Italian submarines in World War Two
Acciaio (AC)
Acciaio
Acciaio (USMM)
Type | Coastal / Sea going | |
Class | Platino 1 (24) | |
Laid down | 21 Nov 1940 | Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano |
Launched | 22 Jun 1941 | |
Commissioned | 30 Oct 1941 | |
End service | ||
Stricken | ||
Loss date | 12 Jul 1943 | |
Loss position | ||
History | Probably sunk at 0020 hours on 12th July 1943 by Hudson 'Q' of 608 Squadron (Pilot Officer R.F. Burling) which attacked a submarine in 37°37'N, 08°03'E.
Was previously reported as sunk by the submarine HMS Unruly on 13th July 1943 off Cape Vaticano in 38°35'N, 15°49'E but the submarine attacked was Benedetto Brin and she was missed. | |
Fate |
Commands
Commander | Date from | Date to | Command notes |
---|---|---|---|
C.C. Giulio Chialamberto | 1 Nov 1941 | 31 Dec 1941 | |
T.V. Raul Galletti | 4 Feb 1942 | 3 May 1942 | |
T.V. Ottorino Beltrami | 3 May 1942 | 22 Feb 1943 | |
T.V. Vittorio Pescatore | 25 Mar 1943 | 12 Jul 1943 |
Ships hit
No ships hit by this submarine.Patrols and events
Commander | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 Sep 1941 | 0635 | La Spezia | 4 Sep 1941 | 2025 | La Spezia | Exercises. | ||||
10 Sep 1941 | 0625 | La Spezia | 10 Sep 1941 | 1935 | La Spezia | Exercises. | ||||
11 Sep 1941 | 0945 | La Spezia | 11 Sep 1941 | 1350 | La Spezia | Exercises escorted by MAS 568. | ||||
23 Sep 1941 | 0855 | La Spezia | 23 Sep 1941 | 1435 | La Spezia | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliaries Crotone and Capodistria and MAS 505. | ||||
25 Oct 1941 | 0915 | La Spezia | 25 Oct 1941 | 1645 | La Spezia | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliariy Capodistria and MAS 570. | ||||
27 Oct 1941 | 0900 | La Spezia | 27 Oct 1941 | 1710 | La Spezia | Exercises, with the submarine Mocenigo escorted by MAS 570. | ||||
30 Oct 1941 | 0900 | La Spezia | 30 Oct 1941 | 1200 | La Spezia | Exercises, escorted by MAS 573. | ||||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 10 Nov 1941 | 1030 | Muggiano | 10 Nov 1941 | 1730 | Muggiano | 50 | Trials. | ||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 15 Nov 1941 | 1000 | Muggiano | 15 Nov 1941 | 1700 | Muggiano | 48 | Trials with the submarine H 1 escorted by the destroyer Premuda and MAS 570. | ||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 18 Nov 1941 | 0930 | Muggiano | 18 Nov 1941 | 1730 | Muggiano | 61 | Trials with the submarines Mocenigo and Colonna. Escorted by the auxiliaries Crotone, Santantioco and Capodistria. | ||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 9 Dec 1941 | 0900 | Muggiano | 9 Dec 1941 | 1400 | Muggiano | 7 | Trials with the submarine Ambra. Escorted by the auxiliaries Taormina, Capodistria and Crotone. | ||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 16 Dec 1941 | 0905 | Muggiano | 16 Dec 1941 | 1805 | Muggiano | 72 | Trials in company with the submarines Platino and H 6 and the destroyer Premuda, the torpedo boat Carini, the tugs Capodistria, Crotone, Santatioco, Torre Annunziata and Favignana. | ||
Chialamberto, Giulio | 29 Dec 1941 | 0840 | Muggiano | 29 Dec 1941 | 1715 | Muggiano | 49 | Trials. | ||
22 Jan 1942 | 0849 | Muggiano | 22 Jan 1942 | 1630 | Muggiano | 36 | Trials with the submarine Cobalto. Escorted by Mesco, Favignana and MAS 505. | |||
26 Jan 1942 | 0846 | Muggiano | 26 Jan 1942 | 1725 | La Spezia | 48 | Trials and passage Muggiano-La Spezia. | |||
Galletti, Raul | 4 Feb 1942 | 0855 | La Spezia | 4 Feb 1942 | 1736 | La Spezia | 60,5 | Exercises with electric G7e torpedoes, escorted by the auxiliary Crotone. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 6 Feb 1942 | 1030 | La Spezia | 6 Feb 1942 | 1730 | La Spezia | 2 | Gyrocompass trials. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 7 Feb 1942 | 0907 | La Spezia | 7 Feb 1942 | 1553 | La Spezia | 10,5 | Silent running trials. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 9 Feb 1942 | 0900 | La Spezia | 9 Feb 1942 | 1618 | La Spezia | 50,2 | Diving trials to a depth of 80 metres and machine-gun firing exercises. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 16 Feb 1942 | 0900 | La Spezia | 16 Feb 1942 | 1745 | La Spezia | 12,5 | Exercises. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 19 Feb 1942 | 0848 | La Spezia | 19 Feb 1942 | 1200 | La Spezia | 5,5 | Exercises with the submarines Ambra and Rismondo, escorted by the auxiliaries Crotone and Porto Sdobba. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 20 Feb 1942 | 0820 | La Spezia | 20 Feb 1942 | 1437 | La Spezia | 20,7 | Gunfire exercises. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 2 Mar 1942 | 0753 | La Spezia | 2 Mar 1942 | 1700 | La Spezia | 40,8 | Exercises firing torpedoes by day. Escorted by the torpedo boat La Masa and the auxiliaries Crotone, Torre Annunziata and Santantioco. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 11 Mar 1942 | 1835 | La Spezia | 12 Mar 1942 | 0135 | La Spezia | 35 | Exercises firing torpedoes by night with the torpedo boat Carini. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 12 Mar 1942 | 0740 | La Spezia | 12 Mar 1942 | 1137 | La Spezia | 35 | Search for torpedoes. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 14 Mar 1942 | 0945 | La Spezia | 16 Mar 1942 | 1755 | Augusta | 710,2 | Passage La Spezia-Augusta. Uneventful. | ||
1 | Galletti, Raul | 26 Mar 1942 | 1854 | Augusta | 12 Apr 1942 | 0815 | Augusta | 1751 | Escorted out by the minesweeper Maria Capo Colonne for a patrol north of Libya, between 33°55'N and 34°05'N, and between 22°50'E and 23°50'E. On 8th April, ordered to Grids 7610 and 7636 (60 miles to the west of her initial area), but her patrol was cut short due to serious engine defects which required two months of repairs. | |
27 Mar 1942 | 0845 | At 0845 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | ||||||||
27 Mar 1942 | 1320 | At 1320 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 7,000 metres. The submarine maneuvered to attack on the surface, but then sighted an aircraft at a distance of 4,000 metres. It proved to be Italian and the vessel was later identified as a hospital ship. | ||||||||
30 Mar 1942 | 0420 | At 0420 hours, a Catalina aircraft was sighted at a distance of 300 metres, flying at an altitude of 300-400 metres and steering 110° and the submarine crash-dived. | ||||||||
Galletti, Raul | 28 Apr 1942 | 1525 | Augusta | 28 Apr 1942 | 1835 | Augusta | 7 | Trials. | ||
Galletti, Raul | 30 Apr 1942 | Augusta | 30 Apr 1942 | Augusta | 7 | The Prince of Piedmont, who in 1946, as Umberto II, would become the last King of Italy [his reign would last only a month], visited the submarine base at Augusta and boarded Acciaio to review her crew. | ||||
Galletti, Raul | 2 May 1942 | 0810 | Augusta | 2 May 1942 | 1130 | Augusta | 14,1 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 6 May 1942 | 0810 | Augusta | 6 May 1942 | 0949 | Augusta | 12 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 8 May 1942 | 0850 | Augusta | 8 May 1942 | 1228 | Augusta | 9 | Exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 13 May 1942 | 0837 | Augusta | 13 May 1942 | 1227 | Augusta | 14,3 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 27 May 1942 | 0813 | Augusta | 27 May 1942 | 1405 | Augusta | 34 | Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Partenope. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 29 May 1942 | 0505 | Augusta | 29 May 1942 | 1450 | Augusta | 55,9 | Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boats Partenope and Lince. | ||
2 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 29 May 1942 | 1920 | Augusta | 30 May 1942 | 0148 | Augusta | 80,6 | Sailed with the submarine Giada for a patrol west of Malta to intercept a cruiser squadron reported to have sailed from Gibraltar for an eastward destination. Escorted by the auxiliary Diversi but recalled by MARICOSOM at 2227 hours on the 29th. The light cruisers Eugenio di Savoia and Monteccucoli escorted by the destroyers Ascari and Oriani had also sailed. They were all recalled, including the submarine Alagi ,who had sailed from Trapani, when it was learned that the enemy squadron had reverted course. The enemy force was made of up of the light cruiser HMS Charybdis and the destroyers HMS Westcott and HMS Wrestler and they had sailed to search for the disabled submarine Argo. | |
Beltrami, Ottorino | 1 Jun 1942 | 0210 | Augusta | 2 Jun 1942 | 1512 | Cagliari | 421,3 | Passage Augusta-Cagliari with the submarine Giada. | ||
3 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 4 Jun 1942 | 0325 | Cagliari | 12 Jun 1942 | 0943 | Cagliari | 926,5 | Patrolled north of Cape Caxine (Algeria) between 37°20'N and 37°40'N, and between 01°40'E and 02°20'E. | |
10 Jun 1942 | 0735 | At 0735 hours, a Bristol Bombay aircraft was sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres and the submarine dived. | ||||||||
4 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 12 Jun 1942 | 1533 | Cagliari | 17 Jun 1942 | 1650 | Cagliari | 626 | Patrolled between 37°20' N and 37°40' N, and between 05°20' E and 05°40' E (Grid 9025, north of Cape Caxine (Algeria) with the submarines Bronzo, Emo, Giada, Uarsciek and Mocenigo. On 14th June, ordered to Grid 5801 (60 miles to the east). | |
14 Jun 1942 | 2200 | At 2200 hours, Acciaio received information that two damaged steamers would be passing near its position and altered course to 330° to intercept. Nothing was sighted at 0030 on the 15th and the submarine returned to her patrol zone. | ||||||||
5 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 19 Jun 1942 | 2345 | Cagliari | 21 Jun 1942 | 1615 | Augusta | 403,9 | Sailed to operate between 34°20'N and 36°00'N, and between 16°00'E and 19°00'E, on a patrol line with the submarines Otaria, Emo and Uarsciek against an enemy convoy from the east (VIGOROUS), but at 1515 hours on the 20th, she was ordered back to Augusta. She was met by the torpedo boat Partenope and later by the submarines Alagi and Dessiè and they were being escorted to Augusta by the torpedo boat Abba. | |
Beltrami, Ottorino | 25 Jun 1942 | 2345 | Augusta | 27 Jun 1942 | 1456 | Cagliari | 429,2 | Passage Augusta-Cagliari. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 10 Jul 1942 | 1410 | Cagliari | 11 Jul 1942 | 1020 | La Maddalena | 219,5 | Passage Cagliari-La Maddalena with the submarine Platino. | ||
6 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 22 Jul 1942 | 1400 | La Maddalena | 8 Aug 1942 | 1345 | La Maddalena | 1369,7 | Patrolled south of the Balearic Islands, between 37°40'N and 38°00'N, and between 02°20'E and 02°40'E. | |
30 Jul 1942 | 0838 | 37° 52'N, 2° 48'E | At 0838 hours, an aircraft was seen which appeared to be a Swordfish and the submarine dived. | |||||||
6 Aug 1942 | 0518 | 37° 49'N, 2° 06'E | At 0518 hours, a dark shape that could have been the conning tower of a submarine was sighted in poor visibility. The submarine tried to close but the target appeared to open fire at 0523 hours and contact was lost. | |||||||
7 Aug 1942 | 0652 | 38° 58'N, 3° 20'E | At 0652 hours, a steamer was sighted at 15 miles on a northerly course, 14 knots. It passed out of range. | |||||||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 19 Aug 1942 | 1058 | La Maddalena | 19 Aug 1942 | 1442 | La Maddalena | 22 | Trials. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 20 Aug 1942 | 1238 | La Maddalena | 20 Aug 1942 | 1615 | La Maddalena | 20 | Trials. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 11 Sep 1942 | 0800 | La Maddalena | 11 Sep 1942 | 1300 | La Maddalena | 32 | Exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 13 Sep 1942 | 2355 | La Maddalena | 15 Sep 1942 | 1450 | Augusta | 459 | Passage La Maddalena-Augusta with the submarines Bronzo and Platino. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 3 Oct 1942 | 0829 | Augusta | 3 Oct 1942 | 1255 | Augusta | 28 | Exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 14 Oct 1942 | 0728 | Augusta | 14 Oct 1942 | 1326 | Augusta | 57 | Speed trials. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 5 Nov 1942 | 0725 | Augusta | 6 Nov 1942 | 2340 | Cagliari | 477 | Passage Augusta-Cagliari. | ||
5 Nov 1942 | 1712 1710 (e) | 38° 45'N, 15° 16'E | At 1712 hours, the lookout on the port side aft spotted a large bubble of air at a distance of 800 metres followed by three torpedo tracks. The helm was put hard to starboard and two torpedoes missed astern, the nearest at 20 metres, and the third passed under the keel near the deck gun, on a 160° angle. At 1713 hours, a fourth torpedo was sighted and the submarine kept turning to starboard and it passed on a parallel run 60 metres to port. The attack was made by the submarine HMS P 43 (Lt. A.C. Halliday, RN), later renamed HMS Unison. At 1658 hours, she had sighted the Italian submarine steering 267° at 12 knots. At 1710 hours, she fired a salvo of four torpedoes from a range of 1,400 yards. They missed and the target was observed to have turned northward. | |||||||
7 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 7 Nov 1942 | 0320 | Cagliari | 13 Nov 1942 | 1344 | Cagliari | 903 | Sailed for a patrol between 37°05' N and 37°15' N and between 07°30' E and 08°00' E and this was reached at 0215 hours on the 8th. During the same day, she received an order to proceed to Cape Bougaroni and patrol between 37°20' N and the coast. On 10th November, she was was ordered to patrol off Algiers between 37°00' N and the coast and between 02°40' E and 03°00' E. | |
8 Nov 1942 | 0441 | 37° 10'N, 7° 45'E (0) Position is approximate. | At 0441 hours, a warship was observed to be firing her machine-guns at an aircraft. It was believed to be an Italian submarine. | |||||||
9 Nov 1942 | 2055 | 37° 05'N, 4° 16'E | At 2055 hours, a submarine of the DANDOLO class was sighted on an opposite course. This was possibly Axum returning from patrol. | |||||||
10 Nov 1942 | 0617 0530 (e) | 36° 59'N, 2° 51'E (0) 174° - 37° N, 02° E - 22 miles (Lord Lotham) or 36°38N, 02°02E. | At 0604 hours, a large warship was sighted on the starboard beam at a distance of 5,000 metres. At 0610 hours, it was identified as a cruiser of the LEANDER class because of its single funnel and four gun turrets. The target appeared to proceed at 8 knots. At 0617 hours, a pair of torpedoes were fired from bow tubes at a range of 1,300 metres, followed a minute later by another pair. The third torpedo passed between turret 4 and the stern but no explosion was observed although one was heard. At 0626 hours, three depth charges were heard, followed by two more and it was believed they had been dropped by the cruiser. Acciaio was slightly damaged. More depth charges followed at 0628, 0714 and 0915 hours but the submarine succeeded in eluding her adversaries. The target may have been the armed trawler HMT Lord Lotham (FY 113, 464 tons) escorting convoy T.E.1. She reported being missed by a torpedo at that time although the position does not match (unless there is a typographical error). | |||||||
12 Nov 1942 | 2135 | 37° 49'N, 7° 12'E | At 2135 hours, a submarine was sighted. | |||||||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 17 Nov 1942 | 1655 | Cagliari | 18 Nov 1942 | 2110 | Naples | 295 | Passage Cagliari-Naples. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 4 Jan 1943 | 1111 | Naples | 4 Jan 1943 | 1806 | Naples | 28 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 6 Jan 1943 | 1354 | Naples | 6 Jan 1943 | 1644 | Naples | 2 | Periscope tests. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 8 Jan 1943 | 0827 | Naples | 8 Jan 1943 | 1512 | Naples | 28 | Exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 9 Jan 1943 | 0912 | Naples | 9 Jan 1943 | 1530 | Naples | 24 | Gunfire exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 11 Jan 1943 | 0815 | Naples | 11 Jan 1943 | 1430 | Naples | 29 | Trials and exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 12 Jan 1943 | 0901 | Naples | 12 Jan 1943 | 0931 | Naples | 1 | Changed moorings. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 12 Jan 1943 | 1455 | Naples | 12 Jan 1943 | 1725 | Naples | 1 | Periscope test. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 13 Jan 1943 | 1135 | Naples | 14 Jan 1943 | 2035 | La Spezia | 340 | Passage Naples-La Spezia. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 19 Jan 1943 | 0715 | La Spezia | 19 Jan 1943 | 1404 | La Spezia | 30 | Torpedo firing exercises. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 20 Jan 1943 | 1252 | La Spezia | 20 Jan 1943 | 2050 | La Spezia | 55 | Speed trials. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 23 Jan 1943 | 0812 | La Spezia | 23 Jan 1943 | 1518 | La Spezia | 2 | Gyrocompass tests. | ||
Beltrami, Ottorino | 25 Jan 1943 | 0230 | La Spezia | 26 Jan 1943 | 1110 | Cagliari | 365 | Passage La Spezia-Cagliari. | ||
8 | Beltrami, Ottorino | 27 Jan 1943 | 1730 | Cagliari | 17 Feb 1943 | 1225 | Cagliari | 1864 | Patrolled between 37°20'N and the African coast and between 06°00'E and 06°20'E (between Cape Carbon and Cape Bougaroni). | |
2 Feb 1943 | 0053 | 36° 58'N, 5° 13'E | At 0053 hours, a bomber strafed the submarine twice but missed. | |||||||
7 Feb 1943 | 2327 2330 (e) | 37° 22'N, 6° 14'E | At 2324 hours, the Officer of the Watch spotted an object of the horizon. Shortly after it was identified as a destroyer of the JERVIS class steering 230° at 18 knots. At 2327 hours, a pair of torpedoes were fired from the stern tubes at a range of 2,000 metres. The submarine submerged upon firing and explosions were heard after 80 and 87 seconds. The torpedoes had actually missed. This was the minelayer HMS Abdiel and she avoided the two torpedoes, She had just laid a minefield off Bizerta during the night of 6-7th February. | |||||||
Puccini, Sergio | 24 Feb 1943 | 1327 | Cagliari | 24 Feb 1943 | 1734 | Cagliari | 22 | Exercises. | ||
Puccini, Sergio | 27 Feb 1943 | 0915 | Cagliari | 28 Feb 1943 | 0905 | La Maddalena | 219 | Passage Cagliari-La Maddalena for repairs through (1) Point B Cagliari (2) 39°20'N, 10°20'E (3) 41°00'N, 10°20'E (4) Point A; 40°55'N, 09°30'E. | ||
Puccini, Sergio | 12 Mar 1943 | 1317 | La Maddalena | 12 Mar 1943 | 1853 | La Maddalena | 27 | Exercises. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 30 Mar 1943 | 1015 | La Maddalena | 30 Mar 1943 | 1250 | La Maddalena | 28 | Exercises and command transferred to T.V. Vittorio Pescatore. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 2 Apr 1943 | 1020 | La Maddalena | 2 Apr 1943 | 1104 | La Maddalena | 1 | Changed moorings. | ||
9 | Pescatore, Vittorio | 3 Apr 1943 | 1508 | La Maddalena | 17 Apr 1943 | 0640 | La Maddalena | 1523 | Patrolled between 39°00'N and 39°40'N, and between 05°00'N and 05°40'E and off Cape de Fer, on a barrage line with Velella, Axum and Argo. | |
4 Apr 1943 | 2010 | 39° 40'N, 5° 14'E | At 2010 hours, three aircraft were seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
5 Apr 1943 | 2125 | 39° 10'N, 5° 34'E | At 2125 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 1,500 metres and the submarine dived. | |||||||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 17 Apr 1943 | 0854 | La Maddalena | 17 Apr 1943 | 0926 | La Maddalena | 1 | Changed moorings. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 18 Apr 1943 | 1100 | La Maddalena | 19 Apr 1943 | 0830 | Naples | Passage La Maddalena-Naples. The German submarine chaser UJ-2210 was alerted that she might encounter the submarine south of Ponza Island. | |||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 19 Apr 1943 | 0944 | Castellammare di Stabia | 19 Apr 1943 | 1130 | Castellammare di Stabia | 246 | Passage Naples-Castellammare di Stabia (mileage from 18 April 1943). | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 30 Apr 1943 | 0805 | Castellammare di Stabia | 30 Apr 1943 | 1205 | Castellammare di Stabia | 12 | Exercises. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 5 May 1943 | 0210 | Castellammare di Stabia | 7 May 1943 | 0834 | Bonifacio | 269 | Passage Castellammare di Stabia-Bonifacio. Heard only Hydrophone noises. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 29 May 1943 | 1100 | Bonifacio | 29 May 1943 | 1135 | Bonifacio | 0 | Changed moorings. | ||
Pescatore, Vittorio | 9 Jun 1943 | 0530 | Bonifacio | 9 Jun 1943 | 0740 | La Maddalena | 20 | Passage Bonifacio-La Maddalena. | ||
10 | Pescatore, Vittorio | 12 Jun 1943 | 1715 | La Maddalena | 22 Jun 1943 | 0722 | La Maddalena | 1000 | Patrolled between 38°40'N and 39°20'N and 05°40'E and 06°20'E. On 18th June, she was ordered to a new area between the parallel 37°40'N, and a line from Cape Bougaroni and Cape de Fer, and between meridians 06°34'E and 07°20'E. | |
13 Jun 1943 | 0815 | 40° 30'N, 7° 05'E | At 0815 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 15,000 metres and the submarine dived. | |||||||
15 Jun 1943 | 0122 | 38° 14'N, 6° 40'E | At 0122 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 2,000 metres. At 0130 hours, the submarine dived. | |||||||
17 Jun 1943 | 2310 | 38° 17'N, 7° 06'E | At 2310 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
19 Jun 1943 | 2208 | 37° 10'N, 7° 05'E | At 2208 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 3,000 metres and the submarine dived. | |||||||
11 | Pescatore, Vittorio | 10 Jul 1943 | 0215 | La Maddalena | 27 Jul 1943 | Date??? | Sunk with all hands | Sailed for patrol with the submarine Argento to patrol in zones 108 [between 37°20'N and 37°40'N, 08°20'E and 08°40'E] and 102 [between 37°40'N and 38°00'N, 08°20'E and 08°40'E] respectively through Point B (Punta Scorno) to point 40°40'N, 07°50'E then south to parallel 38°00'N and thence to patrol areas (also mentioned via (a) 41°08'N, 08°19'E (b) 40°40'N, 07°50'E then straight south until 38°00'N). At 1943 hours on 13th July, she was ordered to zone 171. At 1345 hours on 16th July, she was ordered via 39°00'N, 15°00'E (northwest of Stromboli) and point M3 (Cape Vaticano) to zone 80 off the east coast of Sicily (zone A and B) and to keep east of 15°50'E while charging batteries. [she was replacing Brin who had been assigned to the area but had abandoned her patrol because of defects] She disappeared without a trace (five officers and forty-one ratings missing). Postwar research attributed her loss to a torpedo from HMS Unruly but the submarine attacked was Brin. At 1315 hours on 23rd July, she was ordered to carry out an offensive reconnaissance from the southeast corner of her zone on course 149° to 36°16'N, 16°05'E hence course south to parallel 36°06'N and then to lower half of zone 83. She was to have returned to Naples on about 27th July 1943. On 24th July Marina Messina was alerted that the submarine would be returning through the Messina Strait via point S.1 (Capo Dell'Armi or near 37°57'N, 15°41'E) and M3 (Cape Vaticano) and would require escort (none were available) but the submarine did not show up. She may have been sunk on 12th July by Hudson 'Q' of 608 Squadron. | ||
12 Jul 1943 | 0020 | 39° 40'N, 5° 14'E | At 0020 hours, Hudson 'Q' of 608 Squadron, piloted by Pilot Officer R.F. Burling, detected a submarine by radar at a distance of 9 miles. It was proceeding on the surface, steering 110° at 6-8 knots. The U-boat submerged as the aircraft dived on the submarine firing eight rockets from 500 feet. The first five overshot by 20 to 40 feet, the remainder could not be observed, as the aircraft flew over the spot. A large oil patch was observed approximately 600 yards long and 50 yards wide. There is little doubt that the submarine attacked was Acciaio as her patrol area was just a few miles to the west - but was she sunk? We have no solid evidence that she was the victim of this attack. On the other hand, we have not seen evidence of any other attack that could have disposed of her. Giada was in the adjacent area (grid squares 107 and 114) and reported to be in 38°20' N, 08°20' E at 0515 hours, but did not report any attack. | |||||||
18 Jul 1943 | 0400 (e) | At 0400 hours, an aircraft reported a U-boat steering 180° and later altered to 090°. The submarine escaped. This was U-407. | ||||||||
19 Jul 1943 | 2255-2315 (e) | At 2255 hours, Hudson (HZ.215) of 221 Squadron (Flight Lieutenant N. Barron), attacked an Italian submarine but the depth charges hung up. A German U-boat was seen in the same position at 2315 hours and was reported to surface forces. It was probably U-81 (OL Johann-Otto Krieg) in both cases. No evidence this was Acciaio. |
94 entries. 80 total patrol entries (11 marked as war patrols) and 24 events.