Italian submarines in World War Two


Flutto (FL)
Flutto


Flutto (USMM)

TypeSea going 
ClassTritone (type I) (26) 
Laid down 1 Dec 1941 Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone
Launched19 Nov 1942
Commissioned20 Mar 1943
End service
Stricken
Loss date11 Jul 1943
Loss position37° 34'N, 15° 43'E
History
Fate Torpedoed and sunk on 11th July 1943 to the east of Sicily in position 37°34'N,15°43'E by the British motor torpedo boats MTB 640, MTB 651 and MTB 670.

Commands


CommanderDate fromDate toCommand notes
C.C. Raffaello Allegri20 Mar 194316 Jun 1943
T.V. Francesco Caprile17 Jun 194311 Jul 1943

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

 CommanderDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
4 Feb 19430935Monfalcone4 Feb 19431645MonfalconeTrials.

6 Feb 19430925Monfalcone6 Feb 19431500MonfalconeTrials.

8 Feb 19430900Monfalcone8 Feb 19431600PolaPassage Monfalcone-Pola.

9 Feb 19430900Pola9 Feb 19431730PolaTrials.

11 Feb 19430915Pola11 Feb 19431615PolaTrials.

12 Feb 19430000Pola12 Feb 19431705PolaTrials.

13 Feb 19430935Pola13 Feb 19431430MonfalconePassage Pola-Monfalcone.

23 Feb 19430900Monfalcone23 Feb 19431700MonfalconeTrials.

24 Feb 19431530Monfalcone24 Feb 19431930MonfalconeTrials. The submarine entered service on 20th March 1943.

Allegri, Raffaello20 Mar 1943Monfalcone20 Mar 1943MonfalconeEntered service.

Allegri, Raffaello13 Apr 19431600Monfalcone13 Apr 19431806Monfalcone23Trials.

Allegri, Raffaello19 Apr 19430725Monfalcone19 Apr 19431325Venice72,5Passage Monfalcone-Venice.

Allegri, Raffaello20 Apr 19430850Venice20 Apr 19431235Venice12,5Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello21 Apr 19431305Venice21 Apr 19431645Venice13Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello22 Apr 19431401Venice22 Apr 19431620Venice8Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello23 Apr 19430807Venice23 Apr 19431020Venice12Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello23 Apr 19431255Venice23 Apr 19431500Venice10Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello26 Apr 19430853Venice26 Apr 19431550Pola84Passage Venice-Pola.

Allegri, Raffaello30 Apr 19430740Pola30 Apr 19431510Pola26Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat T.3.

Allegri, Raffaello3 May 19430854Castellammare di Stabia3 May 19431746Castellammare di Stabia32Trials.

Allegri, Raffaello6 May 19430815Castellammare di Stabia6 May 19431920Castellammare di Stabia13Gyrocompass tests.

Allegri, Raffaello7 May 19432000Castellammare di Stabia9 May 19431125Taranto527Passage Castellammare di Stabia-Taranto.

Allegri, Raffaello11 May 19430725Taranto11 May 19431208Taranto21,5Trials.

Allegri, Raffaello15 May 19430815Taranto15 May 19431104Taranto19,5Trials.

Allegri, Raffaello18 May 19431856Taranto18 May 19431940Taranto0,5Changed anchorage.

Allegri, Raffaello26 May 19431848Taranto30 May 19430625Naples548Passage Taranto-Naples. Uneventful.

Allegri, Raffaello31 May 19431848Taranto31 May 19430625Castellammare di Stabia13Passage Taranto-Castellammare di Stabia.

Allegri, Raffaello2 Jun 19431335Castellammare di Stabia2 Jun 19431935Castellammare di Stabia33Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello3 Jun 19430835Castellammare di Stabia3 Jun 19431535Castellammare di Stabia36Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello4 Jun 19430830Castellammare di Stabia4 Jun 19431410Castellammare di Stabia29Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello5 Jun 19430842Castellammare di Stabia5 Jun 19431343Castellammare di Stabia23Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello7 Jun 19430625Castellammare di Stabia7 Jun 19430750Naples15Passage Castellammare di Stabia-Naples.

Allegri, Raffaello8 Jun 19431320Naples8 Jun 19431445Castellammare di Stabia15Passage Naples-Castellammare di Stabia.

Allegri, Raffaello9 Jun 19430850Castellammare di Stabia9 Jun 19431600Castellammare di Stabia44Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello10 Jun 19430853Castellammare di Stabia10 Jun 19431207Castellammare di Stabia19Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello11 Jun 19430710Castellammare di Stabia11 Jun 19431343Castellammare di Stabia37Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello13 Jun 19430640Castellammare di Stabia13 Jun 19431930Castellammare di Stabia42Exercises.

Allegri, Raffaello14 Jun 19431721Castellammare di Stabia14 Jun 19432040Castellammare di Stabia24Exercises with the torpedo boat Ardimentoso.

Allegri, Raffaello16 Jun 19431630Castellammare di Stabia16 Jun 19432012Castellammare di Stabia19Exercises.

Caprile, Francesco17 Jun 19431415Castellammare di Stabia17 Jun 19431750Castellammare di Stabia19Exercises.

Caprile, Francesco18 Jun 19431433Castellammare di Stabia18 Jun 19431753Castellammare di Stabia18Exercises.

Caprile, Francesco19 Jun 19430834Castellammare di Stabia19 Jun 19432122Castellammare di Stabia29Exercises.

Caprile, Francesco29 Jun 19430816Castellammare di Stabia29 Jun 19431705Castellammare di Stabia29Exercises.

Caprile, Francesco4 Jul 19430000Naples5 Jul 19430600La MaddalenaPassage Naples-La Maddalena at 13 knots via 40°20'N, 11°40'E.

Caprile, Francesco7 Jul 19430509Porto Palma (La Maddalena)7 Jul 19430805Bonifacio21Passage Porto Palma (La Maddalena)-Bonifacio.

1Caprile, Francesco10 Jul 19430500Bonifacio11 Jul 19432130Sunk with all handsSailed via Cape Figari (ca. 41°00'N, 10°00'E) for patrol in area 171 [between 38°15'N and 38°25'N, and between 12°00'E and 12°20'E] [Velella and Argo were to patrol next to her in 172 and 173].

However, the same evening, she was ordered to proceed via 39°00'N, 15°00'E and Point M3 to area 84 [between 36°40'N and 36°50'N, and between 15°20'E and 15°40'E].

She was reported to have crossed the Strait of Messina at 1705 hours on the 11th. She had done about 400 miles in 40.5 hours. Probably sunk off off Catania by British motor torpedo boats MTB 640, MTB 651 and MTB 670 in 37°34'N, 15°43'E (six officers and forty-three ratings killed, no survivors). At 0007 hours on the 14th, MARICOSOM, unaware of her loss, ordered her to occupy the southern half of zone 81 [between 37°10'N and 37°15'N, and between 15°20'E and 15°40'E].

On 16th July, she was ordered to an area between 37°20 and 37°40'N, and between 15°40'E and the Sicilian coast.

On 20th July, she was ordered to return to La Maddalena via the Strait of Messina with an ETA of 23rd July but failed to show up.
  11 Jul 1943
2130 (e)

(e) 34° 34'N, 15° 43'E
At 2130 hours, the British motor torpedo boats MTB 640 (Lt. R.R. Smith, RN), MTB 651 (Kenneth Horlock) and MTB 670 of the 32nd MTB Flotilla were carrying an offensive patrol off Catania, when a surfaced submarine was attacked. The submarine tried to fight off the attack and, according to the British eyewitnesses, she returned very effective fire with a machine gun on the conning tower before diving. She inflicted seventeen casualties on the MTBs. MTB-651 had one wounded (the coxwain), the distribution of casualties on the other two boats is not known. The MTBs fired torpedoes which missed and dropped depth charges. The submarine was believed to have been seriously damaged. Our thanks to Ken Gadsdon who served on MTB-651 and provided an eyewitness account to the action.

This submarine could only be Flutto. She may have been sunk in this encounter as no subsequent news were received from her. T.V. Francesco Caprile, five officers and forty-three ratings perished, there were no survivors.
  11 Jul 19431510
1445 (e)

(0) 24° - Cape Peloro - 11 miles
At 1510 hours, a submarine was sighted and reported to MARICOSOM.

This was HMS Ultor (Lieutenant G.E. Hunt, DSC, RN). She had sighted the Italian submarine, unescorted and steering 180° at 10 knots. The British submarine had instructions to reserve her torpedoes for cruisers and battleships in case the Italian Battle Fleet sailed to interfere with the landings in Sicily. She could only carry out a dummy attack on Flutto. For the Italian submarine, this was a reprieve of only a few hours.

47 entries. 46 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 2 events.

All Italian submarines