April 1941
General Events
| 1-4 | April | Operation WINCH (aircraft reinforcements to Malta). |
| 4 | April | British forces retreated in Libya. Benghazi was occupied by the Afrika Korps. |
| 4-5 | April | Force H sortied for Operation PRINCIPAL (to attack the French battle cruiser Dunkerque reported ready to leave Mers-El-Kebir). The operation was cancelled the following night. |
| 6 | April | Germany attacked Greece. |
| 8 | April | Massawa fell to British Forces. |
| 10 | April | Yugoslavia was invaded by Axis Forces and surrendered on the 17th. The submarine Nebojsa and two torpedo boats escaped to Alexandria. |
| 11 | April | Siege of Tobruk began. |
| 15 | April | The Tarigo convoy was annihilated by the 14th Destroyer Flotilla. |
| 21 | April | Evacuation of Greece began, save for Crete which was still held mostly by New Zealand forces. The King, the Greek Government, and the remnants of the Greek Navy fled to Egypt. The Mediterranean Fleet bombarded Tripoli. |
| 25-28 | April | Operation DUNLOP (aircraft reinforcements to Malta) and Operation SALIENT (stores for Malta). |
Mediterranean
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during April 1941
| Jalea (…1 April) | Nereide (…2 April) | Micca (…5 April) Pt.1 |
| Ascianghi (…5 April) | Ambra (…6 April) | Dagabur (…9 April) |
| Aradam (…12 April) | Salpa (…14 April) | Zoea (1-7 April) Pt.1 |
| Onice (2-17 April) | Santarosa (3-9 April) | Corallo (3-9 April) |
| Turchese (3-9 April) | Colonna (3-5 April) | Da Procida (3-5 April) |
| Settembrini (3-9 April) | Medusa (4 April)x | Pisani (4-5 April) |
| Des Geneys (4-5 April) | Jalea (4-13 April) | Da Procida (5-9 April) |
| Colonna (5-9 April) | H.6 (5-6 April) | H.4 (5-6 April) |
| Smeraldo (6-21 April) | H.1 (6-9 April) | H.6 (6-9 April) |
| Malachite (8-23 April) | Menotti (9-21 April) | Serpente (9-25 April) |
| Beilul (10-23 April) | Topazio (10-26 April) | Medusa (11-20 April) |
| Sirena (13-19 April) | Squalo (13-14 April) | Settembrini (15 April…) |
| Fisalia (16 April…) | Des Geneys (17-18 April) | Zoea (17-22 April) Pt.2 |
| Manara (17-28 April) | Mameli (18-28 April) | Ondina (19-28 April) |
| Nereide (20-26 April)x | Squalo (21 April…) | Uarsciek (21-30 April) |
| Turchese (21 April…) | H.8 (21-22 April) | Adua (21-22 April) |
| Adua (24 April…) | Salpa (25-26 April) | Settimo (25-26 April) |
| Colonna (26-29 April) | H.4 (26-29 April) | H.6 (26-29 April) |
| Ametista (26-29 April) | Da Procida (26-28 April) | Salpa (27-28 April) |
| Settimo (27 April…) | Santarosa (27 April…) | Galatea (29 April…) |
On the first day of the month, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, the battlecruiser Renown, and the light cruiser Sheffield, screened by five destroyers, sailed from Gibraltar to bring twelve Hurricane fighters to Malta (operation WINCH). Two days later, following an aircraft report of two battleships, an aircraft carrier, four heavy cruisers, and several destroyers sixty miles north of Bone, the submarines Corallo (T.V. Gino Andreani) and Turchese (T.V. Pier Vincenzo di Domenico) departed from Cagliari to patrol north of Tunisia. To prevent a repeat of the bombardment of Genoa, Colonna (C.C. Bruno Pilli) and Da Procida (C.C. Loris Albanese) proceeded from La Spezia to patrol the Ligurian Sea. Again, the submarines failed to make contact and HMS Ark Royal flew off the aircraft to Malta and returned safely to Gibraltar. The fighters were led by Fulmars to navigate the long trip, but the threat of bombers based in Sardinia eventually forced the flying off to occur further west (about the longitude of Algiers). Blenheims would have to be used instead of Fulmars to lead them to Malta.
On 3 April, Pietro Micca (T.V. Serafino Giorgerini), which was used to transport supplies to the Dodecanese Islands, attacked an escorted convoy with two torpedoes but failed to register a hit. As she was entering Leros on 5 April, a torpedo was discharged by mistake, damaging her stern. She was towed to the harbour and had to wait until June to sail to Taranto for repairs once the Corinth Canal was open to Italian traffic.
The same day, Santorre Santarosa (T.V. Pietro Abate) was patrolling off the island of Linosa when a lookout was swept overboard. The submarine turned back and searched for him for two hours, but in vain.
On 6 April, as Germany invaded Greece, Maricosom made no systematic effort to take part. Only the submarine Smeraldo sailed from Leros for a patrol south of Crete, joined a few days later by Serpente, while Sirena was ordered to patrol north of Crete. Adua was near the end of a patrol off Corfu while Jalea was off Bar (Yugoslavia). All these patrols proved fruitless.
On the evening of 10 April, Onice (C.C. Gustavo Lovatelli) was patrolling 100 miles north of Ras Kenayis (Egypt) when a convoy was sighted. This was the fast transport Breconshire escorted by the destroyers HMS Havock and HMS Hotspur (convoy A.S.F. 24). However, the latter spotted the submarine, and Onice was forced to disengage by going down to 40 meters as depth charges exploded.
Before midnight on 14 April, between Suda and Milos, Sirena (C.C. Rodolfo Scarelli) fired a single torpedo at an enemy destroyer believed to be of the Afridi class without success. Two days later, the submarine moved to a position fifteen miles west of Cape Maleas to intercept enemy convoys without finding anything.
The invasion of Yugoslavia provided the Regia Marina with three Yugoslav submarines captured at Kotor on 17 April. Capitano di fregata Luigi Caneschi, former commander of the submarine Atropo, led a detachment of Italian sailors to take them over. They were temporarily renamed N-1 (Ostvenik), N-2 (Smeli) and N-3 (Hrabri). In May, they were moved to Italy, where N-1 and N-2 were renamed Francesco Rismondo and Antonio Bajamonti, respectively. Both would be used mostly for exercises and a few short patrols. N-3 was never operational due to her poor state. A fourth submarine, Nebojsa, manned by a scratch crew, managed to escape to Alexandria but saw only training duty.
During the night of 15/16 April, an important Afrikakorps convoy (known as the Tarigo convoy) was annihilated near the Kerkenah Bank by a force of British destroyers based at Malta for the loss of HMS Mohawk. Italian submarines did not interfere, but Italian divers recovered code books from the wreck of the British destroyer.
The submarines Bragadino and Des Geneys carried out a short patrol off Pola to cover the passage of the brand-new battleship Roma (17-18 April).
On 18 April, the transport Breconshire sailed from Alexandria for Malta, escorted by the light cruiser HMAS Perth and the destroyer HMS Hotspur, and later screened by the battlefleet. The next day convoy M.E.71 sailed from Malta for Alexandria.
At dawn on 21 April, the Mediterranean Fleet2 bombarded Tripoli with impunity. No Italian submarine was in the vicinity.
In the first hours of 23 April, east of Malta, Settembrini (C.C. Alcide Bardi) fired two torpedoes, followed by a third, at a cruiser of the Leander class. All missed.
Two days later, Squalo (T.V. Lodovico Grion) observed a steamer followed by three submarines and reported them, erroneously, on an easterly course. She recognised them as French and refrained from attack. They were Dauphin, Espadon, and Phoque, on a westerly course, proceeding from Beirut to Bizerte to be disarmed.
As it became evident that a British evacuation from Greece was imminent, Adua (T.V. Luigi Riccardi) sailed from Taranto to reinforce the submarine force in the Dodecanese. She carried out a patrol north of Crete but sighted nothing.
On 26 April, in anticipation of a possible raid from a strong naval force that had sailed from Gibraltar, the submarines Colonna, Ametista, Da Procida, H.4, and H.6 were deployed in a defensive barrage in the Gulf of Genoa. This was Force H which had sailed the previous day with the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal to fly off aircraft to Malta (Operation DUNLOP). The light cruiser HMS Dido and the minelayer Abdiel, screened by six destroyers of the 5th Flotilla, were detached to bring stores to Malta (Operation SALIENT). This was accomplished without interference. Three days later, the submarines were recalled when the threat had receded. The Cagliari-based VII Grupsom failed to send a single submarine to intercept.
On the last day of the month, Turchese (T.V. Pier Vincenzo di Domenico) was operating about 120 miles north of Mersa Matruh, when she was detected and depth-charged by the destroyers HMS Juno and HMS Jaguar. She escaped by going down to 90-95 metres. Perhaps due to the depth-charging, her diesel engines developed defects, and she was forced to abandon her patrol three days later. During the attack, HMS Juno suffered from a premature explosion of a depth charge and had five killed and eleven wounded.
Atlantic
Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during April 1941
| Perla (…) | Guglielmotti (…) | Archimede (…) |
| Ferraris (…) | Calvi (…) | Glauco (…22 April) |
| Da Vinci (1-2 April)x | Da Vinci (3 April…) | Tazzoli (7 April…) |
| Dandolo (9-27 April)x | Baracca (10 April…) | Cappellini (16 April…) |
| Torelli (17 April…) | Malaspina (18 April…) | Morosini (30 April…) |
On 12 April, Admiral Parona proceeded to a purge of the submarine commanders who had proven the most ineffective. Four commanders were removed from the submarine service3.
Leonardo Da Vinci (C.C. Ferdinando Calda) sailed from Le Verdon on the first day of the month for an Atlantic patrol. Very soon, however, the submarine encountered rough weather, and a crew member was severely injured after being violently thrown against the casing. Da Vinci was forced to turn back to land him.
The next day, Finzi (C.C. Alberto Dominici) was patrolling 180 miles southwest of the Canary Islands when a convoy estimated at ten to fifteen ships escorted by destroyers was sighted; she attempted to close to attack. This was the SL.69 convoy from Freetown bound for Liverpool. The submarine was located by a seaplane launched from the light cruiser HMS Mauritius. It alerted the Free French sloop Commandant Dominé (Capitaine de corvette Jaquelin de la Porte de Vaux), who chased the submarine away after dropping three depth charges. Finzi tried to regain contact but failed. On 5 April, Calvi (C.C. Giuseppe Caridi), who was further north, attempted to intercept the same convoy but could not detect anything. She was directed toward different convoys on 8 and 9 April but could not locate them.
Capitano di corvetta Carlo Fecia di Cossato, who had taken over Tazzoli, sailed for his first Atlantic patrol in command. His first attack occurred on 8 April when he ordered the shelling of two Spanish drifters mistaken for the enemy. After five rounds, Cossato recognised his error, and fire was checked. On 12 April, the submarine fired a torpedo at a small cruiser or destroyer without result. Four days later, 460 miles west of Cape St. Vincent, Tazzoli intercepted the British Aurillac (4,248 GRT, built 1921) carrying manganese ore from Takoradi to Workington. Two torpedoes fired singly missed their target, the first through an error in angling. The submarine opened fire with her artillery. Though the steamer was hit, shooting was inaccurate, and Cossato finally sank her with a third torpedo. Of her crew of forty-one, twenty-two managed to reach Madeira. The remaining nineteen were picked up by a Portuguese ship, but one later died from exposure.
On 14 April, Baracca (C.C. Enrico Bertarelli), on patrol near Gibraltar, was proceeding at a depth of 45 metres when she was bombed by an aircraft and then depth charged by an unknown assailant. The corvette HMS Fleur de Lys claimed to have attacked a submarine; however, this is unlikely to have been Baracca as she was too far away or there was an error in the position recorded. Upon surfacing, the submarine was leaking oil, and probably this had attracted the aircraft. Her commander would be criticised by Admiral Parona for his lack of determination.
On the same date, Glauco (C.C. Luigi Baroni) was slightly damaged when she was attacked and heavily depth-charged (Baroni claimed that 130 explosions were heard) by the armed trawler HMT Scottish, later joined by HMT Loch Oskaig. She was finally forced to surface at 2230 hours. Fortunately, her attackers were gone; she escaped westward at high speed.
On 16 April, about sixty-five miles west of Tangier, Dandolo (C.C. Riccardo Boris) picked up a shadow on a southwest course at a range of 5,000 metres. This turned out to be a battleship with two destroyers. The submarine could not close and only made an enemy report. This was indeed the battleship Queen Elizabeth proceeding to Freetown with her local escort from Gibraltar, the destroyers Velox, Wrestler, and Fury.
At dawn on 21 April, some 300 miles west of Ireland, Cappellini (C.C. Salvatore Todaro) fired three torpedoes at two vessels believed to be armed merchant cruisers. They all missed. One of them was the Dutch steamer Berkel (2,130 GRT, built 1930), who replied with gunfire. Her escorts the armed trawler HMT St. Wistan, the sloop HMS Sandwich (from Gibraltar’s convoy OG.59) and the patrol vessel HMS Corinthian, arrived on the scene and dropped depth charges on the submarine, but the latter made its getaway with only slight damage.
The next day, off Freetown, Calvi (C.C. Giuseppe Caridi) attacked an unidentified armed ship with three torpedoes but also missed. On 28 April, she was operating in the same area and fired a single torpedo at the British Carperby (4,890 GRT, built 1928) again without result. The steamer radioed an SOS and escaped.
The circumnavigation of Africa (Part Two)
The four Italian submarines from Massawa continued their journey to Bordeaux. Unbeknownst to them, British Naval Intelligence had learned of their passage from Enigma intercepts and had sent two sloops, HMS Bridgewater and Milford, as well as the submarine Severn (Lt Cdr A.N.G. Campbell, RN), to dispose of them (Operation GRAB).
On the morning of 8 April, the British submarine was cruising submerged in the area where the Italian submarines were to meet with their German supply ship when a submarine was sighted and attacked with two torpedoes. They missed. This was almost certainly Archimede, the first submarine to reach the rendezvous. The same day at dusk, a second submarine was observed; this was probably Archimede again, but Severn was unable to get into an attacking position. Most likely, Archimede was sighted at noon the next day, but again without result. At dusk on 10 April, yet another submarine was spotted (probably Ferraris) and was attacked with four torpedoes and then with two more; all missed. For Severn, it was a frustrating experience: eight torpedoes expended without a single hit.
The Italian submarines had not observed any of the attacks and blissfully continued their route, unaware of the danger they had escaped from. British Intelligence knew of their refuelling rendezvous with a German supply ship in 25°00’ S, 20°00’ W, and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara was also searching the area. On the morning of 14 April, her seaplane discovered Nordmark disguised as the American Prairie, but did not detect the subterfuge. The same afternoon, the German supply ship contacted Archimede and Guglielmotti and, using visual signals, wisely ordered them to a new rendezvous in 25°00’ S, 26°00’ W. She supplied all four submarines with fuel and provisions: Archimede and Guglielmotti on 16 April, Ferraris on 17 April and finally Perla on 23 April. The operation had come in the nick of time for the four submarines, as the supply ship was their only hope of reaching home. They could now resume their voyage.
Red Sea
On 6 April, surviving Italian vessels were scuttled in Massawa. Two days later, British forces occupied the town, but in a Parthian shot, MAS-213 managed to torpedo the light cruiser HMS Capetown. The sloop HMAS Parramatta had to tow her to Port Sudan.
- These were the four transports that had arrived at Malta as convoy M.C.6 the previous month: transports Perthshire, City of Lincoln, City of Manchester, and Clan Ferguson, this time escorted out by the destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Janus, HMS Nubian, and HMS Diamond. ↩︎
- The Mediterranean Fleet: battleships Warspite (Flagship Admiral Cunningham), Barham, Valiant, Malaya, the light cruiser Gloucester, and nine destroyers. Aircraft from HMS Formidable (screened by the light cruisers Orion, Ajax, Perth, and four destroyers) provided air support and illumination of the targets. ↩︎
- These removals were not rare, and the submarine arm of most navies had several similar experiences, especially with the United States Navy in the months following the Pearl Harbour attack. In June 1941, Admiral Dönitz ordered the removal of Korvettenkapitän Hans Georg Fischer of U-109 after his first patrol; more such examples followed. ↩︎