Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Gaetano Di Meglio
| Born | 28 Jan 1908 | Genoa | |
| Died | 28 Jun 1942 | (34) | Died from illness on board steamer PILO in Benghazi. |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
LEONARDO DA VINCI (T.V. First Officer): from 08.03.1940 to ?TOPAZIO (T.V. C.O.): from 30.11.1941 to 03.02.1942.
DANDOLO (T.V. C.O.): from 26.02.1942 to 11.05.1942.
Commands listed for Gaetano Di Meglio
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topazio (TP) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 30 Nov 1941 | 3 Feb 1942 |
| Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | Ocean going | T.V. | 26 Feb 1942 | 11 May 1942 |
Ships hit by Gaetano Di Meglio
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Gaetano Di Meglio
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topazio (TP) | 3 Dec 1941 | 0907 | Messina | 3 Dec 1941 | 1600 | Messina | 32 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi. | ||
| Topazio (TP) | 5 Dec 1941 | 0810 | Messina | 5 Dec 1941 | 1130 | Messina | 33 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliaries Marras and Diversi. | ||
| Topazio (TP) | 6 Dec 1941 | 0950 | Messina | 6 Dec 1941 | 1650 | Augusta | 74,5 | Passage Messina-Augusta. | ||
| Topazio (TP) | 11 Dec 1941 | 0837 | Augusta | 11 Dec 1941 | 1137 | Augusta | 21 | Exercises. | ||
| 1. | Topazio (TP) | 12 Dec 1941 | 1430 | Augusta | 22 Dec 1941 | 1050 | Augusta | 799,5 | Patrolled SSE of Malta between 34°00'N and 34°40'N, and between 15°20'E and 16°00'E. From 16th December was moved to area between 34°20'N and 35°00'N, and between 15°40'E and 16°20'E and finally on 20th December to area between 34°40'N and 35°20'N, and between 16°00'E and 16°40'E. | |
| Topazio (TP) | 8 Jan 1942 | 0900 | Augusta | 8 Jan 1942 | 1210 | Augusta | 15,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Topazio (TP) | 20 Jan 1942 | 0915 | Augusta | 20 Jan 1942 | 1210 | Augusta | 15 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary minesweeper Tea. | ||
| 2. | Topazio (TP) | 21 Jan 1942 | 2115 | Augusta | 25 Jan 1942 | 1055 | Augusta | 317 | Patrolled southeast of Cape Passaro between 36°00'N and 36°20'N, and between 15°20'E and 15°40'E. Uneventful. | |
| Topazio (TP) | 26 Jan 1942 | 0857 | Augusta | 26 Jan 1942 | 1815 | Messina | 70,5 | Passage Augusta-Messina. | ||
| Topazio (TP) | 7 Feb 1942 | 1435 | Messina | 7 Feb 1942 | 1638 | Messina | 15 | Exercises. | ||
| Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | 12 Mar 1942 | 0910 | Augusta | 12 Mar 1942 | 1141 | Augusta | 16 | Trials escorted by the auxiliary Nuovo Avvenire. | ||
| Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | 14 Mar 1942 | 0430 | Augusta | 15 Mar 1942 | 0940 | Cagliari | 440 | Passage Augusta-Cagliari. | ||
| 3. | Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | 16 Mar 1942 | 1855 | Cagliari | 3 Apr 1942 | 0900 | Cagliari | 2263 | Patrolled south of Balearic Islands between 37°00'N and 37°20'N, and between 00°00'E and 01°20'E. Despite several opportunities, the submarine could not carry out any attack. | |
| 20 Mar 1942 | 1400 | The submarine was informed that a force consisting of two aircraft carriers, a battleship and a cruiser had sailed from Gibraltar [these were the aircraft carriers HMS Eagle and HMS Argus, the battleship HMS Malaya and the light cruiser HMS Hermione escorted by the destroyers HMS Whitehall, HMS Wishart, HMS Laforey, HMS Duncan, HMS Active, HMS Anthony and the escort destroyers HMS Blankney, HMS Croome and HMS Exmoor) for Operation PICKET I]. This was amplified by a signal from the submarine Mocenigo, which was received at 2315 hours. Dandolo proceeded to take an intercepting position, but did not hear or see anything and was informed the next afternoon that the force had apparently reverted course to Gibraltar [they actually returned on 23rd March]. | ||||||||
| 22 Mar 1942 | 1226 | 37° 24'N, 0° 04'E | Dandolo detected with her hydrophones a naval force steering 230°, 16 knots. The submarine could not make visual contact but made an enemy report. | |||||||
| 25 Mar 1942 | 1400 | Dandolo was informed that the British steamer Empire Kestul (sic, Empire Kestrel , 2,674 GRT, built 1919) would sail from Valencia to Gibraltar. The submarine took an intercepting position off Cape Palos, but only sighted a Swiss ship believed to be Eiger, arriving from the Balearic Islands, at 0605 hours on the 26th. Empire Kestrel did sail from Valencia on 24 March and reached Gibraltar four days later (source: Lorenzo Colombo). | ||||||||
| 26 Mar 1942 | 1100 | (0) Off Cape Palos. | Dandolo was informed that the British steamer Etrib (1943 GRT, built 1913) would sail from Valencia to Gibraltar. The submarine remained off Cape Palos in the hope of intercepting the ship and only sighted the French ship Providence at 0340 hours on the 27th and another French vessel at 0526 hours. | |||||||
| 27 Mar 1942 | 0705 0603 (e) | 37° 30'N, 0° 30'W (e) 37° 20'N, 0° 44'W | At 0705 hours, an unknown submarine was seen at 700 metres. Dandolo prepared to make a recognition signal, but the submarine turned away and dived at 0607 hours. This was HMS HMS Upright (Lt. J. S. Wraith, RN) on passage from Malta to Gibraltar, she carried only two torpedoes and prudently avoided action. | |||||||
| 28 Mar 1942 | 0850 | 37° 07'N, 0° 16'E | Dandolo detected a naval force with her hydrophones. It was later believed to be five destroyers conducting an A/S search, three of which passed over the submarine. The submarine took evasive action by diving to 70 meters. | |||||||
| 29 Mar 1942 | 1235 | 37° 12'N, 1° 04'E | At 1235 hours, Dandolo detected a naval force with her hydrophones. Earlier, she had been informed by a signal from the submarine Brin, that the naval force was returning to Gibraltar and had moved to an intercepting position. The submarine could not immediately make visual contact but, at 1535 hours, she sighted what appeared to be a cruiser at long range. | |||||||
| 30 Mar 1942 | 1400 | Dandolo was informed of an enemy cruiser off La Galite on a 260° course. She was ordered to move 20 miles to the south (off Cape Tenes). This was executed, but no contact was made. | ||||||||
| Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | 14 Apr 1942 | 1500 | Cagliari | 14 Apr 1942 | 1740 | Cagliari | 20 | Trials. | ||
| Dandolo ( DO, I.16) | 15 Apr 1942 | 0915 | Cagliari | 16 Apr 1942 | 2047 | Naples | 282 | Passage Cagliari-Naples. | ||
22 entries. 15 total patrol entries (3 marked as war patrols) and 8 events.