Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Salvatore Todaro
| Born | 16 Sep 1908 | Messina | |
| Died | 14 Dec 1942 | (34) | Killed in action |
| Ranks
Decorations
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Career information
LUCIANO MANARA (T.V. C.O.): From 27.04.1940 to 21.09.1940 (promoted to C.C. on 01.07.1940).Promoted to C.C. on 01.07.1940.
COMANDANTE ALFREDO CAPPELLINI (T.V. C.O.): From 26.09.1940 to 01.10.1941.
In November 1941, was transferred to DECIMA FLOTTIGLIA MAS. Assigned to 4° FLOTTIGLIA MAS in the Black Sea.
In command of special vessel CEFALO in the Mediterranean. On 13 December 1942, he was planning an attack on Bone when he was killed by a Spitfire machine-gunning his vessel.
Commands listed for Salvatore Todaro
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciana Manara (MR) | Ocean going | T.V. | 27 Apr 1940 | 21 Sep 1940 |
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | Ocean going | C.C. | 26 Sep 1940 | 1 Oct 1941 |
Ships hit by Salvatore Todaro
| Date | Submarine | Ship hit | Type | GRT | Nat. | Loss type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 Oct 1940 | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini | Kabalo | Cargo ship | 5,074 |  | Sunk |
| 2. | 5 Jan 1941 | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini | Shakespear | Cargo ship | 5,029 |  | Sunk |
| 3. | 14 Jan 1941 | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini | Eumaeus | Cargo ship | 7,735 | | Sunk |
War patrols listed for Salvatore Todaro
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 3 Jun 1940 | 1230 | Trapani | 3 Jun 1940 | 1840 | Trapani | 38 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 16 Jun 1940 | 0810 | Trapani | 16 Jun 1940 | 1210 | Trapani | 24 | Exercises. | ||
| 1. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Jun 1940 | 2010 | Trapani | 30 Jun 1940 | 2205 | Trapani | 2014 | Patrolled between Gaudo Island and Ras El Tin (Libya) in 33°32'N, 23°38'E on a patrol line with Menotti. | |
| 29 Jun 1940 | 1745 1741 (e) | (e) 37° 06'N, 16° 25'E | A Sunderland aircraft machine gunned the submarine who replied with her antiaircraft armament. Reaction on Luciano Manara was slow, as the aircraft was first mistook to be Italian. Todaro decided to dive before the aircraft drop a bomb, but Manara dived very slowly due to a failure in the diesel exhaust valve. This was Sunderland "S" of 230 Squadron which, luckily for the submarine, was not armed with bombs, having just sunk the submarine Rubino and was carrying her survivors, the latter being in one of the rare occasions where an attack on one of the Regia Marina submarines could be observed from the other side. At periscope depth, the Italian captain observed the aircraft heading to the southwest and appearing to be losing altitude. He believed the aircraft might have crashed beyond the horizon but it reached Malta without mishaps. | |||||||
| 2. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 9 Jul 1940 | 0030 | Trapani | 12 Jul 1940 | 1305 | Trapani | 411 | Sailed with Menotti and patrolled between La Galite and Tunisia in 37°30 'N, 10°20'E. | |
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Jul 1940 | 0855 | Trapani | 18 Jul 1940 | 1300 | Trapani | 20 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 2 Aug 1940 | 0815 | Trapani | 2 Aug 1940 | 1130 | Trapani | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| 3. | Luciana Manara (MR) | 5 Aug 1940 | 1530 | Trapani | 11 Aug 1940 | 1100 | Trapani | 1044 | Patrolled off south of Balearic Islands in 38°10'N, 05°20'E, keeping on same parallel to 04°40'E and as far as 04°00'E during the night. | |
| 7 Aug 1940 | 1735 | 38° 00'N, 4° 00'E (0) Approximately. | A submarine similar to the NEGHELLI class, but perhaps an enemy unit, was observed at a distance of 5-6,000 metres. Todaro tried to close to deliver an attack but could not reach a good position. | |||||||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Aug 1940 | 0815 | Trapani | 18 Aug 1940 | 1200 | Trapani | 14 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 27 Aug 1940 | 0815 | Trapani | 27 Aug 1940 | 1150 | Trapani | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 14 Sep 1940 | 0815 | Trapani | 14 Sep 1940 | 1150 | Trapani | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Sep 1940 | 0830 | Trapani | 18 Sep 1940 | 1140 | Trapani | 24 | Exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Sep 1940 | 0900 | Trapani | 21 Sep 1940 | 1200 | Trapani | 22 | Exercises. | ||
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 27 Sep 1940 | 0800 | La Spezia | 27 Sep 1940 | 1630 | La Spezia | 92,5 | Exercises. | ||
| 4. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 29 Sep 1940 | 1849 | La Spezia | 4 Nov 1940 | 1607 | Pauillac | 5368,1 | Passage La Spezia-Bordeaux (passed Gibraltar on 5th October) patrol off Azores between 32°00'N and 33°40'N, and between 16°50'W and 32°00'W. T.V. Athos Fraternale was second in command and was later to command with distinction Morosini and other submarines. | |
| 13 Oct 1940 | 1620 | (0) Off Lisbon. | At 1620 hours, a steamer was stopped with a warning shot. She proved to be the Yugoslav Rosina Topic (4,307 GRT, built 1913) on passage from Lisbon to New Jersey with a cargo of sugar. She was allowed to proceed. | |||||||
| 15 Oct 1940 | 2315 | 32° 20'N, 31° 14'W (e) 31° 59'N, 31° 21'W (0) Approximately. | At 2315 hours, Cappellini sighted a steamer and closed at high speed. The vessel must have also sighted her as it turned away and increased speed. At a distance of 1,500 metres the steamer opened fire with her stern gun. When the range was reduced to 1,000 metres, the submarine replied with her artillery and scored a hit with her third round, which started a fire and silenced the freighter's gun. She was now repeatedly hit and took a list to port. Shortly after, Cappellini fired a torpedo (533mm, S.I. type) from 500 metres but it missed under. A second torpedo (533mm, S.I. type), followed by a third (450mm, W 200 type), also appeared to head straight for the target, but without exploding. The steamer was finally finished off with gunfire and sank at 0400 hours on the 16th. T.V. Athos Fraternale (who was later to command the submarine Morosini and other submarines with great distinction) was in charge of the forward gun. This was the Belgian Kabalo (5,074 GRT, built 1917, captain Georges Vogels) after dispersal of convoy OB.223 (also listed as QB.223d) on passage from Liverpool to Freetown. Only one was killed, a Congolese sailor. There were forty-two survivors. Cappellini picked up twenty-six survivors and landed them on the Island of Santa Maria (Azores). Sixteen survivors were picked up by the Panamanian tanker Panam in 32°03' N, 30°00' W or 475 miles SW of the Azores. Kabalo had not been a lucky ship, she had collided with the Belgian Flanders on 12 February 1940 and the latter had sunk. | |||||||
| 27 Oct 1940 | 0230 | (0) Off Azores. | At 0230 hours, a vessel was sighted. Although she was illuminated, the lights did not conform to regulations. Accordingly, Cappellini fired a warning shot and she stopped. She was the French motor fishing vessel Marcella (800 GRT, built 1932) and reported that she was travelling from Bordeaux to Casablanca (in fact she had sailed from St. Pierre et Miquelon on 19th October). She was allowed to proceed. | |||||||
| 5. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 5 Nov 1940 | 0825 | Pauillac | 5 Nov 1940 | 1115 | Bordeaux | 30 | Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux. | |
| 6. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 21 Dec 1940 | 1036 | Bordeaux | 21 Dec 1940 | 1520 | Le Verdon | 38 | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | |
| 7. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 22 Dec 1940 | 1630 | Le Verdon | 20 Jan 1941 | 0630 | Luz (Gran Canaria) | 5728,7 | Patrolled off Cape Ortegal, between 40°00'N and 42°00'N, and between 17°00'W and 21°00'W. Off Oporto, Funchal and Canaries and then to Luz, because of damage and to land a wounded crew member. She also took 73 tons of fuel from the supply ship Charlotte Schliemann. | |
| 5 Jan 1941 | 1127 0930 (e) | 18° 05'N, 21° 25'W (e) 18° 05'N, 21° 11'W | At 1000 hours, the masts of a vessel were observed on the horizon. Cappellini took an intercepting course. At 1045 hours, at a distance of 3,000 metres, the merchant ship opened fire. Cappellini altered course to starboard and opened fire with her artillery. The enemy's gunfire was accurate and, at 1100 hours, a shell exploded close to the submarine's aft gun and mortally wounded the gunner Giuseppe Bastoni who fell overboard. He was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare. But the freighter was now being repeatedly hit by the submarine's artillery. At 1127 hours, the white flag was run up the mast and she sank. This was the British Shakespear (5,029 GRT, built 1926), carrying 8,000 tons of coal from Milford Haven to Alexandria via Capetown, a straggler from convoy OB.262. The submarine turned back and conducted a thorough search to locate Bastoni, but he was never found. C.C. Salvatore Todaro, who was to earn the nickname of the "Knight of the Atlantic", was a chivalrous man. He returned to the site of his sinking and rescued twenty-two survivors (including eight wounded, one of whom would die shortly after) and landed them on the Island of Sal (Cape Verde). The destroyer HMS Velox arrived on the scene but found only wreckage. The Portuguese destroyer Gonçalves Zarco found twenty-five survivors (including ten wounded) and landed them on São Vicente Island (Cape Verde) on 9 January 1941. | |||||||
| 9 Jan 1941 | Control of the submarine's hydroplane broke down, requiring repairs at sea. The stern was continuously under water and sharks were making the repairs dangerous that had to be kept at bay by rifle fire. The repairs were finally completed during the day. | |||||||||
| 14 Jan 1941 | 0900+ 0658 (e) | 9° 00'N, 15° 19'W (e) 8° 55'N, 15° 33'W (0) 285° - Cape Sierra Leon - 118 miles. | At 0830 hours, a large steamer was sighted. After 0900 hours, the submarine had closed to 700 metres and fired a pair of torpedoes (533mm, S.I. type) from the bow tubes. They had a normal run and one appeared to be about to hit near the mast aft, but there was no explosion. The target turned away and opened fire with two guns. Cappellini followed at full speed but the enemy was maintaining a distance of about 2,500 metres. The submarine opened fire with her guns but several of the enemy's shells were falling near her. As the range began to close, Cappellini's machine guns were beginning to take a toll of the freighter's gunners. At 0930 hours, the submarine had to briefly suspend fire as the ammunition' s hoist broke down. Shells had to be passed through the conning tower hatch. At 0940 hours, it was now Cappellini's aft gun that broke down. Gunfire was maintained with the gun forward. At 0950 and 0955 hours, the conning tower was hit by two shells. Tenente G.N. D.M.c. Danilo Stiepovich had just replaced a wounded gunner, when a shell fragment took off his left leg. He remained at his station, fighting to the last. He died of his wounds at 1600 hours. His dying wish had been to watch the enemy vessel sink. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for his sacrifice. This was the British Eumaeus (7,735 GRT, built 1921) proceeding independently at 13 knots from Birkenhead to Shanghai via Capetown with a crew of 91 and about 265 passengers (with 100 servicemen on board for the Far East). She was actually proceeding to Freetown to coal. She fought valiantly for two hours but ran out of ammunition and was finally brought to a halt. Survivors would report that she had been hit by at least 44 rounds. At 1009 hours, Cappellini closed to 700 metres and fired a torpedo (450mm, A 200 type) from a bow tube. It hit under the forward mast and the vessel sank. Twenty-three were killed (eight crew members and fifteen passengers), sixty-three survivors were picked up by the trawlers HMT Bengali and HMT Spaniard who arrived at the scene at 1315 hours. Walrus P.5667 (Lt. V.B.G. Cheesman, RM) of 710 Squadron, which was searching for the U-boat (this was not the Walrus which later attacked Cappellini), alighted and helped out the survivors. At 2000 hours, the destroyers HMS Isis and HMS Encounter and the A/S trawler HMT Pict arrived and picked up more survivors. In all, 305 survivors were picked up. It had been a gruelling fight. Cappellini had one officer killed and nine ratings wounded. | |||||||
| 14 Jan 1941 | 1122 0819 (e) | (e) 8° 53'N, 14° 56'W | At 1120 hours, Cappellini was about to dive when an aircraft was sighted. Two minutes later, it dropped four bombs and they hit the submarine at the bow extremity and amidship. The attack had been carried out by a Walrus of 710 Squadron (FAA) from the seaplane tender HMS Albatross based in Freetown. It had actually dropped three 100-lb A/S bombs. The submarine was badly damaged and had to take refuge in Luz (Gran Canaria) for repairs. | |||||||
| 8. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 24 Jan 1941 | 0038 | Luz (Gran Canaria) | 30 Jan 1941 | 1710 | Pauillac | 1905,2 | Passage Luz-Pauillac. HMS Tribune was sent to intercept her in 45°44'N, 02°32'W but failed to make contact. | |
| 9. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 1 Feb 1941 | 0900 | Pauillac | 1 Feb 1941 | 1030 | Bordeaux | 25 | Passage Pauillac-Bordeaux. | |
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 12 Apr 1941 | 0700 | Bordeaux | 12 Apr 1941 | 1635 | La Pallice | 117 | Passage Bordeaux-La Pallice. | ||
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 15 Apr 1941 | 0738 | La Pallice | 15 Apr 1941 | 1115 | La Pallice | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| 10. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 16 Apr 1941 | 0800 | La Pallice | 17 May 1941 | 1435 | Bordeaux | 5230 | Sailed for North Atlantic patrol (a) between 56° and 57°00'N and 21° and 26°00'W (b) between 58° and 59°00'N and 20° and 25°00'W. Todaro was awarded the Silver medal after this patrol. | |
| 21 Apr 1941 | 0717 0847 (e) | 53° 42'N, 17° 55'W (e) 53° 31'N, 17° 36'W | At 0640 hours, two shadows of large ships, later believed to be 10,000-ton armed merchant cruisers apparently screened by three destroyers. Cappellini closed for a surface attack but the sea was very rough (Force 5) making the approach difficult. An enemy report could not be made as her wireless was not working. At 0717 hours, one stern torpedo (533mm) was fired from a distance of 1,500 metres aimed at the first AMC, a vessel of the ACCRA class (9,370 GRT). It missed. At the same time two vessels had spotted the submarine and opened fire with guns and machine guns. At 0723 hours, two stern torpedoes (533mm) were launched at a range of 600 metres and were aimed at the second AMC. The submarine dived upon firing and heard a loud explosion. At the same time, defects were plaguing Cappellini including serious flooding, especially in the radio room and the forward ammunition store. The submarine was forced to surface again very quickly. Only one armed merchant cruiser was still visible and C.C. Todaro assumed the other had sunk. The three destroyers were still distant and he took the opportunity to dive again, this time to 110 metres. From 0830 to 1000 hours, 21 depth charges were counted, usually in groups of 3 or 4. They caused small leaks in a forward compartment and in the mid section. At 1800 hours, no more propeller noises were heard and Cappellini was brought to periscope depth. The horizon was clear and she surfaced. The target had been the Dutch steamer Berkel (2,130 Grt, built 1930) who opened fire with her 4" gun and machine guns and believed to have scored a direct hit abaft the conning tower. The submarine was hunted by the armed trawler HMS St. Wistan, the ocean boarding vessel HMS Corinthian and the sloop HMS Sandwich. They were part of the Gibraltar convoy OG. 59. | |||||||
| 22 Apr 1941 | Time? | During the day, Cappellini received a signal from Torelli, reporting a convoy at 1300 hours on the 22nd, 150 miles (Italian Grid 6894/44) steering 025°, 8 knots. She altered course to intercept. Nothing was sighted. On 27th April, she was ordered by BETASOM to move her patrol between 21° and 26° W. | ||||||||
| 1 May 1941 | 2020 | 56° 45'N, 25° 04'W | An unidentified submarine was observed steering 060°. Cappellini dived upon sighting and came to periscope depth but could not find it anymore and assumed it had also dived. | |||||||
| 7 May 1941 | 0515 | 58° 20'N, 22° 54'W | At 0515 hours, a small vessel was observed from a distance of 1,500 metres. It appeared to be a motorboat, similar to the MAS type, 15-20 metres in length and 50-100 tons. Cappellini dived upon sighting and heard that two more A/S vessels had joined this one but there were no depth-charge attack. | |||||||
| 8 May 1941 | 2250 | 59° 00'N, 24° 22'W | At 2250 hours, a German U-boat was sighted and they exchanged recognition signals. | |||||||
| 9 May 1941 | 0138 | At 0138 hours, BETASOM signalled Cappellini that German sources had reported the presence of an enemy convoy at 1100 hours on 8th May in Italian Grid 7628/35 (300 miles away) steering 250°, 8 knots. The submarine altered course south to intercept. | ||||||||
| 10 May 1941 | 1215 | 53° 58'N, 23° 17'W | At 1215 hours, a German U-boat was sighted and they exchanged recognition signals. | |||||||
| 11 May 1941 | 1930 | 51° 55'N, 20° 40'W | At 1930 hours, the submarine Luigi Torelli was encountered and exchanged recognition signals. | |||||||
| 14 May 1941 | 1240 | 47° 42'N, 13° 50'W | At 1420 hours, the French sailing ship Notre Dame Du Châtelet (453 GRT, built 1921) was stopped. She was proceeding from St. Malo to fish the Newfoundland banks. Todaro, having ascertained her identity, let her proceed. The following day U-43 (KL Wolfgang Lüth) made no distinction and sank her by gunfire. | |||||||
| Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 18 May 1941 | 1207 | Bordeaux | 18 May 1941 | 1250 | Bordeaux | 2 | Entered dock. | ||
| 11. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 27 Jun 1941 | 0800 | Bordeaux | 27 Jun 1941 | 1248 | Le Verdon | 65 | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | |
| 12. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 28 Jun 1941 | 0800 | Bordeaux | 10 Jul 1941 | 2024 | Bordeaux | 2449 | Sailed for patrol west of Gibraltar to reach Grid 8511/66 (35°58'N, 14°00'W) by 3rd July, but aborted mission because of defects. Salvatore Todaro left her to join Decima Flotilla MAS and was killed by an airplane strafing as he was leading a raid on Bone on 14th December 1942. | |
| 30 Jun 1941 | 1045+ | 35° 21'N, 13° 50'W | At 1045 hours, BETASOM ordered the submarines to patrol within 15 miles of the following positions by 3rd July: Torelli in 2533/36 (36°58'N, 12°30'W) Morosini in 2511/33 (36°30'N, 13°20'W) Cappellini in 8511/66 (35°58'N, 14°00'W) Da Vinci in 8511/33 (35°30'N, 13°20'W) Baracca in 8533/31 (35°10'N, 12°30'W) Malaspina in 3972/51 (33°00'N, 11°45'W). Cappellini proceeded toward her position. | |||||||
| 4 Jul 1941 | 1600 | 35° 21'N, 13° 50'W | At 1600 hours, a 10,000-ton vessel was sighted,s teering 220°. She bore neutral markings and was left alone. | |||||||
| 5 Jul 1941 | 1220 | 35° 55'N, 13° 46'W | At 1220 hours, the submarine Morosini was encountered and information was exchanged by megaphone. | |||||||
| 6 Jul 1941 | 1730 1637 (e) | 35° 55'N, 13° 46'W (e) 37° 34'N, 12° 22'W | At 1730 hours, an aircraft was observed diving on Cappellini from the sun. It was identified as a twin-engined seaplane of the Consolidated 28-5 type. It made two low-flying runs, strafing and each time dropping two depth charges which exploded at a depth of 20-30 metres, about 30 metres from the submarine. This was Catalina ' G' (W8415) of 202 Squadron piloted by Flying Officer R.Y. Powell. The aircraft was instructed to shadow the submarine as long as its endurance permitted and had made several signals to home other aircraft or A/S vessels, but to no avail. It was kept at distance of 3-4,000 metres by the submarine's main artillery, firing 100mm rounds. At 2245 hours, the Catalina left the scene. Upon returning, it ran out of petrol and had to alight 4 miles west of Trafalgar. It had to be towed by a sloop. It had been hit by a single machine gun round from the submarine, but was seriously damaged during the towing. | |||||||
| 8 Jul 1941 | 1930 | 43° 05'N, 9° 35'W | At 1930 hours, two small yachts were observed. Ten minutes later, Cappellini developed defects, which forced the interruption of the patrol. | |||||||
| 13. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 14 Aug 1941 | 1145 | Bordeaux | 14 Aug 1941 | 1700 | Le Verdon | 63 | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon, then delayed because of defects. | |
| 14. | Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (CL, I.4, UIT.24) | 15 Aug 1941 | 2045 | Le Verdon | 22 Sep 1941 | 1315 | Bordeaux | 6850 | Sailed for patrol off Portugal in 36°30'N, 12°30'W, between Cape St. Vincent and Cape Finisterre. | |
| 17 Aug 1941 | 0850 | 44° 34'N, 5° 47'W | At 0850 hours, an aircraft, believed to be a Heinkel 115, was observed but it took no notice of the submarine. | |||||||
| 17 Aug 1941 | 1130 | 44° 34'N, 6° 25'W | At 1130 hours, an aircraft was seen but took no notice of the submarine. | |||||||
| 19 Aug 1941 | 1615 | 39° 56'N, 11° 55'W | At 2200 hours on 18th August, Cappellini was ordered to reach Italian Grid 9522/32 (38°15' N, 11°25' W) by 2000 hours on the 20th. At 1615 hours on the 19th, she observed an Italian submarine steering 180°, 12 knots. It was believed to be Mocenigo. At 2210 hours on 20th, the submarine was ordered to Italian Grid 5142/32 (39°15' N, 15°25" W). | |||||||
| 21 Aug 1941 | 0030 | 38° 12'N, 11° 30'W | At 0030 hours, an illuminated Portuguese ship was observed steering toward the Azores. At 2200 hours on the 21st, Cappellini was ordered to 40°25' N, 17°15' W, At 0000 hours on the 23rd, she was ordered to Italian Grid 5991/16 (40°25' N, 17°15' W). | |||||||
| 24 Aug 1941 | 1700-1730 | 37° 24'N, 13° 40'W | At 0002 hours, Cappellini was ordered to 37°55' N, 13°05' W. At 1035 hours, the order was changed to 32°30' N, 13°30' W (Italian Grid 8391 and 8942). At 1700 hours, a large German submarine was observed. It submerged immediately but surfaced shortly after. It was a modern large U-boat with two guns. The submarines exchanged voice greetings and then the German boat sailed on a 220° course. At 2120 hours on the 26th, Cappellini found a floating gasoline drum with the inscription "SOS MALVERNIAN lat. 47°30' N/ ...W" [Malvernian had been sunk by the Luftwaffe]. During the night of 30th August Cappellini sighted five neutral ships off the Portuguese coast. At 1005 hours on 1st September, Cappellini was ordered to Grid 3302 (36°30' N, 12°30' W). | |||||||
| 30 Aug 1941 | Night | (0) West of Cape Espichel. | During the night, three illuminated steamers were observed on southerly course and two more on northerly course. | |||||||
| 4 Sep 1941 | 0555 | 36° 06'N, 12° 39'W | At 0555 hours, the Portuguese destroyer Dao was observed steering 235°, 16 knots. | |||||||
| 4 Sep 1941 | 1900 | 36° 00'N, 12° 10'W | At 1900 hours, an American destroyer of the MAURY class (GRIDLEY class) was sighted at 1,000 metres, which suddenly made straight for the submarine. Cappellini dived to 100 meters but no depth-charges followed. At 2200 hours, Cappellini was ordered to Italian Grid 9542. | |||||||
| 5 Sep 1941 | 0210 | 36° 26'N, 12° 08'W | At 0210 hours, a small Portuguese ship (estimated at less than 1000 GRT) was sighted. She was probably going from the Azores to Portugal. At 2300 hours, Cappellini was ordered to proceed to Italian Grid 5110/13 (39°25' N, 16°05' W) then to Grid 5121/22 (38°15' N, 18°15' W). At 2240 hours on 6th September, she was ordered to Grid 5143/24 (39°35' N, 19°25' W) then to Grid 5119/22 (39°15' N, 21°15' W). | |||||||
| 9 Sep 1941 | 0610 | 39° 45'N, 24° 10'W | At 1200 hours on 8th September, Cappellini was ordered to operate in Italian Grids 3995 and 3901 (between 40° N and 41° N and 30° W and 32° W). At 0610 hours on the 9th, the submarine Baracca was encountered. No action was taken taken, not even recognition signals as they were close to the Azores coast and did not wish to reveal their presence. | |||||||
| 20 Sep 1941 | 1935 | 45° 24'N, 8° 55'W | At 1935 hours, the French motor fishing vessel Petite Hélène (D 2583) was sighted. She was left undisturbed. | |||||||
| 21 Sep 1941 | 0810 | 45° 30'N, 4° 47'W | At 0810 hours, an aircraft, believed to be German, was sighted but it apparently failed to notice the submarine. | |||||||
55 entries. 27 total patrol entries (14 marked as war patrols) and 35 events.