December 1940
General Events
| 2 | December | The Italian armies in Greece were retreating, and the military situation appeared critical. |
| 6 | December | Marshal Pietro Badoglio (Chief of Italian General Staff) resigned. He was replaced by Marshal Ugo Cavallero. |
| 8 | December | Admiral Domenico Cavagnari (Under-Secretary of State for the Navy) resigned. He was replaced by Admiral Arturo Riccardi. |
| 9 | December | The Western Desert Force began a counter-offensive to force back the Italian forces from Egypt. |
| 11 | December | Sidi Barrani was retaken by British forces. |
| 19-24 | December | Force H sortied from Gibraltar to cover the passage of the battleship Malaya, five destroyers and two transports from Malta to Gibraltar (operation WHITE). |
On 3 December 1940, Supermarina produced a sobering report concerning the performance of Betasom submarines. It noted the modest results obtained due to the lack of training of submarine commanders and their crew in the traffic war. Despite the large number of individual sightings (111) and convoys (6), relatively few had been attacked compared to their German counterparts. Also noted were the deficiencies of the material and the excessive visibility provided by their massive conning towers and the periscope standards which had allowed potential targets to escape; these would subsequently be altered. It was suggested that training for the attacks on convoys be provided at Gotenhafen. The following spring, it would lead to the dispatch of the submarine Giuliani for this very purpose.
The following day, disappointed by the performance of Italian submarines, Admiral Dönitz decided to stop the attempt to coordinate their operations with German U-boats. His decision appeared premature as some submarines had not yet reached Bordeaux, and most had hardly any time to get accustomed to the harsh conditions of the Atlantic. However, on 13 December, following the return of Argo, he declared himself satisfied that this was the first successful patrol from an Italian submarine in the Atlantic. This sudden reversal is suspect, other Italian submarines having had equally successful patrols before. It is certain that the German Admiral did not approve of the arrival of Italian submarines in HIS theatre, but for now, he was subordinate to Admiral Raeder and would have to follow orders.
Organisation on 15 December 1940
I Grupsom (La Spezia, C.F. C. Corvetti)
| H.1 | H.4 | H.6 |
| Millelire | Sciesa | Scirè |
II Grupsom (Naples, C.F. D. Emiliani)
—
III Grupsom (Messina, C.F. G. Biagi)
| Bausan | Capponi | Colonna |
| Da Procida | Mameli | Settembrini |
| Settimo | Speri |
IV Grupsom (Taranto, C.F. Francesco Padolechia)
| Ametista | Atropo | Corridoni |
| Delfino | Jalea | Jantina |
| Micca | Narvalo | Squalo |
| Tricheco | Zaffiro | Zoea |
V Grupsom (Leros, C.F. A. Mirone)
| Anfitrite | Beilul | Galatea |
| Naiade | Neghelli | Nereide |
| Ondina | Onice | Sirena |
| Tembien |
VI Grupsom (Tobruk)
VII Grupsom (Cagliari, C.F. G. Di Gropello)
| Alagi | Aradam | Axum |
| Corallo | Diaspro | Turchese |
Grupsom Trapani (C.F. Luciano Morra)
| Bandiera | Manara | Menotti |
| Santarosa |
Grupsom Brindisi (C.F. L. Caneschi)
| Des Geneys | H.2 | H.8 |
| Medusa | Pisani | Uarsciek |
Initially used for patrols during the war with Greece, it was relegated as a base for submarines based in Leros to refit (V Grupsom).
Grupsom Augusta (C.F. M. Lazzeri)
| Ambra | Ascianghi | Dagabur |
| Dessié | Malachite | Salpa |
| Serpente | Smeraldo | Topazio |
Flottiglia Massaua (Massawa, C.C. C. Spagone)
| Archimede | Ferraris | Guglielmotti |
| Perla |
XI Grupsom (Betasom, Bordeaux, Rear-Admiral Parona)
| Argo | Bagnolini | Baracca |
| Barbarigo | Bianchi | Brin |
| Calvi | Cappellini | Da Vinci |
| Dandolo | Emo | Faà di Bruno |
| Finzi | Giuliani | Glauco |
| Malaspina | Marcello | Marconi |
| Mocenigo | Morosini | Nani (lost) |
| Otaria | Tarantini | Tazzoli |
| Torelli | Velella | Veniero |
Commando Gruppo Scuola, SMG. (Pola, Training, C.C. F. Buonamici)
| Adua | Balilla | Bragadino |
| Fieramosca | Fisalia | Toti |
Mediterranean
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during December 1940
| Delfino (…1 December) | Dessié (…1 December) | Nereide (…1 December) |
| Sirena (…1 December) | Tembien (…2 December) | Diaspro (…2 December) |
| Aradam (…2 December) | Da Procida (1-11 December) | Jalea (1-11 December) |
| Ametista (1-9 December) | Zaffiro (2-5 December) | Atropo (3-8 December) Pt.2 |
| Jantina (3-4 December)x | Naiade (7-14 December*) | Narvalo (8-19 December) |
| Neghelli (11-22 December) | Ambra (11-21 December) | Sciesa (12-21 December) |
| Millelire (13-17 December) | Smeraldo (15-27 December) | Malachite (15-30 December) |
| Serpente (18-25 December) | Dessié (18-27 December) | Onice (19-31 December) |
| Settembrini (21 December…) | Da Procida (21-31 December) | Salpa (21-30 December) |
| Zoea (22-26 December) Pt.1 | Zaffiro (22-31 December) | H.8 (22-23 December) |
| Bandiera (22-27 December) | Jalea (26 December…) | Dagabur (27 December…) |
| Ambra (30 December…) | Turchese (30 December…) |
Torpedoing of HMS Coventry
In the evening of 13 December, 70 miles north of Mersa Matruh, Neghelli (C.C. Carlo Ferracuti) attacked a light cruiser of the Southampton class with three torpedoes. The target was the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry on her way to join convoy AN.10. She was hit and lost part of her stem, but there were no casualties. Two minutes later, a fourth torpedo (450mm) failed to finish her off, and the cruiser managed to limp away at 13 knots. She was joined after midnight by HMS Mohawk, Hyperion, and Diamond of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla and a few hours later by Jervis, Janus, and Hereward of the 14th Flotilla. Jervis and Janus took over the escort. They reached Alexandria without further incident.
Loss of Naiade
The other four destroyers remained behind to carry an antisubmarine sweep. They were rewarded when the submarine Naiade (T.V. Pietro Notarbartolo di Villarosa) was detected off Bardia by HMS Hyperion at 1821 hours on 14 December and attacked with a pattern of four depth charges. The submarine was at a depth of 40 metres and was badly shaken; the lights were put out, and the depth gauge was out of service. The destroyer lost contact. However, at 1835 hours, the submarine was seen surfacing. She immediately came under fire from HMS Hereward and Hyperion as they opened up with their 4.7-inch (120mm) guns and even 0.5-inch (12.7mm) machine guns. Within a short time, the submarine was abandoned and sank. Five officers, ten petty officers, and forty-one ratings were rescued; one rating drowned.
The next morning, Giovanni Bausan (C.C. Francesco Murzi) was proceeding for exercises in very bad weather when she ran aground near Punta Val di Torre di Brioni Maggiore (Pola). She was damaged, and Murzi was reprimanded.
In the afternoon, Malachite (T.V. Enzo Zanni), who had sailed from Augusta, opened fire on a bomber of the Blenheim type. This was actually a Maryland of 69 Squadron (RAF) returning from a reconnaissance mission over Taranto and Crotone. It was piloted by Flying Officer Adrien Warburton, who machine-gunned the submarine but had no bombs to drop. Warburton would have a remarkable career as a reconnaissance pilot before being killed in a mission over Germany in 1944.
At 0200 hours on the 19th of the month, the old submarine H.2 (T.V. Gaetano Iaccarino), whilst moored in Naples next to the heavy cruiser Pola, was damaged by a fire in the battery compartment but would be quickly repaired.
Accompanied by the battleships Warspite and Valiant, HMS Illustrious was on her way to Suda Bay. At dawn on the 17th, from a position north of Crete, she flew off eleven aircraft to attack Rhodes and Stampalia. No Italian submarines were within range to intercept.
Serpente (T.V. Antonio Dotta), on patrol east of Malta, attacked a cruiser or Tribal-class destroyer with two torpedoes. She claimed a hit and reported it as listing. This was after midnight on 20 December, and the target was probably the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta with convoy MW.5B, who escaped damage.
Vice Admiral Somerville had taken Force H1 to sea to cover the passage from Malta to Gibraltar of the battleship Malaya, the destroyers Hyperion, Hero, Hasty, Hereward, and Ilex, as well as the transports Clan Forbes and Clan Fraser (Operation WHITE). In the early hours of 22 December, Hyperion was mined and sunk some twenty miles northwest of Pantelleria while Ilex had to turn back. The movement of the British forces appeared to have been unobserved, and the only submarine that operated in the western Mediterranean was Bandiera (T.V. Pietro Prosperini). She departed from Trapani for a patrol in the Sicilian Channel only in the evening of 22 December, too late to intercept the enemy force.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, Settembrini (C.C. Alcide Bardi) discovered a submarine about 18 miles northeast of Ras El Tin (Libya). She fired one torpedo and missed but Bardi elected to dive and disengage instead of carrying out further attacks, as the target appeared similar to the Tembien class. In fact, this was HMS Otus who had also dived and mistakenly believed the Italian submarine had launched a torpedo guided on her Asdic impulses.
Following the difficulties encountered by minelaying submarines in October, Atropo (C.C. Bandino Bandini) laid an experimental minefield off Taranto on 27 December. The operation did not appear to have been a great success., as no offensive minefield would be laid by Italian submarines for the remainder of the war.
Atlantic
Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during December 1940
| Marcello (…1 December) | Finzi (…4 December) | Giuliani (…7 December) |
| Argo (…12 December) | Tarantini (…15 December*) | Velella (…25 December) |
| Mocenigo (…26 December) | Calvi (3-31 December) | Emo (5 December…) |
| Veniero (5 December…) | Bagnolini (8 December…) | Bianchi (13-19 December) |
| Brin (13-18 December) | Tazzoli (13 December…) | Nani (13-17 December)x |
| Nani (20 December…) | Da Vinci (21 December…) | Cappellini (22 December…) |
| Glauco (23 December…) |
On 1 December, Argo (T.V. Alberto Crepas) came within sight of the Canadian destroyer Saguenay, who had lost contact with her convoy (HG.47) and fired one torpedo from her bow tubes, hitting the warship and causing serious damage. Twenty-one men were killed. But the submarine was unable to finish her off as two subsequent single shots from her stern tubes missed. Three hours later, HMS Hyperion arrived on the scene and took off five officers and eighty-five ratings. A skeleton crew consisting of five officers and fifty-three ratings remained on board, and she was towed by the tug Schelde, reaching Barrow-in-Furness on 5 December.
By dawn on 2 December, Argo was in contact with a convoy (this was HX.90) under attack as a torpedo hit was heard from about 4,000 metres. A couple of hours later, she fired a single torpedo at the destroyer HMCS Saint–Laurent but this time missed. Two days later, the submarine was attacked by a Sunderland aircraft but managed to keep it at bay before diving to sixty metres and making her escape. She had better luck on 5 December when, with a single torpedo, she sank the British Silverpine (5,066 GRT, built 1924) in ballast from convoy OB.252 and bound for New York. Of her crew, thirty-six men were killed; nineteen were picked up by the destroyer HMS Harvester, who attempted to hunt the submarine unsuccessfully. On the 11th, Argo suffered a tragedy when a wave swept away her First Officer T.V. Alessandro de Santis. Efforts to recover him were in vain.
In the meantime, Mocenigo (C.C. Alberto Agostini) crossed the Straits of Gibraltar on 30 November. Two days later, she was off Cape St. Vincent when a destroyer came into view at a range of about 9-10,000 metres, and the submarine closed to attack. But the destroyer HMS Kelvin, also discovered the submarine, and the hunt began. She had been screening the battleship Royal Sovereign, who had also sighted Argo from a range of eight miles. The Italian submarine was forced deep and escaped the depth-charging that followed but was unaware of the presence of the battleship. Italian submarine lookouts were handicapped by the binoculars they used. Humidity fogged the lenses, and they became useless after a few days. Later, a survivor picked up by the British would ruefully confide under interrogation that ‘they were only suitable for the opera.’ Eventually, some of them would be equipped with the German Zeiss type deemed to be much superior to their own (an opinion shared by their British counterparts). Even these were not immune from the harsh Atlantic weather, and a German crew usually had to carry several spares.
During the night of 8/9 December, Bordeaux was raided by the Royal Air Force. The accommodation ship De Grasse was straddled by bombs but escaped a direct hit; however, she was covered with fragments when a bomb hit the quay beside her. Less lucky was Usaramo, who suffered a direct hit and had to be beached to prevent her from capsizing. Cap Hadid was set afire by another bomb hit. The sleeping accommodations ashore were not spared either, and two Italian sailors were seriously wounded; one from the submarine Dandolo later died. Two Marines from the San Marco Battalion were killed. The airfield at Merignac (used by the Focke Wulf Kondor 200 long-range bombers of KG.40) also came under attack.
Loss of Capitano Raffaele Tarantini
Tarantini (C.C. Alberto Iaschi) encountered heavy seas while on passage to Bordeaux. Her executive officer was seriously injured, and a rating was lost overboard. On 2 December, she reported a severe depth-charging, but she may have witnessed the attacks on Argo. By 15 December, she was in view of the French coast when her lookouts were distracted by an approaching German convoy2, which was thought to be their escort. She was torpedoed by HMS Thunderbolt (the former Thetis now under the command of Lt Cecil Barnard Crouch, RN) and sunk. The submarine had fired a full salvo from her six internal bow tubes, and this was the first reward for the British anti-submarine patrols off the Gironde estuary. Five survivors, including the exec officer, were recovered from the cold waters by the German patrol boat V-401, who had seen the incident and rushed to the scene, but Captain Iaschi drowned before he could be rescued. In all, seven officers and forty-nine ratings were lost. A rescue operation led by Capitano di corvetta Alberto Carlo Teppati of the submarine Marcello and a team of deep-sea divers was organised. The bad weather hampered the attempt, and it was abandoned. In two months, Teppati would himself disappear with his submarine in the North Atlantic.
Velella (T.V. Pasquale Terra) passed Gibraltar on 1 December and, on the 17th, stopped the Spanish Castillo Andrade (3,457 GRT, built 1914) on passage from Las Palmas to Vigo with a cargo of fruit. After her papers were examined, she was allowed to resume her voyage.
On 13 December, Nani (C.C. Gioacchino Polizzi) sailed from Bordeaux for her first Atlantic outing. She was not very far out when she encountered bad weather, and an officer and rating were injured. She turned back to land them at Pauillac, where she arrived on 17 December. The two men were lucky as Nani would not return from her patrol. The submarine was still moored at Pauillac during the night of 17/18 December when she witnessed an RAF raid and opened fire with her four Breda machine guns, claiming to have shot down an enemy bomber. This was possibly a Beaufort of 217 Squadron, which crashed near Vannes. The same raid resulted in a bomb hit, which damaged the mechanism of a revolving bridge near the lock at Bordeaux. The departures of Cappellini and Da Vinci were delayed until it was repaired. The Beauforts of 217 Squadron carried out other raids on the night of 20/21 December, on 23/24 December, and again on 26/27 December, especially aimed at No. 1 Basin in Bordeaux.
Veniero (C.C. Manlio Petroni) was patrolling west of Ireland; at dawn on the 18th, she came across Anastassia (2,883 GRT, built 1905) from convoy SC.15d. The Greek vessel was en route from Sydney (Nova Scotia) to Belfast with a cargo of timber. Petroni ordered two forward and one stern tubes to be readied. After firing one torpedo from a bow tube and missing, the submarine turned to fire from the stern tube. This was a hit, and the ship finished off with five rounds from the deck gun. The ship sank very slowly, Petroni attempted to assist the survivors but could only pick an Englishman. At dusk, the submarine returned to the scene. Anastassia was still afloat, and, despite orders to the contrary, Veniero went alongside and took off eight more survivors. Sixteen men had perished.
Also on 18 December, Benedetto Brin (T.V. Luigi Longanesi Cattani), who had escaped from Tangiers, arrived off the Gironde but was greeted by gunfire and heard four explosions. This was the submarine HMS Tuna (Lt Cdr Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO) with an opportunity to emulate Thunderbolt’s success three days before. The British submarine also fired a salvo of six torpedoes and opened fire with her deck gun. Brin had time to fire back two torpedoes. They all missed. Tuna now fired two torpedoes from her external torpedo tubes. They were spotted in time by the Italian lookouts, and the submarine turned away. They passed astern on her port side. Two other submarines were distant witnesses. Bianchi observed the action but was too far to intervene while HMS Tribune heard three explosions which were probably the torpedoes detonating on the seabed.
The same day, Calvi (C.C. Giuseppe Caridi) experienced bad luck with two single torpedo attacks on the armed merchant cruiser HMS Worcestershire (11,432 GRT, built 1931). Both torpedoes had erratic courses and failed to find the target. A few hours later, she attempted a gun attack, but the rough seas made it difficult. After firing ten rounds, she broke off the action when the cruiser replied with at least two guns. On the other hand, Bagnolini (C.C. Franco Tosoni Pittoni) dispatched the British Amicus (3,660 GRT, built 1925) with a single torpedo hit; of her crew of thirty-six, none survived.
Calvi had better fortune on 20 December when she attacked the British Carlton (5,162 GRT, built 1924) from convoy OB.260d. The first three torpedoes missed, the fourth found its mark, and the vessel sank in six minutes. The survivors were in two lifeboats, and the British captain was asked if they needed anything; his only demand was for cigarettes. The position given by her SOS was thirty miles off, which may explain why only four survivors were found; thirty-one perished. Calvi would fire a single torpedo at a large ship on 26 December before returning to Bordeaux in time for New Year’s Eve.
Emo (C.C. Giuseppe Roselli Lorenzini) missed the Norwegian tanker Varangberg (2,842 GRT, built 1915) with two torpedoes. She was proceeding alone after the dispersal of convoy OB.260 on 20 December. The Norwegian was lucky, as shortly after, she escaped attacks from U-95 (KL Gerd Schreiber). The same night Tazzoli (C.C. Vittore Raccanelli) also reported missing a tanker with a single torpedo.
On 21 December, after repeated attacks, Mocenigo (C.C. Alberto Agostini) finally sank the Swedish Mangen (1,253 GRT, built 1922) from convoy OG.47. Eight men were lost, and her survivors were picked up by the Swedish steamer Garm. But the submarine’s luck ran out when, the following afternoon, she opened fire on the British Sarastone (2,473 GRT, built 1929). She was carrying 4,060 tons of coal, but due to a defective boiler, she had lost contact with convoy OG.47. The merchant ship replied vigorously with a 12-pdr, firing off twenty-three rounds. Her machine gun also joined the action as the range closed. Hampered by heavy seas, Mocenigo was forced to break off the action; but she had lost two ratings overboard as she was trying to catch up with her target, and two more were left behind when she crash-dived. Sarastone was fortunate as she had only seven rounds left. Her luck ran out in October 1941 when she was sunk by a German bomber.
On Christmas day, Tazzoli (C.C. Vittore Raccanelli ) fired twenty-nine rounds at the British Everleigh (5,222 GRT, built 1930) and claimed to have scored some hits, but this was not the case as the vessel managed to escape after replying with a gun. Two days later, the Italian submarine had better luck when she managed to sink the British Ardanbhan (4,980 GRT, built 1929) from convoy OB.263. Thirty-eight men perished, and there were no survivors. Despite this success, Raccanelli would be criticised by his own executive officer, Carlo Fecia di Cossato, for his extreme caution. On his previous patrol, Raccanelli had also come under criticism for failing to engage HMS Talisman when the British submarine had attacked her near the Gironde. Admiral Parona would concur, and after this patrol, Cossato would take over the command of the submarine which would become one of the most successful Italian submarines of the war. Finally, on 30 December, Betasom ordered Tazzoli to finish off the steamer Bodnant which had made an SOS. The British ship had collided with the City of Bedford and was disabled. Da Vinci, who was also in the vicinity, joined the fray but then intercepted a signal from Oporto reporting that Bodnant had now sunk and the chase was called off.
Veniero had initiated her return home when she was located by Sunderland ‘B’ (N9049) piloted by Flight Officer V.A. Hodgkinson from 10 Squadron (RAAF). The aircraft had been searching for a convoy when, during the morning of 27 December, a submarine was sighted half submerged at a range of three miles; four depth charges were dropped, but Veniero had time to dive and escaped without damage.
Red Sea and Indian Ocean
Italian submarine patrols in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean during December 1940
| Ferraris (4-8 December) | Ferraris (23-30 December) |
No notable events.
- Force H: battle cruiser Renown, aircraft carrier Ark Royal, light cruiser Sheffield, and eleven destroyers. ↩︎
- This was the French steamer Château Yquem escorted by the German patrol boats V 401, V 407 and V 409. The minesweepers M 2, M 10, and M 13 had actually been detailed to escort her to Royan. ↩︎