Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Mario Spano
| Born | 31 Oct 1907 | La Spezia |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
LUIGI GALVANI (T.V. C.O.): from 12.04.1939 to ?NEREIDE (T.V. C.O.): from 25.04.1940 to 28.12.1940.
Promoted to C.C. in August 1940.
RUGGIERO SETTIMO (C.C. C.O.): from 28.11.1940 to 31.01.1942.
PIETRO MICCA (C.C. C.O.): from 04.02.1942 to 09.03.1942.
From 10.03.1942, served as C.C. on the staff of COMANDO IN CAPO SQUADRA SMG.(MARICOSOM).
Joined RSI.
Commands listed for Mario Spano
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nereide (NE) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 25 Apr 1940 | 28 Dec 1940 |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | Ocean going | C.C. | 28 Nov 1940 | 31 Jan 1942 |
| Pietro Micca (MC) | Minelaying | C.C. | 4 Feb 1942 | 9 Mar 1942 |
Ships hit by Mario Spano
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Mario Spano
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nereide (NE) | 9 Jun 1940 | 1500 | Tobruk | 14 Jun 1940 | 1350 | Tobruk | 482 | Patrolled off Sollum (Egypt), 030° - Ras Azzaz - 90 miles (or 80 miles?) (on a line with Lafolè, Diamante and Topazio, 20 miles apart). | |
| 12 Jun 1940 | 0503 | 32° 57'N, 26° 05'E | At 0458 hours, Nereide was at periscope depth when a 12-15,000-ton tanker was sighted. At 0503 hours, one torpedo (533mm, W 270 type) was fired from a bow tube at a range of 500 metres. It was claimed to have hit. The tanker escaped in low visibility. This was the Norwegian tanker Orkanger (8,029 GRT, built 1928) proceeding to Alexandria (and shortly after sunk by Naiade). She had initially sailed from Port Said for Malta. At the Italian declaration of war, she was ordered to turn back. | |||||||
| Nereide (NE) | 5 Jul 1940 | Tobruk | 5 Jul 1940 | 2020 | Tobruk | In Tobruk harbour during an air raid. | ||||
| 5 Jul 1940 | 2020 (e) | (0) Tobruk harbour. | During the evening, Nereide was at anchor in Tobruk harbour during an air raid. Her two machine guns fired 180 rounds of 13.2mm at two torpedo bombers who flew only 30 metres away. One of these was Swordfish E4H (lieutenant D.N. Collins, RN) of 813 Squadron from HMS Eagle, actually operating from Dekheila (an airfield just to the west of Alexandria) At 2020 hours, the aircraft released its torpedo from 350-400 yards aimed at the submarine. Collins claimed that it hit its target and a column of 50-60 feet rose, but Nereide was missed. The Swordfish was hit by three machine gun rounds from the submarine and suffered only minor damage. On 4th September 1940, Collins, flying the same Swordfish, was shot down by an Italian CR. 42 fighter while attacking the Maritza airfield (Rhodes). The crew of three survived to become PoWs. | |||||||
| Nereide (NE) | 19 Jul 1940 | Tobruk | 19 Jul 1940 | Tobruk | In Tobruk harbour during an air raid. | |||||
| Nereide (NE) | 23 Jul 1940 | 1635 | Tobruk | 29 Jul 1940 | 1335 | Taranto | 670 | Passage Tobruk-Taranto. | ||
| Nereide (NE) | 2 Aug 1940 | 0400 | Taranto | 2 Aug 1940 | 1952 | Brindisi | 147 | Passage Taranto-Brindisi. | ||
| 2. | Nereide (NE) | 30 Aug 1940 | 1215 | Brindisi | 22 Sep 1940 | 1300 | Taranto | 1322 | Patrolled south of Crete, between following points: Cape Melissa, 34°22'N, 23°30'E, 33°45'N, 24°14'E and 8 miles north of Gaidero Island and south of the coast of Crete. | |
| 13 Sep 1940 | 2215 | (0) South of Cape Littimos. | At 2215 hours, three enemy destroyers were sighted at 4,000 metres. Nereide dived to attack but could not get into a favourable position. | |||||||
| 17 Sep 1940 | 0536-1906 | (0) 43 miles south of Cape Gaudo. | Between 0536 and 1906 hours, Nereide was the subject of an A/S search and heard many explosions without suffering any damage. | |||||||
| Nereide (NE) | 22 Oct 1940 | 0825 | Taranto | 22 Oct 1940 | 1600 | Taranto | 38 | Exercises. | ||
| 3. | Nereide (NE) | 24 Oct 1940 | 2110 | Taranto | 25 Oct 1940 | 1050 | Taranto | 70 | Hydrophone patrol in Gulf of Taranto. | |
| 4. | Nereide (NE) | 4 Nov 1940 | 2105 | Taranto | 5 Nov 1940 | 1000 | Taranto | 82 | Hydrophone patrol in Gulf of Taranto. | |
| 5. | Nereide (NE) | 6 Nov 1940 | 2110 | Taranto | 7 Nov 1940 | 0955 | Taranto | 82 | Hydrophone patrol in Gulf of Taranto. | |
| 6. | Nereide (NE) | 12 Nov 1940 | 0405 | Taranto | 13 Nov 1940 | 1845 | Taranto | 121 | Defensive patrol in 203° - Torre Ovo - 15' (hydrophone watch). Uneventful. | |
| 7. | Nereide (NE) | 15 Nov 1940 | 0245 | Taranto | 15 Nov 1940 | 1050 | Taranto | 50 | Hydrophone patrol in Gulf of Taranto. Uneventful. | |
| 8. | Nereide (NE) | 21 Nov 1940 | 0125 | Taranto | 21 Nov 1940 | 1116 | Taranto | 54 | Hydrophone patrol in Gulf of Taranto. Uneventful. | |
| 9. | Nereide (NE) | 22 Nov 1940 | 0925 | Taranto | 1 Dec 1940 | 1615 | Taranto | 824 | Patrolled west of Corfu in 39°20'N, 19°32'E within 10 miles on parallel, patrol line with Sirena. Uneventful. | |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 29 Nov 1940 | 1015 | Messina | 29 Nov 1940 | 1724 | Messina | 61 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 14 Dec 1940 | 0830 | Messina | 14 Dec 1940 | 1630 | Messina | 72 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 16 Dec 1940 | 0826 | Messina | 16 Dec 1940 | 1624 | Messina | 63 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 31 Dec 1940 | 0806 | Messina | 31 Dec 1940 | 1530 | Messina | 54 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 5 Jan 1941 | 0824 | Messina | 5 Jan 1941 | 1615 | Messina | 60 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 8 Jan 1941 | 0845 | Messina | 8 Jan 1941 | 1615 | Messina | Trials, escorted by the auxiliary Cicconetti. | |||
| 10. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 9 Jan 1941 | 0833 | Messina | 13 Jan 1941 | 1410 | Messina | 566 | Patrolled east of Malta, within 15 miles of 35°40'N, 16°00'E. | |
| 10 Jan 1941 | 2222 | 35° 22'N, 16° 15'E | The submarine sighted two cruisers of the LIVERPOOL class and fired a salvo of three torpedoes (533mm) from her bow tubes, at a distance of 1,500 metres, to the leading ship. It was a surface attack and the submarine immediately dived after firing. One explosion was heard after 70 seconds and some crew members claimed it was followed very quickly by a second one. Italian sources later claimed that the cruisers were HMS Gloucester and HMS Southampton (who was sunk by bombers the next afternoon) of the EXCESS convoy, but their position were farther west and no torpedo hit was reported at that time. The targets were perhaps large destroyers as the "cruiser" turned and attacked the submarine with two patterns of depth charges. | |||||||
| 11. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 19 Jan 1941 | 1045 | Messina | 30 Jan 1941 | 1815 | Messina | 1066 | Patrolled east of Malta within 15 miles of 35°20'N, 16°40'E, forced to return because of defects. Uneventful except for H.E. | |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 15 Feb 1941 | 0900 | Messina | 15 Feb 1941 | 1720 | Messina | 60 | Exercises. | ||
| 12. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 23 Feb 1941 | 2210 | Messina | 8 Mar 1941 | 1410 | Messina | 1050,7 | Patrolled east of Malta, within 15 miles of 35°30'N, 16°10'E. Uneventful (sighted only a hospital ship). Then at Messina, available on 24 hrs notice. | |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 2 Apr 1941 | 0815 | Messina | 2 Apr 1941 | 1530 | Messina | 55,7 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Castiglia. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 14 Apr 1941 | 0816 | Messina | 14 Apr 1941 | 1620 | Messina | 58,8 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 18 Apr 1941 | 2330 | Messina | 19 Apr 1941 | 0625 | Augusta | 81,7 | Passage Messina-Augusta. | ||
| 13. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 25 Apr 1941 | 2010 | Augusta | 26 Apr 1941 | 1020 | Augusta | 121,5 | Brief sortie for hydrophone watch with submarine Ambra, from 37°25'N, 15°30'E toward east for 15 miles and then 20 miles to the southeast. | |
| 14. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 27 Apr 1941 | 2110 | Augusta | 12 May 1941 | 0740 | Augusta | 1226,9 | Patrolled east of Malta within 15 miles of 35°40'N, 16°05'E. | |
| 4 May 1941 | 2335 | A hospital ship on 320° course was observed and the submarine submerged to avoid being seen. | ||||||||
| 8 May 1941 | 1718-1721 | (0) East of Malta. | The submarine was at a depth of 50 meters when she was bombed by aircraft but was undamaged. | |||||||
| 9 May 1941 | 0038 | 35° 37'N, 16° 20'E | Four light units were observed steering 300°. The submarine turned toward them and having closed to about 1,500 metres, fired a salvo of three torpedoes (533mm) from her bow tubes but missed. These were possibly Breconshire escorted by the destroyers HMS Havock, HMS Hotspur and HMS Imperial. | |||||||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 13 May 1941 | 0834 | Augusta | 13 May 1941 | 1614 | Messina | 81,4 | Passage Augusta-Messina. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 30 May 1941 | 0819 | Messina | 30 May 1941 | 1550 | Messina | 62,9 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Castiglia. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 6 Jun 1941 | 2202 | Messina | 7 Jun 1941 | 0525 | Augusta | 81,7 | Passage Messina-Augusta. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 15 Jun 1941 | 0830 | Augusta | 15 Jun 1941 | 1107 | Augusta | 4,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 21 Jun 1941 | 0830 | Augusta | 21 Jun 1941 | 1100 | Augusta | 4,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 28 Jun 1941 | 0830 | Augusta | 28 Jun 1941 | 1040 | Augusta | 5,6 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 1 Jul 1941 | 0845 | Augusta | 1 Jul 1941 | 1155 | Augusta | 13,8 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 9 Jul 1941 | 0800 | Augusta | 9 Jul 1941 | 1125 | Augusta | 13,3 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 16 Jul 1941 | 0835 | Augusta | 16 Jul 1941 | 1115 | Augusta | 12 | Exercises. | ||
| 15. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 22 Jul 1941 | 1700 | Augusta | 28 Jul 1941 | 0945 | Augusta | 651,7 | Patrolled southwest of Malta. Uneventful. | |
| 16. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 31 Jul 1941 | 1310 | Augusta | 5 Aug 1941 | 1025 | Augusta | 341,6 | Patrolled southeast of Malta. | |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 10 Aug 1941 | 1003 | Augusta | 10 Aug 1941 | 1700 | Messina | 77 | Passage Augusta-Messina. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 11 Aug 1941 | 1803 | Messina | 12 Aug 1941 | 1510 | Naples | 226 | Passage Messina-Naples. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 11 Oct 1941 | 1030 | Naples | 11 Oct 1941 | 1642 | Naples | 37 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 13 Oct 1941 | 0948 | Naples | 13 Oct 1941 | 1445 | Naples | 20,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 27 Oct 1941 | 0810 | Naples | 27 Oct 1941 | 1245 | Naples | 26 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 6 Nov 1941 | 0925 | Naples | 6 Nov 1941 | 1322 | Naples | 29 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 8 Nov 1941 | 0720 | Naples | 8 Nov 1941 | 1326 | Naples | 31,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 15 Nov 1941 | 0855 | Naples | 15 Nov 1941 | 1335 | Naples | 29,3 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 17 Nov 1941 | 0920 | Naples | 17 Nov 1941 | 1655 | Naples | 51 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 19 Nov 1941 | 1645 | Naples | 19 Nov 1941 | 2016 | Naples | 18,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 25 Nov 1941 | 0936 | Naples | 25 Nov 1941 | 1608 | Naples | 37,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 29 Nov 1941 | 1340 | Naples | 30 Nov 1941 | 0855 | Messina | 224,4 | Passage Naples-Messina. | ||
| 17. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 3 Dec 1941 | 1041 | Messina | 7 Dec 1941 | 1815 | Derna | Supply mission to Derna (9.5 tons of food supplies). | ||
| 18. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 7 Dec 1941 | 2052 | Derna | 11 Dec 1941 | 0843 | Messina | 1200 | Return trip from supply mission to Derna. | |
| 8 Dec 1941 | 0430 | 33° 58'N, 22° 34'E | Two destroyers, in line ahead steering 320°, were sighted. Ruggiero Settimo fired a salvo of three torpedoes (533mm) from the bow tubes; two were aimed at the first destroyer and another at the second destroyer. They missed. | |||||||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 30 Dec 1941 | 0858 | Messina | 30 Dec 1941 | 1410 | Messina | 25,3 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Nuova Maria. | ||
| 19. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 1 Jan 1942 | 1700 | Messina | 4 Jan 1942 | 0804 | Messina | 609,5 | Patrolled near Capo Dell'Armi. | |
| 3 Jan 1942 | 0430 | 35° 52'N, 19° 20'E | A derelict mine was seen. unsuccessful attempts were made to sink it by machine gun fire, but the heavy seas prevented accurate shooting. | |||||||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 8 Jan 1942 | 0117 | Messina | 8 Jan 1942 | 0855 | Augusta | 74 | Passage Messina-Augusta. | ||
| 20. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 9 Jan 1942 | 1630 | Augusta | 13 Jan 1942 | 1400 | Tripoli | 531,5 | Supply mission to Tripoli (20 tons of ammunition and 12 tons of food supplies). Encountered heavy seas and took on water, which caused a short circuit and a fire. | |
| 21. | Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 19 Jan 1942 | 1400 | Tripoli | 21 Jan 1942 | 1012 | Augusta | 411 | Return trip from supply mission to Tripoli. | |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 28 Jan 1942 | 0954 | Augusta | 29 Jan 1942 | 1440 | Taranto | 280 | Passage Augusta-Taranto. | ||
| Pietro Micca (MC) | 4 Feb 1942 | Taranto | 9 Mar 1942 | Taranto | Refit. Change in command. | |||||
64 entries. 61 total patrol entries (21 marked as war patrols) and 10 events.