Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Bruno Zani
| Born | 29 Aug 1909 |
| Ranks
Decorations |
Career information
UEBI SCEBELI (T.V. C.O.): from 27.03.1940 to 29.06.1940 (sunk, Zani survived as PoW).Commands listed for Bruno Zani
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uebi Scebeli (US) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 27 Mar 1940 | 29 Jun 1940 |
Ships hit by Bruno Zani
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Bruno Zani
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Uebi Scebeli (US) | 6 Jun 1940 | 1120 | Taranto | 15 Jun 1940 | 1500 | Taranto | 1160 | Patrolled in Cerigotto Channel in 270° - Agria Grabusa Light (Crete) - 20 miles. | |
| 10 Jun 1940 | 1240 | 35° 45'N, 23° 25'E (0) Off Agria Garabusa Light (near Cerigotto) | At 1240 hours, the Hellenic light cruiser Helle was sighted at a distance of 3,000 metres. Greece was neutral at the time and T.V. Bruno Zani could only watch her. In two months the cruiser would not be so fortunate. | |||||||
| 2. | Uebi Scebeli (US) | 20 Jun 1940 | 2200 | Taranto | 21 Jun 1940 | 0920 | Taranto | 65,6 | Sailed with Settembrini for defensive patrol in the middle of Taranto Gulf [Zone B] in 40°05'N, 17°24'E. Uneventful. | |
| 3. | Uebi Scebeli (US) | 27 Jun 1940 | 1200 | Taranto | 29 Jun 1940 | 0720 | Sunk | Sailed with Salpa for patrol off Bardia or Derna in 33°16'N, 22°56'E. She was to join a barrage line with Anfitrite, Ondina and Salpa from a point 15 miles southwest of Gaudio to a point 40 miles northeast of Derna. She was sunk by the British destroyers HMS Dainty, HMS Ilex and HMS Defender (part of operation M.A. 3) in 35°20'N, 20°06'E. All members of her crew were rescued (five officers and forty-one other ratings). | ||
| 29 Jun 1940 | 0642 (e) | (e) 35° 29'N, 20° 06'E | At dawn, Uebi Scebeli sighted enemy destroyers at a range of 12,000 metres. She dived to 50 metres but was then depth charged and brought to the surface. These were the destroyers HMS Dainty (Commander M.S. Thomas, RN), HMS Ilex (Lieutenant Commander P.L. Saumarez, DSC, RN), HMS Defender and HMAS Voyager carrying operation M.A. 3. At 0642 hours, HMS Ilex sighted the submarine on the surface bearing 330° at 7-8 miles. She proceeded to the attack at the highest speed with HMS Dainty and HMS Defender. At 0651 hours, the submarine dived after HMS Ilex had fired one 4.7" round. Ilex and Dainty obtained ASDIC contacts and dropped depth charges and three minutes later the submarine was forced to the surface and immediately came under fire from the three destroyers. The crew surrendered as soon as they came out on deck. T.V. Bruno Zani, four officers and forty-one ratings were rescued and landed at Alexandria the next evening. There were no casualties. At 0820 hours, Uebi Scebeli was sunk with two 4.7" rounds from HMS Dainty after a boarding party under Lieutenant Commander J.O. Campbell, DSC, RN) managed to recover important documents including two code books picked up from the water. The documents from Uebi Scebelli showed the following Italian submarine positions as of 0400 hours on 30th June: Ondina: 34°16'N, 23°24'E Anfitrite: 34°43'N, 23°40'E Salpa: 33°46'N, 23°10'E Uebi Scebelli: 33°16'N, 22°56'E The patrol line started at 024° from Derna with the submarines 30 miles apart. The Italian Navy changed the code on 5th July 1940. | |||||||
3 entries. 3 total patrol entries (3 marked as war patrols) and 2 events.