Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Enrico Groppallo
| Born | 16 Jul 1903 | Trieste | |
| Died | 1993 | (89) | Milan |
| Ranks
Decorations
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Career information
REGINALDO GIULIANI (T.V. First Officer): from 21.06.1941 to June 1942+.LUIGI TORELLI (T.V. C.O.): June 1943?- 09.09.1943?
Commands listed for Enrico Groppallo
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | Ocean going | T.V. | Jun 1943 | 9 Sep 1943 |
Ships hit by Enrico Groppallo
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Enrico Groppallo
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 14 Jun 1943 | 1400 | Bordeaux | 14 Jun 1943 | 1900 | Le Verdon | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | ||
| 2. | Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 16 Jun 1943 | 1000 | Le Verdon | 26 Aug 1943 | 1100 | Sabang | Sailed for Singapore with Barbarigo and Ammiraglio Cagni escorted out by Sperrbrecher 5 and the German minesweepers M 262 and M 271. Torelli carried a cargo of mercury and various weapons and to bring back a cargo of rubber (310 tons). Carried five passengers including Japanese Lt. Col. Kuizi Satake, a German engineer Heinrich Foders and three Italian officers. At 1415, they reached point "Gabel" (German Grid BF 9312 or 45°33' N, 01°42' W) where the Sperrbrecher left them to return to Royan. They proceeded through the "Handgepäck" way to Point "Hand" (Grid BF 9281 or 44°57' N, 02°38' W). Torelli then proceeded independently through (1) 35°00'N, 20°30'W (2) 15°00'N, 27°30'W (3) 20°00'S, 02°30'E (4) 41°00 S, 18°30'E (5) Point C (to be given by signal) (6) 00°00'S, 89°00'E (7) 05°40'N, 94°00'E. Our thanks to Dr. Axel Niestlé who provided additional details. | ||
| 9 Jul 1943 | 2325 (e) | A USAAF bomber attacked a submarine with a Mark 24 mine. The submarine may have been Torelli, but her patrol report has not survived. T.V. Enrico Gropallo wrote an account from memory five years later and did not relate any air attack. | ||||||||
| 10 Jul 1943 | 1620 (e) | At 1620 hours, a Mitchell (B-25) piloted by Lt. C.C. Carpenter of the 1st Composite squadron USAAF based in Ascension. It sighted a wake at 10 miles which proved to be a surfaced U-boat steering 130°. The Mitchell attacked from astern, releasing a stick of six depth charges from 175 feet, 20 seconds after the conning tower had disappeared. The depth charges fell along the submarine's estimated path, the middle of the stick about 300 feet ahead of the swirl. Only two of the depth charges were believed to have exploded, the others being duds. There were no surface results observed following the attack. This may have been Torelli, but again her report has not survived and T.V. Gropallo's recollections were perhaps incomplete. | ||||||||
| 1 Aug 1943 | 42° 27'S, 27° 15'E | Torelli was to meet a German U-boat (U-178) to refuel. The attempt was abandoned due to bad weather and they were to meet again in Quadrat JA 22 (ca. 31°27' S, 42°48' E). This was later changed to JA 15 (ca. 32°21' S, 39°12' E) but by 7th August, the U-boat had not sighted Torelli and another rendezvous was given at 0800 hours on 12th August in KR 7855 (ca. 30°27' S, 50°00' E). | ||||||||
| 12 Aug 1943 | 30° 27'S, 50° 00'E | Torelli met U-178 (KK Wilhelm Dommes) to refuel. She was ordered to arrive off Penang at 0100 hours on 24th August, and later received orders not to be there until one hour after sunrise on 26th August. | ||||||||
| 3. | Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 28 Aug 1943 | 1700 | Sabang | 31 Aug 1943 | 1300 | Singapore | 13500 | Passage Sabang-Singapore. Note: according to Captain Jannucci of the sloop Eritrea, the passage was made from 27-30th August. | |
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 9 Sep 1943 | Singapore | 9 Sep 1943 | Singapore | Taken over by the Germans as UIT-25 (OL Werner Striegler) and on 10th May 1945 taken over by the Japanese as I-504. After the Japanese surrender, she was scuttled by the Americans off Kobe (Japan). | |||||
7 entries. 4 total patrol entries (3 marked as war patrols) and 4 events.