Italian submarine fates
Ships hit by Italian submarines
HMS Samphire
| Type | Corvette | |||
| Country |  British | |||
| Built | 1941 | Tons | 925 | |
| Date of attack | 30 Jan 1943 | Time | 0017 0018 (e) | |
| Fate | Sunk by submarine Platino (T.V. Vittorio Patrelli Campagnano) | |||
| Position of attack | 36° 56'N, 5° 40'E | |||
| Complement | 78 (45 dead and 33 survivors) | |||
| Convoy | ||||
| Notes | At 2348 hours on 29th January, the lookout aft spotted a dark shape emerging from the mist on the starboard beam astern. The first reaction of T.V. Vittorio Patrelli Campagnano was to turn away as only his stern tubes were ready. They now appeared as small vessels and by midnight, the targets appeared to be corvettes and ten minutes later the forward tubes were readied to fire. At 0017 hours on 30th January, four torpedoes (533mm, G7e type) were fired from the bow tubes at a range of 1,000 metres, at the corvettes. After 54 seconds (giving a running range of 750 metres) a hit was observed aft of the first corvette and 14 seconds later (run of 950 metres) two torpedoes hit the second corvette and she blew up in a tremendous explosion. After another 17 seconds, a third corvette appeared to have been hit giving a range of 1,200 metres. Platino turned to fire her stern torpedoes. Only one corvette was hit, this was HMS Samphire (K 128, 925 tons) and she was sunk by a single torpedo hit. A total of two officers and thirty-one ratings were picked up, some by the escort destroyer HMS Zetland. Three officers and forty-two ratings killed or missing. At 0023 hours, two stern torpedoes (533mm, S.I.C. type) were fired at a range of 2,000 metres aimed at an 8,000-ton freighter and one hit after 85 seconds (giving a rum of 1,900 metres) the vessel which blew up. This result has not been confirmed by Allied sources. | |||
See full details on this warship in our Allied Warships section.