Italian submarines in World War Two
Provana (PR)
Provana
| Type | Ocean going | |
| Class | Marcello (12) | |
| Laid down | 3 Feb 1937 | Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone |
| Launched | 16 Mar 1938 | |
| Commissioned | 25 Jun 1938 | |
| End service | ||
| Stricken | ||
| Loss date | 16 Jun 1940 | |
| Loss position | 37° 00'N, 0° 11'E | |
| History | Sunk on 16th June 1940 after being rammed by the French sloop La Curieuse in 37°00'N, 00°11'E (north of Oran). | |
| Fate | ||
Commands
| Commander | Date from | Date to | Command notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.C. Ugo Botti | 3 May 1939 | 16 Jun 1940 |
Ships hit
No ships hit by this submarine.Patrols and events
| Commander | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botti, Ugo | 5 Jun 1940 | 1800 | Naples | 16 Jun 1940 | 1630 | Sunk with all hands | Sailed for a patrol in the western Mediterranean with Morosini, who last saw her at 0240 hours on 10th June 1940. Rammed and sunk by French sloop La Curieuse, 80 miles north of Oran. No survivors. Eight officers and fifty-four ratings killed. Had been ordered to Trapani on 23rd June, through 38°20'N, 07°18'E, but did not answer. Ugo Botti was the first submariner of the Second World War to be awarded the Medaglia D'Oro (posthumously). British Intelligence learned of her loss on 26 August 1940 when the Italian Navy made an inquiry through the Red Cross to know if there had been survivors in captivity. | |
| 16 Jun 1940 | 1630 (e) | (e) 37° 00'N, 0° 11'E (0) 80 miles north of Oran. | In the afternoon of the 16th, the French convoy IR2F was proceeding from Algiers to Marseille. It consisted of the transports Florida (9,331 GRT, built 1926), Kita (3,886 GRT, built 1936), Edéa (3,747 GRT, built 1936), Medie II (5,078 GRT, built 1922) and Djebel Aurès (2,835 GRT, built 1929), screened by the sloops La Curieuse and Commandant Bory. This convoy was the one probably sighted by Morosini earlier in the day. At 1630 hours, two torpedo tracks were observed, one missed La Curieuse (Capitaine de corvette Le Blanc) 200 metres ahead. The sloop combed the tracks and dropped depth charges. Commandant Bory did the same. From the bridge of La Curieuse, a periscope was spotted and shortly after a submarine was seen attempting to surface. At full speed, the French vessel rammed her. The 630-ton sloop was actually smaller than the submarine and, following the collision she embarked 150 tons of water. The crew was ordered to be ready to abandon ship, but the damage was under control and she limped away at 8 knots. She reached Oran the next morning. The submarine was certainly Provana, known to be operating in the area. There were no survivors. eight officers and fifty-four ratings went down with her. She was the first Italian submarine to be lost in the Mediterranean. Despite several claims of U-boats being sunk by the French Navy during the 1939-1940 campaign, Provana was the only victim. | ||||||
1 entries. 1 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 1 events.