Zaffiro (ZA)
Zaffiro

Type	Coastal / Sea going
Class	Sirena (21)
Laid down	16 Sep 1931	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched	28 Jun 1933
Commissioned	4 Jun 1934
End service
Stricken
Loss date	9 Jun 1942
Loss position	38° 21'N, 3° 21'E
History
Fate	Sunk on 9th June 1942 north of Algiers, in position 38°21'N, 03°21'E by bombs from a British Catalina aircraft (Sq. 240/J).

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
T.V. Giovanni Lombardi	28 Apr 1940	18 Apr 1942
T.V. Carlo Mottura	19 Apr 1942	19 Jun 1942

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
1	Lombardi, Giovanni	9 Jun 1940	0440	Leros	14 Jun 1940	2100	Leros	505,19	Patrolled 15 miles south of Cape Prassoni (Rhodes). Uneventful.
2	Lombardi, Giovanni	29 Jun 1940	1700	Leros	9 Jul 1940	0640	Leros	781	Patrolled south of Rhodes in 35°50'N, 27°30'E, in Scarpanto Channel. Uneventful.
3	Lombardi, Giovanni	24 Jul 1940	1955	Leros	6 Aug 1940	0610	Leros	874	Patrolled in Scarpanto Channel between (1) 10 miles south of Cape Prassinosi (2) 20 miles east of Kupho Island (3) 5 miles south of Punta Castello (Scarpanto). Uneventful.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	29 Aug 1940	0945	Leros	29 Aug 1940	1310	Leros	20	Exercises.
4	Lombardi, Giovanni	3 Oct 1940	1500	Leros	10 Oct 1940	0155	Leros	654	Patrolled off Mudros, Port Kalloni (Mytilene) and off Cape Baba. Sighted a number of vessels, but none that could be identified as enemy.
5	Lombardi, Giovanni	27 Oct 1940	1805	Leros	6 Nov 1940	1005	Leros	1078	Patrolled in Kaso Straits, then from 1st November off Suda Bay. Uneventful.
6	Lombardi, Giovanni	2 Dec 1940	1650	Leros	5 Dec 1940	0105	Leros	253,5	Patrolled near Rhodes, 154° - Punta Rosa - 42 miles. Ca. 37°20'N, 26°30'E.
7	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Dec 1940	1800	Leros	31 Dec 1940	0710	Leros	895	Patrolled to intercept traffic between Turkey and Greece. Uneventful.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Jan 1941	0930	Leros	22 Jan 1941	1140	Parteni	15	Passage Leros-Parteni.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	23 Jan 1941	1305	Parteni	23 Jan 1941	1530	Leros	10	Passage Parteni-Leros.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	3 Feb 1941	1750	Leros	9 Feb 1941	1130	Augusta	673	Passage Leros-Augusta. At 2005 hours on 8th February, was diverted to Cape Passero instead of Cape Spartivento, following a report of a submarine lurking near the latter.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	12 Feb 1941	0845	Augusta	14 Feb 1941	1900	La Spezia	552	Passage Augusta-La Spezia.
		13 Feb 1941	0720	40° 25'N, 12° 45'E	At 0720 hours, an Italian convoy of three steamers escorted by a torpedo-boat was sighted steering 220°.
		14 Feb 1941	0807	42° 31'N, 9° 49'E	At 0807 hours, a derelict mine was sunk with machine gun and rifle fire.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	21 Apr 1941	0940	La Spezia	21 Apr 1941	1618	La Spezia	41	Trials.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	26 Apr 1941	0853	La Spezia	26 Apr 1941	1500	La Spezia	43	Trials.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	30 Apr 1941	0840	La Spezia	30 Apr 1941	1300	La Spezia	24,5	Trials, escorted by the tug Taormina.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	5 May 1941	0925	La Spezia	5 May 1941	1740	La Spezia	26	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	9 May 1941	0800	La Spezia	9 May 1941	1850	La Spezia	55,4	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	16 May 1941	0900	La Spezia	16 May 1941	1810	La Spezia	25,5	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	19 May 1941	1455	La Spezia	19 May 1941	1905	La Spezia	31,4	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	19 May 1941	1455	La Spezia	19 May 1941	1905	La Spezia	31,4	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 May 1941	0905	La Spezia	22 May 1941	1425	La Spezia	30,3	Exercises with C.B.2 and another unidentified C.B. boat.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	24 May 1941	1305	La Spezia	24 May 1941	1625	La Spezia	19,7	Exercises with C.B.2.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	8 Jun 1941	0822	La Spezia	8 Jun 1941	1324	La Spezia	26,4	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	15 Jun 1941	0505	La Spezia	17 Jun 1941	0900	Messina	554,7	Passage La Spezia-Messina. Sighted only Italian ships.
		16 Jun 1941	1245	(0) Off Naples.	At 1245, the submarine Smeraldo was encountered and exchanged recognition signals.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	19 Jun 1941	1755	Messina	21 Jun 1941	0130	Crotone	284,3	Passage Messina-Crotone.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	21 Jun 1941	1236	Crotone	21 Jun 1941	2210	Taranto	81,2	Passage Crotone-Taranto.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	27 Jul 1941	0825	Taranto	27 Jul 1941	1641	Taranto	49,3	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	29 Jul 1941	0755	Taranto	29 Jul 1941	1343	Taranto	33	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	30 Jul 1941	1200	Taranto	2 Aug 1941	1017	Augusta	355,3	Passage Taranto-Augusta. Sighted only Italian vessels.
8	Lombardi, Giovanni	2 Aug 1941	1500	Augusta	5 Aug 1941	0850	Augusta	333	Patrolled east of Malta. Uneventful.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	8 Aug 1941	0814	Augusta	8 Aug 1941	1415	Augusta	37,1	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	11 Aug 1941	1045	Augusta	11 Aug 1941	1205	Augusta	11,2	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	17 Aug 1941	0802	Augusta	17 Aug 1941	1420	Augusta	51,3	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Aug 1941	1555	Augusta	22 Aug 1941	1750	Augusta	4,5	Exercises.
9	Lombardi, Giovanni	23 Aug 1941	1150	Augusta	27 Aug 1941	1500	Augusta	520,5	Patrolled between Malta and Pantelleria, in 36°16'N, 12°52'E. Uneventful.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	9 Sep 1941	0810	Augusta	9 Sep 1941	1158	Augusta	18,8	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	10 Sep 1941	0855	Augusta	10 Sep 1941	1640	Messina	75	Passage Augusta-Messina.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	12 Sep 1941	0437	Messina	12 Sep 1941	1345	Messina	66,5	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	14 Sep 1941	0734	Messina	14 Sep 1941	1345	Messina	33	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	16 Sep 1941	1908	Messina	16 Sep 1941	2400	Messina	24,6	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	18 Sep 1941	0715	Messina	18 Sep 1941	1501	Messina	67	Exercises with the submarine Ametista, escorted by the auxiliary Marzano.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Sep 1941	0000	Messina	22 Sep 1941	0742	Augusta	71,9	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Sep 1941	1853	Augusta	26 Sep 1941	0940	Leros	621,1	Passage Augusta-Leros. Attack periscope needed repairs. ULTRA decrypt revealed her passage.
		23 Sep 1941	1505	36° 30'N, 19° 20'E	At 1505 hours, a CANT Z.506 seaplane was seen at 8,000 metres and exchanged recognition signals.
		24 Sep 1941	1410	35° 48'N, 22° 17'E	At 1410 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	6 Oct 1941	0837	Leros	6 Oct 1941	1302	Leros	25,8	Exercises.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	10 Oct 1941	0812	Leros	10 Oct 1941	1158	Leros	18,2	Exercises.
10	Lombardi, Giovanni	12 Oct 1941	0705	Leros	28 Oct 1941	0545	Leros	1840,9	Patrolled on Alexandretta-Port Said route, between 33°00'N and 34°00'N, and between 33°20'E and 34°20'E, on a line with Topazio. Uneventful [ULTRA decrypt revealed the mission but the submarine was not identified].
	Lombardi, Giovanni	14 Nov 1941	0800	Leros	14 Nov 1941	1200	Leros	17	Exercises.
11	Lombardi, Giovanni	21 Nov 1941	0744	Leros	21 Nov 1941	0952	Leros	30,4	Sailed for patrol north of Cyrenaica, but returned because of defects.
11b	Lombardi, Giovanni	22 Nov 1941	0650	Leros	4 Dec 1941	1250	Leros	1489,7	Patrolled initially 20 miles north of coast on 20°50'E meridian, then, on 25th November, shifted to 22°00'E. At 1910 hours on the 25th, MARICOSOM ordered her to the area between 33°40'N and 34°20'N, and between 22°40'E and 23°20'E. At 1810 hours on the 27th, the order was modified to a new area between 34°00'N and 34°40'N, and between 24°00'E and 24°40'E. At 1225 hours on the 29th, she was ordered between 34°00'N and 34°40'N, and between 25°00'E and 25°40'E to intercept an enemy convoy.
		22 Nov 1941	1035-1053	36° 33'N, 26° 48'E	At 1035 hours, a derelict mine was sighted at 600 metres and was sunk with machine gun and rifle fire.
		24 Nov 1941	1542	34° 09'N, 22° 50'E	At 1542 hours, a merchant ship was sighted at a range of 25,000 metres, steering 020°. Zaffiro could not close to attack and soon lost sight of the vessel.
		25 Nov 1941	1450		At 1450 hours, information was received of an enemy naval force from two signals from MARICOSOM. One (1210/25) reporting two cruisers and eight destroyers sighted at 0750 hours in 30°30' N [sic 33°30' N], 25°30' E steering 270°, 16 knots. The second (1225/25) amplifying it to three cruisers and eight destroyers in 33°30' N, 24°30' E, course 270°, 18 knots. Zaffiro attempted to intercept and was later informed by MARICOSOM (1740/25) of a convoy of five steamers escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers, sighted at 1155 hours in 32°50' N, 25°30' E steering 285°, 14 knots. The submarine was hampered by defects to her diesel engines and sighted nothing.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	17 Dec 1941	0855	Leros	17 Dec 1941	1150	Leros	15	Exercises.
12	Lombardi, Giovanni	18 Dec 1941	2110	Leros	28 Dec 1941	1525	Leros	985,6	Sailed through 35°40'N, 28°20'E and 33°30'N, 30°16'E and patrolled off Rosetta in 31°40'N, 30°20'E to pick up Maiali operators after their attack on Alexandria (none showed up as all had been captured).
		22 Dec 1941	1935	31° 51'N, 30° 21'E	At 1935 hours, a fishing vessel was sighted at 6,000 metres, but this was later corrected to be a British MTB. At 2125 hours, Zaffiro dived as it closed to 1,500 metres.
		23 Dec 1941	0004	31° 41'N, 30° 22'E	At 0004 hours, Zaffiro had reached the rendezvous point where she was to pick up the six Decima Flottiglia MAS divers who had penetrated Alexandria (operation C 3). A destroyer appeared and the submarine dived to the bottom at 45 metres. The submarine surfaced at 0230 hours and continued her search until 0400 hours for the fishing vessel which should have been commandeered by the six men. The submarine returned the following night from 0226 to 0500 hours and again between midnight and 0400 hours on the 25th, but none of the divers were at the rendezvous and Zaffiro headed for home.
13	Lombardi, Giovanni	3 Jan 1942	2123	Leros	8 Jan 1942	1110	Messina	830,3	Passage Leros-Messina and via Kaso Strait and 33°50'N, 26°20'E for patrol in Grids 8475 and 1875 [Grid 18 is within a square between 33°20'N and 34°00'N, 21°40'E and 22°20'E].
	Lombardi, Giovanni	16 Jan 1942	1057	Messina	17 Jan 1942	0955	Naples	243,5	Passage Messina-Naples for long refit.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	10 Apr 1942	0930	Naples	10 Apr 1942	1615	Naples	27	Trials, escorted by the torpedo boat Achille Papa.
	Lombardi, Giovanni	14 Apr 1942	1013	Naples	14 Apr 1942	1335	Naples	20,2	Trials.
	Mottura, Carlo	23 Apr 1942	1045	Naples	23 Apr 1942	1920	Naples	30,5	Trials.
	Mottura, Carlo	24 Apr 1942	0940	Naples	24 Apr 1942	1425	Naples	36,3	Trials.
	Mottura, Carlo	25 Apr 1942	0640	Naples	25 Apr 1942	1712	Naples	64,8	Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	27 Apr 1942	0620	Naples	27 Apr 1942	2300	Naples	56,4	Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	28 Apr 1942	0920	Naples	28 Apr 1942	1647	Naples	12,9	Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Cosenz.
	Mottura, Carlo	30 Apr 1942	1415	Naples	30 Apr 1942	2245	Naples	24,5	Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Achille Papa.
	Mottura, Carlo	1 May 1942	0940	Naples	1 May 1942	1620	Naples		Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Cosenz.
	Mottura, Carlo	2 May 1942	1320	Naples	2 May 1942	2300	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	4 May 1942	0920	Naples	4 May 1942	1630	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	5 May 1942	1400	Naples	5 May 1942	2245	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	7 May 1942	0620	Naples	7 May 1942	2255	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	8 May 1942	1355	Naples	8 May 1942	2130	Naples		Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Polluce.
	Mottura, Carlo	15 May 1942	0720	Naples	15 May 1942	1700	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	16 May 1942	0750	Naples	16 May 1942	1530	Naples		Exercises.
	Mottura, Carlo	19 May 1942	1015	Naples	20 May 1942	1055	Messina	237,7	Passage Naples-Messina with the steamer Vertunno (3,159 GRT, built 1905), escorted by torpedo boat Abba.
	Mottura, Carlo	1 Jun 1942	0200	Messina	2 Jun 1942	1750	Cagliari	412,4	Passage Messina-Cagliari.
14	Mottura, Carlo	8 Jun 1942	0350	Cagliari	9 Jun 1942	1129	Sunk with all hands		Sailed for patrol with Velella, between 38°20'N and 38°40'N, and between 03°00'E and 03°40'E (south of Balearic Islands). Probably sunk by RAF aircraft (Catalina "J" of 240 Sq) in 38°21'N, 03°21'E at 1130-1315 on 9th June. No survivors, five officers and forty-two ratings were missing. The wreck apparently located by divers south of Ibiza in 2005.
		9 Jun 1942	1129 (e)	(e) 38° 21'N, 3° 21'E	At 1129 hours, Catalina 'J' of 240 Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant D.E. Hawkins, was on an A/S patrol when an enemy submarine of the PERLA class was sighted on the surface, steering 210° at 6 knots. The aircraft at once turned to the attack as the submarine opened fire with her machine guns. The aircraft took avoiding action, which prevented it from strafing the submarine, but it managed to release four 450-lb depth charges which straddled her stern, missing her by 5 to 15 yards. The aircraft came back for a strafing run. The U-boat replied with her weapons until she was silenced. About 20 minutes after the depth charge attack, the U-boat dived but surfaced again 5 minutes later and remained stationary. The crew came out on deck and about thirty-five men could be seen as the submarine began to sink by the stern. The aircraft came back for a strafing run and men began to jump or fall in the sea. White flags were waved as the submarine sank by the stern. The Catalina attempted to alight to pick up the survivors but the heavy swell seriously damaged the hull and it had to take off. At 1315 hours, the aircraft left the scene after dropping a smoke float to mark the spot. There is little doubt that this was Zaffiro. Unfortunately, none of her crew survived. T.V. Carlo Nottura, four officers and forty-two ratings perished.

77 entries. 72 total patrol entries (14 marked as war patrols) and 11 events.

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