Italian submarines in World War Two


CB 17
CB 17

TypeMidget 
ClassCB (42) 
Laid down Caproni-Taliedo, Milan
Launched
Commissioned
End service
Stricken
Loss date4 Mar 1945
Loss position44° 52'N, 13° 49'E
History Captured by the German when still under construction. Transferred to the Italian Socialist Republic on completion in late 1943. Renamed CB 6. Sunk during an Allied air raid on 3 April 1945
Fate

Commands


CommanderDate fromDate toCommand notes
G.M. Gabriele BattistiniJan 19453 Apr 1945

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

 CommanderDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
8 Sep 1943Trieste8 Sep 1943TriesteSeized at Trieste by the Germans. Reported in Trieste in August 1944.

1Battistini, Gabriele29 Jan 19451700Pola2 Feb 19450600PolaSailed with CB 20 for patrol south of Island of Lussino or southwest of Premuda and Scirda, on traffic lane between Ancona and Zara. Recalled on 31/1, on account of Operation KOGGE. Operation KOGGE was a minelaying operation carried out by the German torpedo boats TA-41 and TA-45 (KOGGE 1 during the night of 31st January, KOGGE 2 at 0400 hours, on 4th February 1945.

225 Feb 19451830Pola25 Feb 19451925PolaSailed to operate against an enemy landing at Pag. Early return due defects to ventilation trunk.

3Battistini, Gabriele31 Mar 19451800Pola3 Apr 19450030SunkSailed for special mission operation MOEWE (under German orders) to land two saboteurs from the EULENSPIEGEL detachment at Castel di Mezzo (about 2,000 meters south of Cattolica). At about 1900 hours, surfaced near Pessaro but shortly after was seen by allied aircraft and attempted to escape by diving several times. The mission was abandoned and Battistini decided to turn back but was bombed at 2200 hours on 2nd April. At 0030 hours on 3rd April, she surfaced and was abandoned. The crew was rescued at 0730 hours the same day.
  2 Apr 1945
0815 (e)
At 0815 hours, a midget submarine, probably CB 17, was attacked by cannon fire from a Spitfire (1435 Squadron). The submarine submerged and escaped.
  2 Apr 1945
2040 (e)
At 2040 hours, a midget submarine, believed to be CB 17, was sighted by a Wellington (38 Squadron) which dropped two sticks of 250 lb Torpex depth charges. The results were not observed.
  3 Apr 1945
0107 (e)
At 0107 hours, CB 17 was attacked by a second and then a third Wellington bomber (38 Squadron). Four 250-lb bombs were dropped by the former, who sighted a green flash and a column of water. Nine 250-lb depth charges were dropped by the latter who sighted wooden wreckage.

C.B.17 (she is also reported to have been renamed CB 6) was sunk and her crew of four and two agents were picked up by a Catalina (two agents had been captured on the morning of 2nd April, probably from CB 18).

A midget submarine had been sighted at 0800 hours on the 4th, in 44°25' N, 13°45' E. It was later reported that C.B.18 returned to Pola undamaged and attacked by aircraft. HMS Belvoir and HMS Whaddon and three Yugoslav PT boats (probably PT-211, PT-213 and PT-217) were summoned to the scene but saw nothing.

6 entries. 4 total patrol entries (3 marked as war patrols) and 3 events.

All Italian submarines