Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines


Pizarro

TypeCargo ship
CountryBritish British
Built1923GRT1,367

Date of attack31 Jan 1941Time2228
2030 (e)
FateSunk by submarine Dandolo (C.C. Riccardo Boris)
Position of attack49° 04'N, 19° 31'W
Complement29 (23 dead and 6 survivors)
Convoy
Notes At 1918 hours, a 6,500-ton tanker was sighted in 49°23' N, 19°35' W. At 2155 hours, Dandolo had closed to 500 metres to fire two torpedoes (450mm) from the bow tubes. They broke surface and missed. This was the British Pizarro (1,367 GRT, built 1923), a straggler from convoy O.G.51 from Oban to Gibraltar, carrying 1,500 tons of general cargo and 400 tons of mail.

At 2228 hours, two torpedoes (450mm) were fired from the stern tubes at a distance of 500 metres. This time both hit. Pizarro sank in 5 minutes with twenty-three of her crew. Three explosions had been felt on board Pizarro, but two were muffled and one was "terrific". There were six survivors who were picked up by the steamer MacBrae, another straggler from the same convoy.

Position of attack

Ships hit by Italian submarines