Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Giulio Contreas
| Born | 25 Nov 1910 | Formia (Latina) | |
| Died | 2009 | (98) | Varese |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
ATROPO (T.V. First Officer): from 15.02.1939 to ?PIETRO MICCA (T.V. resp.): from 14.09.1940 to 30.09.1940 (refit at Taranto).
ALAGI (T.V. C.O.): from 14.04.1941 to 19.01.1942.
Promoted to C.C. in March 1942
ARGO (C.C. C.O.): from 04.03.1942 to 16.05.1942.
From 15.06.1942 to at least January 1943, served as First Officer of the destroyer BOMBARDIERE.
Commands listed for Giulio Contreas
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pietro Micca (MC) | Minelaying | T.V. | 14 Sep 1940 | 30 Sep 1940 |
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 14 Apr 1941 | 19 Jan 1942 |
| Argo (AO, I.26) | Ocean going | C.C. | 4 Mar 1942 | 16 May 1942 |
Ships hit by Giulio Contreas
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Giulio Contreas
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pietro Micca (MC) | 14 Sep 1940 | Taranto | 30 Sep 1940 | Taranto | Refit. | |||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 16 Apr 1941 | 0935 | Venice | 16 Apr 1941 | 1615 | Monfalcone | 64 | Passage Venice-Monfalcone. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 18 Apr 1941 | 0852 | Monfalcone | 18 Apr 1941 | 1604 | Monfalcone | 46 | Trials escorted by a tug. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 30 Apr 1941 | 0911 | Monfalcone | 30 Apr 1941 | 1540 | Pola | 70 | Passage Monfalcone-Pola. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 2 May 1941 | 0842 | Pola | 2 May 1941 | 0945 | Pola | 0,5 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 3 May 1941 | 0845 | Pola | 3 May 1941 | 0955 | Pola | 1 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 4 May 1941 | 0835 | Pola | 4 May 1941 | 1140 | Pola | 1 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 6 May 1941 | 0706 | Pola | 6 May 1941 | 1845 | Pola | 57,5 | Trials, escorted by the auxiliary San Giorgio. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 7 May 1941 | 0830 | Pola | 7 May 1941 | 1259 | Pola | 18 | Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Gigliola. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 8 May 1941 | 0800 | Pola | 8 May 1941 | 1455 | Pola | 15 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 9 May 1941 | 0945 | Pola | 9 May 1941 | 1118 | Pola | 5 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 10 May 1941 | 0750 | Pola | 10 May 1941 | 1840 | Pola | 73 | Exercises with the submarine Speri, escorted by the auxiliary San Giorgio. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 13 May 1941 | 0747 | Pola | 13 May 1941 | 1850 | Pola | 73 | Exercises with the submarine Speri, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 14 May 1941 | 1100 | Pola | 15 May 1941 | 0309 | Pola | 90 | Exercises with the submarine Medusa, escorted by the auxiliary San Giorgio. Torpedo firing exercise followed in zone 4 escorted by the tug Tenace and using the torpedo boat Cantore as target. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 15 May 1941 | 1135 | Pola | 15 May 1941 | 1150 | Pola | 0,5 | Changed anchorage. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 16 May 1941 | 0800 | Pola | 16 May 1941 | 1833 | Pola | 81 | Sailed with the submarine Bragadino, escorted by auxiliary Jadera, in zone 5. Used the torpedo boat Cantore as target for torpedo firing exercise. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 17 May 1941 | 1115 | Pola | 17 May 1941 | 1441 | Pola | 23 | Exercises with the submarine Axum, escorted by the auxiliary Parenzo. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 19 May 1941 | 0855 | Pola | 19 May 1941 | 2320 | Pola | 72 | Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat Cantore and the auxiliary Laurana. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 23 May 1941 | 0204 | Pola | 25 May 1941 | 2020 | Messina | 659 | Passage Pola-Messina. | ||
| 1. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 28 May 1941 | 1606 | Messina | 14 Jun 1941 | 1615 | Messina | 2078 | Patrolled between 34°20'N and the south coast of Crete, between 25°20'E and 25°40'E or Grids 2472 and 2484, until 4th June then off Egyptian coast near Ras Azzaz until 10th June. | |
| 29 May 1941 | 1625 | 36° 59'N, 17° 26'E | At 1625 hours, a derelict mine was sighted at a distance of 1,000 metres. An attempt to destroy it by machine-gun fire failed. | |||||||
| 6 Jun 1941 | 0325 | 32° 10'N, 25° 20'E | At 0325 hours, a destroyer was sighted at a range of 3,000 metres, steering 100° at 15 knots. Alagi maneuvered on the surface at 7 knots to carry out a stern attack but was thwarted when a second destroyer appeared at 1,500 metres. She crash-dived and was not detected. In the following days she sighted only small fishing vessels. | |||||||
| 12 Jun 1941 | 1947 | (0) Approximately. | At 1947 hours, a Sunderland was sighted steering 290°. Alagi was proceeding on the surface at 9.5 knots and T.V. Giulio Contreas elected to fight it out. The aircraft passed ahead at a height of 100 metres, flashing white lights and ineffectively strafing the submarine. Alagi's light and heavy machine-guns opened fire, claiming repeated hits. The aircraft came back and dropped two bombs, which fell astern of the submarine, without causing damage. However, this time its firing was accurate and hit the conning tower with 15 rounds, mortally wounding gunner Paolo Nuzzo and slightly wounding another. The aircraft was hit and disappeared trailing smoke. Contreas believed that it may have been shot down. This was a Sunderland from Malta, but the report seems to have been lost. | |||||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 4 Jul 1941 | 0850 | Messina | 4 Jul 1941 | 1647 | Messina | 59 | Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Castiglia. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 8 Jul 1941 | 0825 | Messina | 8 Jul 1941 | 1141 | Messina | 14 | Trials, escorted by the motorboat Arcioni. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 8 Jul 1941 | 2102 | Messina | 10 Jul 1941 | 0835 | Cagliari | 333 | Passage Messina-Cagliari. | ||
| 2. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 16 Jul 1941 | 1710 | Cagliari | 19 Jul 1941 | 0820 | Cagliari | 444 | Sailed with Diaspro to form a patrol line between 37°40'N and 37°50'N and between 05°00'E and 06°00'E, near Cape Bougaroni. Uneventful. | |
| 3. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 21 Jul 1941 | 1508 | Cagliari | 27 Jul 1941 | 0942 | Cagliari | 727 | Patrolled north of Cape Bougaroni, between 37°30'N and 37°50'N, and between 05°00'E and 06°00'E, on a barrage line with Diaspro. | |
| 24 Jul 1941 | 1758 | 37° 45'N, 4° 50'E | At 1758 hours, an aircraft carrier and two destroyers were sighted at a distance of 15,000 metres, steering 085°. Alagi could not get within attacking range. This was the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal carrying out operation SUBSTANCE. | |||||||
| 25 Jul 1941 | 1527 | (0) North of Cape Bougaroni. | At 1527 hours, an aircraft carrier, two cruisers and several destroyers were sighted steering 030°, then moving westward. Alagi could not get into an attacking position, losing visual contact at 1643 hours and hydrophone contact at 1932 hours. This was the aircraft HMS Ark Royal and other ships retiring westward (Operation SUBSTANCE). | |||||||
| 4. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 30 Jul 1941 | 1934 | Cagliari | 5 Aug 1941 | 1530 | Cagliari | 737,3 | Patrolled in 37°50'N, between 05°00'E and 06°00'E, on a barrage line with Diaspro. At 0219 hours on 3rd August, she was ordered to 37°30'N, 05°30'E. Several reports were received of a naval force from Gibraltar but Alagi sighted nothing. | |
| 3 Aug 1941 | 2327 | 37° 33'N, 5° 03'E | At 0300 hours, information was received of an important convoy sighted, at 2220 hours on 2nd August, in Italian Grid 8327/5, steering 270° at 16 knots. Alagi was ordered to shift her patrol 20 miles south. At 2327 hours, an illuminated vessel was sighted steering 325°. It was probably French. | |||||||
| 4 Aug 1941 | 0330 | 37° 29'N, 5° 08'E | At 0330 hours, an illuminated vessel, probably French, was sighted steering 150°. | |||||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 7 Aug 1941 | 0735 | Cagliari | 7 Aug 1941 | 1151 | Cagliari | 11 | Exercises with the submarine Aradam, escorted by the minesweeper Balear. | ||
| 5. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 8 Aug 1941 | 0155 | Cagliari | 9 Aug 1941 | 0834 | Cagliari | 221 | Sailed for patrol west of Galite for a few hours, in 37°40'N, 08°30'E then ordered back. Uneventful. | |
| 6. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 22 Aug 1941 | 1605 | Cagliari | 29 Aug 1941 | 0910 | Cagliari | 951 | Patrolled on 37°30'N parallel between 5° E and 6° E (off Bougie) on a patrol line with Serpente. | |
| 27 Aug 1941 | 1224 | 38° 25'N, 7° 22'E | At 2233 hours on 26th August, MARICOSOM informed Alagi of the presence of three enemy merchant ships and she proceeded to intercept. At 0011 hours, the submarine received the order to return to base. At 1224 hours, a signal from MARICOSOM (1135/27) informed Alagi of a 10-20,000-ton transport in Grid 6580/6, steering 270° at 15 knots. T.V. Giulio Contreas thought that he had a chance to intercept and altered course at maximum speed (9 knots as one of his diesels had defects). From 1935 to 2035 hours, hydrophone effects were heard from this vessel, but it was faster than expected and contact was lost. At 2245 hours, Alagi was informed of an armed steamer apparently damaged in 37°24' N, 06°54' E and ordered to attack it. This was Deucalion attacked by Bandiera. | |||||||
| 28 Aug 1941 | 1040 | 37° 24'N, 6° 50'E | At 0013 hours on the 28th, the submarine was informed of an Italian aircraft shot down and ordered look for survivors. At 1040 hours, a body was sighted floating in the sea and was recovered. It was T.V. Antonio Forni, naval observer. No survivors were found. | |||||||
| 29 Aug 1941 | 0845 | (0) At entrance of Cagliari. | At 0845 hours, the body of T.V. Antonio Forni was transferred to the tug Vado. | |||||||
| 7. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 2 Sep 1941 | 2241 | Cagliari | 4 Sep 1941 | 1844 | Cagliari | 380 | Sailed with Serpente for patrol in 37°20'N, 06°00'E, between 05°00'E and 06°00'E (off Bougie) to intercept a force from Gibraltar, but at 2015 hours on 3rd Septemeber (about an hour after reaching her patrol position), she was ordered back by MARICOSOM. | |
| 8. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 15 Sep 1941 | 1304 | Cagliari | 26 Sep 1941 | 1155 | Cagliari | 1049 | Patrolled in zone K.1 (between 37°14'N and the coast and between 11°00'E and Ras Iddà) [next to Smeraldo in zone K.2] off Cape Bon. Then ordered to zone K.3. Uneventful. | |
| 20 Sep 1941 | 1015 | 37° 08'N, 11° 02'E | At 1015 hours, an Italian 20,000-ton motor-ship escorted by four destroyers were sighted on a northerly course. Alagi had been informed of their passage and remained submerged at a depth of 20 meters, with one destroyer passing over her exactly seven minutes later . This was the troop transport Vulcania escorted by the destroyers Da Recco, Da Noli, Pessagno and Usodimare travelling from Tripoli to Naples. | |||||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 4 Oct 1941 | 1301 | Cagliari | 4 Oct 1941 | 1648 | Cagliari | 21 | Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper Balear. | ||
| 9. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 16 Oct 1941 | 2358 | Cagliari | 21 Oct 1941 | 0030 | Cagliari | 530 | Sailed with Aradam, Serpente, Turchese and Diaspro for patrol North of Cape Bougaroni between 37°10'N and 37°50'N, 06°40'E and 07°20'E. | |
| 17 Oct 1941 | 0841 | 38° 25'N, 8° 15'E | At 0841 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 7,000 metres and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 18 Oct 1941 | 0500 | 37° 17'N, 6° 32'E | At 0500 hours, a steamer was observed at a distance of 10,000 metres. Alagi could not close to investigate. At 1405 hours, the submarine received a signal from MARICOSOM (1245/18) indicating an aircraft carrier, a battleship and six destroyers steering 090°, 14 knots at 1132 hours in Italian Grid 9319/5, about 120 miles away. This was the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the battleship HMS Rodney, the light cruiser HMS Hermione and seven destroyers carrying out operation CALLBOY. The submarine altered course to intercept but could not make contact. | |||||||
| 10. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 24 Oct 1941 | 2256 | Cagliari | 3 Nov 1941 | 1508 | Cagliari | 1050 | Sailed with Diaspro for patrol between 37°00'N and 37°15'N and 05°20'E and 06°00'E, north of Bay of Bougie and off Cape Cavallo near 36°56'N, 05°24'E. Uneventful. Sighted only French ships. | |
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 15 Nov 1941 | 1334 | Cagliari | 15 Nov 1941 | 1719 | Cagliari | 22 | Trials. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 19 Nov 1941 | 0610 | Cagliari | 20 Nov 1941 | 1238 | Naples | 278 | Passage Cagliari-Naples, to change periscope. | ||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 24 Nov 1941 | 0710 | Naples | 25 Nov 1941 | 1200 | Cagliari | 271 | Passage Naples-Cagliari. | ||
| 11. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 26 Nov 1941 | 2300 | Cagliari | 8 Dec 1941 | 1100 | Cagliari | 1116 | Patrolled north of Cape de Fer between 37°40'N and African coast and 07°10'E and 07°40'E. | |
| 5 Dec 1941 | 2040 | 37° 38'N, 7° 27'E | At 2040 hours, a submarine or antisubmarine vessel was sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres. Alagi was not in a favourable position and T.V. Contreas elected to submerge. | |||||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 17 Dec 1941 | 0813 | Cagliari | 17 Dec 1941 | 1305 | Cagliari | 24 | Exercises with auxiliary Balear. | ||
| 12. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 18 Dec 1941 | 2055 | Cagliari | 25 Dec 1941 | 1210 | Cagliari | 731 | Patrolled off Cape du Fer between 37°30'N and Algerian coast, 07°20'E and 07°30'E. Sighted several French ships. | |
| 19 Dec 1941 | 1000 | 37° 44'N, 7° 38'E | At 1000 hours, a submarine similar to Aradam was sighted steering 070°. Alagi dived immediately. | |||||||
| 13. | Alagi (AL, N.58) | 1 Jan 1942 | 1835 | Cagliari | 8 Jan 1942 | 1725 | Cagliari | 1225 | Patrolled with Axum, Aradam and Turchese, between Malta and Pantelleria, between 34°00'N and 34°20'N, and between 15°20'E and 16°00'E, forming a patrol line as a submarine screen to protect Italian convoys to Libya. | |
| 6 Jan 1942 | 1000 | 34° 55'N, 13° 17'E | At 1000 hours, a derelict mine was seen 300 metres away. No attempts were made to destroy it as the heavy seas made the aiming difficult. | |||||||
| Alagi (AL, N.58) | 18 Jan 1942 | 0803 | Cagliari | 18 Jan 1942 | 1206 | Cagliari | 22 | Trials escorted by the tug Salvore. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 2 Mar 1942 | 0924 | Naples | 2 Mar 1942 | 1300 | Naples | 16 | Trials. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 6 Mar 1942 | 0900 | Naples | 7 Mar 1942 | 1725 | Naples | 46 | Trials. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 8 Mar 1942 | 0800 | Naples | 8 Mar 1942 | 1615 | Naples | 26 | Trials. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 9 Mar 1942 | 1215 | Naples | 9 Mar 1942 | 1905 | Naples | 41,9 | Trials. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 17 Mar 1942 | 0728 | Naples | 17 Mar 1942 | 1655 | Naples | 49 | Exercises. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 24 Mar 1942 | 0725 | Naples | 24 Mar 1942 | 1746 | Naples | 51 | Exercises. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 26 Mar 1942 | 0735 | Naples | 26 Mar 1942 | 1849 | Naples | 53,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 28 Mar 1942 | 1306 | Naples | 28 Mar 1942 | 1852 | Naples | 44,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 29 Mar 1942 | 1500 | Naples | 29 Mar 1942 | 1903 | Naples | 32,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 1 Apr 1942 | 1835 | Naples | 1 Apr 1942 | 2225 | Naples | 37 | Exercises. | ||
| 14. | Argo (AO, I.26) | 2 Apr 1942 | 1955 | Naples | 22 Apr 1942 | 2305 | Cagliari | 1796,5 | Patrolled between 36°20'N and 36°40'N, and between 01°40'W and 00°40'E, southeast of Cape de Gata, southeast of Cape Palos, West of Cape Falcon to attack traffic to and from Gibraltar. On 13th April, was ordered in Grids 6366 and 4566. One of the longest Mediterranean patrol for an Italian submarine. | |
| 10 Apr 1942 | 0605 | 36° 39'N, 0° 40'E | At 0605 hours, a cruiser or large destroyer was sighted at 3,000 metres. The submarine maneuvered to pass ahead of the enemy vessel to fire the stern tubes at less than 1,000 meters, but C.C. Contreas believed he had been detected and went down to 120 meters. No counterattack followed. | |||||||
| 15 Apr 1942 | 0224 | At 0224 hours, the Portuguese schooner Pádua (665 GRT, built 1925) was sighted at 1,000 metres. | ||||||||
| 19 Apr 1942 | 1310 | 36° 04'N, 1° 50'W | At 1310 hours, an enemy destroyer was sighted at 6,000 metres and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 20 Apr 1942 | 0800 | At 0800 hours, two small French steamers were sighted at a distance of 10,000 metres. | ||||||||
| 21 Apr 1942 | 1910 | At 1910 hours, a vessel was sighted and the submarine was in a favourable position and dived to the attack. This was the French ship Djebel Nador (3,168 GRT, built 1938) and the attack was aborted. | ||||||||
| Argo (AO, I.26) | 13 May 1942 | 0800 | Cagliari | 13 May 1942 | 1500 | Cagliari | 22 | Trials. | ||
65 entries. 54 total patrol entries (14 marked as war patrols) and 21 events.