937), belonged to “Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co’s” and was built by the shipyard Deusche Werft AG of Hamburg. Eight crewmembers were rescued, while the remaining 28 perished. The position of this sinking is given at 0.08°N, 18°52W by British sources and 4°17’N, 13°17W by the Italian authorities; a notable difference.
The series of successes continued on the 13th with the sinking of the English SS CLAN MACQUARRIE of 6.471 t. in position 5°35’N, 25°45’W (5°30’N, 23°30’W according to British fonts). Only one crewmember was lost, while the remaining 89 were rescued. This collier, built in 1913, belonged to the shipping company “Clan Line Steamers Ltd” of Liverpool. On the 20th, the Da Vinci rendezvoused with the Tazzoli to which it transferred 11 t. of diesel fuel (which the Tazzoli, in turn, transferred to the Morosini), and then returned to the base arriving on July 1, 1942 to celebrate a loot of around 20.000 t.
During the summer period, the Da Vinci was at the shipyard for structural change to allow for the installation of a pocket submarine lodged on the forward bridge. About this mission, Commander Borghese wrote: “After a year of tests and experiments conducted on the Lake of Iseo by Sub-Lieutenant Massano, in some of which I had myself taken part, the midget assault submarine ‘CA’ had been adapted to her new functions and was ready for action. Simultaneously, at Bordeaux, where in the meantime command of the base of our Atlantic submarines had been assumed by Captain Enzo Grossi, the possibilities I had formerly tested of using an ocean-going submarine for transporting the ‘CA’ to an enemy base had been realized. Two missions were in preparation with this craft, one being an attack on New York, taking the ‘CA’ up the Hudson into the very heart of the city; the psychological effect on the Americans, who had not yet undergone any war offensive on their own soil, would in our opinion far outweigh the material damage which might be inflicted (and ours was the only practicable plan, so far as I am aware, ever made to carry the war into the United States). The other operation provided for an attack against the important British stronghold of Freetown (Sierra Leone) where the British South Atlantic Squadron was stationed. The undoubted difficulties that such operations of very wide range involved were to a large extent neutralized by the factor of complete surprise; the appearance of assault craft of the Italian Navy, which had so far limited their efforts to the Mediterranean area, would certainly not be foreseen: defensive measures against so unexpected a type of attack were presumably not in being. The action against New York was in an advanced stage of preparation and had been fixed to take place in December.”
On August 10th, C.C. Longanesi Cattani left the command of the submarine to T.V. Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia which would contribute enormously to the fame of this boat.
On October 7th, the Da Vinci left Le Verdon for another mission. Between the 25th and 30th, it conducted patrol off Capo Verde, but having failed to locate any traffic it moved off Cape San Rocco. On November 2nd, it sank the British SS EMPIRE ZEAL of 7.009 t. On the 3rd, it fired 5 torpedoes against the Dutch SS Frans Hals missing the target, and receiving some damage from the fire returned by the merchant ship. On the 5th, it sank the Greek SS ANDREAS of 6.566 t. in position 2°00’S, 30°30’W, follow the on the 10th by the American Liberty ship SS MARCUS WHITMAN of 7.176 t. in position 5°44’S, 32°41’W (5°40’S, 32°41’W according to British fonts). The Andreas was an old ship built in 1919 by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, and it belonged to the Greek company “Ionian Steamship Co Ltd”. Previously she had been known as the Philadelphia in 1919 and the New Mexico in 1933. The Liberty ship was steaming from Capetown to Dutch Guiana without a load. The 41 members of the crew and the 11 militiamen of the “Naval Armed Guard” survived, eventually reaching the Brazilian coasts in four lances, one of which was motorized.
This series of successes continued on the 11th with the sinking (with the cannon, the Da Vinci had exhausted all torpedoes) of the Dutch SS VEERHAVEN of 5.291 t. in position 3°51S, 29°22W. This ship was built in 1930 by NV Scheepvaart Maatschappij Noorze, and all 45 crewmembers were eventually rescued. Again, on the 28th, it rendezvoused with the Tazzoli to which it surrendered 30 t. of diesel fuel, to then reenter Bordeaux after 60 days of navigation and the sinking of 4 ships for a total of 26.042 t.
1943
On February 9th 1943, the boat was again at sea, but it had to abort mission because of a breakdown. A few days later, on the 20th, it was again at sea. The Da Vinci, still under the command of Priaroggia, but with a new Chief Engineer (C.G.N. Giuseppe Battisti disembarked and C.G.N. Battaglini replaced him) started a long mission in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This mission would be conducted in collaboration with the Finzi, a boat under the command of T.V. Mario Rossetto.
On March 14th, the Da Vinci sunk with two torpedoes the British transatlantic EMPRESS OF CANADA of 21.517 t. This is a sad episode since along with 3000 British soldiers there were 500 Italian prisoners of war . The submarine succeeded only in recovering S.T. physician Vittorio Del Vecchio. The position of the sinking is given at 1°13’S, 9°57’W. This elegant transatlantic was built by the shipyards Fairfield in Glasgow in 1922, and it belonged to the Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
On the 18th, the LULWORTH HILL of 7.628 t., ship previously signaled by the Finzi, was sunk with the torpedo while the Da Vinci was submerged in position 11°00’S, 0°35’E (10°10’S-1°00’E according to the British authorities). The “Lulworth Hill” was built in 1941 by Dorset Steamship Co Ltd. The Finzi eventually transferred to the Da Vinci 9 t. of diesel fuel, 6 t. of lubricants, 10 t. of water, three 450mm torpedoes, and provisions in order to continue the mission in the Indian Ocean. Additionally, the Da Vinci transferred to the Finzi the Italian lieutenant rescued at sea and the prisoner of war (sailor gunner) James Leslie Hull.
The Da Vinci, by now in the Indian Ocean, continued hunting off the port of Durban, in South Africa. On April 17th, it sank the Dutch SS SEMBILAN of 6.566 t. in position 31°30’S, 33°30’E, followed on the 18th by the British MANAAR of 8.007 t. in position 30°59’S, 33°00’E and on the 21st by the Liberty ship JOHN DRAYTON of 7.177 t. in position 32°03’S, 34°04’E. The John Drayton was a typical Liberty launched in 1942 from a shipyard in North Carolina.
HMS Active (H14)
On the 25th the victim is the DORYESSA, a British oil-tanker of 8.078 t. and last victim of the series. The “Doryessa” belonged to the oil company Shell and had been built in 1938 by the shipyard Lesile. Eleven crewmembers were saved, while the remaining 53 perished. The sinking was given in position 32°03’S, 34°04’E, very close to the one of the John Drayton. On May 6th, T.V. Gazzana Priaroggia was promoted “for service in war” to the rank of C.C. and few days later, on May 22nd, the Da Vinci launched the last radio signal informing the base that the following day it would begin “hidden” navigation. The boat was expected to arrive in Bordeaux within a week, but it would never arrive. In 1945, the English Admiralty confirmed that on May 23rd 1943 at 11.35 (T.M.G.) the destroyer “Active” and the frigate “Ness ” conducted an attack just off Cape Finestrelle. There were no survivors. (The two units were part of the escort for convoy WS-30 and KMF-15.)
The submarine Corallo was one of the 10 boats of the “PERLA” series, part of the class “600” of coastal submarines. This successful series, just like the whole class “600”, was build by the C.R.D.A. shipyard (6 units) of Monfalcone (Gorizia) and O.T.O. (4 units) of Muggiano (La Spezia) between 1935 and 1936. The submarine Corallo (code CO), was part of the first six and was laid down on October 1st, 1935. Launched on August 2nd, 1936 and delivered to the Regia Marina on September 26th of the same year.
At the outbreak of war, Corallo was assigned to the 7th Submarine Group, 72nd Squadron based in Cagliari (Sardinia), and operated from this base for the whole war. However, when Italy entered the war (June 10th, 1940), the boat was in Monfalcone, the shipyard where it had been built, and therefore could not immediately enter service.
Corallo before delivery to the Navy at the C.R.D.A. shipyard in 1936. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
Work was completed around the end of August 1940, and before returning to base, Corallo under the command of Lieutenant Commander Loris Albanese completed from the 3rd to the 18th of September its first patrol in the eastern Mediterranean. In the late afternoon of the 17th, while on patrol 60 miles south of Crete, Corallo intercepted a large enemy naval formation en route to Alexandria and immediately commenced a decisive attack. Avoiding the screen, the submarine launched two torpedoes against an aircraft carrier from a very close distance (about 1,500 meters)and immediately after disengaging by diving to avoid the enemy forces’ reaction. Even if after a minute everyone aboard heard two loud explosions, different from the ones caused by depth charges, the result of the attack was never established because there is no confirmation in any of the British documentation.
The CORALLO still on the slip Photo Turrini)
The intense enemy reaction forced the boat to dive past the 80 meters (max operational depth) and assume “silent operations”, a system which used air to move water between trim tanks instead of pumps, and which caused the progressive increase of the air pressure within the boat. After three hours, eluding the hunt, the boat reached surface and the second in command, Lieutenant Alfredo Gatti, opened the conning tower’s hatch and, probably due to the excitement of the moment, failed to gradually release the over-pressured internal air; the porthole opened all at once and the officer was violently ejected. Despite the long search, he was never found.
Another man, the Chief Torpedoman Angelo Bianchi, was found dead in the forward torpedo room, perhaps victim of a fatal fall while the boat, under attack from depth charges, had repeatedly lost control. Because the damage sustained was not reparable on board, the boat went on to Tobruk where it arrived on September 18th.
After this unlucky event, in the two subsequent years Corallo operated almost continuously, completing patrols all over the Mediterranean, but without many results, just like the great majority of the Italian submarines operating in this area where the enemy traffic was not as present and in the Atlantic.
After March 17th, 1941, Corallo was under the command of Lieutenant Gino Andreani, who sank with the deck gun the following ships (after having rescued the crew): April 28th, 1943, near Cape Bon, the Tunisian Goleta DAR EL SALAM of 138 t. and the fishing boat Tunis of 41t. On June 7th, 1942, east of Galite, the Tunisian motorized sailing ship HADY M’HAMED of 26t. Up to the date of its loss, Corallo completed 48 patrols, remaining at sea over 180 days for a total of 23,718 miles.
On December 10th, 1942, under the command of Lieutenant Guido Guidi who had replaced Captain Andreani in mid June 1942, the boat left Cagliari for a patrol off the African cost between Bona and Bizerta. The operational orders contemplated an offensive patrol in the Bay of Bougie for the night of the 13th. After departure, all communication with the boat was lost despite radio signals sent up to the 23rd of December.
Just before December 10th, Salvatore Fanale, one of the crewmembers, disimbarked due to an illness, thus he was the only surviving member of the unforunate crew. (Photo Piergabriele Pirolo)
The loss of this boat was only confirmed after the war by British official sources. The night of the 12th of December, at about 14 miles off Bogie, Corallo was discovered by British antisubmarine units and underwent an intense bombardment. Forced to the surface, the boat was rammed by the gunboat ENCHARTRESS (which was seriously damaged) and immediately sank in position 36°58’N – 05°07’E. There were no survivors.
The Cappellini was one of the two Marcellos of more recent construction and it differed from the previous series simply for the substitution of the diesel engines produced by CRDA with similar ones produced by FIAT. The Cappellini was one of the boats selected for the new Atlantic base of Bordeaux. It was considered, along with the Faa di Bruno, one of the vessels in better mechanical conditions since it was of more recent construction. At the same time, the Cappellini was one of the first vessels which, at the beginning of 1941 and following damage inflicted after a patrol, utilized the new naval shipyard established in Bordeaux.
The launching of the Cappellini (Photo U.S.M.M.)
The Cappellini left Cagliari (Sardinia) on June 6th, 1940 a day after the Finzi and under the command of C.C. Cristiano Masi and moved off the Island of Madera. The night of the 14th, near Cape Negro (Point Almina), the vessel was sighted by the British trawler “Atlantic Ranger”, but, following a crash dive, it was able to run away. Around 00:30 AM on the 15th, while it was near Point Alpina, the vessel was once again sighted by enemy units. One of them, the destroyer “Vidette”, was targeted with the launch of a torpedo which failed to reach the ship. Once again, following quick maneuvering, the vessel was able to elude the enemy ships, but sighted by yet another unit, the Cappellini had to seek refuge in the Spanish port of Ceuta, from which, at a later day, was able to escape reaching a Spezia. These first attempts to cross the Strait of Gibraltar gave proof that the security measures implemented by the British were quite effective. Thanks to the Cappellini’s visit in Ceuta, it was possible to document the organization of the British screen which, effectively, were divided into six areas each patrolled by light units.
Furthermore, the Cappellini help testing Spanish flexibility in regards to Article XII of the 13th Convention of the Hague (1907). The articles of this treaty limited the stay of a military vessel in a neutral port to only 24 hours, unless breakdowns would not allow it to leave. Thanks to Spanish compliancy, the Cappellini falsified the various breakdowns, thus allowing for the tight British surveillance to be relaxed, and at the same time rising support within Franco’s government. Finally, it should be mentioned that not a single Italian submarine was lost during the crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar, while the German allies considered this forced route a near suicide, especially after the tragic experiences of WW I with the loss of U.104 (April 11th, 1918), and U.61 (May 11th, 1918).
At the end of the first war patrol, C.C. Salvatore Todaro, one of the more shining heroes of the Italian Navy, replaced C.C. Masi. The submarine left La Spezia on September 29th, 1940 to complete the crossing of the strait (Gibraltar) on the 5th of October, but this time submerged. As it happened with other vessels, the Cappellini also experienced a sudden loss of depth which brought the boat down to 140 meters, far exceeding the maximum certified depth.
After the crossing, the Cappellini moved on to its previously assigned area of patrol where, the night of October 15th, it intercepted the armed steamship Kabalo, part of convoy OB.223. The ship was sunk with the deck gun since the three torpedoes launched failed to reach the target, probably due to the rough sea. After the sinking, Captain Todaro decided to take the ship’s life boat in tow to bring it closer to land, but when the boat began to sink, he transferred the ship’s crew aboard the submarine. The 26 shipwrecked sailors were housed in the conning tower and, after three days at sea, were disembarked on the Island of Santa Maria in the Azores. This is an interesting episode because it generated the admiration of the international press, but surely not that of the Germans and the Italian high command; as it will be soon discovered, this war could not be fought by heroes and gentlemen.
Salvatore Todaro with some of the crewmembers of the Kabalo on the forward deck of the Cappellini (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The Kabalo was a Belgian steamship built in 1917 by the Cammel Laird & Co. of Birkenhead and was previously known as the “War Myrtle” (1919) and Caledonier (1927). The displacement listed by the Italian authorities (5,186 t.) is slightly higher than the one indicated by the “Lloyd’s Register of Shipping” which lists 5,051 t. The ship belonged to the “Compagnie Maritime Belge” of Antwerp. The sinking took place in position 31° 59’N 31° 21’W, one crewmember was lost and the remaining 42 were rescued. Completed its patron, the vessel began the return voyage to Bordeaux which was reached on November 5th, 1940.
After a period of repairs and maintenance, the Cappellini left Le Verdon on December 22nd 1940. The boat had been chosen for a mission in the eastern Atlantic after radical transformations that had included the reduction of the casings of the periscopes and the increase of the ammunitions for the guns. Moreover, the range of the boat had been increased with the stowage of provisions for approximately two months, and the transformation of a double hull into an additional diesel fuel tank.
The Cappellini reached the area off Oporto around Christmas, and having failed to detect any traffic, it continued southward reaching Funchal on January 1st, 1941.
1941
On the 5th, in the area between the Canaries Islands and the African coast, it intercepted the British steamboat “Shakespeare of 5.029 t., an isolated ship from convoy OB.262. The steamboat was sunk after a duel with the gun in which the artillerymen of the Shakespeare hit the forward gun of the Cappellini causing the death of sergeant Ferruccio Azzolin.
The Shakespeare was built in the 1926 by the R Duncan & Co. shipyard of Port Glasgow and it belonged to the “Shakespeare Shipping Co. Ltd.” The position of the sinking was 18° 05′ N 21° 11′ W; 20 crewmembers died, and the remaining 22, in great part hurt, were rescued by the Cappellini and then left on one of the Islands of Cabo Verde. This was another example of the humanitarian spirit of commander Todaro and of his sense of chevaliery.
C.C. Salvatore Todaro (Photo Elio Ando’)
The Cappellini continued the cruise in the zone of Cabo Verde, and then moved off Freetown, where the morning of January 14th attacked with two torpedoes the troop transport ship Eumaeus of 7,472 t. which was eventually sunk with the gun. This was an auxiliary cruiser (armed ship) in service to the British. Built in the 1921 by the “Calendon Shipbuilding & Engineering” of Dundee (Scotland), the ship belonged to the “Ocean Shipping Co.” The sinking was given in position 08° 55′ N 15° 03′ W (118 miles for 285° from Cape Sierra Leon). During the battle, which lasted more than two hours, the Cappellini experienced several breakdowns. First the ammunition lifts stopped, forcing the movement of projectiles by hand, then the aft gun lost the brakes recoils. During the battle lost their lives sergeant Francisco Moccia and common Giuseppe Bastino, and also the T.G.N. Danilo Stiepovich to whom was awarded the Gold Medal (M.O.M.). The records of the Lloyds list 23 British fallen and 63 survivors, but the war log of the Cappellini clearly describes a “swarming” of troops getting away from the ship. In facts, this was a troop transport ship directed to Egypt.
At the end of the engagement, and probably called by the S.O.S. launched by the ship, and airplane appeared in the area launching two bombs against the Cappellini. Because of a fault with the flooding valves, the boat submerged very slowly, thus offering an optimal target; the damage was extensive. The trim tanks were damaged, so were the main electric motors, the batteries, and other systems, forcing Commander Todaro to seek shelter in the nearby Spanish port of the Luz, in Gran Canaria. The Cappellini moored the night of January 20th, and with the acquiescence of the Spanish authorities, the boat received the necessary repairs and disembarked a wounded. The vessel left the 23rd, and after a week the Cappellini was again in Bordeaux (to be accurate in Pauillac), after 39 days at sea and over 7,600 miles of patrol.
The Cappellini at sea while it appears the crew are installing or removing a torpedo. (Photo USMM)
The forth mission began April 16, 1941 with destination the northern Atlantic as part of the group Da Vinci which included the submarines Da Vinci, Cappellini, Torelli and Malaspina. On the 21st, commander Todaro, in spite of the failure of one of the two thermal engines, lead an attack against two large passengers ships of the type “ACCRA”. After having launched the torpedoes, the boat had to submerge and then endure the hunt of the escort vessels, including an attempted ramming, artillery fire, and the launch of depth charges.
The Accra type was of British production and built by the “Harland & Wolff”, company with shipyards in Belfast, Greenock, Glasgow, and Irvine. In addition to the Accra there was the Apapa. The first was sunk by U 34 on July 26th, 1940 while the second one was sunk by a German Kondor on November 15th, 1940. Belonging to the same company there was the Adda, similar but much smaller, also lost during the war, and more precisely on June 8th, 1941 victim of U 107. The Cappellini continued in vain the search for enemy traffic and eventually it left the area of operations the 11th, returning to base on May 20th.
The fifth mission was to some extent short: the Cappellini left Bordeaux June 29th, 1941 with destination a sector to the West of the Strait of Gibraltar, but due to serious breakdowns, it had to abandon mission and re-enter to base on July 6th. At the end of this short mission, while the boat entered the shipyard, Commander Todaro departed leaving the command to T.V. Aldo Lenzi. Todaro would join the famous Xa MAS dying, as a gentleman and hero, during a mission in the small port of La Galite (December 14th, 1942) killed by airplane straifing while a group under his commando was preparing to force the port of Bona. In should be mentioned that, due to the change of commanders, several boats had delays in being deployed their area of operations while the officers and the crews were becoming familiar which each other in short practice missions. The Cappellini was not immune; in fact it seems that although ready well before May 1942, if had not been for the change of commander.
The sixth mission took the boat in waters south and southeast off the Azores Islands along with the submarines Morosini and of Da Vinci. Commander Polacchini (Commanding Officer of Betasom) , for the occasion, wanted to experience a new system of patrol that called for the positioning of the boats at approximately 40 miles from one another. The three boats, therefore, assumed a wedge-like formation, with the central unit proceeding approximately 120 miles ahead to the others two. The idea was to act in close collaboration and have the boat closer to the contact take action. After departure, on November 17, 1941 the boats continued the patrol operation until the 29th, when B.d.U. requested the transfer of the boats to another sector. December 2nd, the Da Vinci, experiencing mechanical failures, had to abandon mission while the Cappellini intercepted the British steamboat Miguel de Larringa of 5.230 t. The submarine war logs lists the torpedoing in position 35° 34′ W 29° 52′ W, but the documents of the Lloyds do not confirm this sinking, therefore it must be assumed that, perhaps, the ship was only damaged. Completed the mission, the Cappellini returned to Bordeaux on December 29th, 1941 to remain at the shipyard for several months due to the precarious conditions of the boat. At this time, and after only a single war mission, T.V. Aldo Lenzi relinquished the command of the submarine to T.V. Marco Revedin. In spite of the continuous damages, in many cases due to enemy attacks, the Italian submarines’ armaments worked well, with the torpedoes functioning 60% of the time (the analysis reflect the total launch of 109 weapons).
1942
The official Italian documentation does not specify the departure date of the seventh mission, but what is known is that on May 11th, the Cappellini, while on patrol in position 19 33N 26 48W, intercepted a convoy of 9 ships. Two of the escort units subjected the boat to an intense hunt, but in spite of the damages inflicted, the boat was able to continue on.
On the 19th, the Cappellini located an isolated unit of convoy OS.27 (England – Western Africa) and sank it. It was the Swedish motor-ship Tisnaren of 5.747 t. Constructed by the shipyards “Götaverken A/B of Gothenburg” in Sweden in 1918, the Tisnaren belonged to the shipping company “Transatlantic Rederiaktiebolaget”. The position of the attack was given at 03° 38′ to N 32° 01′ W, while the ship sank in position 03 N 33 W; there were no casualties and the 40 crewmembers were later rescued. At daybreak of May 24th, the boat, then in position 03° 59′ S 35° 01′ W, located a naval formation which, due to distance, could not be attacked. This formation, for sure, was the same one met from the Barbarigo in the famous action against the Milwaukee and the Moffett.
Two days later, while it was searching for a steamship previously signaled by the Archimede, the Cappellini was attacked by an American Catalina based in Natal. At this point, having exhausted the fuel reserve, the boat began the along journey back to base.
The night of May 31st, in position 00° 45′ S 29° 45′ W the Cappellini hit with four of the six torpedo launched the British fleet tanker Dinsdale of 8.250 t. The captain gave a vivid report of this action. The combat was along, in fact, although it had begun in the late evening the 31st, the oil tanker did not sink until 06:12 of the following morning. The Dinsdale , previously named Empire Norseman, was launched on April 11th, 1942 and was completing its maiden voyage. The tanker was built by Harland & Wolff, Govan, and there is no information regarding casualties. The Cappellini continued on, reaching Bordeaux (actually Le Verdon) on June 19th, 1942.
The experience of the summer of 1942, especially in the waters off Brazil, had convinced the Italian command that, because of the considerable increase of antisubmarine activity, it was no longer opportune to send submarines in the Antilles and in Brazil. Instead, it was thought that traffic off Guinea and Congo would be an easier prey.
In this period, the availability of Italian submarines was much limited, and the arrival of new units could not be expected. In fact, the situation was deteriorated to such point that, for the August mission off Congo, only four boats were available: Cappellini, Barbarigo, Archimedes and Bagnolini.
The Cappellini, at the commando of the T.V. Mark Revedin, left base on August 21st, 1942. After approximately twenty days into the mission, the boat reached the assigned zone just off Freetown. After only three days, on September 13th, the boat received orders to move at maximum speed to approximately 240 miles for NNE of the Island of Ascension in position 05° 05′ S 11° 28′ W where, the previous day, a U-Boot had sunk the passenger ship Laconia. After the sinking, the German commander realized that the British ship had on board a large number of Italian prisoners of war. The U-Boot, U.156, recovered some of the shipwrecked P.O.W. and also called in other boats (U.506 and U.507) for help. The Cappellini arrived in the area on September 16th after a fast run of approximately 700 miles. The episode of the Laconia is not only sad, but also tragic and therefore we will leave the historical narration of it to another time.
With the aid of French units just arrived in the area, nearly all the shipwrecked were transferred aboard the neutral ships, but 6 Italians and 2 prisoners of war remained aboard the Cappellini. Because of excessive use of diesel fuel, the original operational plan had to be abandoned and the boat began the return trip to base. During this phase, the submarine sighted a British steamboat that was not attacked because of a breakdown with to one of the two thermal engines. The boat arrived at the base, without further incidents, on October 17th, 1942.
The Cappellini, after the necessary maintenance work and still under the command of T.V. Mark Revedin, took again to the sea from La Pallice on December 26th, 1942. Before this mission, the boat was equipped with a Metrox of German construction. This device, nicknamed “beaver”, allowed for the detection of radio waves emanated from enemy radars. Initially, the device allowed the German and Italian boats to avoid sudden aerial attacks, often carried out in the middle of the night by special Allied airplanes. Subsequently, it was discover that the radio waves released by the Metox helped the Allied located with precision the boats, therefore it was immediately ordered to disable them. Two days after departure, the Cappellini succeeded in avoiding a submarine, probably one of the British boats always in ambush off the French ports.
1943
On January 10th, 1943 the boat arrived in the area of operations NW of the Islands of Cabo Verde. Having failed to locate enemy traffic, the boat headed towards the northern coasts of Brazil where, in the previous days, the Tazzoli had scored several successes. Unfortunately, the hunt off the coast of Brazil first, and the French Antilles later, did not reveal any traffic, and on the February 8th the boat begun the long journey back to base. The 24th, while on the surface, the Cappellini was attacked of the Azores Islands by a Catalina which launch a cluster of bombs while the boat was performing a crash dive. On March 4th, the Cappellini arrived in Bordeaux after the unfruitful mission, which had added further wear and tear to the already aging vessel
Following negations with the Germans, the Torelli was one of the seven submarines designated to be transformed into transports. Supposedly, the idea of transforming these vessels originated with C.V. Enzo Grossi, then commander of the base, who had realized that these submarines were no longer fit for offensive operations. Grossi made a proposal to Adm. Donitz: in exchange for the 7 Italian submarines, the German would transfer 7 newly constructed U-boat to the Italian Navy. Although it could appear that the proposal was preposterous, it was actually warmly welcomed especially because the Germans were producing a boat a day, but did not have enough personnel to man them.
As part of the final agreement reached between the two navies, the Krisgmarine transferred seven U-boats of the class VII-c (designated by the Italians as class S) in exchange of an equivalent number of Italian boats which, due to their dimensions, were better suited for the long voyage to Japan. Of the seven vessels, only five began the journey. This operation was completely under German control, and the boats were assigned a German name, but retained their Italian crew. Of the five boats, the Tazzoli was lost son after its departure, while the Barbarigo was lost probably soon after. Both losses were never documented and remain a mystery to these days.
The Cappellini, under the command of C.C. Walter Auconi sailed for Japan on May 11th, 1943. The cargo, of approximately 95 tons, consisted of ammunition, aluminum in bars, steel, replacement parts, and others. Because of the overload of the Lange quantity of diesel fuel aboard, the boat left the base with a buoyancy factor of approximately 3,5% and therefore extremely low. In fact, the boat was so overload that it left port with only the bow and the conning tower outside of the water.
The various submarines assign to these transport missions receive new names; the Cappellini was called “Aquila III”. In spite of several aerial attacks, always readily avoided, the boat reached Saipang on July 9th, 1943. According to the official report, the boat reached port with the fuel tanks completely empty.
The following day, the 10th, the boat moved to Singapore under the escort of the colonial sloop Eritrea (C.F. Mario Jannucci). This last mission is meticulously described by C.C. Auconi in a memorandum presented in July 1948. On August 25th, the boat was ready for the return voyage, but the German command decided to withhold it in order to make it travel in tandem with the Giuliani. On September 8th, (actually the morning of the 9th), having received news of the armistice signed by the Italian government, the Japanese immediately took control of the boat, thus concluding its operating life in the Regia Marina.
July 12th, 1943 – The Cappellini photographed from the Eritrea (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
Eventually, the crew was captured and interned in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Later on, a good part of the crew (not the offices) decided to continue fighting along the German, and the submarine was manned by a mix crew of German and Italian sailors. On September 10th, the boat was incorporated in the Krigsmarine and assigned the nominative UIT.24. The command of the boat was assigned to Oberleutnant-zur-See Heinrich Pahls, who kept it until May 1945. During this period, the boat conducted six missions as part of 12th flotilla (Bordeaux), and later the 33rd Flotilla (Flensburg).
At the surrender of Germany, May 10th 1945, the boat was incorporated into the Japanese navy with the nominative I-503 where it continued to operate until the end of the conflict. The Cappellini, eventually, was captured by the United States and sank in the deep waters off Kobe (Kii Suido) on April 16th, 1946.
At the beginning of the conflict (June 10th, 1940), the submarine Calvi was assigned to the 11th Squadriglia of the 1st Group based in La Spezia. The boat was under the command of C.C. Giuseppe Caridi since 1939, and the second in command was T.V. Antonio De Giacomo, who would eventually skipper the submarine Tazzoli.
The submarine left the base (in the region of Liguria, in Northern Italy) for the first war patrol on July 3rd, 1940, a day after the smg. Veniero. The boat was assigned an area in the Atlantic off Madera. These two boats were the first to receive orders from MARICOM (The Italian submarine command) to begin unrestricted warfare, thus foregoing the rules dictated by the International Maritime Law during a state of war. The Calvi successfully completed a patrol of the port of Funchal (Portugal) where it detected 12 cargo ships and one destroyer, all from neutral countries.
The Calvi in Bordeaux
During the return trip, the crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar took place on the surface, as it had happen during the initial crossing, but this time the boat was forced, for a brief period, to seek refuge under the ocean after the sighting of patrol units off Punta Almina. The mission wrapped up on August 6th, with the boat’s return to base, but without having achieved any result.
After the return to base, the boat entered the naval arsenal for the work necessary to fit it for missions in the Atlantic from the newly established Italian submarine base of Bordeaux. The Calvi, still under the command of C.C. Caridi, left La Spezia in the early hours of October 6th. Upon reaching the Strait of Gibraltar, in foul weather and light wind, the boat continued on submerged, picking up from the hydrophones sounds from patrol units. During this phase, the submarine encroached unfavorable sea currents which plummeted the vessel 143 meters toward the bottom, but without causing any damage. This depth was far greater than the maximum allowed by the boat’s specifications. Completing the crossing, the boat moved on toward Cape Finesterre where it began its patrol. On the 8th, following receipt of a radio signal from the smg. Glauco, the boat moved full speed toward the point indicated where it remained in ambush until the 10th. Having failed to sight any traffic, the boat continued on to Bordeaux, reaching the Atlantic base for the first time on October 23rd, 1940.
After some maintenance work, the Calvi took again to the sea on December 3rd as part of a group of submarines which included the Veniero, Emo, Bagnolini, Tazzoli and Nani. This operation, organized in concert with B.d.U. (German submarine command), brought the Italian boats off the Irish coast. The Calvi reached the area of operations on the 11th after having encountered a violent winter storm, typical of this part of the Atlantic. The fury of the sea was such that the boat had part of the forward superstructure ripped off, and part of the conning tower deformed. Due to the construction not particularly adapted to these weather conditions, the boat took on several tons of water from the conning tower’s hatch, risking several times to lose buoyancy. On the 12th, the Calvi made its first sighting, a steamship of unknown origins which was proceeding on a zigzag course at about 7 or 8 knots. During daylight, and despite the loss of one of the two thermal engines, the possible target was followed at a distance, but eventually, in the afternoon, the hunt was abandoned following the loss of a great quantity of diesel fuel from one of the double hulls.
On the 17th, the Calvi made a second sighting, but the pursuit was abandoned due to another failure of one of the diesel engines. On the 18th, the Calvi launched two torpedoes following the sighting of a steamship proceeding without lights, but failed to hit the target. Thereafter, the boat opened fire with the aft gun, but the superior speed of the ship brought about the end of the chase. Further attacks followed: all in unfavorable weather conditions.
On the 20th of December, the Calvi was attacked by the British ship CARLTON which opened fire with a large caliber machine gun. The boat, quick to submerge, was brought into launch position and around 14:00 sank the steamship. The Carlston was one of the units lost from convoy OB.260. Displacing 5,162 t., it was built by the shipyards Short Bros. Ltd in Sunderland and belonged to Chapman & Co. So., R. The sinking was given in position 55°18’N, 18°49’W and of the 35 members of the crew only 4 were later rescued.
On the 26th, the Calvi sighted other units, one of which, in position 55° N 19°W, was the object of a torpedo launched. Despite the fact that the crew clearly heard an explosion, there is no confirmation that the torpedo actually hit the target. On the 27th of December, having exhausted all diesel fuel reserves, the boat began the return voyage to base reaching Bordeaux on December 31st, just in time for the New Year’s Eve celebrations. After the return to base, the boat spent three months in the shipyard for repair and maintenance work.
1941
On March 31, 1941 the boat took again to the sea for a mission in the central Atlantic along with the submarines Marconi, Finzi and Tazzoli. The Calvi was assigned to an area between the Canary Islands and the Azores Islands where it operated with the Finzi. On the 22nd of April, the boat launched two torpedoes against an armed ship off Freetown, and on the 28th against the steamship Caperby; in both cases the weapons missed the target. During the first incident, after having failed the target, the boat attempted to chase it on the surface, but lost it in heavy rain. During the second incident, this time off the Bijousa Islands, the chase had to be abandoned due to the incoming fog.
On the 5th of May, after having begun the return trip to base, the Calvi intercepted a ship of large displacement with three funnels and escorted by light units. Due to the high speed of the target, the Calvi failed to reach a good launching position and therefore ceased the attack. Eventually, the boat reached Bordeaux on May 13th. During the R.R. period, C.C. Caridi left the command of the boat to C.C. Emilio Olivieri to be promoted to C.F. and assume the role of Chief of Staff from October 1st, 1941 until the end of the conflict (September 8th, 1943).
The Calvi left base again on August 1st, 1941 for an ambush mission off the Canaries and Azores Islands. This mission did not produce any result, and on the 10th that submarine was again back to base. During this mission, the boat was initially used west of the Canary islands, and after the 21st it was moved off Gibraltar where it operated in concert with other German and Italian submarines.
The Calvi during the transfer of the crew of Atlantis from U-68 (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On December 7th, the Calvi was again in action, this time to participate, between the 7th and the 29th, in the rescue of the crewmembers of the German raider “Atlantis”. Due to special circumstances, the Italian boat brought the rescued sailors back to Saint-Nazaire instead of Le Verdon. The Torelli, Finzi, Tazzoli and Calvi transferred from the U-Boot 254 sailors utilizing rubber dinghy with which the German boats were equipped.
1943
In early March 1942, the Calvi was once again ready for action, but Betasom did not have enough boats to send along the American coast. Of the 11 submarines assigned to this sector, one was in Germany (Giuliani), five were at sea (Group Da Vinci) and the remaining were not in condition to take to the sea. Since the Germans were only interested in conducting group actions, the departure of the Calvi was assured after strong pressure from Betasom. The boat left Le Verdon on March 7th with destination Cape Orange, off the Brazilian coast. On the 28th, the Calvi discovered a convoy at about 700 miles from the Brazilian Coast, but one of the aircraft from the aircraft carrier in the convoy sighted the submarines, forcing its immediate submersion. On the 29th, the Calvi intercepted a steamship of the type “Huntington”, which was attacked with torpedoes e then seen to sink bow first. This sinking is not confirmed; the Huntington (ex Munsterland 20) had already been sunk by the U-96 on February 2nd. The other ships belonging to the same shipping company and similar to the Huntington (Schffbau & Maschinefabrik Bremen Vulkan di Vegesack, Germany) were lost in 1940 and the last one, the Hertford, in 1942.
On March 25th (according to some sources the 29th), the Calvi intercepted and sank the British cargo ship TREDINNICK of 4,589 T.S.L. This ship was built in 1921 by the shipyard “J Readhead & Son Ltd” of South Shields and belonged to the “J Readhead & Son Ltd” with offices in London and Cardiff. The sinking took place in position 27°15’N 49°15’W and none of the 46 crewmembers were rescued. On the 31st of March, the boat intercepted the American tanker T.C. MCCOBB which was sunk in the early hours of April 1st with 5 torpedoes and numerous 120 mm shells. This was the first American ship sunk by an Italian submarine.
T.C. MCCOBB which was sunk in the early hours of April 1st with 5 torpedoes and numerous 120 mm shells
This 7,452 T. tanker was built in 1936 by the Federal Shipbuilding, in New Jersey and belonged to the gigantic Standard Oil Company of New York. Of the crewmembers, 24 lost their lives, while the remaining 15 were later rescued. The position of the sinking was given at 7°10’N, 45°20’W. The crewmembers reported that the attack began at 16:25 when the Calvi, at a certain distance, opened fire with the deck gun. The tanker stopped zigzagging and proceeded in a straight course until dusk. The top speed of the McCobb was only 12.7 knots, and at 17 knots (probably quite less) the boat was able to catch up and open fire, once again hitting the target with most of the shells. After 20 minutes, the captain of the ship, Robert W. Overbeck, ordered the engines stopped and the “abandon ship”. Three life boats were lowered into the sea and seen to move away from the hull; the survivors were later rescued while en route to the Brazilian coast.
The Calvi’s journal recorded: March 31st, 1942
15:00 – Latitude 06°29’N, longitude 44°58’W I sight a tanker sailing in due course 340 on 120 polar.
15:12 – I start the other engine (diesel), and maneuver to acquire on the Beta. The tanker proceeds at a zigzag changing course from 270 to 20. Speed 12 knots. I do not believe that we were sighted. To gain over the tanker I increase speed up to 300 r.p.m. on the right axel and 280-290 on the left one. I cannot push too much because I have a fracture on cylinder N. 3 of the starboard engine. At high speed, we leave behind a noticeable oil streak.
15:14 – Dive. I assume course 140 opposite to the direction of the target. I must conduct the attack with the sight scope because the attack one is out of service. Due to the conditions at sea (force 5), it is very difficult to keep the submarine leveled.
18:45 I sight on alpha 10, beta 20, to the left of the enemy. I approach to a distance of 3,000 meters to the left to then go on the attack and I come out of the water with the conning tower and the bow. I quick dive down to 20 meters, giving up the attack while submerged. The hydrophones pick up something on the right.
20:52 – The hydrophones are losing signal to the stern.
21:05 Surface – I order the deck guns manned. I start firing on the tanker which is running away at full speed in direction 290. Sea conditions do not allow me to continue firing with the aft gun. Due to the high pitch, the fire with the forward gun is not very accurate.
21:16 – I cease fire and continue the chase, bringing the engines to the maximum r.p.m.. We gain little.
22:52 at a distance of 6,800 meters I open fire with the forward gun on the tanker. I cannot wait any longer because it is past sunset and the beginning of the twilight. The tanker has sent the S.O.S.. From the radio it appears that I have attacked the American T.C. McCobb of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, New York. The calling name is WOGU.
23:15 – I slow down the rate of fire because the tanker, hit by 10 shells and with the engine stopped, proceeds at a very slow speed on course 350 and lowers 4 life boats. A few people have taken seats aboard the boats.
23:33 – I launch a torpedo from the forward tubes and after a “cold run” it hits the tanker under the bridge.
23:47 I launch a torpedo from the aft tubes and hit the tanker under the funnel. The ship does not sink.
23:59 I launch a torpedo from the aft tubes and hit the tanker between the deck and the funnel. The ship does not sink. The sea is in good conditions with wind from NE. 1st April,1942
00:07 I launch I torpedo from the forward tubes, hitting the tanker between the deck and the funnel. The ship, despite the side completely ripped open and the stern lower on the water does not sink.
00:16 – I launch from the aft tubes a torpedo, which hits the ships between the bridge and the funnel. The ship does not sink.
00:28 I launch a torpedo from the forward tubes, but it does not explode.
01:00 I move away in direction 120 while the tanker goes down by the stern.
01:15 The tanker is seen sinking with the bow point upward.
( 07°19’N, 45°44’W)
On the 5th, the boat reaches the Brazilian coast and, in the following days, it makes contact with two ships, but loses them in foul weather.
After the failed chases of the previous days, on the 9th the Calvi catches up with the American tanker EUGENE V.R. THAYER of 7,138 t. sailing by itself. The tanker was sunk with the torpedo and over 120 120 mm shells. This tanker belonged to Sinclair Navigation of New York and was built in 1920 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding .The position of the attack was given at 02° 35’S, 39° 58’W, off the Gulf of Patos, but the ship sank in position 02°36’S, 39°43’W; there is no information regarding the fate of the crewmembers, but the U.S. Merchant Marine cites 11 casualties.
Later on, the Calvi intercepted and sank the Norwegian ship BALKIS of 2,161 t., followed soon after by the Panamanian tanker BEN BRUSH of 7,691 t. The Balkis was built by the shipyard Akers Mekaniske of Oslo and belonged to the shipping company Den Norske Middelhavslinje. The motor tanker Ben Brush, previously known as the Caroline Mærsk (Danish) was built in 1928 by the shipyard Odense Staalskibsærft of Odense, Denmark and was in the service of the USMC (U.S. Maritime Commission). The sinking is in position 04°32’S, 35°03’W; one member of the crew was lost and the remaining 34 were rescued.
Having exhausted all torpedoes, the boat began the return voyage from Cape San Rocco, reaching Le Verdon on April 29th. Considering the brevity of the mission, the results obtained were excellent and would have been better if the boat had had a larger number of torpedoes. This mission had some peculiar aspects: the total tonnage sunk was undoubtedly remarkable, and furthermore it validated Betasom’s decision, despite the opposition of the Germans, to send a submarine by itself. Moreover, this mission had a particular importance because by operating in various areas, the Axis submarines were able to disperse the concentration of the Allied antisubmarine operations. With the return of the Calvi ended the first phase of the Italian presence in American waters and the results were encouraging, but as we shall see, misled Betasom’s future expectations.
After the return to the base, the Calvi entered the shipyard for the usual maintenance work. During this period, commander Olivieri left the submarine and was replaced by C.F. Primo Longobardo; he would be the highest-ranking Italian officer lost aboard a submarine. At the end of the conflict, C.C. Olivieri was the Italian officer with the 5th best record. C.F. Longobardi had already distinguished himself aboard the Torelli, and he had already experienced four sinkings for a total of 17,489 t.
C.F. Primo Longobardo, ‘Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare’ – Gold Medal for Bravery (Photo U.S.M.M.)
Despite his advanced age (for a submariner), C.F. Longobardi was able to secure this command, leaving Bordeaux on July 2nd, 1942 for a mission off the Antilles. On July 13th, the Calvi received orders to seek a ship proceeding by itself and of the type “Andalusia Start”; the ship was not found. The day after, the boat received orders to attack, if conditions were favorable, convoy S.4. 115 from Freetown to Great Britain escorted by H.M.S. Londonderry, H.M.S. Lulworth, H.M.S. Bideford and H.M.S. Hastings. This convoy had been sighted by U.130 which, later on, had made visual contact with the Calvi.
At 22:30 the Calvi sighted one of the escort vessels, probably the Lulworth, and Captain Longobardo ordered a crash dive. Immediately after, in position 30° 07’N, 26° 07W the Calvi was targeted with the launch of depth charges which did not cause serious damage. After a pinpointing maneuver, the Lulworth dropped a cluster of bombs, this time hitting the submarine. It should be noted that according to American war documents, depth charges were only effective if they exploded at least 5 meters from the hull. The boat began taking water in the forward compartment and the captain was forced to accept the inevitable duel with the surface units. Once surfaced, the Calvi received concentrated fire which it tried to avoid by running away at full speed. The Lulworth continued keeping the Calvi under fire, mowing down all the personnel on deck.
H.M.S. Lulworth (Photo Imperial War Museum)
The last desperate act of the boat, a couple of torpedoes, was easily avoided while the British machine guns kept hitting the deck. Captain Longobardo, realizing the unevenness of the fight, ordered the crew to abandon ship and scuttle the vessel. Meantime, various officers and sailors, including Captain Longobardo, were killed by the enemy bullets and at the end the burden of sinking the boat rested with Captain E. Aristede Russo.
Meantime, a boat from the Lulworth had approached the boat and a member of the British crew, T.V. North, came aboard and would be lost with the submarine. The U.130 arrived on the scene launching a torpedo at the Lulworth, but failing its target. Meantime, the Calvi went down and was followed, soon after, by a violent explosion. It is not believed that the German torpedoes caused this explosion; perhaps it was one of the depth charges, which had been trapped on some part of the superstructure. Eventually, after about 4 hours, the British came back to the site of the sinking and picked up three officers and 32 sailors.
The Lulworth was one of the units of the U.S. Coast Guard transferred by the United States to Great Britain. The crew included personnel from the battleship Resolution that was under repair in Philadelphia. The unit was classified as a “sloop” similar to the Italian Eritrea; 1,700 t., 16 knots, 5.5” guns. Originally, the Lulworth was the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Chelan (CGC-45).
he submarine CAGNI, as it was more commonly knows, was part of the class called “Ammiragli” (Admirals), which included four boats named after famous personalities in the history of the Italian Navy: Saint Bon, Millo, Caracciolo, and Cagni. Of the four, only the last one survived the conflict. These boats were designed for the ‘guerre de course’ on distant oceans, and met very high operational requirements – range (up to six continuous months, or about 20,000 miles), armament, reliability – hardly obtainable in a conventional submarine, even today. The ‘Ammiragli’ were, overall, the best Italian submarines produced up to that period.
The CAGNI was built by the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone, near Gorizia. It was laid down on September 16th, 1939, launched on July 20th, 1940 and delivered to the Regia Marina on April 1st, 1941 well into the war.
The CAGNI in the early days (Photo Turrini)
From the beginning of it operational life to February 1942, the CAGNI was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Carlo Liannazza and, because of its large carrying capacity, was mostly used in transport missions to North Africa were fuel and ammunitions were in much need. Thereafter, it was decided to take advantage of it exceptional range by sending it in far away seas. Thus, after a long period of repairs in Taranto to fit the boat for war in the Atlantic Ocean, on October 6th, 1942 it departed from La Maddalena to reach the South-African coast and possibly the Indian Ocean to intercept traffic between the two bodies of water.
Crossed without any difficulty the Strait of Gibraltar, on November 3rd, the CAGNI sank the British motor vessel DAGOMA of 3,845 t. off Freetown. A few days later, on the 29th, it sank the Greek ship ARGO of 1,995 t., off Cape of Good Hope. Then, having failed to locate any traffic, in the meantime rerouted by the enemy on further away routes, and also having reached the furthers most point allowing it to return to base (despite a scheduled transfer of fuel from a German submarine), on the 8th of December the CAGNI left the patrol area to return to BETASOM, the Italian submarine base in Bordeaux.
The CAGNI with a smaller conning tower, also know as ‘German style’ (Photo Turrini)
On February 15th, 1943, while in navigation in the Gulf of Biscay, the CAGNI was attacked by a Sunderland against which it defended itself quite efficiently with machine guns. It eluded the attack, but Sergeant Michelangelo Canistraro was killed. After 136 days at sea, on February 20th, 1943 the CAGNI reached Bordeaux. This was the longest continuous mission conducted by any Italian vessel in WW II.
In Bordeaux, the CAGNI underwent alterations to be fitted, with other submarines, for the secret transport of rare goods to Japan. With the command of the boat already transferred to Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe Roselli Lorenzini, the CAGNI left le Verdon on June 29th, 1943 for its second patrol, destined to Singapore from which it should have returned with a load of rubber and tin.
During this mission, the night of July 25 while off Freetown, the CAGNI attacked the British auxiliary cruiser ASTRURIAS of 22,048 t, which did not sink, but was left inoperable for the remainder of the war. On September 8th, 1943, date of the Italian armistice, the CAGNI was in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Between the contrasting orders from BETASOM (reach Singapore as soon as possible), and those of SUPERMARINA (reach the South –African port of Durban), Captain Roselli Lorenzini decided to follow the later, obeying the will of His Majesty the King.
The CAGNI in Taranto (1944), moored next to a corvette of the APE class (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
Thus, on September 20th 1943, after 85 days at sea, the CAGNI entered Durban flying the Italian colors and with the crew manning the railing while the enemy presented them with military honors. Back in Taranto on January 1944, the boat was deployed to Palermo to perform training duty in support of the Allies.
The CAGNI was removed from service on February 1st, 1948 and scrapped soon after in accordance with the terms of the peace treaty, but the conning tower was spared to become a monument in perennial memory of the over 3,000 Italian submariners killed on duty aboard 87 boats between 1940 and 1945.
Notes: The DAGOMA was sunk in position 02 29N, 19W with the loss of 10 crewmembers. The remaining 23 were rescued. The ship was built in 1928 by McMillan & Sons of Dumbarton. L’ARGO, built in 1920 as the San Jose, was sunk in position 34 53S, 17 54E with 18 crewmembers lost and 18 saved.
