Michele Bianchi (BH, I.11)
Bianchi

Type	Ocean going
Class	Marconi (17)
Laid down	15 Feb 1939	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched	3 Dec 1939
Commissioned	15 Apr 1940
End service
Stricken
Loss date	5 Jul 1941
Loss position	45° 03'N, 4° 01'W
History
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk on 5th July 1941 in the Bay of Biscay in position 45°03'N, 04°01'W by the British submarine HMS Tigris.

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
C.C. Vittorio Carminati	26 Apr 1940	16 Jun 1940
C.C. Adalberto Giovannini	19 Jun 1940	7 Apr 1941
T.V. Mario Tei	8 Apr 1941	30 Apr 1941
C.C. Franco Tosoni Pittoni	15 Apr 1941	5 Jul 1941

Ships hit

	Date	Commander	Ship hit	Type	GRT	Nat.	Loss type
1.	14 Feb 1941	C.C. Adalberto Giovannini	Alnmoor	Cargo ship	6,573		Sunk
2.	24 Feb 1941	C.C. Adalberto Giovannini	Huntingdon	Cargo ship	10,946		Sunk
3.	27 Feb 1941	C.C. Adalberto Giovannini	Baltistan	Cargo ship	6,803		Sunk

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
	Carminati, Vittorio	9 Jun 1940	0740	La Spezia	9 Jun 1940	0950	La Spezia	2	Exercises.
	Carminati, Vittorio	12 Jun 1940	0830	La Spezia	12 Jun 1940	1740	La Spezia	53,2	Exercises.
	Carminati, Vittorio	13 Jun 1940	0905	La Spezia	13 Jun 1940	1720	La Spezia	50,3	Exercises.
	Carminati, Vittorio	15 Jun 1940	0735	La Spezia	15 Jun 1940	1309	La Spezia	50,4	Exercises.
	Carminati, Vittorio	17 Jun 1940	0950	La Spezia	17 Jun 1940	1255	La Spezia	48,2	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	25 Jun 1940	1655	La Spezia	26 Jun 1940	1920	Naples	347,5	Passage La Spezia-Naples.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	2 Jul 1940	0915	Naples	2 Jul 1940	1655	Naples	48	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	4 Jul 1940	0920	Naples	4 Jul 1940	1602	Naples	40	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	6 Jul 1940	0910	Naples	6 Jul 1940	1635	Naples	40	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	8 Jul 1940	1340	Naples	9 Jul 1940	1505	La Spezia	347	Passage Naples-La Spezia.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	15 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	15 Jul 1940	1748	La Spezia	81	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	24 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	24 Jul 1940	1650	La Spezia	43	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	26 Jul 1940	0755	La Spezia	26 Jul 1940	1821	La Spezia	76	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	28 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	28 Jul 1940	1558	La Spezia	7,5	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	30 Jul 1940	0550	La Spezia	30 Jul 1940	1226	La Spezia	7,3	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	31 Jul 1940	1330	La Spezia	31 Jul 1940	1646	La Spezia	4	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	3 Aug 1940	0800	La Spezia	3 Aug 1940	1811	La Spezia	6	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	6 Aug 1940	0450	La Spezia	6 Aug 1940	1907	La Spezia	15	Exercises.
1	Giovannini, Adalberto	13 Aug 1940	2100	La Spezia	7 Sep 1940	0907	La Spezia	2027	Patrolled off Gibraltar, between Gibraltar meridian, Spanish coast, Cape de Gata, Alboran Island and Cape Tres Forcas. The submarine had problems caused by leaks of methylene chloride fumes, emanating from her air conditioning unit.
		25 Aug 1940	0603	(0) Off Europa Point (Gibraltar) and Cape de Gata.	In the receding daylight, Michele Bianchi had made several sightings, mostly of presumed Spanish merchant and fishing vessels. At 0558 hours, a small warship, of the BARRICADE class or sloop, was sighted and T.V. Giovannini ordered a single torpedo fired. Due to a misunderstanding, two were fired (533mm, G.I.H. type) from a distance of 500 metres. Two explosions were heard in the torpedo room, but nowhere else.
		2 Sep 1940	1230-1301	(0) Near Alboran and Tre Forcas.	At 1230 hours, two ACASTA class destroyers were sighted. C.C. Giovannini had intended to fire two torpedoes from the stern tubes, but the submarine was detected. Bianchi was taken down to 80 metres and was shaken by five depth charges at 1301 hours. At 1308 hours, six depth charges exploded at a distance, followed by four more at 1314 hours. The submarine escaped by going down to 124 metres. These were actually the destroyers HMS Wishart and HMS Velox. The latter attacked the submarine. Bianchi had been sighted at 1020 hours by an aircraft and the destroyers were sent to investigate. At 2307 hours, the submarine surfaced to an empty horizon.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	16 Oct 1940	0900	La Spezia	16 Oct 1940	1718	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	18 Oct 1940	0725	La Spezia	18 Oct 1940	1905	La Spezia		Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	19 Oct 1940	0705	La Spezia	19 Oct 1940	1731	La Spezia	56	Exercises with submarine H.6 in position 273° - Bonassola steeple - 5' [mileage reported by H.6 as 56 miles].
	Giovannini, Adalberto	25 Oct 1940	1330	La Spezia	25 Oct 1940	1815	La Spezia		Exercises.
2	Giovannini, Adalberto	27 Oct 1940	1900	La Spezia	3 Nov 1940	1912 (1810 local time)	Tangiers	927	Passage to Bordeaux, Damaged near Gibraltar by strong current on the bottom (went down to 150+ meters), she took refuge in Tangiers. Passed Gibraltar on 3rd November 1940.
		3 Nov 1940	0220-0423	(0) Straits of Gibraltar.	At 0105 hours, Bianchi entered the Straits of Gibraltar at a depth of 90 metres. At 0220 hours, an enemy destroyer was hunting her. At 0355 hours, the enemy vessel appeared to be using a towing mine (British destroyers did not use them) and dropped five depth charges but left the area at 0423 hours. Encountering very strong currents, Bianchi had gone down to various depths, reaching 118 metres, 142 metres and a little over 150 metres. The submarine was short of air and had difficulty in steering manually, as the Calzoni system had to be shut down because of its noises. On surfacing, a destroyer was sighted at 6,000 metres and with little time to renew its air supply, Bianchi proceeded to enter Tangier.
3	Giovannini, Adalberto	13 Dec 1940	0248	Tangiers	19 Dec 1940	1303	Le Verdon	1150	Sailed for Bordeaux with submarine Benedetto Brin. Both submarines eluded the only British trawler in surveillance, as the destroyers had all been sent on Operation RATION. At the dawn of the 15th, sighted the submarine Velella and exchanged signals.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	19 Dec 1940	1925	Le Verdon	19 Dec 1940	1920	Pauillac	27	Passage Le Verdon-Pauillac.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	20 Dec 1940	0954	Pauillac	20 Dec 1940	1456	Pauillac	50	Exercises.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	22 Dec 1940	1057	Pauillac	22 Dec 1940	1405	Bordeaux	25	Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	1 Feb 1941	0945	Bordeaux	1 Feb 1941	1554	Le Verdon	53	Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	2 Feb 1941	0855	Le Verdon	2 Feb 1941	1620	La Pallice	55	Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice.
4	Giovannini, Adalberto	5 Feb 1941	1750	La Pallice	4 Mar 1941	1430	Pauillac	4436	Patrolled off Ireland (1) in zone E between 54°00'N and 55°00'N, and between 18°00'W and 20°00'W (2) from 14th February, in zone C between 56°00'N and 57°00'N, and between 15°00'W and 23°00'W (3) from 19th February, in zone A between 58°45'N and 59°30'N, and between 15°00'W and 25°00'W and then chasing convoys.
		14 Feb 1941	0322	55° 16'N, 19° 07'W (0) Approximately.	At 0145 hours, Bianchi had just entered zone C, when a dark vessel was sighted steering on a NE course. At 0322 hours, a single torpedo (450mm) was fired from a bow tube at a distance of 600 metres. It appeared to miss closely ahead or perhaps to have passed under. The submarine maneuvered to gain a more favourable position ahead. This was the British Alnmoor (6,573 GRT, built 1922). She had sailed from Halifax on 31st January 1941 for Glasgow. She disappeared during that period, she was last heard of on 10th February in 51°26' N, 29°03' W. At 0436 hours, a pair of torpedoes (533mm) were fired from bow tubes at a distance of 700 metres. The vessel was hit and sank, stern first, in 65 seconds. Forty were killed, there were no survivors. It has been suggested that it was the British Belcrest (4,517 GRT, built 1939), a straggler of convoy S.C.21, which sailed from Halifax on 31st January for Newport (UK) and would have likely passed south of Ireland. Belcrest was probably sunk by U-101 on 15th February 1941 and Holystone (5,462 GRT, 1927) by U-123. The latter had sailed from Oban for Halifax. (Special thanks to David Sibley for solving this case)
		14 Feb 1941	0452	55° 16'N, 19° 07'W (0) Approximately.	At 0452 hours, a dark ship was sighted steering NW. It must have witnessed the sinking of Alnmoor and escaped in a rain squall.
		21 Feb 1941	1300	58° 55'N, 16° 15'W	At 1300 hours, Bianchi altered course to intercept a convoy reported by BETASOM some 70 miles away. On her way, an Italian submarine was sighted at 1945 hours (perhaps Marcello?) Bianchi then crossed the presumed course of the convoy, first at 2245 hours and again at 0045 hours on 22nd February without sighting anything.
		22 Feb 1941	1116	57° 46'N, 17° 41'W (0) Approximately.	At 1116 hours, a periscope was sighted. Bianchi took altered course to avoid it. Later in the afternoon, she heard some 40 depth-charges in the distance.
		23 Feb 1941	2256 2346 (e)	59° 29'N, 20° 43'W (e) 58° 13'N, 21° 33'E	At 1745 hours, a steamer was sighted on the horizon. Five minutes, later a 750-ton German submarine was seen at 1,500 metres, apparently maneuvering to attack the same target. At 2245 hours, the German boat (this was U-107 under KK Günter Hessler ), had succeeded in torpedoing the vessel but she did not sink. This was the Ocean Boarding Vessel HMS Manistee (5,360 GRT, built 1920) from O.B. 288. She signalled to the Admiralty: "HAVE BEEN STRUCK BY TORPEDO ON PORT SIDE POSN. IS 058°13' NORTH 021°33' WEST 2145/23". At 2256 hours, Bianchi fired a torpedo (533mm) from a distance of 600 metres. Giovannini claimed it hit the stern and she was abandoned although this appears to be doubtful. Manistee made another signal: "MAKING WATER IN MAIN BUNKER, COURSE 060° SPEED 6 KNOTS. DAMAGE AT PRESENT UNDER CONTROL. 2245/23". The next morning, Manistee was finished off by U-107. There were no survivors (141 missing).
		24 Feb 1941	0437 0235 GMT (e)	59° 55'N, 21° 03'W	At 0345 hours, a large vessel was sighted zigzagging, steering 230°. Bianchi took a parallel course to intercept. The vessel was described as very similar to the British Adrastus (7,936 GRT, built 1923). At 0437 hours, a pair torpedoes (450mm, W 200 type) were fired from the stern tubes at 6-700 metres. Nothing was heard or observed, but she was in fact hit and the crew was abandoning ship. Most likely this was the British Huntingdon (11,509 GRT, 1922) zigzagging on mean course 200° bound from Glasgow to Freetown after convoy O.B. 288 had dispersed. She reported torpedoed at about 0235 hours GMT and abandoned ten minutes later. There were no casualties. The survivors were picked up by the Greek Papalemos and landed at Horta (Azores). At 0529 hours, a third torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) was fired from a bow tube from a distance of 400 metres. It hit in the forward hold. At 0545 hours, the vessel sank bow first. At 1011 hours, the submarine went deep to reload and heard 28 depth charges (1119-1416 hours) followed by another 17 (2000-2149 hours). It has been suggested that her victim may have been Waynegate later sunk by U.-73 in 58°01' N, 21°47' W. All forty-four of her crew were rescued (thirty-nine by the French destroyer Léopard at 0900 hours on the 24th. Or perhaps, Linaria later sunk by U-96 in 61°25' N, 25°00' W at 0116 hours (GST).
		26 Feb 1941	0200		At 0200 hours, Bianchi received a signal from BETASOM reporting a convoy. This was followed by six more signals, the last one at 2308 hours. She altered course to intercept.
		27 Feb 1941	0332	53° 54'N, 14° 30'W	At 0145 hours, a large vessel was sighted proceeding at high speed without zigzagging. At 0332 hours, a pair of torpedoes (450mm, W 200 type) from the bow tubes at 1,500-1,600 metres. They missed. C.C. Giovannini did not see nor hear an explosion but was under the impression that the target had slowed down. The vessel reportedly dropped three depth-charges and was lost in the mist. This may have been British Empire Ability (7,603 GRT, built 1931).
		27 Feb 1941	0516 0315 (e)	53° 50'N, 14° 35'W	At 0447 hours, a dark vessel was sighted zigzagging. At 0516 hours, a torpedo (533mm, S.I. type) was fired from a stern tube at 600 metres. It hit the vessel with a loud explosion under the aft mast and she sank. This was the British Baltistan (6,803 GRT, built 1937) who was identified by the submarine from her SOS. She had been with convoy O.B. 290, but her position gave her as 90 miles ahead of the convoy. Fifty-one were killed. Eighteen of the twenty survivors were rescued by the destroyer HMS Brighton and landed on 4th March 1941 at Plymouth, but two had died and were buried at sea.
		27 Feb 1941	0540		At 0540 hours, a dark vessel was sighted at 2,000 metres. Bianchi maneuvered for a stern attack as she had only one torpedo in the forward tubes. However, the vessel was acting suspiciously and C.C. Giovannini decided to take his submarine deep to reload. She had now one 533mm torpedo in a bow tube, one 450mm and two 533mm torpedoes in the stern tubes and one 533mm reserve torpedo aft.
	Giovannini, Adalberto	5 Mar 1941	0833	Pauillac	5 Mar 1941	1030 or 1204	Bordeaux	24	Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux.
	Tei, Mario	8 Apr 1941		Bordeaux	30 Apr 1941		Bordeaux		Refit.
5	Tosoni Pittoni, Franco	2 May 1941	1045	Bordeaux	28 May 1941	2050	Bordeaux	?	Sailed escorted by the German minesweepers M-6 and M-21 and Sperrbrecher 16 for patrol between 53°00'N and 55°30'N, and between 20°00'W and 25°00'W. Escorted back by M-26?
		7 May 1941	1530	49° 35'N, 18° 45'W	At 1530 hours, Bianchi, on her way to her patrol area, was informed by BETASOM (1220/7) that a German aircraft had ditched in Italian Grid 6005/41 (48°05' N, 15°35' W), some 200 miles away and she turned back to search. The submarine arrived in the area at 0630 hours on the 8th. She searched until 1225 hours, without success. Barbarigo also joined in the search, but did not locate the aircraft either.
		9 May 1941	1115	49° 30'N, 19° 40'W	At 1115 hours, Bianchi was informed of a convoy sighted in at 1100 hours in 54°45' N, 17°25' W, steering 250°, 8 knots and altered course to intercept. The submarine received two further signals from Barbarigo (0315/10), the first reporting a convoy in 52°30' N, 20°40' W and the second (0545/10) in 51°50' N, 20°30' W course 180°, 10 knots, but this was some 200 miles away. At best, the submarine could make a gain of only 4 knots an hour to catch up, meaning she could not reach the area before at least 48 hours and the chase was abandoned.
		12 May 1941	1045	56° 40'N, 24° 40'W	At 1045 hours, two fast vessels with four escort vessels were sighted steering 090°, 14 knots. Bianchi dived, mistakenly believing that one of the escorts had sighted her and then surfaced at 1135 hours and gave chase. At 1150 hours, she was forced to submerge again by an escort. Problems with her transmission equipment prevented the submarine from making an enemy report before 1300 hours. It was estimated that the enemy's speed was at least 12 knots, forcing the submarine to increase speed to 14 knots to keep contact. At 1700 hours, Bianchi was forced again to submerge by an escort and this time lost contact.
		13 May 1941	1945	55° 50'N, 24° 02'W	At 1945 hours, Bianchi altered course at 8 knots, to intercept a steamer reported by Morosini (1815/13) in 54°45' N, 21°05' W, steering 275°, 14 knots and which should have passed between Bianchi and Barbarigo during the night but nothing was sighted.
		15 May 1941	0730	54° 20'N, 18° 30'W	At 1200 hours on 14th March, Bianchi had been ordered by BETASOM (1036/14) to proceed to form a patrol line which was to be as follow: 1. Bianchi in Italian Grid 7626/22 (54°15' N, 18°15' W). 2. Barbarigo in Grid 5828/66 (53°55' N, 17°55' W). 3. Morosini in Grid 5828/33 (53°25' N, 17°25' W). 4. Otaria in Grid 5887/61 (53°05' N, 16°05' W). At 0730 hours on the 15th, she was forced to dive by an aircraft. At 0815 hours, she surfaced again and resumed her chase of the convoy.
		15 May 1941	0915-0921	54° 15'N, 18° 25'W (0) Italian Grid 5826/46.	At 0915 hours, the smokes of the convoy were sighted on the horizon. Initially, it appears to be 15 to 20 smokes. At 0921 hours, Bianchi made an enemy report and attempted to close submerged. Later, she could make out some thirty ships in two columns, steering 240°, 270° and then 300°. At 1300 hours, she finally surfaced to make a more detailed report
		15 May 1941	1535 1545 (e)	54° 10'N, 18° 35'W	At 1535 hours, Bianchi was still trailing the convoy, when a camouflaged aircraft was sighted coming out from the sun. At 1545 hours, the submarine dived. The aircraft was Wellington 'J' of 221 Squadron, piloted by Squadron Leader Montague-Smith. It had sighted the submarine as she submerged and released a stick of three depth charges. Curiously, it was only 35 minutes after diving that the depth charges were heard in the submarine. It is unclear if these were released by the aircraft or by surface vessels as the hydrophones were unreliable, having failed to detect the convoy earlier. On this day, the destroyers HMS Winchelsea and HMS Vanquisher carried out an A/S hunt in 54°11' N, 18°57' W. The corvettes HMS Hibiscus and HMS Rhododendron did the same in 53°40' N, 19°30' W. It is possible that Bianchi was on the receiving end of either of them.
		15 May 1941	2230		At 2230 hours, Bianchi surfaced and received an order from BETASOM (2155/15) to form a new patrol line, which was to be as follow: 1. Bianchi in Italian Grid 1820/51 (50°05' N, 21°45' W). 2. Barbarigo in Grid 1894/61 (50°05' N, 20°55' W). 3. Morosini in Grid 1826/61 (50°05' N, 18°55' W). 4. Otaria in Grid 1835/61 (50°05' N, 19°55' W). 5. Malaspina in Grid 1826/31 (50°05' N, 18°25' W). She altered course to execute it.
		19 May 1941	1530	54° 35'N, 24° 10'W	At 1530 hours, Bianchi received a signal from Otaria (1000/19) reporting a convoy. She could not catch up, but steered to 105° to be in a position to intercept, should the convoy alter course northward. At 0130 hours on the 20th, a second signal from Otaria (2200/19) put the convoy in an unattainable position (51°25' N, 20°55' W), steering 090°, 8 knots. Bianchi abandoned her patrol and returned home.
6	Tosoni Pittoni, Franco	4 Jul 1941	2200	Le Verdon	5 Jul 1941	(0958)	Sunk (with all hands)		Sailed for patrol west of Gibraltar, escorted out by Sperrbrecher III. The submarine was to have sailed at 2045 hours on 3rd July, but was delayed (due to defects?). Her route should have taken her through 44°00'N, 15°00'W, and 33°00'N, 15°00'W then to 33°00'N, 13°00'W, where she was to patrol within 30 miles. At 1130 hours on 8th July, she was ordered to Grid 2772/11 and at 0020 hours on the 11th in Grid 85815/56. At 2030 hours on 12th July, the submarine was ordered to Grid 7596/21 (38°05'N, 20°15'W). At 1525 hours on 15th July, she was ordered to Grid 3932/33 (33°25'N, 12°25'W). Believed sunk by HMS Tigris (initially credited to HMS Severn) on 7th August. Tigris reported sinking a SQUALO-class submarine steering 295° at 12 knots at 0958 hours on 5th August in 45°03'N, 04°01'W. Eight officers, fifty-one ratings and two civilian workers killed. There were no survivors. On 13th July, BETASOM requested she acknowledge a signal but received no answer. Her loss was only disclosed by the communiqué no.688 on 20th April 1942.
		5 Jul 1941	0958 (e)		At 0941 hours, the submarine HMS Tigris (Lt. Cdr. H.F. Bone, RN) was patrolling off the Gironde, when Lieutenant Coe sighted what he initially thought to be a surface vessel, escorted by two trawlers. It was then ascertained to be an Italian submarine of the SQUALO class steering 295° at 12 knots. At 0958 hours, Lt. Cdr. Bone ordered the firing of six torpedoes at 6-second intervals from a distance of about 3,000 yards. Explosions were heard after 168 and 169 seconds (giving a range of 3,800 yards) followed by four more after 6 minutes, which were probably torpedoes exploding on the sea bed. Bianchi is believed to have been sunk in this attack. Eight officers, fifty-one ratings and two civilian workers perished.

53 entries. 35 total patrol entries (6 marked as war patrols) and 23 events.

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