Italian submarine fates
Ships hit by Italian submarines
Shakespear
Type | Cargo ship | |||
Country | British | |||
Built | 1926 | GRT | 5,029 | |
Date of attack | 5 Jan 1941 | Time | 1127 0930 (e) | |
Fate | Sunk by submarine Comandante Alfredo Cappellini (C.C. Salvatore Todaro) | |||
Position of attack | 18° 05'N, 21° 25'W | |||
Complement | 41 (20 dead and 21 survivors) | |||
Convoy | ex-OB.262 | |||
Notes | At 1000 hours, the masts of a vessel were observed on the horizon. Cappellini took an intercepting course. 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. |