Italian submarines in World War Two
Dagabur (DA)
Dagabur
Type | Coastal / Sea going | |
Class | Adua (23) | |
Laid down | 16 Apr 1936 | Cantieri Navale Tosi di Taranto, Taranto |
Launched | 22 Nov 1936 | |
Commissioned | 9 Apr 1937 | |
End service | ||
Stricken | ||
Loss date | 12 Aug 1942 | |
Loss position | 37° 18'N, 1° 55'E | |
History | ||
Fate | Sunk on 12th August 1942 west-north-west of Algiers, in position 37°18.5'N, 01°55.5'E after being rammed by the destroyer HMS Wolverine. |
Commands
Commander | Date from | Date to | Command notes |
---|---|---|---|
T.V. Luigi Longanesi Cattani | 4 Jun 1940 | 19 Jun 1940 | |
C.C. Fausto Sestini | 20 Jun 1940 | 25 Jul 1940 | |
T.V. Eugenio Gatti | 26 Jul 1940 | 7 Feb 1941 | |
T.V. Domenico Romano | 3 Feb 1941 | 25 Aug 1941 | |
C.C. Alberto Torri | 26 Aug 1941 | 12 Jun 1942 | |
T.V. Renato Pecori | 13 Jun 1942 | 12 Aug 1942 |
Ships hit
No ships hit by this submarine.Patrols and events
Commander | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Longanesi Cattani, Luigi | 4 Jun 1940 | Taranto | 16 Jun 1940 | Taranto | Refitting at Taranto. | |||||
Sestini, Fausto | 20 Jun 1940 | Taranto | 25 Jul 1940 | Taranto | Refitting at Taranto. | |||||
Gatti, Eugenio | 26 Jul 1940 | 0750 | Taranto | 26 Jul 1940 | 1800 | Taranto | 43 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 27 Jul 1940 | 0925 | Taranto | 27 Jul 1940 | 1045 | Taranto | 1,2 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 29 Jul 1940 | 0940 | Taranto | 29 Jul 1940 | 1000 | Taranto | 0,5 | Changed moorings or docked? | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 29 Jul 1940 | 1915 | Taranto | 29 Jul 1940 | 1955 | Taranto | 0,5 | Changed moorings or undocked? | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 30 Jul 1940 | 1210 | Taranto | 30 Jul 1940 | 1945 | Taranto | 31 | Exercises. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 1 Aug 1940 | 0930 | Taranto | 1 Aug 1940 | 1830 | Taranto | 37 | Exercises. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 2 Aug 1940 | 0950 | Taranto | 2 Aug 1940 | 1310 | Taranto | 20 | Exercises. Dagabur was ordered to sail as soon as ready for a patrol in a zone between 35°20'N and 36°20'N, and between 21°30'E and 22°30'E, but defects prevented the sortie. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 4 Aug 1940 | 0815 | Taranto | 4 Aug 1940 | 1230 | Taranto | 20 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 5 Aug 1940 | 0740 | Taranto | 5 Aug 1940 | 1200 | Taranto | 25 | Exercises. | ||
1 | Gatti, Eugenio | 5 Aug 1940 | 2200 | Taranto | 6 Aug 1940 | 1100 | Taranto | 88 | Defensive patrol. | |
Gatti, Eugenio | 8 Aug 1940 | 0515 | Taranto | 9 Aug 1940 | 1350 | Augusta | 362,35 | Passage Taranto-Augusta. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 11 Aug 1940 | 0835 | Augusta | 11 Aug 1940 | 1040 | Augusta | 8 | Hydrophone trials. | ||
2 | Gatti, Eugenio | 14 Aug 1940 | 1200 | Augusta | 7 Sep 1940 | 0820 | Augusta | 2470 | Patrolled between Jaffa and Cyprus. Went as far as 14 miles west of Jaffa, followed coast northward to 33°50'N, then to a point 90 miles south of Cape Greco (Cyprus) to 33°30'N, 21°45'E. Average speed of advance 100 miles per day. Uneventful. | |
Gatti, Eugenio | 7 Oct 1940 | 0700 | Augusta | 8 Oct 1940 | 1030 | Taranto | 272 | Passage Augusta-Taranto. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 9 Oct 1940 | 1830 | Taranto | 10 Nov 1940 | 1230 | Taranto | At Taranto. The crew of the submarine was taken on board the destroyer Freccia and brought to Benghazi to take charge of the submarine Uarsciek whose crew had been incapacitated by mercury poisoning. | |||
Gatti, Eugenio | 16 Nov 1940 | 0900 | Taranto | 16 Nov 1940 | 1340 | Taranto | 25 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 4 Dec 1940 | 0900 | Taranto | 4 Dec 1940 | 1450 | Taranto | 24 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 10 Dec 1940 | 0827 | Taranto | 10 Dec 1940 | 1140 | Taranto | 14,5 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 13 Dec 1940 | 0830 | Taranto | 13 Dec 1940 | 1315 | Taranto | 1 | Trials. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 20 Dec 1940 | 0845 | Taranto | 21 Dec 1940 | 2230 | Augusta | 272 | Passage Taranto-Augusta. | ||
Gatti, Eugenio | 24 Dec 1940 | 0858 | Augusta | 24 Dec 1940 | 1120 | Augusta | 4 | Changed anchorage. | ||
3 | Gatti, Eugenio | 27 Dec 1940 | 0100 | Augusta | 9 Jan 1941 | 1050 | Augusta | 1430 | Patrolled off Cyrenaica (off Gulf of Sollum and Bardia) and Egyptian coast. Uneventful. Then at Augusta for refit. | |
Gatti, Eugenio | 31 Jan 1941 | 0835 | Augusta | 31 Jan 1941 | 1130 | Augusta | 8 | Trials. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 5 Feb 1941 | 1405 | Augusta | 5 Feb 1941 | 1535 | Augusta | 5 | Trials. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 6 Feb 1941 | 0910 | Augusta | 6 Feb 1941 | 1135 | Augusta | 9 | Trials. | ||
4 | Romano, Domenico | 12 Feb 1941 | 1830 | Augusta | 24 Feb 1941 | 1015 | Augusta | 870 | Patrolled west of Malta, within 15 miles from 35°30'N, 16°10'E. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. | |
Romano, Domenico | 13 Mar 1941 | 0815 | Augusta | 13 Mar 1941 | 1115 | Augusta | 12 | Trials and exercises. | ||
5 | Romano, Domenico | 24 Mar 1941 | 1725 | Augusta | 9 Apr 1941 | 0820 | Augusta | 1656 | Patrolled between Alexandria and Cape Krio, within 20 miles from 33°30'N, 25°20'E on a 035°-215° axis. | |
28 Mar 1941 | 1210 (e) | At 1210 hours, a British bomber reported an enemy submarine. This may have been Dagabur, who reported close and distant explosions during the day. | ||||||||
28 Mar 1941 | 0804 | (0) West of Malta. | At 0804 hours, Dagabur heard H.E. followed by explosions in the vicinity and believed she was the subject of a systematic A/S hunt. The submarine escaped without damage. | |||||||
30 Mar 1941 | 2037 | 33° 47'N, 25° 24'E | At 2100 hours on 29th March, two signals were received, one reporting a convoy and the other a naval force located about 30 miles away. Dagabur altered course to intercept. At 1835 hours on 30th March, a cruiser of the LIVERPOOL class was sighted at a distance of 7,000 metres. The submarine disengaged. At 2027 hours, another cruiser of the LIVERPOOL class was sighted at distance of 8,000 metres. At 2037 hours, the range had closed to 3,000 metres and two torpedoes were fired, aimed at the cruiser. Two hits were heard after 170 seconds. It is possible that this was the light cruiser HMS Bonaventure who was sunk by Ambra at 0244 hours on the 31st. Some sources have mentioned that Dagabur damaged Bonaventure before she was finished by Ambra. There is no evidence to support this theory. If Bonaventure was Dagabur's target, there is little doubt that she was missed. | |||||||
31 Mar 1941 | 0515 | (0) West of Malta. | At 0515 hours, hydrophone effects were heard, followed by explosions in the vicinity. Dagabur escaped without damage. | |||||||
3 Apr 1941 | 1430-2000 | (0) West of Malta. | Between 1430 and 2000 hours, H.E. were heard followed by depth-charges at 15 minutes interval in the vicinity of Dagabur who was later believed to be the target of a systematic A/S hunt. The submarine escaped without damage. | |||||||
Romano, Domenico | 15 Apr 1941 | 0845 | Augusta | 16 Apr 1941 | 1430 | Naples | 285 | Passage Augusta-Naples for refit. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 29 May 1941 | 0845 | Naples | 29 May 1941 | 1745 | Naples | 27 | Trials. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 1 Jun 1941 | 0720 | Naples | 1 Jun 1941 | 1755 | Naples | 41 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 2 Jun 1941 | 2015 | Naples | 3 Jun 1941 | 0145 | Naples | 22 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 6 Jun 1941 | 0700 | Naples | 6 Jun 1941 | 1810 | Naples | 67 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 7 Jun 1941 | 1320 | Naples | 7 Jun 1941 | 1810 | Naples | 23 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 9 Jun 1941 | 0805 | Naples | 9 Jun 1941 | 1640 | Naples | 41 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 10 Jun 1941 | 0710 | Naples | 10 Jun 1941 | 1147 | Naples | 31 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 13 Jun 1941 | 1130 | Naples | 14 Jun 1941 | 1307 | Augusta | 254 | Passage Naples-Augusta. | ||
6 | Romano, Domenico | 16 Jun 1941 | 1135 | Augusta | 19 Jun 1941 | 0935 | Augusta | 472 | Sailed for patrol between 32°13 N and 32°27 N, and between 25°00'E and 25°20'E. then was to proceed to Leros. Turned back due to defects. C.F. Luigi Caneschi (commander of 10° Gruppo) criticized the decision to abandon the patrol, as the defects could have been repaired at sea. | |
Romano, Domenico | 2 Jul 1941 | 1005 | Augusta | 2 Jul 1941 | 1215 | Augusta | 14 | Exercises. | ||
Romano, Domenico | 3 Jul 1941 | 1417 | Augusta | 3 Jul 1941 | 1612 | Augusta | 14 | Exercises. | ||
7 | Romano, Domenico | 4 Jul 1941 | 2019 | Augusta | 22 Jul 1941 | 0745 | Augusta | 2001,5 | Patrol north of Mersa Matruh, via Point Z (33°00'N, 27°10'E) and in area between 31°54'N and the Egyptian coast and between 27°00'E and 27°20'E. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. | |
Romano, Domenico | 26 Jul 1941 | Time? | Cagliari | 26 Jul 1941 | 1120 | Cagliari | Exercises. | |||
Romano, Domenico | 9 Aug 1941 | 0820 | Augusta | 9 Aug 1941 | 1055 | Augusta | 16 | Exercises. | ||
8 | Romano, Domenico | 13 Aug 1941 | 1200 | Augusta | 15 Aug 1941 | 1113 | Augusta | 300 | Patrolled southeast of Malta, within 10 miles from 35°10'N, 15°42'E on the meridian. | |
14 Aug 1941 | 0140 0245 (e) | 35° 52'N, 15° 32'E | At 0140 hours, an enemy submarine was sighted at a distance of 700 metres, steering 290° at 7 knots. Dagabur disengaged "according to the instructions received". This was HMS Osiris (Lieutenant Commander T.T. Euman, RN) on a storing trip to Malta. The British submarine also sighted the Italian submarine and dived immediately. | |||||||
Torri, Alberto | 27 Aug 1941 | 0801 | Augusta | 27 Aug 1941 | 1120 | Augusta | 18 | Exercises. | ||
Torri, Alberto | 30 Aug 1941 | 0802 | Augusta | 30 Aug 1941 | 1140 | Augusta | 15 | Exercises. | ||
Torri, Alberto | 2 Sep 1941 | 0806 | Augusta | 2 Sep 1941 | 1150 | Augusta | 18 | Exercises. | ||
9 | Torri, Alberto | 4 Sep 1941 | 0530 | Augusta | 14 Sep 1941 | 0615 | Leros | 1427 | Sailed for Leros through Cerigotto Channel through 36°04'N, 24°12'E and 36°06'N, 26°00'E and Stampalia, patrolled off Tobruk, Alexandria and Port Said. | |
6 Sep 1941 | 0920 | 33° 50'N, 24° 18'E | At 0920 hours, a three-engined bomber (Italian?) was sighted. It dived and dropped a bomb on Dagabur. The bomb fell 30 metres on the starboard side. After 20 minutes, the aircraft left. | |||||||
7 Sep 1941 | 1328 1332 (e) | 32° 47'N, 28° 59'E | At 1328 hours, an enemy submarine was sighted surfacing at a distance of 800 metres. This was HMS Torbay (Lieutenant Commander A.C.C. Miers, DSO, RN) who tried to open fire on the Dagabur from a distance of 1,500 yards, but the first round misfired and by the time the shell was removed, the Italian submarine had dived. When Dagabur returned to periscope depth the enemy submarine could not be seen or heard.
A search for this submarine was started on the 8th. The destroyers HMS Hero (Cdr. H.W. Biggs, DSO and Bar, RN), HMS Havock (Lt. G.R.G. Watkins, DSC, RN), HMS Hotspur (Lt. T.D. Herrick, DSC, RN) and HMS Kingston (Lt.Cdr. P. Somerville, DSO, DSC, RN) were sent from Alexandria. HMAS Vendetta (Lt.Cdr. C.J. Stephenson, RAN) was sent from Port Said. HMS Griffin (Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, DSO, RN) and HMS Hasty (Lt.Cdr. L.R.K. Tyrwhitt, DSC, RN) were sent from Haifa. The hunt was abandoned on the 10th. HMS Hasty, HMS Havock, HMS Hotspur, HMS Kingston proceeded to Alexandria, HMAS Vendetta proceeded to Port Said and HMS Griffin and HMS Hero proceeded to Haifa. | |||||||
9 Sep 1941 | 0135 | 31° 59'N, 30° 11'E | At 0135 hours, two warships of about 600 tons were sighted at a distance of 3,000 metres. Dagabur moved away. | |||||||
9 Sep 1941 | 1640 | 32° 11'N, 31° 21'E | At 1640 hours, a destroyer of the SKATE class was sighted proceeding at 8-10 knots. Dagabur dived to 80 metres but was not attacked. | |||||||
Torri, Alberto | 7 Oct 1941 | 1005 | Leros | 7 Oct 1941 | 1200 | Leros | 7 | Exercises. | ||
10 | Torri, Alberto | 10 Oct 1941 | 0730 | Leros | 26 Oct 1941 | 0625 | Leros | 1700,5 | Patrolled off Alexandretta between 36°00'N and 36°20'N, and between 34°20'E and Syrian coast (also reported as from 34°16'N, 33°00'E to 34°40'N, 34°40'E). ULTRA revealed the patrol without identifying the submarine. | |
16 Oct 1941 | 1155 | 36° 08'N, 35° 22'E | At 1155 hours, a fishing vessel was sighted at a distance of 6,500 metres. It was not attacked. | |||||||
11 | Torri, Alberto | 21 Nov 1941 | 0750 | Leros | 6 Dec 1941 | 0945 | Leros | 1711,1 | Patrolled off Derna, between 22°00' and 23°00'E, and within 20 miles from the Libyan coast, with Zaffiro in the adjacent area to the west. At 1910 hours on the 25th, MARICOSOM ordered her to switch to the area between 33°00'N and 33°40'N, and between 22°20'E and 23°00'E. The order was again modified at 1810 hours on the 27th, to patrol between 33°20'N and 34°00'N, and between 23°40'N and 24°20'E which was reconfirmed at 1225 hours on the 29th. | |
25 Nov 1941 | 1945 | 33° 00'N, 24° 00'E | At 1945 hours, signal from MARICOSOM (1740/25) was received mentioning a convoy of five steamers, escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers, sighted at 1155 hours, in 32°50' N, 25°30' E, steering 285° at 14 knots. Dagabur altered course to 360° at full speed to intercept. At 2215 hours, the submarine was within a few miles of the interception point, when H.E. were heard, but they grew faint and at 2320 hours the chase was abandoned. Dagabur returned to her patrol area. | |||||||
28 Nov 1941 | 1922 | 33° 50'N, 24° 20'E | At 1922 hours, a vessel was sighted at the limit of visibility, steering 075°, 18 knots. Dagabur gave chase but lost contact after an hour. | |||||||
12 | Torri, Alberto | 10 Dec 1941 | 0150 | Leros | 20 Dec 1941 | 1207 | Leros | 1335 | Patrolled between Gaudo and Alexandria within 20 miles from 34°00'N, 25°45'E (Grids 3664 and 6664). | |
14 Dec 1941 | 1955 1956.5 (e) | 34° 01'N, 26° 02'E | At 1950 hours, the starboard lookout reported a vessel that could not be identified. The submarine immediately steered towards it. At a distance of 3,000 metres it was thought to be a cruiser as Dagabur was moving to the attack at 12.4 knots. At 1955 hours, a single torpedo was fired from a bow tube (type not specified, but probably 450mm) at a range of 2,100 metres and 20 seconds later a second torpedo (533mm) was fired. Dagabur immediately submerged. Two explosions were heard after 105 seconds. The "cruiser" was actually the submarine HMS Talisman (Lieutenant Commander M. Willmott, RN). She had also sighted the Italian submarine (mistaken for German) at a range of 800 yards and had time to fire two 4" rounds from a distance of 100 yards before her opponent submerged. The first round missed, but the second was claimed to have hit the conning tower about 3 feet above the casing. It was believed that the enemy submarine may have dived with her hatches open and sank. Dagabur was indeed hit by a 4" round, but it only caused minor damages to the wireless antenna and it was quickly repaired. Some sources have claimed that the light cruiser HMS Galatea was damaged in this attack. HMS Galatea was sunk four hours later some 250 miles away. | |||||||
13 | Torri, Alberto | 11 Feb 1942 | 1755 | Leros | 23 Feb 1942 | 1155 | Leros | 1398,5 | Patrolled between 31°40'N and 32°50'N, and between 33°00'E and 34°00'E, off Port Said and the Palestinian coast. On 13 February, No. 3 torpedo tube was accidentally flooded and the submarine continued on her patrol with only three effective forward tubes. Uneventful. | |
Torri, Alberto | 7 Mar 1942 | 0800 | Leros | 14 Mar 1942 | 1005 | Naples | 1061 | Passage Leros-Naples for major refit. Uneventful. | ||
Torri, Alberto | 9 Jun 1942 | 1050 | Naples | 9 Jun 1942 | 1500 | Naples | 24,3 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 13 Jun 1942 | 0920 | Naples | 13 Jun 1942 | 1500 | Naples | 42 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 14 Jun 1942 | 0645 | Naples | 14 Jun 1942 | 1245 | Naples | 36 | Gyrocompass tests. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 17 Jun 1942 | 0925 | Naples | 17 Jun 1942 | 1515 | Naples | 31,2 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 18 Jun 1942 | 1330 | Naples | 18 Jun 1942 | 1645 | Naples | 17,2 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 21 Jun 1942 | 0900 | Naples | 22 Jun 1942 | 2045 | La Spezia | 331,5 | Passage Naples-La Spezia to embark G7e torpedoes, | ||
Pecori, Renato | 24 Jun 1942 | 1530 | La Spezia | 24 Jun 1942 | 1830 | La Spezia | 20,2 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 26 Jun 1942 | 1030 | La Spezia | 26 Jun 1942 | 1210 | La Spezia | 15,7 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 29 Jun 1942 | 0930 | La Spezia | 29 Jun 1942 | 1050 | La Spezia | 10,2 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 30 Jun 1942 | 1400 | La Spezia | 30 Jun 1942 | 1615 | La Spezia | 12,9 | Trials. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 4 Jul 1942 | 0855 | La Spezia | 4 Jul 1942 | 1055 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
Pecori, Renato | 7 Jul 1942 | 0600 | La Spezia | 8 Jul 1942 | 1900 | Cagliari | 345 | Passage La Spezia-Cagliari. | ||
Pecori, Renato | 13 Jul 1942 | 1350 | Cagliari | 13 Jul 1942 | 1300? error? | Cagliari | Exercises. | |||
14 | Pecori, Renato | 16 Jul 1942 | 0325 | Cagliari | 20 Jul 1942 | 1630 | Cagliari | 512,5 | Patrolled east of La Galite, between 37°20'N 37°40'N, and between 10°00'E and 10°20'E. No ship sighted. | |
17 Jul 1942 | 2113 | 37° 41'N, 10° 22'E | At 2113 hours, a Blenheim bomber was seen but Dagabur remained on the surface as the aircraft flew away without noticing her. | |||||||
15 | Pecori, Renato | 4 Aug 1942 | 0100 | Cagliari | 12 Aug 1942 | 0100 | Sunk with all hands | Sailed for patrol between 37°20'N and 37°40'N, and between 04°20'E and 04°40'E (initially to Grid 5786). At 1520 hours on the 4th, ordered to Grid 9786, between 37°20'N and 37°40'N, and between 01°50'E nd 02°10'E, off Cape Caxine. On 12th August, she was sunk off Algiers by the British destroyer HMS Wolverine in 37°18.5'N, 01°58'E. Five officers and forty ratings perished, there were no survivors. At 1838 hours on the 12th, she was ordered to Grid 9627. On 13th August, she was ordered to move to Grid 1404. On 16th August, she was told to return to base via 38°22'N, 07°32'E at 2100 hours on the 17th, but failed to respond. | ||
12 Aug 1942 | 0100B (e) | (e) 37° 18'N, 1° 55'E (0) 37.18N, 01.46E | At 0100B hours, the destroyer HMS Wolverine was escorting the aircraft carrier HMS Furious with the destroyers HMS Keppel and HMS Malcolm, when she detected a submarine by radar. She raced at 26 knots and rammed the submarine. The damage forced the destroyer to return to Gibraltar. There is little doubt that her victim was Dagabur. There were no survivors, T.V. Renato Pecori, four officers and forty ratings perished. |
79 entries. 71 total patrol entries (15 marked as war patrols) and 16 events.