Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB)
Saint Bon

Type	Ocean going
Class	Cagni (18)
Laid down	16 Sep 1939	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone
Launched	6 Jun 1940
Commissioned	12 Jun 1941
End service
Stricken
Loss date	5 Jan 1942
Loss position	38° 22'N, 15° 22'E
History
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk on 5th January 1942 North-East of Milazzo, Sicily in position 38°22'N, 15°22'E by the submarine HMS Upholder.

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
C.C. Benedetto Luchetti	4 Apr 1941	5 Apr 1941
C.C. Gustavo Miniero	16 May 1941	5 Jan 1942

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
		14 Nov 1940	0900	Monfalcone	14 Nov 1940	1600	Monfalcone		Trials escorted by the auxiliary Grado.
		14 Nov 1940	0900	Monfalcone	14 Nov 1940	1600	Monfalcone		Trials.
		23 Nov 1940	1000	Monfalcone	23 Nov 1940	1615	Monfalcone		Trials escorted by the auxiliary Grado.
		28 Nov 1940	0940	Monfalcone	28 Nov 1940	1640	Monfalcone		Trials escorted by the auxiliary Grado.
		2 Dec 1940	1000	Monfalcone	2 Dec 1940	1530?	Pola		Passage Monfalcone-Pola, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
		4 Dec 1940	0850	Pola	4 Dec 1940	1435	Pola		Trials, escorted by MAS 426.
		5 Dec 1940	0940	Pola	5 Dec 1940	1700	Pola		Trials, escorted by the tug Tenace.
		7 Dec 1940	0900	Pola	7 Dec 1940	1700	Pola		Trials, escorted by MAS 423.
		8 Dec 1940	0855	Pola	8 Dec 1940	1715	Pola		Trials, escorted by the auxiliary San Giorgio.
		9 Dec 1940	0915	Pola	9 Dec 1940	1620	Pola		Trials, escorted by the tug Nettuno.
		12 Dec 1940	0855	Pola	12 Dec 1940	1230	Pola		Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
		13 Dec 1940	0915	Pola	13 Dec 1940	1540	Pola		Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
		14 Dec 1940	0925	Pola	14 Dec 1940	1730	Pola		Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
		15 Dec 1940	0845	Pola	15 Dec 1940	1705	Pola		Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
		17 Dec 1940	0910	Pola	17 Dec 1940	1645	Pola		Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Laurana.
		27 Dec 1940	0925	Pola	27 Dec 1940	1405	Pola		Diving trials, escorted by Laurana.
		28 Dec 1940	0905	Pola	28 Dec 1940	1110	Pola		Diving trials, escorted by the auxiliary Laurana.
		29 Dec 1940	1030	Pola	29 Dec 1940	1700	Pola		Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Laurana.
		30 Dec 1940	0910	Pola	30 Dec 1940	1700	Pola		Trials, escorted by the tug Tenace.
		31 Dec 1940	0910	Pola	31 Dec 1940	1615	Pola		Diving trials, escorted by the auxiliary Laurana.
		2 Jan 1941	0900	Pola	2 Jan 1941	1655	Pola		Trials escorted by the auxilary Laurana.
		3 Jan 1941	0920	Pola	3 Jan 1941	1540	Monfalcone		Passage Pola-Monfalcone, escorted by the torpedo boat San Martino.
	Luchetti, Benedetto	4 Apr 1941	0650	Monfalcone	4 Apr 1941	1900	Venezia	58	Passage Monfalcone-Venezia.
		3 May 1941	0900	Venezia	3 May 1941	1500	Monfalcone	72	Passage Venezia-Monfalcone.
	Miniero, Gustavo	23 Jun 1941	1040	Monfalcone	23 Jun 1941	1850	Pola	67	Passage Monfalcone-Pola.
	Miniero, Gustavo	26 Jun 1941	0623	Pola	26 Jun 1941	2250	Pola	158	Sailed with the submarine Bausan for exercises.
	Miniero, Gustavo	3 Jul 1941	0815	Pola	3 Jul 1941	1800	Pola	50	Exercises with the torpedo boat Audace.
	Miniero, Gustavo	8 Jul 1941	0902	Pola	8 Jul 1941	1940	Pola	24	Trials, escorted by MAS 552.
	Miniero, Gustavo	16 Jul 1941	0853	Pola	16 Jul 1941	1547	Fiume	57	Passage Pola-Fiume.
	Miniero, Gustavo	18 Jul 1941	0740	Fiume	18 Jul 1941	1333	Fiume	10	Trials.
	Miniero, Gustavo	19 Jul 1941	1340	Fiume	19 Jul 1941	1630	Fiume	4	Trials.
	Miniero, Gustavo	27 Jul 1941	0900	Fiume	27 Jul 1941	1428	Pola	57	Passage Fiume-Pola.
	Miniero, Gustavo	29 Jul 1941	0800	Pola	29 Jul 1941	1800	Pola	56	Exercises with the submarine Ammiraglio Cagni, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera and the torpedo boat Audace.
	Miniero, Gustavo	2 Aug 1941	0900	Pola	2 Aug 1941	1409	Monfalcone	67	Passage Pola-Monfalcone.
	Miniero, Gustavo	24 Aug 1941	1015	Monfalcone	24 Aug 1941	1440	Pola	67	Passage Monfalcone-Pola.
	Miniero, Gustavo	28 Aug 1941	0750	Pola	28 Aug 1941	1833	Pola	37	Exercises with the auxiliary Salvore.
	Miniero, Gustavo	29 Aug 1941	0500	Pola	29 Aug 1941	1945	Pola	152	Sailed for exercises with the submarine Ammiraglio Cagni.
	Miniero, Gustavo	30 Aug 1941	1030	Pola	30 Aug 1941	1900	Pola	42	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera.
	Miniero, Gustavo	3 Sep 1941	0713	Pola	3 Sep 1941	1740	Pola	59	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera for exercises with the torpedo boat Audace.
	Miniero, Gustavo	4 Sep 1941	0740	Pola	4 Sep 1941	2252	Pola	51	Exercises.
	Miniero, Gustavo	5 Sep 1941	0510	Pola	5 Sep 1941	1610	Pola	40	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Salvore.
	Miniero, Gustavo	7 Sep 1941	1218	Pola	7 Sep 1941	2210	Pola	15	Exercises.
	Miniero, Gustavo	8 Sep 1941	0915	Pola	8 Sep 1941	1754	Pola	13	Exercises.
	Miniero, Gustavo	9 Sep 1941	1751	Pola	11 Sep 1941	0807	Taranto	532	Passage Pola-Taranto.
	Miniero, Gustavo	14 Sep 1941	0830	Taranto	14 Sep 1941	1245	Taranto	22	Exercises, escorted by MAS 4 D.
	Miniero, Gustavo	21 Sep 1941	1330	Taranto	21 Sep 1941	1732	Taranto	19	Exercises, escorted by the pilot vessel Limbara.
	Miniero, Gustavo	23 Sep 1941	0803	Taranto	23 Sep 1941	0930	Taranto	14	Exercises.
	Miniero, Gustavo	1 Oct 1941	1330	Taranto	1 Oct 1941	1715	Taranto	31	Exercises, escorted by MAS 4 D.
	Miniero, Gustavo	3 Oct 1941	0745	Taranto	3 Oct 1941	1230	Taranto	27	Exercises, escorted by the pilot vessel Limbara.
1	Miniero, Gustavo	10 Oct 1941	1315	Taranto	13 Oct 1941	1825	Bardia		Supply mission via 32°40'N, 25°20'E (153 tons of petrol in 7,346 cans).
		12 Oct 1941	0945	34° 00'N, 23° 50'E	At 0945 hours, an aircraft was sighted at 3,000 metres flying at an altitude of 500 metres. Millo did not have time to dive. The aircraft made a large circle and was identified as German. It flew away after 5 minutes.
		12 Oct 1941	1315	33° 50'N, 24° 30'E	At 1315 hours, an aircraft, believed to be a Blenheim bomber, was sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres. It was flying at an altitude of 500 metres and dived from the sun to about 100 metres. As it flew over the submarine flashing a white light, the British cockades were clearly seen and Millo opened fire with her machine guns. The aircraft was believed to have been hit and did not try to attack. Millo submerged at 1322 hours. This was probably Beaufort No.6504 of 39 Squadron piloted by Sergeant Harvey. It attacked a submarine in the afternoon.
1b	Miniero, Gustavo	14 Oct 1941	0015	Bardia	17 Oct 1941	1608	Taranto	1677	Return trip from Bardia. Supply mission [mileage is for round trip].
		15 Oct 1941	1430 1426 or 1230 GMT (e)	34° 10'N, 22° 44'E	At 1430 hours, an enemy bomber was sighted at 1,000 metres. It came very quickly to the attack, dropping two depth charges which fell about 50 meters astern on the starboard side. They exploded a few seconds later. Millo did not have time to use her machine-guns and dived at 1431 hours. This was Blenheim 'C' (Z9544) of 203 Squadron piloted by Pilot Officer Van der Water. It sighted a surfaced submarine on a course of 300 degrees at 10 knots (Millo was actually steering 284° at 12 knots). The bomber climbed to 3000 feet and made a diving attack, passing over the port quarter of the submarine at a height of 100 feet. One 250-lb GP bomb was dropped and observed to fall 10 feet astern of the submarine. The maneuver was repeated and a second bomb dropped on the now submerging submarine. A third attack was delivered in the same manner, this time with two bombs. The explosions raised a great mass of water just aft of the conning tower. The submarine disappeared and when the disturbance in the water had subsided bubbles were seen rising to the surface. It was considered that the submarine was destroyed. Millo had actually come out unscathed.
	Miniero, Gustavo	9 Nov 1941	0850	Taranto	9 Nov 1941	1100	Taranto		Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Sparviero.
	Miniero, Gustavo	11 Nov 1941	0901	Taranto	11 Nov 1941	1235	Taranto		Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper R.D.13.
	Miniero, Gustavo	14 Nov 1941	1355	Taranto	14 Nov 1941	1738	Taranto		Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper R.D.24.
2	Miniero, Gustavo	16 Nov 1941	1342	Taranto	19 Nov 1941	1730	Bardia		Supply mission to Bardia (136.3 tons: 133.4 tons of petrol in 7,021 cans and 2.9 tons of ammunition). Uneventful. The vapors of benzine from her cargo caused severe discomfort to the men who discharged the cargo [ULTRA intercept].
2b	Miniero, Gustavo	19 Nov 1941	2245	Bardia	22 Nov 1941	1400	Taranto	1490	Return trip from supply mission to Bardia. Brought back twenty-two PoWs. She maintained a cruising speed of 14 knots. Uneventful [mileage is for round trip].
	Miniero, Gustavo	26 Nov 1941	1425	Taranto	26 Nov 1941	1645	Taranto		Exercises.
3	Miniero, Gustavo	27 Nov 1941	1350	Taranto	29 Nov 1941	1830	Derna		Supply mission to Derna (139.7 tons: 136.7 tons of petrol, 3 tons of ammunition). Uneventful.
3b	Miniero, Gustavo	29 Nov 1941	2330	Derna	2 Dec 1941	1300	Taranto	1195	Return trip from supply mission to Derna, through 33°40'N and 22°40'E, 34°10'N and 21°20'E, 38°00'N and 18°00'E [mileage is for round trip].
		1 Dec 1941	1030	37° 34'N, 19° 00'E	At 1030 hours, a derelict mine was hit with rifle fire but did not sink.
	Miniero, Gustavo	8 Dec 1941	1050	Taranto	8 Dec 1941	1250	Taranto		Exercises, escorted by MAS 5 D.
4	Miniero, Gustavo	8 Dec 1941	1405	Taranto	11 Dec 1941	0845	Benghazi		Supply mission to Benghazi (138.2 tons: 132.4 tons of Italian benzine, 5.8 tons of ammunition).
		9 Dec 1941	1000	37° 18'N, 18° 59'E	At 1000 hours, an aircraft was seen at 5,000 metres flying at an altitude of 300 metres. It apparently maneuvered for an attack. Because the heavy seas prevented Millo from manning her machine guns efficiently, C.C. Miniero ordered the submarine to crash-dive, but no bombs were dropped.
		11 Dec 1941	2110	32° 50'N, 20° 10'E	At 2110 hours, a submarine was sighted at 5,000 metres steering south.
4b	Miniero, Gustavo	11 Dec 1941	1550	Benghazi	13 Dec 1941	0845	Suda		Return from supply mission to Benghazi.
		11 Dec 1941	2110	32° 50'N, 20° 10'E	At 2110 hours, a submarine was sighted at 5,000 metres steering south.
5	Miniero, Gustavo	15 Dec 1941	1730	Suda	17 Dec 1941	1815	Derna		Sailed, escorted out by the tug Voltaire [who returned to Suda at 1900 hours on the 15th] for supply mission to Derna through 34°00'N, 22°40'E and Benghazi (1140 tons of fuel, 5 tons of ammunition). Upon arrival, C.C. Miniero was told not to unload his cargo as the town was about to be evacuated and he communicated to MARICOSOM his intention to land his stores in Benghazi [ULTRA intercept].
		16 Dec 1941	0700 0700 (e)	34° 36'N, 22° 50'E (0) German Grid CO 5262.	At 0700 hours, the conning tower of a submarine was sighted at 8,000 metres. This was U-652 (OL Georg-Werner Fraatz).
5b	Miniero, Gustavo	17 Dec 1941	2100	Derna	18 Dec 1941	1115	Benghazi		Supply mission to Derna and Benghazi (from Suda: 140 tons of fuel, 5 tons of ammunition). Uneventful.
5c	Miniero, Gustavo	18 Dec 1941	1830	Benghazi	21 Dec 1941	1330	Suda		Return from supply mission to Derna and Benghazi, fifteen PoWs and two guards. Uneventful.
	Miniero, Gustavo	2 Jan 1942	1356	Taranto	2 Jan 1942	1702	Taranto		Trials escorted by the minesweeper R.D.30.
6	Miniero, Gustavo	4 Jan 1942	0845	Taranto	5 Jan 1942	0545	Sunk		Carried only eight torpedoes during this trip. Supply mission (155.4 tons: 140 tons of petrol, 12 tons of lubricating oil, 3.4 tons of ammunition) from Taranto via Palermo to Tripoli (passing north of Sicily). Sunk by HMS Upholder.
		5 Jan 1942	0440 0538 (e)	(e) 38° 22'N, 15° 22'E	At 0530 hours, the submarine HMS Upholder (Lt. Cdr. M.D. Wanklyn, VC, DSO, RN) sighted what at first was believed to be a trawler, but later proved to be a two-gun submarine zig-zagging on course 260°-360° at 15 knots. At 0538 hours, a single torpedo was fired at 1,000 yards. It was observed to hit just forward of the No. 1 gun. This was the last remaining torpedo and the first torpedo hit that Wanklyn actually watched. This was Ammiraglio Saint Bon and she was hit amidship and this detonated her cargo and she sank very quickly. HMS Upholder picked up three survivors (an officer and two ratings). Eight officers and forty-nine ratings perished including C.C. Miniero. The torpedo boat Centauro, two motorboats and an aircraft were sent to search for survivors, but none were found.

69 entries. 67 total patrol entries (6 marked as war patrols) and 9 events.

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