Italian submarines in World War Two

Italian Commanders


Ferdinando Corsi

Born  24 Oct 1907Castellamare di Stabia
Died   1991(83)Zoagli

Ranks

  C.C.Capitano di Corvetta
26 Sep 1942 C.F.Capitano di Fregata

Decorations

25 Jun 1943 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
14 Jan 1948 Medaglia d'argento al valore militare

Career information

ONICE (C.C. C.O.): from 23.05.1942 to 29.07.1942.
ALPINO ATTILIO BAGNOLINI (C.C. C.O.): from 12.08.1942 to 20.01.1943.
Promoted to C.F. on 26.09.1942.
REGINALDO GIULIANI (C.F. C.O.): from 01.02.1943 to 20.02.1943.
ALPINO ATTILIO BAGNOLINI (C.F. resp.): from 22.05.1943 to 31.05.1943 (refit at Bordeaux).
GIUSEPPE FINZI (C.F. resp.): from 22.05.1943 to 09.06.1943 (refit at Bordeaux).

Commands listed for Ferdinando Corsi


Submarine Type Rank From To
Glauco (GU, I.24)Ocean goingC.C.15 Feb 1940Aug 1940
Onice (OC)Coastal / Sea goingC.C.23 May 194229 Jul 1942
Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)Ocean goingC.C.12 Aug 194220 Jan 1943
Reginaldo Giuliani (GN, I.14, UIT.23)Ocean goingC.F.1 Feb 194320 Feb 1943
Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)Ocean goingC.F.22 May 194331 May 1943
Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)Ocean goingC.F.22 May 19439 Jun 1943

Ships hit by Ferdinando Corsi

No ships hit by this Commander.

War patrols listed for Ferdinando Corsi

 SubmarineDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
Onice (OC)31 May 19420728Trapani31 May 19421211Trapani23,8Exercises escorted back by Levanzo.

1.Onice (OC)13 Jun 19420835Trapani17 Jun 19421510Trapani547Sailed in company with Dessiè and Aradam, escorted by the torpedo boat Dezza, for patrol west of Malta between 35°40'N and 36°00'N, and between 13°20'E and 13°40'E.
  15 Jun 19421217At 1217 hours, information was received of an enemy convoy of fourteen ships had been sighted in Grid 8331/2, steering 090°. Shortly after, this was corrected to 120°, 8 knots. Onice surfaced and altered course to 060° to intercept. This was the HARPOON convoy proceeding from Gibraltar to Malta.
  15 Jun 19421307At 1307 hours, an aircraft was seen and Onice dived.

At 1405 hours, information was received that the enemy convoy was still in Grid 8331 but now steering 120°, 8 knots.
  15 Jun 19421630At 1630 hours, an escort vessel was sighted proceeding at 16 knots at a distance of 15,000 metres. It disappeared from view.
  15 Jun 19421707At 1707 hours, a steamer was sighted on the horizon at a distance of 20,000 metres, proceeding at 10 knots.

Onice proceeded to attack and sighted three large steamers, escorted by four destroyers, steering 040° at 10 knots. At 1815 hours, the range had closed only to 9,000-10,000 meters and it became evident that they would pass out of range. At 1856 hours, the submarine surfaced and made an enemy report.

2.Onice (OC)17 Jun 19421830Trapani20 Jun 19422050Messina379,5Patrolled near Malta between 37°20'N and 37°40'N, and between 09°00'E and 09°40'E. Uneventful.

Onice (OC)20 Jun 19422141Messina21 Jun 19420602Trapani61,5Passage Messina-Trapani.

3.Onice (OC)21 Jun 19420939Trapani25 Jun 19421655Trapani567,1Patrolled off Malta between 35°50'N and 36°10'N, 13°00'E and 13°20'E.
  23 Jun 19422039At 2039 hours, Onice was ordered to intercept an enemy tanker sighted off Ras Mahmur proceeding to Malta. She altered course to intercept and dived to listen with the hydrophones but heard nothing.

4.Onice (OC)6 Jul 19421733Trapani21 Jul 19420105Trapani1164,1Patrolled east of La Galite, betweem 37°20'N and 37°50'N, 09°20'E and 09°40'E. Sighted many French ships.
  10 Jul 19421436At 1436 hours, a derelict mine was sunk by machine gun fire.

Onice (OC)21 Jul 19422002Trapani23 Jul 19421805La Spezia400Passage Trapani-La Spezia.

Onice (OC)25 Jul 19420630La Spezia25 Jul 19421305Genoa52Passage La Spezia-Genoa.

Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)2 Sep 19421120Bordeaux2 Sep 19421900Le Verdon55Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon.

Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)3 Sep 19420756Le Verdon3 Sep 19421925La Pallice71Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice and trials at Le Pertuis d'Antioche.

Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)5 Sep 19421105La Pallice5 Sep 19421542La Pallice33,5Trials.

Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)8 Sep 19421215La Pallice8 Sep 19421625La Pallice32Trials.

5.Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)15 Sep 19421650La Pallice17 Nov 19421109Le Verdon9447,1Sailed with the submarine Archimede [a U-boat equipped with Metox for the Biscay passage was to accompany them, but the it had to turn back because of defects] and patrolled in Gulf of Guinea and off Freetown, between 01°00'N and 03°00'S, and between 07°00'E and the coast of French Equatorial Africa. On her return, met Archimede with the German escort to Bordeaux. Bagnolini reported that during the Biscay passage, she had not encountered particularly heavy air searches.
  16 Sep 1942145844° 29'N, 4° 16'WAt 1458 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  16 Sep 1942164044° 21'N, 4° 32'WAt 1640 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  17 Sep 1942095044° 08'N, 6° 05'WAt 0950 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  18 Sep 1942104143° 57'N, 8° 58'WAt 1041 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  21 Sep 1942130437° 54'N, 16° 48'WAt 1304 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  28 Sep 19422330
2204Z (e)
19° 33'N, 20° 06'WAt 2330 hours, Bagnolini was steering 180° when the light of a steamer was observed on a parallel course astern and slowly closing.

At 2355 hours, the port side lookout spotted a destroyer approaching at 10-12 knots at 2,200 metres. C.C. Corsi ordered stern tube no.5 to be fired but the torpedo did not leave, as too little time had been given. The destroyer was now steering for the submarine and at 2359 hours, Bagnolini dived.

At 0007 hours on 29th September, six depth charges were heard astern at about 500 metres, followed by two more a little farther.

At 0110 hours, the submarine surfaced and sighted the destroyer at 800 metres on the port beam and a little beyond, the steamer now fully illuminated (a neutral?). There was now a full moon which would make the approach difficult and Corsi gave up the chase.
  15 Oct 194210305° 01'N, 18° 45'WAt 1030 hours, masts were seen on the horizon.

At 1043 hours it could be identified as a destroyer. Bagnolini dived, but hydrophone contact was lost at 1254 hours.
  18 Oct 194215546° 11'N, 17° 05'WAt 1554 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  18 Oct 194217156° 07'N, 18° 02'WAt 1715 hours, four aircraft were seen. They were apparently flying from Brazil to Freetown and the submarine dived.
  26 Oct 194214339° 57'N, 20° 40'WAt 1433 hours, three aircraft were seen and the submarine dived.
  29 Oct 1942001016° 06'N, 20° 24'WAt 0010 hours, an illuminated ship was observed, steering 220°, 12-13 knots . Bagnolini could not close to less than 3,000 metres. The submarine intercepted a signal identifying the vessel as the Portuguese Cujaba. This was probably the Brazilian Cuyaba, (6,489 GRT, built 1906). C.F. Corsi decided to give up the chase.
  2 Nov 1942153026° 18'N, 15° 49'WAt 1530 hours, an illuminated ship was sighted steering 210°. This turned out to be a Spanish 4,000-ton vessel, typically of the NERVION company. Bagnolini aborted the attack.
  4 Nov 1942094428° 44'N, 13° 07'WAt 0944 hours, an illuminated ship was sighted steering 220°. This turned out to be a Spanish 4,000-ton vessel. Bagnolini aborted the attack.
  5 Nov 1942052028° 10'N, 13° 32'WAt 0520 hours, an illuminated ship was sighted steering 070°. This turned out to be a Spanish 800-ton vessel. Bagnolini aborted the attack.
  7 Nov 1942023532° 46'N, 12° 50'WAt 0235 hours, an illuminated ship was sighted steering 030° (toward the Spanish coast) at 12 knots. This turned out to be a Spanish vessel. Bagnolini aborted the attack.
  7 Nov 1942114434° 10'N, 13° 00'WAt 1144 hours, an illuminated ship was sighted steering toward the Spanish coast. This turned out to be a 5,000-ton Spanish vessel. Bagnolini aborted the attack.
  8 Nov 1942163837° 07'N, 13° 00'WAt 1638 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
  9 Nov 1942053538° 11'N, 13° 00'WAt 0535 hours, a ship was sighted, which turned out to be Spanish.
  9 Nov 19421426At 1426 hours, the conning tower of a submarine was sighted. Bagnolini turned away.

6.Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)17 Nov 19421140Le Verdon17 Nov 19421537BordeauxPassage Le Verdon-La Pallice, after a brief stop to pick up the pilot.

Reginaldo Giuliani (GN, I.14, UIT.23)1 Feb 1943Bordeaux20 Feb 1943BordeauxAt Bordeaux. Change in command.

Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22)22 May 1943Bordeaux31 May 1943BordeauxIn Bordeaux.

Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)22 May 1943Bordeaux9 Jun 1943BordeauxRefit in Bordeaux (change in command).

38 entries. 17 total patrol entries (6 marked as war patrols) and 25 events.

Italian Commanders

Italian Submarines