Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Innocenzo Ragusa
Tenente di Vascello
| Born | 7 Jan 1909 | Crotone (Calabria) | |
| Died | May 1943 | (34) | Killed in action |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
LUCIANO MANARA (T.V. First Officer): from 18.11.1939 to January 1941.LUCIANO MANARA (T.V. C.O.): from 18.01.1941 to 31.10.1941.
PLATINO (T.V. C.O.): from 01.11.1941 to 28.06.1942.
Promoted C.C. in April 1942.
GORGO (C.C. C.O.): from 11.11.1942 to 02.06.1943 (sunk, Ragusa was killed).
Commands listed for Innocenzo Ragusa
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciana Manara (MR) | Ocean going | 14 Oct 1940 | 12 Dec 1940 | |
| Luciana Manara (MR) | Ocean going | T.V. | 18 Jan 1941 | 31 Oct 1941 |
| Platino (PT) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 1 Nov 1941 | 28 Jun 1942 |
| Gorgo (GG) | Sea going | C.C. | 11 Nov 1942 | 2 Jun 1943 |
Ships hit by Innocenzo Ragusa
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Innocenzo Ragusa
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 14 Oct 1940 | Naples | 12 Dec 1940 | Naples | Refit in Naples. Change in command. | |||||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Jan 1941 | 0800 | Naples | 21 Jan 1941 | 1230 | Naples | 34 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Jan 1941 | 1845 | Naples | 22 Jan 1941 | 1915 | Trapani | 208 | Passage Naples-Trapani. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 28 Jan 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 28 Jan 1941 | 1210 | Trapani | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| 1. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 1 Feb 1941 | 1500 | Trapani | 5 Feb 1941 | 1345 | Trapani | 473 | Sailed with Santarosa for patrol west of Malta, within 10 miles on meridian from 36°25'N, 12°40'E, on a patrol line with Santarosa. No enemy sighted or heard. | |
| 5 Feb 1941 | 1138 | (0) Off Marsala. | Two Heinkel 111 bombers from X. Fliegerkorps made threatening dives. The submarine refrained from arming her MGs and the bombers finally left. | |||||||
| 2. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 12 Feb 1941 | 2100 | Trapani | 22 Feb 1941 | 1610 | Trapani | 1160 | Patrolled southwest of Malta, within 15 miles from 35°55'N, 13°35'E on a NW-SE axis. | |
| 15 Feb 1941 | 1715 | (0) Off Malta. | Hydrophone effects were heard and later associated to the presence of an enemy submarine off Lampedusa. The torpedoes were loaded in the tubes and the submarine surfaced at 1735 hours, but sighted nothing. | |||||||
| 16 Feb 1941 | 0520-0610 | (0) Off Malta. | An intermittent light was seen and was believed to be from survivors of a downed aircraft. The submarine searched the area but found nothing. | |||||||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 13 Mar 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 13 Mar 1941 | 1145 | Trapani | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 20 Mar 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 20 Mar 1941 | 1145 | Trapani | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| 3. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 17 Apr 1941 | 2115 | Trapani | 28 Apr 1941 | 1430 | Trapani | 1044 | Patrolled southwest of Malta within 15 miles from 35°27'N, 13°42'E on a NW-SE axis. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. | |
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 20 May 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 20 May 1941 | 1000 | Trapani | 5 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 May 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 21 May 1941 | 1200 | Trapani | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 30 May 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 30 May 1941 | 1200 | Trapani | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 5 Jun 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 5 Jun 1941 | 1240 | Trapani | 21 | Exercises. | ||
| 4. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 5 Jun 1941 | 2343 | Trapani | 12 Jun 1941 | 0740 | Trapani | 1141 | Patrolled south of Sardinia, in 37°50'N, 10°00'E ,then proceeding on course 265° to within 10 miles from 37°42'N, 06°00'E in anticipation of an enemy naval force from Gibraltar. Uneventful. | |
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 20 Jun 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 20 Jun 1941 | 1300 | Trapani | 17 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 2 Jul 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 2 Jul 1941 | 1130 | Trapani | 21 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 8 Jul 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 8 Jul 1941 | 1130 | Trapani | 20 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Jul 1941 | 0800 | Trapani | 18 Jul 1941 | 1130 | Trapani | 20 | Exercises. | ||
| 5. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 22 Jul 1941 | 1830 | Trapani | 27 Jul 1941 | 1335 | Trapani | 602 | Patrolled west of Malta in 36°10'N, 13°30'E, on a patrol line with Bandiera. On 23rd July, was ordered to shift patrol to 220° - 10 miles. | |
| 24 Jul 1941 | 0855 | (0) West of Malta. | MARICOSOM informed the submarine (signal of 1040/23) that a convoy (a battleship, three cruisers and fourteen merchant ships) [operation SUBSTANCE] had been sighted at 0730/23 in 052° - Cape Bougaroni - 50 miles. A second signal (MARICOSOM 1835/23) reported a battleship, an aircraft carrier, three cruisers, five destroyers and ten merchant ships was at 1700 in 030° - Cape Blanc - 50 miles and Luciano Manara was ordered to move 120° - 10 miles from her present position. Merchant ships were to be the preferred targets. At 0855 hours, four unescorted large merchant ships were sighted at a range of 12,000 metres. The submarine could not close the range to less than 11,000 meters but, at 0940 hours, sighted a Savoia 79 bomber flying toward the convoy and the submarine made an enemy report at 1005 hours. | |||||||
| 24 Jul 1941 | 1610 | (0) West of Malta. | A 6,000-ton tanker, steering 330°, was sighted at a distance of 9,000 metres. The submarine surfaced at 1620 hours and tried to close on the surface with her gun crew at the ready; a destroyer suddenly appeared, forcing the submarine to submerge and contact was lost. The submarine surfaced again at 1640 hours and made an enemy report. | |||||||
| 24 Jul 1941 | 2020 | (0) West of Malta. | A destroyer was sighted 9,000 metres away; the submarine tried to close but lost contact at 2057 hours. | |||||||
| 6. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 31 Jul 1941 | 1605 | Trapani | 5 Aug 1941 | 0720 | Trapani | 535 | Patrolled east of Pantelleria in 36°25'N, 12°42'E, on a patrol line with Bandiera. Uneventful. | |
| 7. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 10 Aug 1941 | 0027 | Trapani | 22 Aug 1941 | 1030 | Trapani | 1036 | Patrolled in zone K.2, an area between 36°53'N and 36°57'N and 11°12'E and the Tunisian coast, off Ras Mustafa. | |
| 13 Aug 1941 | 1503-1533 | (0) 215° - Ras Mustafa - 14 miles. | At 1400 hours, an unknown freighter on a southerly course was observed at a distance of 9,000 metres and the submarine took an intercepting course. As no French ship was listed on the calendar at this time, so two torpedoes were readied in the bow tubes. At 1503 hours, the range had closed to 6,000 metres and a warning shot was fired across her bows, followed by seven more rounds until the vessel was finally brought to a stop. This was the Vichy French Ville De Bastia (1,336 GRT, built 1920) on passage from Tunis to Sfax. She was released after verifying her identity. The French protested the incident, but the Italians authorities had been misinformed by Marine Alger who mentioned that she was going to Marseille. Several French ships were sighted during this patrol but without further incident. | |||||||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 16 Sep 1941 | 1545 | Trapani | 17 Sep 1941 | 1410 | Naples | 206 | Passage Trapani-Naples for refit. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 4 Nov 1941 | 0805 | La Spezia | 4 Nov 1941 | 1800 | La Spezia | 54 | Exercises, escorted by auxiliaries Crotone and Capodistria. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 8 Nov 1941 | 0800 | La Spezia | 8 Nov 1941 | 1830 | La Spezia | 30 | Exercises. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 11 Nov 1941 | 0850 | La Spezia | 11 Nov 1941 | 1355 | La Spezia | 23 | Exercises escorted by the auxiliaries Torre Annunziata, Crotone and Capodistria. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 13 Nov 1941 | 1100 | La Spezia | 13 Nov 1941 | 1830 | La Spezia | 41 | Exercises with submarine Da Procida, escorted by the auxiliary Torre Annunziata. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 20 Nov 1941 | 0815 | La Spezia | 20 Nov 1941 | 1930 | La Spezia | 70 | Exercises. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 26 Nov 1941 | 0845 | La Spezia | 26 Nov 1941 | 1730 | La Spezia | 45 | Exercises. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 27 Nov 1941 | La Spezia | 27 Nov 1941 | La Spezia | Joined MARICOSOM and assigned to 1.GRUPSOM | |||||
| Platino (PT) | 1 Dec 1941 | 0805 | La Spezia | 1 Dec 1941 | 1630 | La Spezia | 58 | Exercises escorted by the torpedo boat Carini, MAS 525 and the tugs Santantioco and Crotone. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 16 Dec 1941 | 0815 | La Spezia | 16 Dec 1941 | 1815 | La Spezia | 40 | Exercises with submarine H 6, escorted by the destroyer Premuda, the torpedo boat Carini and the auxiliaries Capodistria, Crotone, Santantioco, Torre Annunziata and Favignana. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 18 Dec 1941 | 0820 | La Spezia | 18 Dec 1941 | 2200 | La Spezia | 67 | Exercises. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 22 Dec 1941 | 0800 | La Spezia | 22 Dec 1941 | 1615 | La Spezia | 44 | Exercises with the submarine Malachite, escorted by the auxiliaries Porto Sdobba, Capodistria and Favignana. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 24 Dec 1941 | 0845 | La Spezia | 24 Dec 1941 | 1615 | La Spezia | 3 | Exercises. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 27 Dec 1941 | 0810 | La Spezia | 27 Dec 1941 | 1600 | La Spezia | 60 | Exercises with submarine H 1, escorted by the auxiliaries Capodistria and Crotone. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 29 Dec 1941 | 1430 | La Spezia | 31 Dec 1941 | 1545 | Messina | 570 | Passage to La Spezia-Messina. | ||
| Platino (PT) | 2 Jan 1942 | 0900 | Messina | 2 Jan 1942 | 1115 | Augusta | 6 | Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Diversi. | ||
| 8. | Platino (PT) | 2 Jan 1942 | 2155 | Messina | 6 Jan 1942 | 0935 | Messina | 410 | Patrolled southeast of Cape Passero, on aline 80 miles from Malta, between 36°00'N, 36°40'N, and between 15°40'E and 16°20'E, on a patrol line with submarines Onice, Delfino and Alagi. Left patrol on 5th January. | |
| 3 Jan 1942 | 1005 | (0) Off Murro di Porco. | At 0838 hours, the hydrophones picked up noises. At 1005 hours, a large vessel was sighted at a distance of 8,000 metres, steering 190°. At 1030 hours, it proved to be an Italian hospital ship of the AQUILEIA class and the attack was broken off. | |||||||
| 5 Jan 1942 | 0150 0155-0157 (e) | 36° 00'N, 15° 40'E | MARICOSOM had alerted the submarines Platino, Alagi, Manara and Delfino of the presence of an enemy submarine, reported at 0845 hours on 4th January, in Grid 3998/5 (3500' N, 15°30' E), steering 160°, 10 knots. At 0150 hours, Platino sighted a submarine at a distance of 4,000 metres. She attempted a stern shot, but the target submerged and Platino did the same but could not regain contact. This was ORP Sokol (Kpt. mar. Boris Karnicki). The Polish submarine had sighted the Italian submarine but mistook her for HMS Unbeaten. | |||||||
| 9. | Platino (PT) | 21 Jan 1942 | 1415 | Messina | 25 Jan 1942 | 1015 | Augusta | 502 | Sailed with the submarine Corallo and patrolled southeast of Malta, between 35°00'N and 35°20'N, and between 16°00'E and 16°20'E. Uneventful. | |
| 23 Jan 1942 | 0254 | At 0254 hours, a derelict mine was sighted. Engines were stopped with the intention to destroy it by machine-gun fire, but the mine was lost from view in the low visibility. | ||||||||
| 10. | Platino (PT) | 26 Jan 1942 | 0109 | Augusta | 29 Jan 1942 | 0845 | Augusta | 427 | Patrolled southeast of Malta, between 35°00'N and 35°20'N, and between 15°20'E and 15°40'E. Heard only hydrophone effects. | |
| 11. | Platino (PT) | 10 Feb 1942 | 1830 | Augusta | 26 Feb 1942 | 1045 | Augusta | 1547 | Patrolled north of Cyrenaica, 8 miles from 34°10'N, 20°40'E on the meridian. On the evening of 15th February, was ordered to shift position 098° - 148 miles to form a patrol line with Menotti to intercept an enemy convoy. Nothing was sighted. | |
| 14 Feb 1942 | 0630 | 33° 35'N, 20° 41'E | At 0630 hours, a derelict mine was sighted and 50 rounds of 13.2mm ammunition were expended but without sinking it. | |||||||
| 14 Feb 1942 | 1100 | At 1100 hours, information was received of the passage of a convoy coming from the west. At 1241 hours, Platino heard H.E., believed to be from this convoy and, at 1447 hours, heard what appeared to be a torpedo hit but sighted nothing. | ||||||||
| 16 Feb 1942 | 0210 | At 0210 hours, the silhouette of a submarine was sighted at a distance of 2,000 metres. It was probably Italian and part of the barrage line. | ||||||||
| Platino (PT) | 13 Mar 1942 | 1500 | Augusta | 13 Mar 1942 | 1800 | Augusta | 18 | Exercises escorted by the auxiliary Nuovo Avvenire. | ||
| 12. | Platino (PT) | 15 Mar 1942 | 1910 | Augusta | 30 Mar 1942 | 1010 | Augusta | 1365 | Patrolled north of Cyrenaica between 33°55'N and 34°05'N, and between 22°50'E and 23°50'E. Patrol marred by numerous engine defects. Carried S.I.C. torpedoes (magnetic pistols). Sighted only French ships. | |
| 17 Mar 1942 | 1630 1630 (e) | 34° 30'N, 21° 10'E | At 1630 hours, a Blenheim bomber attacked the submarine from the stern and from the sun. It dropped three small bombs (estimated at 50-kg) from a height of 500-600 metres, which fell 100 metres on the starboard side. The aircraft circled and attempted a new stern attack, but was met by the fire from the twin Breda machine-guns aft and desisted from the action. It circled again and attempted a new attack from the sun. The submarine opened fire at a range of 1,000 metres with the Breda machine-guns aft and at 500 metres with the forward machine gun. The aircraft flew away trailing smoke and T.V. Innocenzo Ragusa believed the aircraft had perhaps failed to reach its base. This was Blenheim 'C' of 203 Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Green. The submarine was sighted 8 miles ahead, steering 116° at 8-9 knots. The aircraft climbed to 1,200 feet and dropped four 250lb depth charges. Green claimed that one bomb missed 5 yards from the starboard bow and another 10 yards on port bow. The aircraft strafed the submarine and one crew member was hit and fell backwards in the sea (no casualties were reported by the submarine). The aircraft was hit by antiaircraft rounds and suffered only minor damages, the rear-gunner was slightly wounded by splinters. | |||||||
| 17 Mar 1942 | 1750 | 34° 28'N, 21° 19'E | At 1750 hours, nine Blenheim bombers were sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres and attacked Platino. Three turned toward the submarine who opened fire with the Breda twin mount aft, when the range had closed to 2,000 metres The three bombers opened fire with their machine-guns, but one of the aircraft, perhaps the squadron leader, appeared to have been hit and veered away. The other two desisted of the attack and the submarine crash-dived. Five bombs exploded over her, but Platino escaped by going down to 40 metres. These were perhaps Beauforts of 39 Squadron. | |||||||
| 21 Mar 1942 | 1520 | 34° 00'N, 23° 21'E | At 1520 hours, two destroyers and a steamer were sighted, steering 300°, 14 knots. This was expanded to a light cruiser of the DIDO class, four destroyers, a steamer and two motorships and the course was corrected to 320°. This was indeed C.S.15 (HMS Dido, etc.) with convoy MW.10 (HMS Breconshire, Clan Campbell, Talabot, Pampas, HMS Carlisle and five destroyers; these were the escort destroyers HMS Avon Vale, HMS Beaufort, HMS Dulverton, HMS Hurworth and HMS Southwold.). The submarine took an intercepting course but lost contact at 1625 hours, | |||||||
| 23 Mar 1942 | 1605 | 33° 38'N, 23° 17'E | At 1605 hours, several bomb explosions were heard indicating a convoy proceeding eastward, under air attack. An explosion believed to be a torpedo hit, had been heard earlier at 1440 hours (this was one of the torpedoes fired by Onice). The submarine heard also H.E. and depth-charges. | |||||||
| 23 Mar 1942 | 1808 | 33° 38'N, 23° 17'E (0) Approximately. | At 1808 hours, upon surfacing, the submarine observed two light cruisers of the DIDO class at a distance of 15,000 metres, steering 085°. These were probably HMS Dido and HMS Penelope. The submarine attempted to close but without success. | |||||||
| 27 Mar 1942 | 0725 | 33° 27'N, 23° 55'E | At 0725 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 13 miles, apparently steering toward Tobruk. It was too far to be intercepted. | |||||||
| Platino (PT) | 24 Apr 1942 | 1400 | Augusta | 24 Apr 1942 | 1920 | Augusta | 34 | Exercises. | ||
| 13. | Platino (PT) | 11 May 1942 | 2050 | Augusta | 26 May 1942 | 0700 | Augusta | 1465 | Patrolled north of Cyrenaica between 34°00'N and 34°20'N, and between 20°20'N and 21°00'E. Uneventful. Sighted only aircraft. | |
| Platino (PT) | 9 Jun 1942 | 0520 | Augusta | 9 Jun 1942 | 1200 | Messina | 72 | Passage Augusta-Messina. | ||
| 14. | Platino (PT) | 14 Jun 1942 | 1112 | Augusta | 18 Jun 1942 | 1715 | Messina | 637 | Sailed with Axum, escorted off Messina by the torpedo boat Abba, and patrolled southwest of Malta, between 35°20'N and 35°40'N, and between 13°20'E and 13°40'E, to intercept an enemy convoy but had just reached her patrol area at 2230 hours on the 16th when she was recalled. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. | |
| Platino (PT) | 27 Jun 1942 | 1320 | Messina | 27 Jun 1942 | 1655 | Messina | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 11 Nov 1942 | 0930 | Monfalcone | 11 Nov 1942 | 1200 | Monfalcone | Exercises. | |||
| Gorgo (GG) | 12 Nov 1942 | 0850 | Monfalcone | 12 Nov 1942 | 1350 | Monfalcone | 28 | Trials. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 16 Nov 1942 | 0830 | Monfalcone | 16 Nov 1942 | 1415 | Venice | 64 | Passage Monfalcone-Venice. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 18 Nov 1942 | 0915 | Venice | 18 Nov 1942 | 1250 | Venice | 11 | Trials with electric torpedoes. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 23 Nov 1942 | 0900 | Venice | 23 Nov 1942 | 1545 | Pola | 77 | Passage Venice-Pola. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 27 Nov 1942 | 0825 | Pola | 27 Nov 1942 | 1345 | Pola | 29 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 29 Nov 1942 | 0810 | Pola | 29 Nov 1942 | 1405 | Pola | 33 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 30 Nov 1942 | 0812 | Pola | 30 Nov 1942 | 0915 | Pola | 2 | Changed anchorage. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 7 Dec 1942 | 0800 | Pola | 7 Dec 1942 | 1300 | Monfalcone | 67 | Passage Pola-Monfalcone. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 10 Dec 1942 | 0900 | Monfalcone | 10 Dec 1942 | 1650 | Pola | 76 | Passage Monfalcone-Pola. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 11 Dec 1942 | 0750 | Pola | 11 Dec 1942 | 1630 | Pola | 85 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 12 Dec 1942 | 0745 | Pola | 12 Dec 1942 | 1114 | Pola | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 14 Dec 1942 | 0615 | Pola | 14 Dec 1942 | 1555 | Pola | 81 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 15 Dec 1942 | 0800 | Pola | 15 Dec 1942 | 1635 | Pola | 88 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 16 Dec 1942 | 1840 | Pola | 18 Dec 1942 | 1342 | Taranto | 560 | Passage Pola-Taranto. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 22 Dec 1942 | 0725 | Taranto | 22 Dec 1942 | 1413 | Taranto | 32 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 24 Dec 1942 | 1123 | Taranto | 24 Dec 1942 | 1548 | Taranto | 32 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 27 Dec 1942 | 2040 | Taranto | 30 Dec 1942 | 0045 | Naples | 559 | Passage Taranto-Naples. Uneventful. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 3 Jan 1943 | 0830 | Naples | 3 Jan 1943 | 1600 | Naples | 40 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 5 Jan 1943 | 0810 | Naples | 5 Jan 1943 | 1515 | Castellammare di Stabia | 23 | Exercises and passage Naples-Castellammare di Stabia. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 6 Jan 1943 | 0815 | Castellammare di Stabia | 6 Jan 1943 | 1500 | Castellammare di Stabia | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 7 Jan 1943 | 0845 | Castellammare di Stabia | 7 Jan 1943 | 1610 | Naples | 34 | Exercises and passage Castellammare di Stabia-Naples. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 9 Jan 1943 | 0916 | Naples | 9 Jan 1943 | 1525 | Naples | 27 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 10 Jan 1943 | 1029 | Naples | 10 Jan 1943 | 1422 | Naples | 23 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 12 Jan 1943 | 1325 | Naples | 12 Jan 1943 | 1710 | Naples | 17 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 14 Jan 1943 | 1306 | Naples | 14 Jan 1943 | 1650 | Naples | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 15 Jan 1943 | 0814 | Naples | 15 Jan 1943 | 1446 | Naples | 23 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 17 Jan 1943 | 0832 | Naples | 17 Jan 1943 | 1530 | Naples | 21 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 18 Jan 1943 | 0825 | Naples | 18 Jan 1943 | 1510 | Naples | 24 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 19 Jan 1943 | 1720 | Naples | 19 Jan 1943 | 2135 | Naples | 21 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 21 Jan 1943 | 0712 | Naples | 21 Jan 1943 | 1600 | Naples | 23 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 23 Jan 1943 | 1052 | Naples | 23 Jan 1943 | 2015 | Naples | 20 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 30 Jan 1943 | 1440 | Naples | 30 Jan 1943 | 1707 | Naples | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 2 Feb 1943 | 1900 | Naples | 3 Feb 1943 | 2330 | Cagliari | 274 | Passage Naples-Cagliari. | ||
| 15. | Gorgo (GG) | 6 Feb 1943 | 1335 | Cagliari | 14 Feb 1943 | 1310 | Cagliari | 869,5 | Sailed for patrol between 37°20'N and the African coast and between 05°40'E and 06°00'E, off Cape Carbon. | |
| 7 Feb 1943 | 1725 | 36° 54'N, 5° 26'E | At 1725 hours, four minesweepers with an MTB were sighted at a distance of 6 miles. Gorgo went deep. | |||||||
| 8 Feb 1943 | 0222 | 36° 53'N, 5° 25'E | At 0206 hours, a large shadow was sighted through the periscope at a distance of 6,000 metres. It was identified as a 15,000-ton vessel in convoy. Gorgo surfaced and proceeded on the electric motors to intercept. This was probably the same ship attacked earlier by Platino. At 0222 hours, four torpedoes (533mm, G7e type) were fired from the bow tubes at a distance of 1,000 metres. The electric torpedoes had a speed of 28.5 knots. They left a very visible phosphorescent track and all four had an irregular course. The torpedo from tube 1 veered 9 degrees to the right and missed ahead. The vessel was observed to increase speed and the torpedo from tube 4 veered 9 degrees to the left and missed astern. Torpedo no. 3 veered 3 degrees to the right and narrowly missed the stern. Torpedo no. 2 had an irregular course and missed astern. At 0225 hours, Gorgo turned to port to fire her stern tubes, when an escort vessel dicovered her and began firing with 20mm guns, straddling her near the conning tower. At 0228 hours, the submarine crash-dived and reached a depth of 90 metres. Three depth charges were heard. At 0424 hours, Gorgo surfaced and made an enemy report. At 0935 hours, the submarine proceeded to load the two reserve torpedoes in the forward tubes. This was one of the rare instances, when an Italian submarine in the Mediterranean is known to have been equipped with reserve torpedoes. The reason for this exception is not known but at this time the use of G7e torpedoes was standard and perhaps their production had reached acceptable levels. However, the practice not to carry reserve torpedoes appears to have resumed by the time of the invasion of Sicily. | |||||||
| 13 Feb 1943 | 0051 | 37° 01'N, 5° 35'E | At 0051 hours, a convoy of two steamers with a corvette was sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres. Gorgo closed to 3,000 meters, but the corvette turned toward her and she was forced to go deep at 0105 hours. The corvette accurately dropped four depth-charges which damaged the submarine, causing leaks. At 0135 hours, four depth charges caused more damage. The submarine had to abandon her patrol. | |||||||
| Gorgo (GG) | 20 Feb 1943 | 0955 | Cagliari | 21 Feb 1943 | 1000 | Naples | 294 | Passage Cagliari-Naples. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 6 Mar 1943 | 0800 | Naples | 6 Mar 1943 | 1618 | Naples | 38 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 8 Mar 1943 | 0924 | Naples | 8 Mar 1943 | 1150 | Naples | 14 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 10 Mar 1943 | 1358 | Naples | 10 Mar 1943 | 1635 | Naples | 14 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 13 Mar 1943 | 1336 | Naples | 13 Mar 1943 | 1522 | Naples | 5 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 15 Mar 1943 | 0820 | Naples | 16 Mar 1943 | 0655 | La Maddalena | 254 | Passage Naples-La Maddalena. | ||
| 16. | Gorgo (GG) | 18 Mar 1943 | 0105 | La Maddalena | 4 Apr 1943 | 0939 | La Maddalena | 1499 | Patrolled between 37°10'N and 37°30'N, and between 04°50'E and 05°20'E. | |
| 26 Mar 1943 | 1400 | 37° 20'N, 5° 08'E | At 1400 hours, a convoy of three steamers and three patrol vessels was sighted on a westerly course. Gorgo tried to close for an attack and but gave up at 1445 hours. | |||||||
| 26 Mar 1943 | 2000 | 37° 14'N, 4° 57'E | At 2000 hours, information was received from SUPERMARINA of a convoy of thirty ships sighted at midnight on 25th March 14 miles north of Cape Ténès steering 090°. Gorgo altered course to 180° to intercept but sighted nothing. | |||||||
| Gorgo (GG) | 5 Apr 1943 | 1255 | La Maddalena | 6 Apr 1943 | 0919 | Naples | 131 | Passage La Maddalena-Naples. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 6 Apr 1943 | 1105 | Naples | 6 Apr 1943 | 1235 | Naples | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 13 Apr 1943 | 1557 | Naples | 13 Apr 1943 | 1921 | Pozzuoli | 24 | Passage Naples-Pozzuoli. | ||
| Gorgo (GG) | 1 May 1943 | 0125 | Pozzuoli | 2 May 1943 | 0825 | Cagliari | 276 | Passage Pozzuoli-Cagliari. | ||
| 17. | Gorgo (GG) | 14 May 1943 | 2200 | Cagliari | 2 Jun 1943 | Sunk with all hands | Patrolled east of the Balearic Islands. She had sailed south until 38°30'N, proceeded on an easterly course until 05°20'E and then to patrol between 38°40'N and 39°20'N, and between 05°00'E and 05°40'E, with Nichelio in an adjacent area. On 2nd June 1943, she was ordered to return home through Point Y (41°00'N, 07°00'E) and told to acknowledge as soon as 40°30'N was reached, but made no answer. Reported sunk off Algerian coast by the destroyer USS Nields (DD-616) in 36°01'N, 00°34'W at 1730-1930 hours on 21st May, but this is doubtful. Disappeared without a trace. On 29th May, Nichelio and Gorgo were ordered to leave their patrol at 1400 hours on 30th and return to La Maddalena through Point B (Cape Scorno, Island of Asinara). At 2045 hours on 30th, Gorgo was ordered to turn back and returned to her patrol. At 2025 hours on 31st, she was ordered home. At 1850 hours on 2nd June, the order was repeated and she was asked to acknowledge reception when she had crossed 40°30'N but she failed to answer. | |||
109 entries. 95 total patrol entries (17 marked as war patrols) and 24 events.