The submarine SAINT BON, as it was more simply called, was one of the four boats of the “Ammiragli” (Admirals) class, named after famous personalities of the Italian Navy: Saint Bon, Millo, Caracciolo, and Cagni. Of the four boats, only the last one would survive the war.
Designed for the “guerre de course” in far away oceans, these boats offered very high performances in range, weaponry, and dependability, performances today still exceptional for the diesel type submarine. This class was certainly the best built up to that time, and the fact that war needs force their use as transport submarines was a real squander.
The SAINT BON on the construction slip. (Photo Turrini)
The SAINT BON was built by the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone, near Gorizia and was laid down on September 16th, 1939. Launched on June 6th, 1940, it was officially delivered on March 1st, 1941, but it remained at the shipyard for alterations, including the replacement of the conning tower, too visible (as early war experience had demonstrated), with a smaller one of the type called “German”. It effectively did not enter service until June 12th, 1941.
Operational Life
After a brief period of training, the SAINT BON, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gustavo Miniero, was employed, as the other boats of the same class, in transport missions to North Africa where ammunitions and fuel were desperately needed. For these missions, the four submarines were fitted for the stowage of small fuel canisters.
The first mission called for the transport of 153 tons of gasoline to Bardia (Libya). Having left Taranto the night of the 10th of October, the night of the 12th at about 100 miles from Bardia and on the surface, the boat was attacked by an airplane, which was repulsed (and perhaps hit) by the sub’s weapons. After having disembarked the load and left for Taranto, on the 14th, the SAINT BON was again attacked at about 75 miles from Crete with another drop of bombs. Fortunately, this was also avoided. Between the 16 of November and the 21st of December, the boat completed other missions to Bardia, Derna and Benghazi.
The SAINT BON on May 3rd, 1941. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
During its last mission, the boat left Taranto on January 1942 with destination Tripoli with route north of Sicily and a load of over 155 tons of gasoline and ammunitions. The morning of the 5th, at 5:42, the SAINT BON was hit off Point Milazzo by one of the torpedoes launched by the British submarine UPHOLDER; one of the most active in the Mediterranean. The torpedo hit midship on the starboard side and caused the gasoline to explode. The boat sank rapidly taking along the whole crew but three men: Sub Lieutenant Luigi Cuomo, Sergeant Valentino Ceccon and Chief Torpedoman Ernesto Fiore, later picked up by the British submarine.
During its brief operational life, the SAINT BON completed five missions transporting a total of 700 tons of materiel.
Of the 12 planned, the submarine ROMOLO was one of the only two boats of the class “R” to be completed (the other one was the REMO).
These large submarines, the largest ever built by the Regia Marina, were capable of transporting 600 tons of material, and were specifically built for covert transport of goods of strategic interest (especially rubber) to the Far East. The need for this task surfaced during the war, and caused some of existing oceanic boats to be adapted for this purpose.
The submarine ROMOLO. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The construction of the 12 boats was assigned to three shipyards: 6 boats to TOSI of Taranto (they had developed the project), 3 to the C.R.D.A. of Monfalcone, near Gorizia, and 3 to the O.T.O of Muggiano, near La Spezia. Due to the urgent need for their use, the first two boats were completed in less than one year, while the other 10 were surprised by the armistice of September 8th, 1943 while they were still on the slips in advanced stage of completion. The Germans, who were in great need for such boats, captured the ones in Monfalcone and Muggiano and attempted to complete them, but none of these boats was actually completed.
The ROMOLO was built by the TOSI shipyard of Taranto and was laid down on July 21st, 1942, launched on March 21 1943, and delivered to the Regia Marina, along with the REMO, on June 19th of the same year.
Operational Life
Its operational life was, unfortunately, very brief. After a period of testing and training, reduced to the minimum for the already mention urgency, on July 15th 1943 (after less than a month after it had entered service), the ROMOLO under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alberto Crepas – a veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic with the ARGO – left Taranto for Naples. Thereafter, all contacts were lost.
Lieutenant Alberto Crepas (Photo from “Cento sommergibili non sono tornati” by Teucle Meneghini)
From British records, made available after the war, it appears that an aircraft of the R.A.F. probably attacked the boat in the early hours of the 18th of July, at 03:20 while the vessel was on the surface south east of Cape Spartivento, 15 miles of the Calabrese cost. The boat defended itself quite tenaciously with the on board machine guns, but it was hit, possibly by one of the five bombs dropped by the plane. Half-hour later, the boat was seen heading for the coastline on a 010° course and at low speed, while leaving behind a streak of diesel fuel. It later sank at around 05:50 without any survivor.
The submarine ROMOLO (Photo Turrini)
According to the Italian commission of enquiry which reviewed the event just described, the fact that none of the crewmembers survived, despite being so close to land, made them believe that the boat was not just lost due the damages caused by the bomb, but by the explosion of the batteries – which, maybe at the time of the attack were under charge, thus producing hydrogen, and also explaining why the boat was on the surface – or the ammunitions.
From information regarding spying activities, it appears that the Allies were aware of the departure from Taranto of the ROMOLO (as well as the twin boat the REMO, also lost three days earlier off Cape Alice victim of the British submarine UNITED), and had organized ambushes with submarines from Malta and airplanes based in Sicily (Comiso and Pachino).
All this because these Italian boats worried the Allies quite a bit, as much as to consider them a primary target because of what was being develop in Germany in the area of special projects (the so-called secret weapons), and their possible transfer to Japan following the Allies bombing of Peenemunde. Nevertheless, this possibility, although credible, is not reflected in the official Italian documentation.
It is sure, however, that at a crucial junction in the war, when the situation was collapsing (Italy was close to the fall of Fascism and less than two months from the armistice), there was great urgency to immediately utilize these boats. The Germans, who still did not have boats capable of long cruises (but were building them), pushed for having Italian boats in the Atlantic used between Bordeaux and Singapore, offering in exchange U-boats. The Italian could not comply because these submarines were needed to guarantee the traffic with Sardinia (led, copper, antimony) at the time when the Allied offensive in the Tyrrhenian was on the increase. This explains the haste in which these boats, following delivery to the Navy, were sent to Naples.
Of the 12 planned, the submarine REMO was one of the only two boats of the class “R” to be completed and which entered service; the other one was the ROMOLO. All the other boats were still on the slip when Italy signed the armistice (September 8th, 1943).
The submarine REMO on the slip (Photo Turrini)
These large submarines, the largest ever built by the Regia Marina, were capable of transporting 600 tons of material, and were specifically built for covert transport of goods of strategic interest (especially rubber) to the Far East. The need for this task surfaced during the war, and caused some of the existing oceanic boats to be adapted for this purpose.
The construction of the 12 boats was assigned to three shipyards: 6 boats to TOSI of Taranto (they had developed the project), 3 to the C.R.D.A. of Monfalcone, near Gorizia, and 3 to the O.T.O of Muggiano, near La Spezia. Due to the urgent need for their use, the first two boats were completed in less than one year, while the other 10 were surprised by the armistice of September 8th, 1943 while they were still on the slips in an advanced stage of completion. The Germans, who were in great need of such boats, captured the ones in Monfalcone and Muggiano and attempted to complete them, but none of these boats was actually completed.
The REMO was built by the TOSI shipyard of Taranto and was laid down on September 5th, 1942, launched on March 28 1943, and delivered to the Regia Marina, along with the ROMOLO, on June 19th of the same year.
Operational Life
Its operational life was, unfortunately, very brief as the boat completed only a few hours of navigation. After a period of testing and training, reduced to the minimum for the already mentioned urgency, on July 15th, 1943 (less than a month after it had entered service), the REMO under the command of Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Vassallo left Taranto for Naples.
The submarine REMO in port. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
At around 18:30, while the submarine was on the surface off Point Alice, it was hit by one of four torpedoes launched by the British submarine UNITED. Hit midship, the REMO sank in a few minutes in position 39°19’N, 17°30’E , 25 miles from the coast. Only four people survived, the three who were on the conning tower (amongst them Captain Vassallo), and Sergeant Dario Cortopassi who was able to come up from the control room.
From information regarding spying activities, it appears that the Allies were aware of the departure from Taranto of the REMO (as well as the twin boat the ROMOLO, also lost three days later off Cape Spartivento, hit by bombs of a RAF aircraft), and had organized ambushes with submarines from Malta and airplanes based in Sicily (Comiso and Pachino).
All this because these Italian boats worried the Allies quite a bit, as much as to consider them a primary target because of what was being developed in Germany in the area of special projects (the so-called secret weapons), and their possible transfer to Japan following the Allied bombing of Peenemunde. Nevertheless, this possibility, although credible, is not reflected in the official Italian documentation.
It is sure, however, that at a crucial junction in the war, when the situation was collapsing (Italy was close to the fall of Fascism and less than two months from the armistice), there was great urgency to immediately utilize these boats. The Germans, who still did not have boats capable of long cruises (but were building them), pushed for having Italian boats in the Atlantic used between Bordeaux and Singapore, offering in exchange U-boats. The Italians could not comply because these submarines were needed to guarantee the traffic with Sardinia (lead, copper, antimony) at the time when the Allied offensive in the Tyrrenhian was on the increase. This explains the haste in which these boats, following delivery to the Navy, were sent to Naples.
In March 1941, the submarine Perla left Massaua, Eritrea when this Italian base was going to be reached by the final British offensive. Violating a British naval blockade, and after a long journey, the submarine reached the Atlantic base of Bordeaux.
During the second half of February 1941, the Italian naval supreme command decided to transfer the last four submarines still operational in the Red Sea from the base in Massaua, Eritrea to Bordeaux, France. This decision was fully supported by Duke Amedeo D’Aosta, supreme commander of the Italian forces in East Africa and by the local naval command, and it was made when the military fate of the Italian empire began to worsen without any possibility of recovery. At the end on 1940, after having breached the southern front at Giuba, the stronghold of Galla Sidama, the northern front with Sudan, the Italian defensive ring of Kurmuk, Gallabat, Kassala-Agordat e Karora, the overwhelming British land forces (supported from the air and the sea) from Kenya, the Sudan, and Aden (Yemen) began spreading inside the Italian Empire threatening its vital centers.
The submarine Perla in Massawa, Eritrea while in a dry-dock
Even though the Italian forces had momentarily halted the British offensive in Cheren (an Italian stronghold which resisted over two months, from January 31st to March 27th behind enemy infantry and armored forces), the Italian supreme command in Rome became cognizant of the severity of the situation, and also of the danger in which the Italian naval squadron in Massawa would found itself. If the British forces were going to, as they eventually did, bypass the obstacle of Cheren and reach the nearby town of Asmara (connected to Massawa by a rail line and a paved road) the small but combative Italian squadron of the Red Sea would have had to be scuttled.
Based on these considerations, it was decided to allow the surface and submarine units to attempt to run away and reach friendly or neutral ports. The submarine Perla, under the command of Bruno Napp, an officer from Trieste, and three other units (Archimede, Galilei, Ferraris, and Guglielmotti) were ordered to set sail and reach the German-occupied French coast. Theoretically, the submarine could have utilized ships supporting the German submarines operating in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
The Perla was a submarine of medium displacement belonging to the so-called “600” class. The boat, a successful submarine under an engineering viewpoint, displaced 695 t. on the surface and 855 t submerged. It was substantially smaller that the three Oceanic submarines (the Archimede and Guglielmotti had a displacement of 1,266 t, while the Ferraris had 1,259 t.) which had a much greater range (between 9,000 to 10,300 miles at 7-8 knots). The larger boats were let go one after another after the Perla, but they reached Bordeaux 20 days ahead of the smaller unit. During the long voyage, the Guglielmotti, Archimede and Ferraris navigated without stopping, and refueling at sea only once, while the Perla refueled twice.
Only sixteen days after the beginning of the hostilities, the boat was almost lost when it ran aground on a coral reef near Dancalia, in the Red Sea. The Perla departed from Massaua at 5:30 AM on March 1st, 1941 under strict orders not to engage any enemy unit during the transfer. For the records, this was the first time that a submarine of the “600” class was attempting such an endeavor, considered difficult even for boats with much larger hulls. Nevertheless, due to the quality of the hull and the engines (repaired as best as possible after the unit had run aground) and the extraordinary seamanship of Captain Napp and his crew of 38 well-trained sailors, who had never experienced such a long journey before., the Perla covered 13,100 miles in 81 days establishing a record for the class.
The journey did not start auspiciously; at the first twilight the Perla, still on the surface, was located and attacked by a British bomber Bristol Blenheim from Aden. With a very rapid dive, the Italian boat was able to avoid a couple of 110 Kg bombs, and it proceed at full speed toward the Strait of Perim, reemerging only several hours later (at 13:15) to be once again intercepted by another bomber which failed its target by a very few yards, while inside the boat the crew were cursing their bad luck. Unfortunately for the Perla bad luck had just started. After 45 minutes under water, Napp decided to surface, and for a third time he was attacked by three British aircraft determined to sink the little “nutshell” made in Italy. Incredibly, the Perla once again avoided danger, reacheing the 40-meter bottom of the ocean where it came to rest for safety. Napp decided to surface only after a few hours, leaving the Red Sea behind him for good.
Crossing the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, the Italian boat finally entered the Indian Ocean taking course toward Cape Guardafui (easternmost point of Somalia) which was reached without problems. Thanks to the excellent weather conditions, navigation went on without any problem, and on the 11th the boat passed in front of Mogadishu, to then abandon the Somali coast and direct toward Madagascar, the large island that Commander Napp, contrary to what the other three boats did, decided to navigate along the rough eastern coastline.
The German raider Atlantis
This decision, apparently unintelligent, was made because the Perla was to meet a German raider to bunker(the famous Atlantis which since several months earlier, was devastating British surface ships), and receive water and supplies. On the 12th, after having sighted an American ship of the American Export Line (a sighting which made the Perla prudently choose to dive) the boat entered an area plagued by uncertain weather conditions. On the 17th, Commander Napp and his crew had to face a violent storm with swells of seven to eight meters. Despite being shaken like a twig, the Perla was able to keep its course and continue, even though slowly, on a southerly course.
The combative commander Rogge
On March 20th, the Perla sailed by the southernmost point of eastern Madagascar in foul weather conditions, reaching five days later the prearranged meeting point for the transfer of diesel fuel and supplies from the German raider Atlantis which did not show up. Almost left without fuel, Commander Napp was forced to wait stationary, a situation this quite dangerous in an area of gale-like winds. On the 28th at 17:15 Atlantis finally showed up on the horizon (it was traveling as the Greek ship Tamesis). Moored next to the ship, Napp went aboard to thank the combative commander Rogge, who proposed to the Italian officer to complete some joint operations against British traffic. Napp, who had received very strict orders from Supermarina, (especially forbidding him to engage enemy units during the difficult transfer mission) graciously turned down the offer giving the necessary explanation to the German officer.
At the end of the war, captain Rogge sarcastically commented about Napp’s refusal stupidly assuming the “Italian reluctance to face the enemy”. During the refueling operations, German and Italian sailors fraternized, and in a few hours Atlantis provided the Perla with fuel, drinking water, food, drugs, and comfort goods. All took place very quickly, and at 18:00 the Italian submarine disconnected the mooring and continued its journey taking a westerly course. On April 7th, the Perla was ready to cross Cape Good Hope when it sighted a steamship and dived. On the 8th, after the last storm, the Perla left the Indian Ocean to enter the Atlantic on a northwesterly course.
On the 40th day at sea, April 22nd, Napp’s vessels reached with the usual delay the second German supply ship, this time a tanker (the famous Northmark). The meeting took place a few degrees south of the Tropic of Capricorn, between the islands of Tristan and Cunha and St. Elena. Filled to the gills with diesel fuel, the Perla continued its navigation toward Capo Verde. On April 30th, the submarine crossed the equator and a few days later sailed past the western shores of the Islands of Capo Verde. At this point, two-thirds into the journey, the hull and equipment of the small submarine began showing signs of wear and tear. Nevertheless, Napp’s sailors were able to make the necessary repairs to valves, pipes, and ballast tanks. On the 3rd of May, Napp was forced into a crash dive to avoid being sighted by a British ship which had suddenly appeared on the horizon.
Four days later, mechanical failures started again, this time much more serious ones. At 03:00 the starboard diesel engine stopped after failure on one of the connecting rods of the air compressor, while the other engine also stopped after the jets got clogged. Napp did not get discouraged and put his men immediately to work. After 20 hours of hard work, almost by a miracle, the damages were repaired and the engines were started once again.
The Perla while entering the ‘Bassin à Flot’ of Bordeaux (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The adventure continued; off the Azores a new alarm and yet another dive, while the crew barely avoided being intercepted by an unidentified armed ship. Tension and fatigue began to weigh on Commander Napp’s men, but this was to be the last encounter. In the late afternoon of the 14th of May, passing Cape Finisterre, the Perla pointed decisively toward the French coast arriving in sight of Bordeaux on the 18th. Escorted by a German vessels, the patched up and smoky (the diesel engines were exhausted) submarine entered the estuary of the Gironde, docking at the submarine docks around 16:00 on May 19th.
Captain Napp and his crew in Bordeaux
Once ashore, Napp and his crew were welcomed by a German and Italian honor guard, and the enthusiasm of the submarine crew present at the base. These were seamen who understood and respected the endeavor just completed by the young men of the Perla. The day after, congratulatory telegrams rained from Rome and Berlin. The first were those of Admiral Riccadi and Supermarina, and also his illustrious colleague Admiral Reader.
The Perla in Beirut after its capture (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On July 9th, 1942 The Perla was intercepted off the port of Beirut by the British corvette Hyacinth. Seriously damaged by depth charges, the boat was forced to the surface and fell into enemy hands. Towed to the Lebanese port, the Perla was repaired and renamed P.712. In 1943 it was transferred to the Greek Navy where it served until 1947
The submarine Otaria was originally built by the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone on behalf of the Portuguese Navy and assigned the name “Espadante” as part of a process of deep reorganization and modernization of the Iberian country’s Navy. The Otaria belonged to a class of only two units, the other submarine being the Glauco, and designed by Curio Bernardis on the basis of the experience acquired with the Squalo class.
The OTARIA in 1935 just before delivery to the Italian Navy (Photo Turrini)
Eventually, upon the cancellation of the contract by the Portuguese, the Italian Navy took over ownership, receiving the unit on October 20th, 1935. Upon completing the initial shake down and testing, the Otaria was assigned, along with the sister unit Glauco, to the IV Submarine Group based in Taranto. In late summer 1936, both units were then transferred to Naples. Between 1936 and August 1937, the unit completed three missing as part of Italy’s backing of Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War. Despite having completed one attack against a light unit, there were no registered successes. A year later, in 1938, both units were transferred to the Red Sea to join the Massaua submarine flotilla.
Having returned to Italy, at the beginning of the conflict the Otaria was assigned to patrol areas in the western Mediterranean. Soon after, the unit was selected as one of the boats to be relocated to the newly established Atlantic submarine base of Bordeaux. Departure took place on September 23rd under the command of Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe Vocaturno. Five days later, on the 28th, the Otaria began the crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar in adverse sea conditions and with great phosphorescence (luminosity of the sea water). Due to a failure with the hydraulic system, maneuvers took place utilizing the manual override for both the rudder and planes. This would be the first of many breakdowns this submarine and its crew would have to endure. Soon after, the crew began noticing waterways around the periscope gaskets and one of the propeller shafts. Despite the sudden and continue loss of depth, and mostly thanks to the complete absence of British patrols, the Otaria was able to cross the strait. Having consumed much more fuel than expected and with a diving depth limited to 30 meters due to the aforementioned infiltrations, the captain opted to abort his patrol mission and on September 30th headed directly for Bordeaux where the boat arrived on October 6th.
After a few days for refitting and to perform temporary repairs (the base was not yet fully equipped), the Otaria was once again sent on patrol leaving base on October 14th as part of the “Malaspina” group along with the Malaspina itself, Dandolo and Barbarigo. Three days later, while en route off the coast of Ireland, there was an encounter with a British Sunderland described in the mission report:
We sighted a plane coming out of a cloud at close distance (2 to 3,000 meters) moving in the opposite direction. Judging a dive too dangerous due to the [short] distance, we increased speed and since the plane did not respond to our signals, we opened fire. As soon as I saw the plane fixed on our direction and getting closer, I turned full rudder thus getting away from the launching path and, as soon as they were closer, we opened fire with two machine guns observing the plane being hit several times. The airplane, a Short Sunderland, repeated the same attack maneuver which we avoided with continuous turns and precise use of machine gun [fire]. I noticed that by turning at the last minute, in addition to giving the gunners a better target, the airplane could not follow our change of direction. During the exchange of fire, a bullet hit and destroyed the protection shield of the radio-finding antenna. The attack continued for 22 minutes and when the plane was hit at very close range (200 to 300 meters) by our machine guns, it suddenly lost altitude and veered away from us. Since we were heading the opposite direction, I ordered a crash dive limiting our depth to 40 meters until a safety plug could be installed to stop water infiltrations from the broken direction finding antenna. While submerged, we heard three loud explosions coming from the direction of the airplane which made us believe that they were getting rid of their load of bombs.
From the 23rd of October onward, the Otaria continued patrolling off the western coast of Ireland while the weather was particularly foul, causing the malfunction of the two upper torpedo tube launchers both forward and aft. Furthermore, both the hydraulic system used to elevate the periscope and the one controlling the rudder kept failing. From the end of October until the first few days of November, the boat sighted 4 ships and a tanker, but due to the impossible weather conditions an attack could not be even contemplated. On the 5th, at night, Captain Vocaturno launched two torpedoes against a large passenger ship which was proceeding with all lights obscured; there were no hits. On the 9th, while already on its return voyage to Bordeaux, the crew sighted an aircraft carrier escorted by three destroyers of which they lost sight very quickly, but for which they were able to send a discovery signal which was picked up by the Marconi.
Happy times: part of the crew of the Otaria (Photo courtesy Raccolta Romolo Maddaleni)
After the miserable patrol, the boat reached port on November 15th. The missing highlighted the inadequacy of the Glauco class design for patrol in the northern hemisphere: the conning tower was too visible, the exposed part of the hull too vulnerable to damage, and most of all, speed never exceeded 10 knots.
Sergeant Torpedoman Guido Maddaleni one of the crewmembers of the Otaria (Photo courtesy Raccolta Romolo Maddaleni)
After a period of refitting, the Otaria was once again sent on patrol leaving Bordeaux on January 24th, 1941 as part of the “Baracca” group along with the Baracca itself, Morosini, and Dandolo. Soon after departure, the boat began experiencing serious mechanical failures, including one with the hydraulic system used to control planes and rudder, the valves controlling the ballast tanks and dive tanks. Unable to fix these problems at sea, the boat returned to base arriving on February 1st.
After repairs, the Otaria was assigned to a mission off the coast of Ireland to be conducted in concert with the German ally and under the directives of B.d.U. (Befehlshaber der U-Boote). The boat was part of a deployment group which included U-boats and aerial reconnaissance by the Luftwaffe. The Otaria left port on February 2nd reaching its patrol area on the 13th and remaining there through the 24th. The events that took place during these few days are very confusing and still the object of much historical review.
On February 19th, the Luftwaffe signaled the presence of a convoy of about 30 ships, probably OB.288. During the events that followed, Italian and German submarines alike attacked the convoy, thus creating great confusion in regard to credits for the sinking. Confirmation of the fact that this area was full of submarines is given by the sighting of a periscope made on the 22nd of February by the Bianchi (57° 55’N, 17° 40’W). It is assumed that this could have been the periscope of the Marcello which, faced with intense antisubmarine activity, was lost in circumstances to this day unclear. The Otaria returned to Bordeaux on March 1st without having achieved any notable result.
On May 6th, another patrol began, this time as part of the “Morosini” group which included the Morosini itself along with the Bianchi and Barbarigo and again for a patrol in the North Atlantic. The boat reached the patrol area on the 10th, remaining there for 10 days. Differently from the previous missions, this time the Otaria was able to actively participate in the fight. Even during the transfer voyage the crew had sighted a motor ship, but the great difference in speed made any attack improbable. On the 10th, after having launched a torpedo against a destroyer, the Otaria was subsequently attacked by two aircrafts which swept the conning tower with machine gun fire killing three crewmembers. On the 11th, there was another torpedo launch against a ship which, possibly damaged, disappeared in a squall.
While in the patrol area, the Otaria was directed by Betasom to attack a convoy previously sighted by the Bianchi. Having failed to do so, on the 15th the unit was relocated, along with the Morosini, Bianchi and Malaspina to a different area. Soon after, the Morosini and Malaspina, having spent their fuel, began the return voyage to base while the Bianchi, Barbarigo (which had just arrived) and Otaria were relocated further north. During this phase, one of the propeller shafts failed, leaving the submarine to operate with only one engine. On the 19th, while the crew was still attempting a summary repair, the lookouts sighted the smoke of a convoy of about 23 ships escorted by 6 light units. This was SL.73, a slow convoy from Sierra Leone to Great Britain. Despite the handicap, the captain moved on conducting a courageous attack described in the mission report.
May 19th, 1941
08:30 While we were lifting the ball bearing of the right propeller shaft, we sighted smoke on the horizon far enough to leave us in doubt whether it may be clouds. We stopped the repairs and turned toward the smoke.
10:00 Smoke and masts are quite clearly defined indicating a convoy escorted by several destroyers bearing 60°. We proceed to bring ourselves to a better viewpoint. At about 18,000 k. bearing 35° true north we conformed a convoy of 24 ships on about three columns escorted from behind and from the sides by 3 destroyers and 3 corvettes for anti-submarine protection.
The convoy is at 350° off our bow. I cannot consider getting ahead of the convoy in daylight since my engines smoke copiously and, having interrupted the repairs on the left propeller shaft, I don’t know how much speed I may safely rely on.
I then head for the rear of the convoy with the intention of getting ahead of it at night.
22:00 We remain all day in sight of the convoy up to seeing the masts, but pulling back each time we started seeing funnels. From this viewpoint, we see that the convoy is made up of a ship of small displacement (2-3,000 t.) and only two larger cargo ships in the middle column toward the head of the convoy where the escort performs particular surveillance. About every 4 hours, from the main body of the convoy, a destroyer takes off to patrol the rear up to 5 miles away from the last unit. It is necessary to prevent the maneuver by rapidly reverting course. The convoy does not zigzag. The various observations confirm that the bearing varies at the most 10° off the main course.
22:10 I begin moving starboard of the convoy to get ahead of it. We sight a reconnaissance biplane on anti-submarine patrol. We dive and very far away and not directed at us, we hear the sound of explosions. We stay submerged for 1 hour and 25 minutes. While submerged, we pick up, still onto our bow, the convoy’s smoke. At sunset, the situation is as follows:
The convoy continues on course 65°. The submarine (with the starboard ball bearing overheating, and the portside propeller shaft leaking) is about 20 miles starboard of the convoy.
May 20th, 1941
Since we are much to the left of the convoy, I turn 90° to reach the convoy whether its course might be between 0° to 90°.
00:13 Full force ahead. After 5 minutes at this speed the main valve of the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipes spew many sparks, which make the stern very visible.
We must slow down. Visibility is mediocre with scattered clouds which make the horizon visibility variably good.
3:30 We sight the bows’ shadows of the convoy and we head toward it.
0:40 We start distinguishing the shapes of the ships. The convoy continues proceeding with bearing 60° on three columns. I discard the idea of attacking the smaller ships to the side and I move toward the center of the convoy where the two larger ships are located. To their sterns, I sight smaller silhouettes, lower and faster which I assume to be destroyers and corvettes for anti-submarine patrol. To their sides, on both sides, another three silhouettes which go back and forth from the stern of the last larger ship to 45° ahead of the convoy. The formation is kept quite badly. The ships are not perfectly aligned one to the other and the patrol boats on the right were cutting over between the second and third column.
Once again, I discard the idea of attacking the smaller ship I have to my bow (2-3,000 t.) and I pass by its stern to attack the two larger ships. Crossing between the first and second column, I slowly catch up with the ships since being on parallel course our gain is minimal.
0:15 We are to the bow of the second ship and about 600 meters. We start turning starboard but we are fading too much by the stern, thus we slow down the turn to bring ourselves more toward the bow up to finding the boat 45° to the bow with bearing 150 at 450 meters.
4:20 Two torpedoes are released. I start turning starboard, but aware that to our stern some smaller silhouettes are moving toward us, I turn full rudder portside. First we hear a thump and we see, by the bow of the ship, a large column of water. A few seconds later, we hear a second hit and we see a large flare. The ship stops, whistles, bends toward the center and launches a flare sending out twice the signal “SSS n. 14 torpedoed”.
We move on to attack the second ship but noticed the three destroyers by the bow which had reverted course and are coming toward us. I turn more portside because I am sure not to have been sighted but I am thus unable to conduct the second attack. When I believe to be safe from the three destroyers, which have lit a blue projector, three subsequent illuminating rockets are sent in our direction, lighting us in full. The engines, which I have ordered full speed ahead, smoke and spark making a perfect reference point. The destroyers point toward us. We crash dive going down to 80 meters. As soon as we are submerged, I sense that the left propeller shaft lost the seal which we had to be tide down up to touch [ the ball bearing] and that the right ball bearing is overheating. We are forced to turn on the pumps to lighten the boat.
The hydrophones, in addition to the sounds from the convoy, distinctively pick up various sounds of turbines [destroyers] and motors [corvettes] which go away, come back and at times stop. After about 15 minutes of total silence, I decide to resurface to attack the convoy. While we are at 50 meters, the hydrophone picks up a turbine approaching. We move again back to 80 meters. At this depth, the sound of propellers passing above us is clearly heard, and a few seconds later, 4 extremely loud explosions, one by the bow, two toward the center, and one by the stern shake the boat.
The lights go off, all light bulbs break, the hydraulic pump stops, the levels shatter in a thousand pieces, the gauges’ hands go off scale. We move to manual controls. All the remaining equipment stopped: compass, power converter, etc. Nothing is working. From the rear compartment, I am informed that the seal of the left axel came off due to the explosion. In such conditions, I decide to return to base and move south using the life boat emergency compass.
I ordered the portside axel stopped and the pudding retainer pushed to the maximum. I kept the boat down by the stern so that the water in the rear bilges would not spill into the electric motors.
I took the boat down between 80 and 110 meters. The hydrophones once again indicated that the destroyers had stopped, up to the point when one of the moved full force ahead toward us. The rudder was already turned, so we pushed the portside propeller full force ahead.
Four new explosions shook the submarine causing a large water way from the compass repeaters and some minor leaks around the battery hold hatch. The explosions followed regularly, but the forth time around moved away quite rapidly. The situation was grave.
The boat was in the following conditions:
The portside axel is stopped to reduce water infiltrations which was nevertheless considerable (700 liters per hour). The starboard axel was overheating and could only be used seldom while cooling it down. High air pressure inside the hull due to a leak from one of the valves. Gyro stopped and magnetic compass unreadable. Bilges full of water and spilling over. Unable to use the asset pump due to the explosions.
For an hour, we remain around 100 and 112 meters quietly moving water and personnel from aft forward, alternating the use of the motor, and with a partial release from one of the tanks.
07:45 The main tank were empty, the bilges were spilling over the right axel ball bearing reached an unsustainable temperature. Fortunately, the hydrophones indicated that the destroyers were moving away.
08:30 I order the thermal engine readied, called the gunners to station, and while I kept the battle flag ready, I blew the tanks. As soon as the hatch was opened, I noticed that the horizon is quite narrow due to the presence of strong and low clods and fog. I ordered the diesel engine started and I moved away full force ahead. During the day, we made some emergency repairs to the damaged equipment. The bombs caused the breakage of the safety and protection glass of both periscopes. In such conditions, I decided to return to base and I turn south using the portable compass.
May 23rd, 1941
Still on my way back to base, we sighted a dingy with two men aboard. After a difficult maneuver, due to the condition of the sea, I took aboard two shipwrecked sailors, survivors of the 39 crewmembers of a French ship sunk with the gun by a british submarine, eather K26 or K36.
Signed C.C. Giuseppe VOCATURO
The ship in question was the “Starcross” the only vessel of the Exmouth Steamship Co. Ltd, a 4,662 t. steamship built in 1936 by the J L Thompson & Son shipyard of North Sand, Sunderland. The vessel, damaged beyond repair by the two torpedoes, but still afloat, was later sunk by the escort after the 40 crewmembers were rescued. According to the British report, this attack took place in position 51° 45’ N, 20° 45’ W. Due to the very precarious conditions, the submarine began the return voyage to base arriving in Bordeaux around the 24th of May, but not without first having saved, just off the Gironde, two French fishermen, only survivors of the fishing boat “Notre Dame de Chatelet” sunk by a British submarine.
(Photo courtesy Raccolta Romolo Maddaleni)
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 Otaria (the other boats were the Argo, Dandolo, Veniero, Brin, Mocenigo, Velella, Emo, Otaria, Perla, and the Guglielmotti).
The Otaria left La Pallice on September 7th and, while approaching the Strait of Gibraltar, was sighted by light enemy units and attacked with depth charges which did not cause any damage. The crossing began at 1:30 AM on the 14th, navigating on the surface in excellent weather conditions and a waning moon. Around Cape Malabata, 6 miles east of Tangier, Morocco the submarine dove reemerging away from the highly patrolled area and well into the Mediterranean. Uneventfully, the Otaria arrived in Naples on September 19th to begin the grueling routing of transport missions and small patrol in the dangerous home waters. December 14th, 1941, laden with 11 tons of foodstuff, the boat left Naples arriving in Bardia on the 19th from which it left the same day. Upon arriving in Taranto, on the 24th of the same month, Captain Vocaturno passed command to Lieutenant Alberto Gorini, while his second in command, Lieutenant Amendolia became the commanding officer of the submarine Finzi.
From January 1st to mid April, the Otaria was assigned to the submarine school in Pula where it completed 16 training patrols to prepare new crews. In May 1942, it was sent back to Taranto. The same month, from the 4th to the 20th, it was on patrol north of Cape Caxine. In June, from the 13th to the 18th, the boat was sent on patrol off the Algerian coast where, on the 13th, it was attacked by a British Sunderland which was repelled by the intense fire of the submarine’s 13.2 mm Bredas. Two days later, having sighted an enemy formation, it failed to get close enough for a launch; eventually it returned to Cagliari.
The grueling routine continued with another patrol from June 29th through July 19th south of the Balearic Islands. In August the boat was once again off the Algerian coast until Midsummer Day. Thereafter, it returned to Cagliari and from there it was sent to Taranto for repair work requiring a better equipped base.
After a long period of refitting, several transport missions followed for a total of 119.6 tons of war materiel ferried to North Africa, including 63 tons of gasoline, 45 tons of ammunitions and 11 tons of foodstuff. In February, having assessed that the efficiency of the boat had greatly diminished, the submarine command sent the Otaria back to Pula where it completed another 79 training patrols.
On the day of the Italian unconditional surrender (September 8th, 1943), the Otaria was in Fiume (Istria). Following orders, it moved to Taranto to surrender. Instead, it was rerouted to Augusta from where the British authorities ordered the boat to Malta. On October 6th, the Otaria returned to Italy and was assigned to Taranto (under British occupation) where it was used as a training target until the end of the conflict. Soon after, it was removed from service and later sent to the junkyard. It was the end of a long operational life for which the Otaria had only a single sinking to its credit.
The Nani was one of the 11 boats of the “Marcello” class, one of the best produced by the Italian shipyards. Despite having entered service only in 1938, by 1941 the submarine was already worn out, proof of the intense efforts the Italian oceangoing boats had to endure, and to which corresponded the extreme sacrifices of the crews.
Operational Life
In the brief period between the outbreak of hostilities and its loss in 1941 for unknown reasons, the submarine Nani completed 6 missions under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gioacchino Polizzi, sinking 2 merchant ships for a total of 1,939 t.
The Nani with other boats of the MARCELLO class (Photo Giuseppe Carotenuto)
At the beginning of the hostilities (June 10th, 1940 for Italy), the Nani was part of the 22nd squadron of the 2nd group based in Naples. In preparation for the conflict, the boat was on patrol off Cape Bengut (Algeria), along with the Barbarigo, positioned 30 miles off the cost. After having failed to sight any vessel, the boat left the area on June 13th.
Soon after, the Nani was assigned to a new patrol area as part of a group, which included the Bandiera, Ascianghi and Santarosa. The Nani assumed its position on June 24th, 15 miles east of Port Mahon (Minorca). As for the many other boats that participated in this action, the Nani failed to make any contact, and eventually the boat returned to base.
The Nani at the shipyard while recharging the batteries (Photo USMM)
A third, and last patrol in the Mediterranean took place during the second half of July. The Nani, along with the Morosini, Faa di Bruno and Berillo, took position east of Gibraltar between July 15th and July 23rd. The Nani was assigned an area between Gibraltar and Cape Guillates (Morocco) and it was the west most boat in the formation. Between the 18th and the 22nd of July, the crew sighted several light units, but Captain Polizzi did not have any opportunity to conduct an attack. On the 22nd, after having sighted a large destroyer, Captain Polizzi launched two torpedoes, which failed to hit the target. This attack took place at 3:00 AM, 12 miles SE of Point Europa.
The Nani in Venice. The Campanile is visible above the bow (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
In September, the boat was ordered to the Atlantic departing Naples on the 29th of the same month. During the transfer, on October 5th, the submarine intercepted and sank the British armed trawler “Kingstone Shappire” of 356 t. Trawlers were high sea fishing boats built before the war and meant to be rapidly transformed into gunboats. In general, they were designed for harbor defense duties, but newer units were transformed into submarine chasers, while other into minesweepers. In 1939, the Royal Navy established the 5th Group in Mediterranean with 5 units. Thereafter, following operational orders, the boat patrolled off Madeira where, on the 27th intercepted and sank the small Swedish ship “Maggie” of 1,583 t. in service to the British. Confirmation of this ship’s service for the British is given by its participation in convoy HM 19 from Norway to Scotland in March 1940. Finally, on November 4th the vessel reached its final destination navigating up the Gironde to the new base of Bordeaux.
On December 13th, the Nani left the fluvial port of Bordeaux to begin the dangerous navigation down the river Gironde. Reached the Atlantic, the boat had to endure terrible weather conditions and the second in command and a gunner were seriously injured by a massive weave forcing the captain to return to port, where they arrived on the 17th to disembark the wounded personnel. During the transfer from La Pallice to Bordeaux along the river Gironde, the submarine was attacked by a British aircraft which, after a fierce gun battle, was downed. The pause in Bordeaux was brief; having replaced the wounded personnel, the Nani was again at sea on the 20th to resume its patrol West of Ireland.
Due to the delay in leaving port, the Nani was ordered the shortest route to the operational area. On January 3rd, Betasom received the last radio signal. Despite several attempts to re-establish communication, the boat never replied to the many calls that followed.
Chief 2nd Class Gennaro Gagliano of Praiano, Salerno who perished aboard the Nani (Photo Michele Esposito)
Chief 2nd Class classe Francesco Mattiuzzi who also perished aboard the Nani (Photo Gian Ugo Mattiuzzi)
Machinist’s Mate Carlo Cappiello of Marina di Cassano, Piano di Sorrento (Naples) who perished aboard the Nani (Photo Giuseppe Carotenuto)
After the end of the conflict, British authorities claimed the sinking of the Nani in position 60° 15’ N, 15° 27 W (South East of Ireland) to the corvette Anemone. Italian navel authorities doubted the accuracy of this claim based on several factors. First, the position would have been 330 miles off the originally assigned patrol area, second even if Captain Polizzi had chased a convoy so far north, it would have been unlikely that other boats in the area had not also detected its presence. German war records indicate that four u-boats, U-38, U-95, U-105, and U-124 were just south of the area in question. None intercepted or chased a convoy.
Additional notes
It should be reasonable to assume that the Nani was lost due to unknown circumstances, possibly foul weather, between the date of the last radio signal (January 3rd) and the last possible date for its return to base (February 20th).
The submarine Naiade was one of the boats of the 600 class, series Sirena, built by the C.R.D.A. shipyard of Monfalcone in 1931. Delivered to the Regia Marina on November 16th, 1933, at the beginning of the conflict it was assigned to the 61st Sq., VI Group based in Tobruk. In June 1940, the Naiade was one of the boats assigned to a patrol organized by MARICOSOM (Navy Submarine Command) off Solum and in which also participated the Lafolè, Diamante and Topazio. In the course of this action, on June 20th, the Diamante was sunk off Tobruk by the British submarine Parthian.
One of the rare photos of the NAIADE (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The Naiade was assigned to a patrol area not too far from the British naval base of Alexandria, about 40 miles NW of the base when, on June 12th, it sighted a convoy made of barges and escorted by a gunboat. The captain, Lieutenant Luigi Baroni, attempted an attack on the surface with the deck gun, but the shells in the ready-to-use stowage on deck were damaged due to sea water infiltrations. Thus, having become the unwilling recipient of the enemy’s fire, the captain wisely decided to dive.
The same night, around 10 PM, the Naiade sighted a large tanker which was attacked with torpedoes. Of the three weapons ejected, one had an irregular course, but the other two hit the target causing the sinking of the Norwegian Orkanger of 8,029 t in position 31 42 N, 28 50 E.
This motor tanker built in 1928 by the shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de la Seine Maritime Worms in France and belonging to the shipping company Westfal-Larsen & Co. of Bergen had been previously attacked and hit at 5:00 AM by a single torpedo launched by the submarine Nereide under the command of Lieutenant Mario Spano. With the sinking of the tanker 4 crewmembers lost their lives. After a systematic hunt conducted by the enemy, the Naiade returned to base on June 15th.
The boat returned to action in August with a patrol off Crete between the 10th and the 16th along with the Balilla. Both boats failed to detect any traffic of interest and returned to base.
In December, now under the command of Liutenant Pietro Notarbartolo, the Naiade was on patrol with the Neghelli and the Narvalo again off the port of Alexandria. The boat was assigned to an area 45 miles from Sidi el Barrani where, on the 14th, it sighted intense enemy activity. Around 7:40 PM, thus during the night, the captain began an attack maneuver with the periscope steering towards some of the units detected by the boat’s hydrophones. Meantime, British units, alerted by sonar detection, were already aware of the submarine’s presence. Soon after, the boat was centered by a cluster of depth charges which caused serious damages. Unable to remain underwater, at 8:30 PM the boat broke surface and then began self-destructing. In the freezing waters surrounding the submarine the British destroyers HMS Hyperion and Hereward (both H class units) were already waiting.
R.T Artemio Mancini war diary (Photo courtesy Cristian Romagnolo )
During this action sailor Gaetano Francoforte lost his life, but let radioman Artemio Mancini, one of the survivors, tell us the story:
Struck in full, smashed, we opened our eyes into the most sorrowful darkness and facing to the most horrendous destiny. By then, a sense of ill fate had taken over our souls and inexorably, it seemed to stretch us its jaws.
Under the light of a battery, we looked at the depth manometers; they had been broken by the awful explosion! But the voice of the commander was still firm, incisive and this revived us all: fifty submariners are never intimidated, but that was too much.
Our submarine, stricken in full by a launch of five depth charges, was spinning fast toward the abyss. There wasn’t much left to do and even I understood this while holding a hand to my heart and murmuring “mother”. My throat turned into a knot.
The irate voice of the commander awoke us all, but then an awful dipping of bow made us lose our last hope: “blow the tanks!” His voice, veiled of weeping and anger, raced through all the compartments and was lost into a macabre echo. The submarine bow’s surged upward, went strait up, and suddenly by the listing we realized that we had broke surface.
One by one, we escaped through the conning tower’s hatch and, once on deck, were welcomed by the angered meow of machineguns and shots from the cannons of the destroyers surrounding us. The commander understood that its duty was to help the crew, and after having opened the kingstones, he came on deck and began his mission.
The submarine, slowly, sunk into the sea while we look for shelter aboard two lifeboats lowered into the sea by the destroyers. What we had to face was a horrible scene: the sailors from aboard the lifesavers were hitting with rows and the buts of their guns the unfortunate ones who had gotten too close. I would prefer not to talk about this as to these days my heart skips a bit and a quiver grips me the throat.
To be more agile, I removed all of my cloths but a blue sweater. Soon after, the submarine, as if she was giving us her last regards, reappeared by the stern and then sunk forever.
During its brief operational life, the Naiade completed 8 patrols (both war and training) for a total of 48 days at sea covering 4,508 miles on the surface and 818 submerged.
Of the two British vessels involved in this action, H.M.S. Hyperion would have a very short life sinking a few days later, on the 22nd, off Pantelleria after having hit an Italian mine. HMS Hereward was instead sunk by German and Italian bombers off Creta on May 29th, 1941.
At the outbreak of the hostilities, the submarine Morosini was already in position off Cape Palos, Spain. During the night of the 15th of June, it located a small vessel presumed French, which was attacked without success. The following day, it sighted a large convoy escorted by several smaller naval units, but mostly due to the large distance between the boat and the targets, failed to reach a position suitable for an attack. On the 21st, it sighted a medium size merchantman against which it launched a torpedo at a short distance; still it failed to hit the target, most probably due to the adverse meteorological conditions. As it will be soon discovered in the Atlantic, torpedoes do not perform well in large swells.
In July, the Morosini was again at sea, this time to patrol the area between Cape of Gata (Almeria) and Cape Tres Forcas (Morocco). Once back to base, the boat was transferred to the shipyard for special refitting work in preparation for an assignment to the newly established submarine base of Bordeaux, in France. The Morosini belonged to the “II Gruppo”, “XXII Squadriglia” based in Naples, along with the Barbarigo, Emo, Marconi, Da Vinci. Still under the command of C.C. Alfredo Criscuolo, the Morosini left Naples the 25th of October, reaching the Strait of Gibraltar five days later, on the 31st. Here, the submarine proceeded, submerged, in fair weather conditions, and despite having picked up with the hydrophones sounds from patrolling British vessels, it proceeded through the strait undetected. Just off Tangiers, the boat experienced a sudden loss of control, quickly diving to a depth of 130 meters, but without experiencing any damage. This phenomenon would be experienced by many Italian boats and was caused by the strong currents present in the area. Completed the crossing, the submarine moved north, reaching a patrol area off Oporto (Portugal) on November 3rd. On the 16th, Betasom instructed Captain Criscuolo to move to 20° 00′ W since the Germans had provided information regarding the presence of British traffic from Gibraltar and Spain directed to Great Britain. On the 20th, further information alerted the crew of the presence of a nearby convoy, which, despite a search, could not be located. Eventually, the Morosini remained in the area until the 26th of November, and then reached Bordeaux on the 28th, thus completing its first Atlantic mission.
1941
The Morosini remained in port until January, eventually leaving La Pallice (the secondary base near La Rochelle) on the 22nd of January 1941 for a mission off the Irish coast. After having reached the pre-assigned area on the 29th, the boat was immediately reassigned farther west. During this operation, captain Criscuolo received two signals informing him of the presence of enemy traffic, but after patrolling the area, he was only able to locate two small boats full of shipwrecked sailors. Soon after, the boat moved to the newly assigned area of operations, meeting during the transfer, the Italian submarines Baracca and Dandolo, also assigned to the area.
On February 7th, at 22:08, the Morosini sighted an isolated man-of-war decisively larger than an escort unit, but, following standing orders, it did not attack. During this period, Italian submarine commanders were instructed not to attack larger warships to avoid the risk of sinking German raiders or ships captured by auxiliary cruisers. On the 8th, the Morosini sighted the Dandolo, and later a merchant ship against which it launched three torpedoes which, probably due to the strong swell, failed to reach the target. Eventually, the crew heard a powerful explosion and assuming success left the area . The night of the 17th, while the foul weather continued, lookouts sighted a large merchant ship which, soon after, was lost and, despite an intense search, never found again. On the 24th, without having encountered any other ship, the Morosini returned to Bordeaux, thus completing its second Atlantic mission. At the end of this mission, C.C. Criscuolo was reassigned and the command of the Morosini was transferred to C.C. Athos Fraternale.
The third mission began on April 30th and included other submarines: the Bianchi (C.C. Franco Tosoni Pittoni), Barbarigo (C.C. Giulio Ghiglieri) and the Otaria (C.C. Giuseppe Vocaturo). All boats left between the and of April and the 8th of May. In accordance with orders issued by B.d.U., the three companions were to take position between 61° 00 N ~ 58° 00 N, 25° 00’ W, while the Morosini would be further south in position 54° 00’ N – 53° 00’ N between 25° 00’ W and 30° 00’ W. The area between North America and the British Isles was divided in sectors: west of the 34th meridian German surface ships, then Italian submarines, and finally German U-Boats. The Italian boats were asked to cover areas further away from their base, mostly because of their larger displacement and greater endurance. On May 9th, Betasom informed the group of the presence of a convoy in position 54° 30 N 28° 30 W and moving west. The Morosini was the only boat which had already reach the assigned area and was able to engage the British tanker Vancouver of 5,729 t. with the deck gun, but the superior speed of the target allowed it to escape. The Barbarigo and Bianchi, having received signal from the Morosini, continued the hunt, but failed to locate the tanker.
On May 14th, Betasom transmitted another signal alerting the submarines of the presence of a large convoy of about 20 to 30 ships escorted by destroyers in position 55° 45’ N 13° 15’ W and moving SW at a speed of about 8 knots. On this day, the Morosini again attacked a British vessel, this time the Manchester Port of 5469 t., but the merchantmen escaped. On the 15th this ship was attacked, but not sunk, by the Barbarigo, which, despite having hit the merchantman with a torpedo, could not reach it due to a failed diesel engine. At this point, the submarine Malaspina had also reached the area, bringing the total number of Italian boats to five. In the days that followed, airplanes attacked various vessels; the Morosini experienced such an attack on the 15th. Eventually, having exhausted the fuel reserve, the boat began the journey back to base, reaching Bordeaux on the 20th of May.
With the general change of theater of operations for the Italian units from the North Atlantic to Gibraltar and the Azores, the Morosini left base on June 28th, 1941 for the middle Atlantic. At the same time, various boats were engaged in this new area, including the Da Vinci, Baracca, Malaspina, Cappellini, Torelli, Bianchi, Bagnolini and the Barbarigo. Eventually, only a small number of submarines were able to conduct an organized hunt for British traffic. On July 14th, the Morosini located the British cargo Rupert de Larrinaga of 5,358 t. traveling alone, which was sunk with torpedoes. This ship was built in 1930 by Lithgows, Ltd of Port Glasgow, was capable of 10 knots, and belonged to the Larringa Steamship Co. LTD of Liverpool; all 44 crewmembers were rescued. The following day, on the 15th, the “Ocean Boarding Vessel” Lady Somers of 8194 t. was also located and sunk. This second vessel was a passenger ship in service to the Royal Navy, was built by Cammell Laird & Co. of Birkenhead in 1929 and belonged to the Lady Somers LTD; all 175 crewmembers and passengers were saved. On the 19th, having exhausted most fuel reserves, the Morosini began the journey back to base. The date of its arrival in Bordeaux is not known, but it probably fell around the end of the month.
In August, the Morosini was again assigned to a mission off Gibraltar along with several other submarines. During this mission, Betasom coordinated the deployment of the Italian submarine screen based on information received from the Luftwaffe. On the 19th, at around 8:10 AM, the Morosini sighted a large convoy of 25 ships under strong escort, including airplanes. During the approaching phase, one of the two electric motors experienced a severe failure, thus forcing the captain to immediately return to base where it arrived on September 20th. After the necessary repairs, on November 18th, 1941 the submarine was again at sea for a new mission. On December 13th, at about 250 miles west-northwest of Palma, in the Canary Islands, the Morosini sighted a convoy of 15 ships heading east and immediately gave chase. At night, while approaching the convoy, the submarine was sighted by escort units, which immediately attacked, placing several depth charges well near the submarine’s hull, causing serious damages. Forced into abandoning the mission, the captain immediately returned to base. By the end of this mission, with the United States having entered the war, the area of operations suddenly expanded, thus bringing Italian submarines all the way to the American coast.
1942
On February 2nd 1942, the Morosini was again at sea, directed to an area northeast of the Island of Guadalupe in the Antilles. On February 23rd, it sighted in position 29° 10’ N, 28° 15’ W the British cargo Sagaing of 7,968 t. which was able to elude the submarine, thanks to superior speed. In fact, the Morosini was still overloaded with diesel fuel and could barely make 13 knots. The submarines of the Marcello class underwent substantial modification to increase range. Some of the ballast tanks were turned into additional diesel fuel depots, and the reserve of food and ammunition was also augmented. Despite the benefits, the initial few days at sea were quite dangerous since the boats were left with less than 10% buoyancy, lowering the boat up to 22 cm. Also, by redesigning some of the interior compartments, the number of torpedoes aboard was increased to 16.
On March 8th 1942, the Morosini received 21 tons of extra diesel fuel from the Finzi, thus allowing it to extend the days at sea. On the 11th of March it attacked a tanker launching two torpedoes, but failing both to hit the target and recognize the name of the vessel.
Just before sunset of the same day, Captain Fraternale intercepted the British cargo Stangarth of 5,966 t., sinking it in position 22° 45’ N, 57° 40’ W with the torpedo on the early hours of March 12th. We do not have additional information regarding this vessel. After the sinking, the Morosini relocated south-west of the original position, intercepting on the night of the 15th, the Dutch motor tanker Oscilla of 6,341 t. which was sunk by three(1) of the five torpedoes launched and a few 100 mm shells. The Oscilla was built in 1939 by Van der Giessen & Zonen’s Scheepswerven, NV Krimpen in the Netherlands, was capable of 12 knots, and belonged to ‘La Corona’ NV Petroleum Maatschappij; of the crew, 51 were saved, but 4 perished.
Continuing patrol, the Morosini came upon the British tanker Peder Bogen of 9,741 t. which, after dark had fallen, was hit the night of the 23rd by two torpedoes and eventually sank in the early hours of March 24th in position 24° 53’ N, 57° 30’ W by about 70 100 mm shells. This tanker was built in 1925 by the Dordr NV Scheepswerf Dordrecht of Dordrecht in the Netherlands. It was capable of 10 knots, and belonged to the South Georgia Co. Ltd; all 53 crewmembers were rescued. At this point, having exhausted all torpedoes, the submarine began the long journey home, reaching Bordeaux on April 4th. At the end of this mission, C.C. Fraternale was transferred and replaced by T.V. Francesco D’Alessandro.
On June 2nd, 1942 the Morosini left Bordeaux for a mission in the Caribbean, specifically northeast of the island of Puerto Rico. After the long transfer, the boat reached the area of operations on the 28th of June, and on the 30th it located and sank the Dutch motor ship Tysa of 5,327 t. in position 25° 33’ N, 57° 33’ W utilizing torpedoes and the deck gun. This ship was built in 1938 by P. Smith Jnr of Rotterdam, was capable of 13 knots, and belonged to the “Vrachtvaart’, NV Maatschappij: all 43 crewmembers were rescued. On July 19th, the submarine attacked, without success, a small military ship, possibly a gun boat or an armed merchant ship which followed the submarine for a little while, without attacking.
The Morosini coming along the Finzi, from which the picture was taken, to receive 21 t. of diesel fuel. The authors Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli give the date of this exchange on March 13th, 1942. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
The Morosini coming along the Finzi, from which the picture was taken, to receive 21 t. of diesel fuel. The authors Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli give the date of this exchange on March 13th, 1942. (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
On July 27th, as in the previous mission, it received 25 tons of diesel fuel from the Finzi, submarine with a very large fuel capacity, thus continuing operations for a few more days. On the 31st of July, having reached the minimal fuel reserve, it began the journey home. On August 5th, the Morosini informed base that it was in position 41° 00’ N 33° 00’ W and that it would reach base on the 10th at around 14.15. On the 8th, it sent a confirmation signal to Betasom in reply to instructions for the approach to the Gironde. At 23:00 of the 9th, Betasom sent another message informing the Morosini of the presence of a merchant ship and three German torpedo boats, but the submarine never confirmed receipt. The boat never reached base and it was assumed that it had been lost between 8° 80’ W and 3° 00’ W after 14:50 of the 8th. Possibly it was sunk at night by a plane equipped with radar, but it has never been confirmed.
(1) Oscilla was hit by two, not three torpedo’s according to the Dutch reports.
The submarine MICCA (second boat with this name) was the first and only of a class which would not be pursued. It was a large submarine of the oceanic type designed in the early 30ies when the refurbishing and expansion of the Italian submarine fleet had already begun. At the time, this boat was part of an ambitious plan to build a submarine with high performances (speed, range, weaponry, etc) which would be both an attack and mine laying unit.
The submarine MICCA, the day of its launch (Photo Turrini)
The idea was to have a multiuse boat, adaptable to both the “guerre de course” and the laying of mine, but also capable of transporting in secret. The boat was a success and fully matched the initial requirements, but turned out to be very expensive, and due to the limited resources available, the Regia Marina had to forgo the project and turn to less elaborate projects. The MICCA was built by the shipyard Tosi of Taranto. Laid down on October 15th, 1931, it was launched on March 31st, 1935 and delivered to the Navy on October 1st of the same year.
Operational Life
Upon entering service (10/1/1935), the MICAA was assigned to the 4th submarine group based in Taranto. In early 1937, in participated to the Spanish civil was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ernesto Sforza, completing two missions. The first, from January 23 to February 2, originated from Naples with a patrol in the waters off Valecia, but the boat did not encounter any traffic. The second, started February 13th, along with 5 other boats, was immediately interrupted the following day due to the international situation which was developing: the Italian government had realized that it could no longer conduct a clandestine war in support of Franco. Contrary to what is commonly believed, neither the MICCA, nor any other Italian ship laid any mine.
During the famous naval parade of Naples for in honor of Hitler (May 5th, 1938), the MICCA was the leading unit of the Italian submarine fleet. At the beginning of the war, the boat was assigned to the 16th Squadron of the 1st Submarine Group based in La Spezia. On June 10th, 1940 the boat was under the command of Commander Vittorio Meneghini and already at sea by 7 days in waters off Egypt where, the night of the 12th, it laid a mine field of 40 devices in front of Alexandria.
The Micca (Photo courtesy Erminio Bagnasco and Achille Rastelli)
With the command transferred to Commander Alberto Ginocchio, the night of August 12th the boat was again north west of Alexandria to lay another 40 mines. Two days later, while on patrol in the same area, it sighted two enemy destroyers and went on promptly the attack. It launched an aft torpedo against one of the two to then dive deep. After 40 seconds, the sound of an explosion was heard, but British documentation does not confirm the results of this action. Back to Taranto, the boat began a period of refitting and alterations in preparation for the transport of material to overseas bases. During this pause, Commander Ginocchio disembarked passing the command to Lieutenant Commander Guido D’Alterio.
It is during this period that Admiral Doenitz, the commander of the U-boats, become interested in the MICAA for a mission in the Atlantic which can only be carried out by a long range submarine (at the time the Germans did not have any long range boats): mine the waters off Freetown (Sierra Leon), an important port for the British economy. The MICCA would be capable of doing it, but due to logistical difficulties at Bordeaux (where BETASOM, the Italian submarine base is located), where the base is not equipped for the handling of mines, and also for the needs of the Regia Marina to complete urgent transports in the Mediterranean, the German request is not accepted. From BETASOM, the MICCA would be again considered in 1942 in relation to plans for long distance patrols (South Africa and Madagascar), but for the same reasons nothing happens.
At the end of 1941, the boat began transport runs (foodstuff, gasoline, ammunitions) to the Aegean and North Africa. From then on, these mission made up the primary activity of the boat making the MICCA a special and indefatigable protagonist for what for the surface ships was called “the battle of the convoys”. During one of these missions, on March 13th 19411, the boat sighted a group of enemy destroyers, but the torpedo launched did not reach its target. Soon after, in April, during the transport from Taranto to Leros, it sighted a convoy south of the Island of Crete. Having gotten closer, at about 1,500 meters it launched two torpedoes and then dived. After the prescribed time, aboard the boat are heard two explosion, but again there is no record of such attach in the British documentation.
Arriving in Leros, near the mouth of the port the MICCA is victim of a curious incident: a torpedo accidentally exited one of the aft torpedo tubes and exploded, not too far from the boat which was seriously damaged. Towed to port, the boat was somewhat repaired, enough to allow it to return to Taranto where, from June through November 1941, if was returned to full efficiency.
At the end of November, the MICCA restarted the transport missions, this time to North Africa. Just before Christmas, Lieutenant Commander Alberto Galeazzi replaced Captain D’Alterio. In 1942, the boat completed an unsuccessful patrol off Malta, while the transport runs continued unabated. The situation in Africa was ever so difficult and required the maximum effort by the MICCA. Before sinking it would complete 14 missions, transporting a total of 2,163 tons of material. During a mission from Taranto to Benghazi in October 1941, the boat was couth by a violent squall, which caused such damages to force a return to base, and also caused the loss of Giuseppe Canta, a lookout who was ripped away by a wave.
The last mission of the MICCA, by then under the command of Lieutenant Paolo Scobrona since June 15th 1943, began on July 24th with departure from Taranto for Naples. The transfer calls for the circumnavigation of Sicily to avoid the Strait of Messina by then controlled by the enemy air force engaged in opposing the German retreat. However, the night of the 28th, off Cape Spartivento Calabro, the boat had to change course and return to Taranto due to a breakdown. The security routes call for a landing near Cape S. Maria di Leuca where the boat would meet an antisubmarine unit. Instead, it found the British submarine TROOPER, one of the boats that in summer 1943 infested the Italian coastline and that up to September 8th, 1943 caused painful losses to the Italian submarine fleet.
The Allies are particularly interested in the large transport submarines. A few days earlier, along the Calabrese coast were lost, surely ambushed, the submarine REMO (the 15th) and ROMOLO (the 18th). Two brand new boats on their maiden voyage to Naples and specifically designed for the transport over long distances. The reasons behind such interest is the fear that these boats could be used by the Germans to transfer special material to Japan (the so called secret weapons), under construction in Peenemunde and at the time already discovered and bombed.
Thus, at 06:05 of July 29th, in the waters south west of Cape S. Maria di Leuca the TROOPER launched six torpedoes, one of which hit the MICCA midship causing it to quickly sink 270˚ from the lighthouse. Only 18 people service, including the Captain Scobrogna, all rescued by the ship BORMIO in charge of the escort but which had arrived too late.
Up to then, the MICCA had completed 24 sorties:
4 patrols 14 transport missions 2 mine laying missions 4 transfer and drill missions
all for a total of 23,140 miles.
In addition to the list of the deceased available through “Onorcaduti” (the Italian list of the casualties of war) another source, which could not be verified, lists the following names:
2°C° Alfonso PISTARÀ, 2°C° Antonio SCIOPPO, Com. Romolo BALZI, Com. Vincenzo BOFFO, Com. Armando CECCHETTI, Com. Domenico LOZZI, Com. Carlo MARIANI, Com. Mattia SCALZA, Com. Adriano ZARRI, Op. Angelo FIUMI
The Medusa was lost at 2:10 P.M. on January 30th, 1942 following an attack conducted by the British submarine H.M.S. Thorn (1) which, since a few days earlier, was on patrol off the Italian naval base of Pola.
The day of its loss, the Italian submarine commanded by Lieutenant Commander Enrico Bertarelli was at sea conducting technical trials. According to the only two survivors of the sinking, the unit, which had aboard seven officers (including the captain), eight non-commissioned officers and 43 ratings, was traveling on the surface at low speed when it was suddenly attacked by the Thorn, which launched four torpedoes.
The Medusa in Monfalcone on December 10th, 1933 the day it was launched (Photo Turrini)
As Ensign Fei reported (he was rescued by a motorboat, but then died at the Pola hospital due to serious wounds), “the sea was calm and navigation was proceeding without any problem when from the conning tower, on which I was along with Captain Bertarelli and the other five officers, we sighted the trails of four torpedoes. Quickly, the captain maneuvered, avoiding three of them, but the forth one hit us right on”.
According to Fei, H.M.S. Thorn launched its weapons at a distance of about 1,000 meters after having crash-dived. After striking its victim, the British unit dived very rapidly, leaving the area. Also according to this witness, the explosion was extremely violent ripping open a good portion of the side of the boat which, in a short time (less than ten minutes) sank, dragging most of the crew into the abyss. As narrated by Teucle Meneghini’s book “Cento sommergibili non sono tornati” (One hundred boats did not come back), Captain Bertarelli (who earlier had distinguished himself in the Atlantic commanding the submarine Baracca) did not think of himself and despite being wounded in the face and bleeding profusely, attempted to save his men.
This was a heroic action with cost him his life; he disappeared under the gurgling waters along with his ship. The rescue operations attempted by some Italian rescue ships were fruitless, as they arrived on site by the time the Medusa had already sunk. In a desperate attempt to save the crew members trapped inside the hull, divers from a barge arrived from Pola and completed several descends, but unfortunately without any result.
The Medusa was a coastal submarine, and it was quite obsolete (laid down on November 30th, 1929, it entered service on October 8th, 1931). It was 65.5 meters long and 5.65 wide with a displacement of 650 t. on the surface and 810 t. submerged. Powered by two diesel engines and two electric motors (1,500 and 800 HP), the unit was capable of reaching 14 knots on the surface and 8 submerged. With a range of 4,900 miles at 9.5 knots (on the surface), the Medusa was armed with a 102 mm gun, two 13.2 mm machine guns and six torpedo tubes. The standard complement included 4 officers and 40 crewmembers. In 1941, the Medusa, along with the same class units Serpente and Jalea, was assigned to the submarine school of Pola.
(1) A boat of the T Class, built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, was lost on August 7th, 1942.
