Alessandro Malaspina (MP, I.6)
Malaspina

Type	Ocean going
Class	Marconi (17)
Laid down	1 Mar 1939	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched	18 Feb 1940
Commissioned	20 Jun 1940
End service
Stricken
Loss date	10 Sep 1941
Loss position	46° 23'N, 11° 22'W
History
Fate	Went missing after sailing from Bordeaux on 7th September 1941 for the area to the West of Gibraltar, most likely sunk on 10th September 1941 in the Bay of Biscay position 46°23’N, 11°22’W by a Sunderland aircraft (RAAF Sq.10/U).

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
T.V. Alfredo Musotto	20 Jun 1940	4 Jul 1940
C.F. Mario Leoni	4 Jul 1940	23 Mar 1941
T.V. Giuliano Prini	23 Mar 1941	24 Sep 1941

Ships hit

	Date	Commander	Ship hit	Type	GRT	Nat.	Loss type
1.	12 Aug 1940	C.F. Mario Leoni	British Fame	Tanker	8,406		Sunk
2.	15 Jul 1941	T.V. Giuliano Prini	Nikoklis	Cargo ship	3,576		Sunk
3.	17 Jul 1941	T.V. Giuliano Prini	Guelma	Cargo ship	4,402		Sunk

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
	Musotto, Alfredo	20 Jun 1940		La Spezia	20 Jun 1940		La Spezia		Entered service on 20th June 1940.
	Leoni, Mario	10 Jul 1940	0827	La Spezia	10 Jul 1940	1140	La Spezia	18	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	11 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	11 Jul 1940	1651	La Spezia	52	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	13 Jul 1940	0745	La Spezia	13 Jul 1940	1205	La Spezia	38	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	15 Jul 1940	0755	La Spezia	15 Jul 1940	1722	La Spezia	58	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	19 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	19 Jul 1940	1700	La Spezia	62	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	20 Jul 1940	0800	La Spezia	20 Jul 1940	1450	La Spezia	41	Exercises.
	Leoni, Mario	25 Jul 1940	0750	La Spezia	25 Jul 1940	1600	La Spezia	10	Exercises.
1	Leoni, Mario	29 Jul 1940	0400	La Spezia	4 Sep 1940	2030	Bordeaux	5771	Passage La Spezia-Bordeaux. Patrolled on the parallel 38°40'N between 16°50'W and 20°00'W without sighting anything. From 12th to 20th August, explored the area between 38°00'N and 40°00'N, and between 20°00'W and 30°00'W, sighting four ships. She was the first Italian submarine to reach Bordeaux. Passed Gibraltar on 3rd August 1940.
		6 Aug 1940	1320	(0) Off the Tage Estuary between Espichal and Cape De Roca.	At 1320 hours, a steamer was sighted proceeding North. She turned out to be the Spanish Sebastian (3,024 GRT, built 1920) from Bilbao. Shortly after, a destroyer was sighted in the mist. She turned out to be the Portuguese Douro.
		8 Aug 1940	1045	38° 15'N, 14° 10'W	At 1045 hours, a steamer was sighted at a distance of 7,000 metres. Malaspina closed to 4,000 metres before recognising her to be Portuguese. Nevertheless, the submarine fired a warning shot and intimate the vessel to bring her papers. This was the Portuguese motor vessel San Miguel (2,112 GRT, built 1931) on passage from New York to Lisbon. She lowered an embarkation and sent her papers. She was released upon their examination.
		12 Aug 1940	0620 0505 (e)	38° 07'N, 22° 58'W	At 0550 hours, a steamer was sighted. Malaspina submerged to attack. It was identified as a tanker steering 200°. At 0620 hours, two torpedoes (533mm, S.I. type) were fired from a distance of 1600 metres and the submarine went down to 15 metres. After 70 seconds, a loud explosion was heard (C.F. Leoni thought it was a double explosion). This was the British Tanker British Fame (8,406 GRT, built 1936). She was sailing from Avonmouth to Abadan. She had sailed with convoy OB.193, but after its dispersal, she was now travelling alone. She was damaged by a torpedo hit and brought to a stop, but she opened fire on the submarine. Malaspina had come back to periscope depth and fired a third torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) from 600 metres, It hit the engine room. The crew was now observed to abandon ship in three lifeboats and they moved away to about a mile. At 1045 hours, a fourth torpedo (450mm, W.200 type) was fired. It was observed to hit with a large column of water but the explosion was hardly heard in the submarine. The tanker began to sink from the stern but remained afloat. The submarine surfaced and closed the lifeboats. The Master William George Knight was taken prisoner and was well treated. C.F. Leoni would befriend him. A friendship which endured postwar. Malaspina was armed with two old 102mm/35 cal. guns. She fired 22 rounds into the hull of the tanker, which finally sank at 1120 hours. Three crew members perished. Forty-four survivors were rescued by the Portuguese destroyer Dao and brought to Lisbon.
		14 Aug 1940	1304	39° 25'N, 22° 20'W	At 1150 hours, a smoke was sighted on the horizon. Malaspina closed at 14 knots. The 7-8,000-ton vessel appeared to be armed with a 102 or 120mm gun and was steering 010° at 12 knots. At 1304 hours, the submarine had closed to 3,000 metres and fired two torpedoes (one 533 mm S.I., one 450 mm W 200 type). They missed as the vessel took avoiding action and fired two rounds at the submarine.
		14 Aug 1940	2115	39° 30'N, 21° 30'W	At 2115 hours, a shadow was sighted on the horizon. Malaspina closed on the surface, only to realise it was a destroyer who (apparently) fired a torpedo. Malaspina dived to 100 meters but was not attacked.
		18 Aug 1940	1700 1908 . (e)	39° 23'N, 21° 33'W	At 1620 hours, a steamer was sighted on the horizon steering 090°, on a parallel course with Malaspina who dived. At 1700 hours, the distance had dropped to 800 metres and the submarine was getting ready to launch torpedoes from the stern tubes. Suddenly, the 6,000-ton vessel, turned toward the submarine as if to ram her or perhaps she was just zigzagging. C.F. Leoni took his submarine deeper to avoid being rammed. He returned to periscope depth and watched the enemy ship showing her stern, just 200 metres away. At the same time, she fired three rounds, estimated at least of 120mm, at the submarine's periscope. These shook the conning tower violently, causing some damages such as breaking down one of the two depth manometers and confusing the other, as well as blocking the aft hydroplanes. After about 30 minutes, the vessel disappeared in the mist. This was the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Circassia (11,136 tons, built 1936), who fired one 6in and two 3in shells and then dropped three depth-charges.
		19 Aug 1940	0139	39° 20'N, 21° 25'W	At 0120 hours, a dark ship was sighted at a distance of 5,000 metres steering northward. Using her diesels, Malaspina closed to 2,000 metres on the surface, then switched to her electric motors to avoid being detected. At 0139 hours, a single torpedo (450mm, W.200 type) was fired at a distance of 1,500 metres. The target was believed to be an 8-10,000-ton vessel and the submarine dived upon firing. Because of the noise from the quick-diving tank, the hit was not heard in the control room, but only in the diesel engines room. However, the hydrophones picked up the noise of her propellers until 0153 hours, when a loud explosion was heard. It was believed that the vessel had been hit by the torpedo which caused a secondary explosion and the vessel was claimed sunk. No allied records have confirmed such a sinking.
2	Leoni, Mario	9 Oct 1940	1420	Bordeaux	9 Nov 1940	1715	Bordeaux	5143	Sailed for patrol between 55°20'N and 58°20'N and 23°00'W and 27°00'W (patrol report) or between 56°50'N and 58°20'N and 20°10' and 24°10'W (BETASOM).
		17 Oct 1940	0330 0417 (e)	53° 38'N, 21° 20'W (0) German Grid AL 8227.	At 0330 hours, a German submarine was encountered and exchanged signals. This was U-37 (KL Viktor Oehrn).
		18 Oct 1940	1625	56° 00'N, 23° 00'W (0) Very approximately!	At 1625 hours, a signal from BETASOM was received. It indicated that a convoy of 15-20 steamers was seen by a U-boat (U-93?) at 1430 hours, steering 225°, 8 knots in position 59°15' N, 20°05' W. Malaspina proceeded to intercept. Despite excellent visibility, the convoy was not seen and Malaspina abandoned the chase. Further signals arrived on the next day (by U-93 acting as beacon) and attempts were made to intercept, but these were unsuccessful until the Italian submarine sighted a vessel at 2345 hours on the 19th (see entry of 0002 hours on 20th October).
		20 Oct 1940	0002 0035 (e)	59° 05'N, 28° 57'W	At 2345 hours, an 8,000-ton merchant vessel was sighted on the port bow, steering 230°, 10 knots. Malaspina proceeded to attack on the surface. At 0002 hours, a torpedo (533mm, S.I. type) was fired from a distance of 1,000 metres. Shortly after, a second torpedo of the same type was fired from 900 metres. A loud explosion was heard. However, the target failed to slow down. The submarine followed her and determined her speed to be about 12 knots (later in the action, it was assessed as 6 knots). This was the Dutch Bussum (3,636 GRT, built 1917), on a voyage from North Shields to Montreal, steering 238° at 10.25 knots. She had a crew of 24 Dutchmen (Master Lubbert Wulp) and six British gunners and was armed with a 4" gun, one Lewis MG and three Ross rifles. She had sighted a torpedo, which missed close astern. At 0027 hours, a third torpedo (450mm, W 200 type) was fired from 500 metres. At 0046 hours, a fourth torpedo (533mm, S.I. type) was fired from 500 metres. No result was observed or heard for the last two. The submarine then followed Bussum firing a burst of machine gun from a distance of 1,500 metres, to test if the vessel was armed. The Dutch ship replied with three 4" rounds (C.F. Leoni saw only one) and the Malaspina opened fire with her 102mm gun but stopped after 5 rounds, as the fall of shots could not be observed in the rough seas. The action was broken off and Bussum escaped (special thanks to Siri Lawson of warsailors.com who shed light on this attack). Leoni intended to renew the attack at dawn, but lost contact in a rain squall at 0200 hours. In the morning, debris were found in 59°20' N, 24°20' W (which was 130 miles - 110° from the point where she was claimed to have been torpedoed) and the vessel was believed to have been sunk.
		30 Oct 1940	0930	58° 00'N, 21° 27'W	At 0930 hours, a smoke was sighted on the horizon. Malaspina attempted to intercept at a maximum speed of 14 knots due to the rough seas. It appeared to be an armed merchant cruiser. At 1230 hours, the submarine abandoned the chase.
		31 Oct 1940	1315	57° 17'N, 23° 25'W	At 1315 hours, a convoy was sighted at a distance of 10,000 metres to the southeast. It consisted of seven steamers in single file, escorted by two destroyers on its starboard flank, steering 225° at 12 knots. Almost at the same time, a destroyer appeared to turn toward the submarine. Malaspina turned away immediately to put some distance. The destroyer appeared to catch up and, when the range had dropped tp 5,000 metres, Malaspina dived, but the waves were hitting her from the beam side and it took 132 seconds to reach a depth of 12 metres. Hydrophone contact was made, but the destroyer kept in the same bearing as the convoy and it made difficult to discern between the two. Another destroyer or sloop appeared to join the first destroyer, apparently to keep the submarine down while the convoy was getting away. At 1730 hours, Malaspina surfaced and it was assumed now that the convoy was distant of some 48 miles. At 2040 hours, she informed BETASOM that, at 1630 hours, she had sighted a convoy of six or seven ships escorted by destroyers in 57°25' N, 21°25' W, steering 225°, 12 knots. The position is probably erroneously deciphered as this was about 70 miles from the position recorded at 1315 hours.
		4 Nov 1940	1310	51° 01'N, 20° 40'W	At 1310 hours, a convoy was sighted at a distance of 12-14,000 metres on a southerly course. It was later assessed as a seventeen-ship convoy, escorted by an armed merchant cruiser (destroyers were not observed) steering about 320°, 10 knots. Malaspina shadowed it with the intention of attacking at nightfall, but at 1720 hours she had lost sight of it. This was convoy O.G. 45 (Liverpool to Gibraltar). At 1650Z hours, the British Glenaffric (7,806 GRT, built 1920), Commodore ship of the convoy (Rear-Admiral H.S. Candy, CBE), sighted the submarine in 50°52' N, 20°14' W at a distance of 6 miles.
		5 Nov 1940	0710-0740 0940 (e)	48° 45'N, 19° 50'W	At 0710 hours, a vessel was sighted far to the southwest steering 320° at a fast speed. Malaspina steered 180° to intercept. The vessel appeared to turn away then turned right back toward the submarine. When the range had dropped to 8,000 metres, she could be identified as a 16,000-ton armed merchant cruiser proceeding at 20 knots. At 0740 hours, the enemy vessel was exactly astern of the submarine and she opened fire from a distance of 5,000 metres. Two rounds fell 50 and 70 metres from the submarine. C.F. Leoni correctly estimated them to be 152mm rounds. He ordered the submarine to crash-dive and just before going down the hatch, he had time to observe four more rounds straddling the submarine. Malaspina went down to 70 metres. At 0930 hours, the sound of propellers could no longer be heard. This was the armed merchant cruiser HMS Salopian (10,549 tons, built 1926) armed with six 6" guns. She was on her way to rejoin the O.G. 45 convoy.
3	Leoni, Mario	4 Jan 1941	1140	Bordeaux	4 Jan 1941	1515	Le Verdon		Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon.
3b	Leoni, Mario	5 Jan 1941	0800? AM	Le Verdon	5 Jan 1941	AM	Le Verdon		Gyro-compass tests.
3c	Leoni, Mario	5 Jan 1941	1630	Le Verdon	3 Feb 1941	1300+	Le Verdon		Sailed for patrol west of Scotland (a) between 57°00'N and 58°00'N and 17°00'W and 20°00'W (b) between 53°00'N and 54°00'N and between 15°00'W and 18°00'W. Met by German minesweepers M-9 and M-21 off Royan for passage to Le Verdon.
		16 Jan 1941	1630	57° 36'N, 19° 05'W	At 1630 hours, a signal was received reporting a convoy of twenty vessels escorted by an armed merchant cruiser in 58°05' N, 10°00' W (about 280 miles away) on a westerly course, 8 knots. Malaspina proceeded at 12 knots to intercept. At 0330 hours on 17th January, the submarine had sighted nothing and resumed course to her patrol area.
		26 Jan 1941	0900	53° 33'N, 15° 55'W	At 0900 hours, a submarine chaser was sighted at 1,200 metres steering on a SE course, 7-8 knots. Malaspina submerged immediately but was not attacked.
		28 Jan 1941	1330	53° 55'N, 15° 55'W	At 1330 hours, an armed merchant cruiser, painted in grey, was sighted steering 330°, 16 knots. At 1415 hours, the target altered course to 060° and, again at 1440 hours, to 090° but the distance could not be closed to less than 5,000 meters and the attack was abandoned.
	Leoni, Mario	4 Feb 1941	1800	Le Verdon	4 Feb 1941	2005	Pauillac	1	Passage Le Verdon-Pauillac.
	Leoni, Mario	6 Feb 1941	1210	Pauillac	6 Feb 1941	1610	Bordeaux		Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux.
	Leoni, Mario	6 Feb 1941	1230	Pauillac	6 Feb 1941	1610	Bordeaux		Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux, the delayed departure was caused by the presence of magnetic mines in the estuary.
	Prini, Giuliano	14 Apr 1941	0840	Bordeaux	14 Apr 1941	1300	Le Verdon	62	Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon.
	Prini, Giuliano	14 Apr 1941	1500	Bordeaux	14 Apr 1941	1900	Le Verdon		Trials.
	Prini, Giuliano	15 Apr 1941	0805	Le Verdon	15 Apr 1941	1650	La Pallice	78	Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice.
	Prini, Giuliano	16 Apr 1941	0820	La Pallice	16 Apr 1941	1730	La Pallice	41	Trials.
	Prini, Giuliano	18 Apr 1941	0915	La Pallice	18 Apr 1941	1510	La Pallice	31	Trials.
4	Prini, Giuliano	18 Apr 1941	2100	La Pallice	20 May 1941	1500	Bordeaux	4918	Patrolled west of Ireland, between 53°00'N and 54°00'N, and between 20°00'W and 25°00'W. Arrived with Perla, escorted by Sperrbrecher III from Gironde buoy no.1 to Le Verdon.
		24 Apr 1941	2207	49° 50'N, 20° 20'W	At 2207 hours, in poor visibility, a steamer was sighted at 4,000 metres. The submarine's diesels were emitting excessive smoke so T.V. Prini opted for a submerge attack. However, in the failing light, he could not determine the vessel's course and speed and Malaspina was brought to the surface at 2325 hours. The vessel was now at 2,500 metres. The submarine alternated between surfacing and diving to close the target but, by 0732 hours on the 25th, she had lost contact.
		3 May 1941	2215	54° 52'N, 22° 23'W	At 2110 hours, a steamer was sighted at 6,000 metres. At 2138 hours, Malaspina dived to carry out a submerged attack. At 2215 hours, T.V. Prini ordered tube no.4 to fire (533mm) from a distance of 800 metres. It misfired. Repeated attempts to fire it, both electrically and manually, failed. The vessel escaped in a rain squall. This was the British Lycaon (7,552 GRT, built 1913) sailing independently to the United Kingdom. At 2345 hours, the vessel was sighted again at 2,000 metres and she opened fire on the submarine firing at least two rounds, the closest fell about 50 meters from Malaspina. Five minutes later, she made an SOS revealing her identity and was acknowledged by the Valentia radio station. T.V. Prini maneuvered his submarine to obtain a favourable position. At 0108 hours on 4th May, he ordered the firing from the bow (no.1 and no.4) tubes of two 533mm torpedoes and a single 450mm torpedo (no, 3 tube) from a distance of 400 metres. Only the 450mm weapon left its tube, the others misfired. At 0128 hours, Malaspina attempted a new attack from a stern tube at 500 metres but was thwarted by the sudden change of course of her target. At 0208 hours, a similar attempt was made from 600 metres, but was again thwarted. At 0245 hours, Prini was frustrated once more from a distance of 800 metres, The target escaped in a rain squall and the submarine lost contact at 0415 hours in 55°10' N, 21°38' W.
		9 May 1941	0645-0108/10	54° 14'N, 17° 43'W	At 0645 hours, the hydrophones detected turbine noises. Malaspina shut down all engines and motors (including the gyrocompass) and kept on silent running on a single electric motor. From 1230 hours to 1440 hours, over 40 depth charges were heard. These were followed by depth charges being dropped singly every 15 or 30 minutes, interrupted by sudden flurries of multiple depth charges. In all, 97 depth charges were counted until 0108 hours on 10th May. Malaspina surfaced at 0233 hours on to an empty horizon and cleared the area at high speed.
		11 May 1941			Malaspina was informed of a convoy sighted at 0745 hours in 56°57' N, 17°18' W steering 240°. The search was negative.
		11 May 1941		53° 00'N, 18° 30'W (0) Approximately.	During a period of torpedo maintenance, a rating accidentally fired the no.4 tube (which had misfired twice on 3rd and 4th May) causing damage to the bow tube opening, which was closed at the time. Despite the damage, four days later, the submarine managed to dive down to 126 meters. Following this patrol, an inquest presided by C.V. Polacchini, reprimanded Prini and his First Officer Paolo Monechi, as the submarine failed to carry out two torpedo attacks due to errors in drill and then lost this torpedo, causing damage. However, Polacchini did recognise that Prini had conducted his mission with tenacity and aggressivity. Of the two ratings responsible for the accidental firing of the torpedo, one received a prison sentence and the other was transferred to a surface unit. Prini was still in command of Malaspina when she was later sunk with all hands. He was awarded the Medaglia d'Oro posthumously. Later, Monechi was given the command of Mocenigo, followed by that of the new submarine Tritone, who was lost off Bougie on her first patrol, but Monechi survived.
		15 May 1941	1700	53° 52'N, 18° 45'W	At 0400 hours on 14th May, T.V. Prini informed BETASOM that he was returning home. He was ordered to prolong his patrol by 48 hours and to proceed to a point about 160 miles ENE of his present position to intercept a convoy. Malaspina was to be part of a patrol line at dawn on 15th May: Malaspina in 52°55' N, 18°55' W. Otaria in 53°05' N, 16°55' W. Morosini in 53°25' N, 17°25' W. Bianchi in 54°15' N, 18°15' W. Barbarigo in 56°55' N, 17°55' W. At 0700 hours, Malaspina reached her new patrol position. At 1200 hours, the convoy was reported in a new position and it was moving toward the patrol line. Malaspina moved at full speed, expecting to intercept it at 2000 hours. At 1700 hours on 15th May, smokes were sighted.
		15 May 1941	1720 1835 (e)	53° 52'N, 18° 45'W (0) Approximately.	At 1705 hours, an aircraft was first sighted flying toward the convoy. As Malaspina had intercepted a signal from BETASOM to Bianchi, informing her that German aircraft were going to attack the convoy, T.V. Prini thought that this was one of them. At 1720 hours, an aircraft was seen flying on parallel course with the submarine at a distance of 4.000 metres. The aircraft fired a red rocket, similar to the recognition signal of the day (red and white) and Malaspina replied accordingly. As the aircraft now flew toward the submarine, Prini ordered the machine guns to fire. The aircraft did not attack, but tried to stay astern of the submarine and made a series of signals with Malaspina replying with her Breda guns to keep it at bay. At 1749 hours, the submarine had closed the convoy estimated at about 18-20 ships. A destroyer stationed astern of the convoy turned toward the submarine at high speed. Malaspina dived and had reached a depth of 40 metres when a depth charge dropped by the aircraft. About 20 minutes later, hydrophone effects indicated the arrival of three destroyers. At 1832 hours, a destroyer dropped the first pattern of depth charges. The two manometers were defective, a few light bulbs broken, but otherwise, no serious damage. More depth charges were recorded at 1855, 1922, 1934, 1940 and 1953 hours. Noises were heard until 2256 hours, then again at 0114 and 0308 hours on 16th May. At 0405 hours, Malaspina was getting short of air and surfaced. Fortunately, no enemy vessel was in sight.
		16 May 1941	0425	53° 20'N, 19° 15'W	At 0425 hours, Malaspina had just been on the surface for 20 minutes, when a destroyer was sighted using her searchlights. The submarine turned away and escaped to the northeast.
		17 May 1941	0905	49° 00'N, 16° 55'W	At 0438 hours, Malaspina received BETASOM's order to return home. At 0905 hours, an aircraft was sighted at 4,000 metres and the submarine dived.
		18 May 1941	1505	47° 00'N, 9° 55'W	At 1505 hours, an aircraft was sighted at 6,000 metres and the submarine dived.
		18 May 1941	2150	46° 35'N, 8° 40'W	At 2150 hours, two shadows, apparently warships, were sighted and Malaspina dived.
		19 May 1941	1140-1200	46° 00'N, 5° 32'W	At 1140 hours, Malaspina sighted an aircraft at 1,000 metres. It turned out to be an Arado seaplane. The submarine tried to fire a reconnaissance rocket (no. 3) but it misfired. The Donath projector was then used to flash a signal. The reconnaissance signal was to change at noon with a no. 4 rocket and T.V. Prini was ready to give the order to fire it, but the aircraft flew away.
		19 May 1941	1640 1640 (e)	45° 40'N, 4° 05'W	At 1640 hours, an aircraft was sighted at 5,000 metres. It had closed to 3,000 metres when it was recognised to be a Sunderland. At 2,500 metres, Malaspina opened intense antiaircraft fire with her machine guns. The aircraft appeared to hesitate for a while, then went into the attack and dropped five bombs from a height of 200 metres. One of the Italian machine gunners claimed to have sighted a machine gunner on the aircraft slumping in his seat. This was Sunderland 'J' of 10 Squadron (RAAF) piloted by Flight Lieutenant J. Costello. It had sighted the submarine from a distance of 15 miles. Actually four depth-charges were dropped from a height of 200 feet , two set at a depth of 100 feet and two to 150 feet. It also machine-gunned the submarine with 70 rounds (rear gun: 50 rounds, port midship's turret: 20 rounds). The depth charges are reported to have missed the submarine by 40 feet fore and aft the conning tower on the port side. Malaspina had escaped damage and dived.
5	Prini, Giuliano	27 Jun 1941	0900	Bordeaux	27 Jun 1941	1300	Le Verdon		Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon.
5b	Prini, Giuliano	27 Jun 1941	1610	Le Verdon	27 Jun 1941	1745	Le Verdon		Trials.
6	Prini, Giuliano	27 Jun 1941	2100	Le Verdon	5 Aug 1941	1750	Bordeaux	7032	Patrolled west of Gibraltar. On 30th June ordered to 33°00'N, 11°45'W. On 10th July, ordered to 36°55'N, 12°55'W. On 12th July, ordered to 36°25'N, 22°05'W. on 25th July, was ordered to 35°45'N, 11°25'W. Then refit until September 1941.
		28 Jun 1941	1330	44° 39'N, 3° 32'W	At 1330 hours, two large Spanish fishing vessels were sighted, one of them was Nuevo Soledad (106 GRT, built 1931) from Aviles. The submarine avoided them.
		29 Jun 1941			During the day, Malaspina was ordered by BETASOM to proceed south on 12°00' W meridian to 33°05' N, 11°45' W (Italian Grid 3972/51).
		30 Jun 1941	1045		At 1045 hours, BETASOM had ordered the submarines to the following positions: Torelli in 2533/36 (36°58'N, 12°30'W) Morosini in 2511/33 (36°30'N, 13°20'W) Cappellini in 8511/66 (35°58'N, 14°00'W) Da Vinci in 8511/33 (35°30' N, 13°20' W) Baracca in 8533/31 (35°10'N, 12°30'W) Malaspina in 3972/51 (33°00'N, 11°45'W) Malaspina proceeded.
		30 Jun 1941	2115	43° 48'N, 12° 04'W	At 2115 hours, Malaspina sighted Morosini and exchanged recognition signals.
		2 Jul 1941	1845	36° 43'N, 12° 22'W	At 1525 hours, a steamer was sighted proceeding at 13 knots. At 1800 hours, Malaspina submerged to attack. At 1845 hours, she surfaced and stopped her with a warning shot. She was Argentinian steamer Rio Grande (687 GRT, built 1920) on a voyage from Lisbon to Buenos Aires. She was ordered to send a boat with her papers. They proved to be in order and she was released.
		3 Jul 1941	1115	35° 14'N, 11° 26'W	At 1115 hours, a destroyer was observed at a distance of 8,000 metres. Malaspina dived and was not detected.
		7 Jul 1941	1500-1750	34° 10'N, 9° 38'W (0) Approximately.	At 1500 hours, a vessel was sighted. It was at initially thought to be an armed merchant cruiser. At 1750 hours, Malaspina submerged to carry an attack, only to identify the vessel as the Spanish Ciudad De Alicante (2,434 GRT, built 1930) from Valencia.
		7 Jul 1941	2005	34° 10'N, 9° 38'W	At 1715 hours, BETASOM ordered the submarines to the following positions: Torelli in 9672/32 (34°15'N, 11°25'W) Da Vinci in 9672/34 (34°35'N, 11°25'W) Baracca in 9672/12 (34°15'N, 11°05'W) Malaspina in 9697/42 (34°15'N, 10°35'W). At 2005 hours, a large fishing vessel was sighted but no action was taken, as a four-engine bomber appeared shortly after. It looked like a Boeing aircraft and the submarine dived.
		8 Jul 1941	1600	33° 13'N, 10° 41'W	At 1100 hours, BETASOM ordered the submarines to the following positions: Bianchi in 2772/11 (36°05' N, 11°05' W) Torelli in 8597/61 (35°05' N, 10°55' W) Morosini in 8597/34 (35°35' N, 10°25' W) Baracca in 9697/11 (34°05' N, 10°05' W) Malaspina in 3997/54 (33°35' N, 10°45' W) Da Vinci in 9697/25 (34°15' N, 10°45' W) (the BETASOM diaries give the position as 35°55' N, 19°15' W but this is a typographical error). At 1608 hours, a destroyer was sighted at a distance of 10,000 metres. Malaspina dived.
		10 Jul 1941			Malaspina was ordered by BETASOM to proceed to 36°55' N, 12°55' W.
		11 Jul 1941	1130	35° 18'N, 13° 25'W	Malaspina received an order from BETASOM to proceed at 10 knots to 34°05' N, 17°05' W. At 1130 hours, a steamer was sighted and she submerged for the attack. This was the Portuguese Quanza (6,657 GRT, built 1929) from Funchal (Madeira) and the attack was aborted.
		12 Jul 1941			Malaspina received an order from BETASOM to proceed to 36°25' N, 22°05' W to form a barrage line with three other submarines (Bianchi, Morosini and Torelli).
		15 Jul 1941	0110	35° 51'N, 25° 31'W	At 2215 hours on 14th July, a steamer was sighted in 36°06' N, 21°21' W. Malaspina dived and followed her submerged. At 2325 hours, the submarine surfaced at a distance of 3,000 metres to seek a position of attack ahead of her target. At 2351 hours, a radio signal was intercepted leaving little doubt that Malaspina had been sighted. The vessel now turned away and appeared to put her best speed to escape from her pursuer and this was a little over 10 knots. At 0110 hours, the submarine fired a pair of torpedoes (one 533mm, S.I. 270 type, one 450mm, W 200 type) from her bow tubes at a distance of 700 metres. Before the torpedoes reached their target, T.V. Prini ordered the firing of a third torpedo (533mm, S.I. 270 type). Two torpedoes were seen to hit, both of the 533mm type. The first hit amidship, the second appeared to hit the engine room. The vessel broke in two and sank in three minutes. The 450mm torpedo was observed to have an irregular course and apparently missed ahead. This was the Greek Nikoklis (3,576 GRT, built 1921) detached from convoy OG.67d. Seventeen were killed and eleven survived. Prini thought they were picked up by the Spanish vessels Campeche and Campero (this was an error). In fact, thirteen survivors reached Cape Juby (Morocco), but two died before they landed. They were later brought to Las Palmas by a Spanish steamer.
		17 Jul 1941	1824 1700 (e)	30° 48'N, 18° 26'W	At 1645 hours, in 30°51' N, 17°16' W, a steamer was sighted in the mist at a close distance, steering a course almost parallel to the submarine. At 1735 hours, Malaspina submerged to carry out an attack. At 1824 hours, T.V. Prini ordered the firing of a torpedo (533mm, S.I. 270 type) from a stern tube (no. 8) at a distance of 1,000 metres. For a few seconds, the torpedo did not completely leave the tube and, when it finally did, the delay resulted in a miss. At 1837 hours, Malaspina had reverted course and fired a torpedo from a bow tube (533mm, S.I. 270 type). It hit the vessel in no.5 hold. T.V. Prini took his submarine down to 40 metres to listen to the hydrophones. This was the British Guelma (4,402 GRT, built 1928, Master W.G. Taylor) detached from convoy O.B.337 and in ballast, on passage from Funchal (Madeira) to Freetown. At 1900 hours, Malaspina resurfaced to observe her victim still floating but down by the stern. The vessel had made an SOS. The crew was abandoning ship and about thirty survivors were seen in lifeboats. At 1942 hours, the submarine fired a third torpedo (450mm, W 200 type), this time from a stern tube and at a distance of 1,000 metres. It had an irregular course and missed astern. At 2002 hours, a fourth torpedo (533mm, S.I. type) was fired from a stern tube. It hit amidship. The vessel rapidly sank stern first. All forty-one members of her crew and two Portuguese stowaways were rescued by the British submarine HMS Thunderbolt on 18th July.
		18 Jul 1941	1630	30° 07'N, 14° 22'W	At 1630 hours, a steamer was sighted at a distance of 5,000 metres. At 1730 hours, Malaspina submerged for an attack. At 1820 hours, she was identified as the Spanish Miraflores (3,209 GRT, built 1919) from Bilbao and the attack was aborted.
		19 Jul 1941	2245		At 2245 hours, a signal from the submarine Bagnolini was intercepted. It reported the discovery of a convoy and Malaspina altered course to intercept.
		20 Jul 1941	0600		At 0600 hours, Malaspina received an order to proceed to 34°35' N, 13°45' W. This was reached at 2200 hours but was then ordered to 33°45' N, 14°35' W.
		21 Jul 1941	0600	32° 45'N, 14° 35'W	At 0500 hours, Malaspina received an order to proceed to 32°45' N, 15°15' W. This was reached at 2100 hours.
		22 Jul 1941	Dawn	32° 45'N, 15° 15'W	At dawn, Malaspina received an order to proceed to 29°55' N, 13°05' W. At 2300 hours, the submarine received the order frpm BETASOM to operate up to the limit of autonomy in a square delimited by the parallels 34° and 35° N and the meridians 14° and 15° W.
		24 Jul 1941	0145	34° 32'N, 14° 33'W	At 2200 hours on 23rd July, Malaspina was ordered to proceed to 35°35' N, 12°35' W, to intercept a convoy reported by Bagnolini. At 0145 hours on 24th July, searchlights were sighted scanning the sea, especially toward the wake of the submarine proceeding on the surface. At 0155 hours, T.V. Prini believing his submarine discovered by the enemy's hydrophones, took her down to 80 metres. At 0245 and 0248 hours, depth charges were heard. Motors were stopped to observe the maximum silence. At 1350 hours, Malaspina returned to periscope depth to observe that the enemy vessels were gone.
		25 Jul 1941			The submarine was ordered to 35°45' N, 11°25' W. The position was reached at 2000 hours on 26th July.
		27 Jul 1941	0420	35° 45'N, 11° 25'W	A steamer was sighted steering to the NE. The submarine closed to 1,500 metres but T.V. Prini could not determine her nationality. However, she was well illuminated according to International regulations and he believed she was probably Portuguese.
		31 Jul 1941	0945	38° 04'N, 11° 23'W	At 0945 hours, a steamer, who must have left Lisbon, was sighted at 4,000 metres steering 260°. Malaspina could not close because of heavy seas and as she was short of fuel, the chase was abandoned.
		2 Aug 1941	0100	41° 10'N, 11° 24'W	At 0100 hours, an illuminated passenger ship was sighted proceeding toward Vigo.
		3 Aug 1941	0200	44° 12'N, 9° 12'W	At 0200 hours, a German U-boat was sighted at a distance of 6-7,000 metres, coming from the direction of Cape Finisterre (possibly U-66?). Malaspina turned away.
7	Prini, Giuliano	7 Sep 1941	Evening	Le Verdon	24 Sep 1941	Date? 10/9?	Sunk (with all hands)		Sailed via Route II to operate against Gibraltar convoys. Ordered to reach the position 35°55'N, 09°05'W, on a line on Cape St. Vincent meridian, during the night of 13th September 1941. She disappeared without a trace (eight officers, fifty-two ratings and one military were lost). Probably sunk on 10th September by a Sunderland of 10 Squadron (RAAF). Some sources have attributed her loss to the destroyer HMS Vimy who sighted a U-boat at 0555 hours 12th September in 36°40'N, 09°10'W and attacked with a full pattern but this was Otaria. Other sources have suggested that it was another attack by HMS Vimy on 21st September in 37°46'N, 19°18'W but this attack was actually on Torelli. On 24th September 1941, a German aircraft reported seeing two ships sunk and a third set afire (from a convoy which had sailed from Gibraltar on 17th September 1941) in an area where no ships were reported sunk by Italian or German submarines, it was thought that these were hit by Malaspina. Prini was posthumously awarded the Medaglia D'Oro.
		10 Sep 1941	1100 (e)	(e) 46° 23'N, 11° 22'E	At 1100 hours, Sunderland 'U' (W3986) of 10 Squadron (RAAF), piloted by Flight Lieutenant A.G.H. Wearne, was flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet when a U-boat was sighted at about 1,000 yards, bearing 20°, on the port bow. She was steering 260° at 8 knots. Within about 25 seconds, an attack was made from astern with four 450-lb depth charges, two set to 50 feet and two to 100 feet, but the third hung up. The first fell abaft the conning tower, the second near the bows and a third at about 140 feet ahead. The Observer sighted the U-boat appearing to be stationary under the water and then disappeared without leaving any bubbles. The aircraft flew over the area for the next two and half hours but sighted nothing. It is likely that Malaspina was sunk in this attack as she was supposed to be steering 270° on the 45°40' N parallel. There were no survivors. Seven officers and fifty-three ratings perished. On 24th September 1941, a German aircraft reported seeing two ships sunk and a third set afire from a convoy which had sailed from Gibraltar on 17th September 1941 in an area where no ships were reported sunk by Italian or German submarines. At the time, it was thought that these were hit by Malaspina, but this story can be attributed to the German pilot's error. T.V. Prini was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'Oro.

76 entries. 26 total patrol entries (7 marked as war patrols) and 56 events.

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