Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Aldo Lenzi
| Born | 17 Nov 1910 | Caserta | |
| Died | 1986 | (75) | Lucca |
| Ranks
Decorations
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Career information
COMANDANTE ALFREDO CAPPELLINI (T.V. C.O.): from 01.10.1941 to 28.01.1942.Commands listed for Aldo Lenzi
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | Ocean going | T.V. | 1 Oct 1941 | 28 Jan 1942 |
Ships hit by Aldo Lenzi
| Date | Submarine | Ship hit | Type | GRT | Nat. | Loss type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 Dec 1941 | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini | Miguel De Larrinaga | Cargo ship | 5,231 |  | Damaged |
War patrols listed for Aldo Lenzi
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 12 Nov 1941 | 1200 | Bordeaux | 12 Nov 1941 | 1700 | Le Verdon | 60 | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | ||
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 13 Nov 1941 | 0800 | Le Verdon | 13 Nov 1941 | 1700 | La Pallice | 60 | Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice and trials at Le Pertuis d'Antioche. | ||
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 14 Nov 1941 | La Pallice | 14 Nov 1941 | La Pallice | 24 | Trials at Le Pertuis d'Antioche. | ||||
| 1. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 17 Nov 1941 | 1700 | La Pallice | 21 Dec 1941 | 1100 | Le Verdon | 5700 | Patrolled south and southeast of Azores. | |
| 20 Nov 1941 | 1230 | 44° 24'N, 11° 40'W | At 1230 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 21 Nov 1941 | 1210 | 43° 29'N, 12° 52'W | At 1210 hours, an aircraft of the Consolidated 28 PBY type was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 25 Nov 1941 | 0315 | 40° 50'N, 16° 45'W | At 0315 hours, the Portuguese steamer Santa Princeza (1,179 GRT, built 1930) was sighted. She was apparently proceeding to Oporto. | |||||||
| 30 Nov 1941 | 0620 | 39° 10'N, 29° 00'W | At 0620 hours, a destroyer of the AMBUSCADE class was sighted. Cappellini had been sent by Betsasom to intercept a convoy. The submarine closed on the surface to attempt a torpedo attack. She then sighted a second smaller vessel, but lost contact at 0740 hours. | |||||||
| 30 Nov 1941 | 0917 | 39° 30'N, 29° 00'W | At 0620 hours, a dark shape was sighted. The submarine closed to investigate and recognised it as a destroyer of the AMBUSCADE class proceeding slowly. At 0650 hours, as the range had closed to 3,000 metres, a smaller warship appeared moving fast at about the same distance. Cappellini dived, but the destroyer now appeared to increase speed. At 0745 hours, the two units disappeared in the distance. At 0917 hours, a corvette appeared at about 400-500 metres, proceeding at about 8 knots. As the range dropped to 300 metres, Cappellini was about to fire torpedoes when the enemy warship suddenly changed course. The opportunity was lost and the submarine lost contact at 0949 hours. | |||||||
| 2 Dec 1941 | 0716 0616 GMT (e) | 35° 34'N, 29° 52'W (e) 35° 24'N, 29° 58'W | At 0030 hours, a dark vessel was observed in 36°11' N, 30°22' W. She was on a zigzag course, steering 140°. The submarine trailed her at a distance of 4-5,000 metres. At 0712 hours, as the moon was low, Cappellini raced to take a position about 3,000 metres ahead of the enemy ship. At 0716 hours, two torpedoes (533mm) were fired from the bow tubes at 500 metres. Although, they ran true, no explosions occurred. The freighter changed course and so did the submarine. At 0720 hours, two torpedoes (533mm) were fired from the stern tubes from about 1,000-1,200 metres. After 61 seconds, a muffled explosion was heard, followed by two quick explosions and then three more. This was the British Miguel De Larrinaga (5,231 GRT, built 1924), a straggler of convoy O.S.12. She had been hit by a torpedo and made an SOS but she was still moving although at a slower pace. The submarine opened fire from a range of 1,500-2,000 metres, claiming several hits, and then fired another torpedo from a stern tube. It missed. Cappellini dived and prepared to give her a coup de grace by loading a forward and an aft tube with a 450mm torpedo. At 0756 hours, two shadows appeared at 3,500-4,000 metres, approaching fast. They were believed to be destroyers. The submarine fired a stern shot (450mm) from 1,800-2,000 metres. It missed. Cappellini escaped at full speed. Following the freighter's SOS, the Portuguese destroyer Vouga sailed from Ponto Delgada to search for survivors but found nothing. Despite her damages, Miguel De Larrinaga reached Freetown on 14th December. | |||||||
| 3 Dec 1941 | 1935 | 35° 35'N, 27° 41'W | At 1935 hours, the Spanish tanker Gobeo (3346 GRT, built 1921) was sighted steering 085°. She was probably proceeding to Cadiz. | |||||||
| 17 Dec 1941 | 1350 | 39° 30'N, 18° 40'W | A small white yacht was sighted and the submarine attempted to close, but the vessel escaped at high speed over the horizon. | |||||||
| 2. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 21 Dec 1941 | 1500 | Le Verdon | 21 Dec 1941 | 2010 | Bordeaux | 60 | Passage Le Verdon-Bordeaux. | |
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 22 Dec 1941 | 0945 | Bordeaux | 22 Dec 1941 | 1045 | Bordeaux | 0,7 | Entered dock for refit until April 1942. | ||
13 entries. 6 total patrol entries (2 marked as war patrols) and 8 events.