Italian submarines in World War Two

Italian Commanders


Mario Rossetto

Born  22 Jan 1915San Remo
Died  9 May 2015(100)San Donato Milanese

Ranks

  T.V.Tenente di Vascello

Decorations

  Croce al merito di guerra
  Croce al merito di guerra
  Cavaliere dell'ordine della Corona d'Italia
  Cavaliere dell'ordine dei santi Maurizio e Lazzaro
14 Feb 1943 Croce di guerra al valore militare
29 Jan 1948 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
28 Feb 1950 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare

Career information

GIUSEPPE FINZI (T.V. C.O.): from 21.01.1943 to 21.05.1943.
S.6 (T.V. C.O.): from 04.08.1943? to 09.09.1943 (working up at Danzig).

Commands listed for Mario Rossetto


Submarine Type Rank From To
Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)Ocean goingT.V.21 Jan 194321 May 1943
S 6 ()Sea goingT.V.4 Aug 19439 Sep 1943

Ships hit by Mario Rossetto


DateSubmarineShip hitTypeGRTNat.Loss type
1.28 Mar 1943Giuseppe FinziGranicosCargo ship3,689GreekSunk
2.30 Mar 1943Giuseppe FinziCeltic StarCargo ship5,575BritishSunk

War patrols listed for Mario Rossetto

 SubmarineDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)4 Feb 19431555Bordeaux4 Feb 19431815Pauillac24Passage Bordeaux-Pauillac.

Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)5 Feb 19431350Pauillac5 Feb 19431750Le Verdon27Passage Pauillac-Le Verdon.

Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)6 Feb 19430805Le Verdon6 Feb 19431643La Pallice80Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice.

Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)7 Feb 19431505La Pallice7 Feb 19431845La Pallice2,5Exercises.

Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)9 Feb 19431601La Pallice9 Feb 19431838La Pallice5,4Exercises.

1.Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)11 Feb 19431105La Pallice18 Apr 19431048Le Verdon9681Sailed for patrol in Indian Ocean and to supply Da Vinci. The submarine was equipped with METOX.
  14 Feb 1943025945° 07'N, 7° 45'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  14 Feb 1943230044° 56'N, 9° 18'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  15 Feb 1943051044° 54'N, 9° 35'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  15 Feb 1943233044° 45'N, 10° 52'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  19 Feb 1943232838° 17'N, 17° 09'WA Portuguese illuminated ship was sighted and the submarine turned away. Following BETASOM's signal of 1930 hours, the submarine proceeded to a Grid delimited by 15°00' N and 16°00' N and by 20°00' W and 21°00' W. On 27th February, another signal ordered her to a square delimited by 12°00' N and 13°00' N and by 02°00' E and 03°00' E.
  18 Mar 1943203811° 47'S, 1° 40'E
(e) 11° 44'S, 1° 44'E
At 2015 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 9,000 metres.

At 2038 hours, Giuseppe Finzi closed to 2,500 metres and fired a single torpedo from a bow tube. This was a surface attack and it missed astern. The target was the British steamer Lulworth Hill (7,628 GRT, built 1940) travelling from Capetown to Freetown.

At 2039 hours, a second torpedo was fired from a bow torpedo from a range of 1,200 metres at Lulworth Hill and again it missed.

At 2040 hours, a third torpedo fired from a bow tube was not more successful. At 2042 hours, Lulworth Hill opened fire with a stern gun and forced the submarine to submerge. At 2215 hours, Giuseppe Finzi sighted Leonardo Da Vinci and informed her about the steamer. A few hours later, Lulworth Hill was sunk by Da Vinci.
  19 Mar 19432158-234012° 30'S, 2° 30'EGiuseppe Finzi met Leonardo Da Vinci and gave her 90 tons of fuel, three torpedoes (450 mm), provisions and lubricating oil. In return, Finzi took from her two survivors from Empress Of Canada (one Italian and one British). They were fortunate as Leonardo Da Vinci would later be lost with all hands.
  28 Mar 19432218
2000 (e)
3° 50'N, 15° 15'WAt 1545 hours, a smoke was sighted on the horizon and Giuseppe Finzi proceeded at full speed to intercept. At 1650 hours, it was observed to be a ship zigzagging at a distance of 20,000 metres on a 020° course. The submarine maneuvered to take a position ahead of the target after dark.

At 2218 hours, a pair of bow torpedoes (533mm?) were fired from 700 metres but they missed.

This was the Greek steamer Granicos (3,689 GRT, built 1916) on passage from Rio de Janeiro to Freetown.

At 2219 hours, a second pair of bow torpedoes (533mm and 450mm?) were fired from 700 metres. One torpedo hit and the Greek ship sank. Thirty of her crew were killed. A Portuguese (or Brazilian?) survivor was picked up by the Italian submarine. Another survivor, Nikolaos Antilis, was found on a raft on 4th April in 01°00' S, 17°00' W.
  30 Mar 194300574° 08'N, 17° 35'WA smoke was sighted at 1150 hours on 29th March 1943 in 05°15' N, 17°03' W. The submarine maneuvered to intercept after dark.

At 0057 hours on the 30th, Giuseppe Finzi fired a pair of torpedoes from a distance of 2,700 metres. They missed.

The target was the British Celtic Star (5,575 GRT, built 1918) on a voyage from Manchester and Greenock to Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

At 0058 hours, a second pair of torpedoes was fired and this time both hit after 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Celtic Star sank at 0112 hours. Two men were killed. A Canadian G. Paatinson was captured by the submarine. HMS Fandango, HMS Aimwell and HMS Wastwater searched for survivors and sixty-three were recovered (also reported as sixty-six).
  1 Apr 194308409° 25'N, 21° 50'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  8 Apr 1943232526° 10'N, 21° 56'WAn illuminated ship was observed from a distance of 15,000 metres. The submarine closed to 1,500 metres and identified her as a Spanish vessel steering 230°, 8 knots. The submarine turned away.
  11 Apr 1943065536° 22'N, 16° 34'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  12 Apr 1943063536° 28'N, 15° 21'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  12 Apr 1943184539° 28'N, 14° 47'WA small tanker was sighted at 18,000 metres. After closing, it was believed to a neutral vessel on a 270° and the submarine turned away.
  14 Apr 1943061842° 29'N, 12° 00'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  15 Apr 1943030942° 53'N, 9° 37'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  15 Apr 19431358What appeared to be a torpedo wake was observed but no action was taken.
  15 Apr 1943185044° 27'N, 8° 17'WAn unknown ship was sighted at a distance of 15,000 metres and the submarine turned away.
  16 Apr 1943045244° 35'N, 6° 40'WAn aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived.
  18 Apr 1943074145° 37'N, 1° 29'WAs the submarine was proceeding in the wake of a Sperrbrecher, a mine detonated under her and near the auxiliary motors. The submarine suffered some damage but managed to reach her base without further incidents. The mine was possibly laid by HMS Cachalot on 28th March 1941 (F.D.32) but was more probably an air-laid magnetic mine.

2.Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2)18 Apr 19431245Le Verdon18 Apr 19431919BordeauxPassage Le Verdon-Bordeaux.
  18 Apr 1943074145° 37'N, 1° 29'WAs the submarine was proceeding in the wake of a Sperrbrecher, a mine detonated under her and near the auxiliary motors. The submarine suffered some damage but managed to reach her base without further incidents. The mine was possibly laid by HMS Cachalot on 28th March 1941 (F.D.32) but was more probably an air-laid magnetic mine.

S 6 ()5 Aug 1943Danzig5 Aug 1943DanzigStarted trials.

S 6 ()9 Sep 1943Danzig9 Sep 1943DanzigSeized by the Germans at the armistice. No patrols carried out.

28 entries. 9 total patrol entries (2 marked as war patrols) and 21 events.

Italian Commanders

Italian Submarines