February 1942
| 11 | February | Operation CERBERUS: the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, crossed the Channel and returned to Germany. |
| 12-16 | February | Convoy MW.9A/B failed to get through to Malta (Operation M.F.5). |
| 15 | February | Singapore surrendered. |
| 27 | February | Battle of the Java Sea. |
| 27-28 | February | Operation SPOTTER [1st attempt] (unsuccessful attempt to reinforce Malta with sixteen Spitfires). |
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during February 1942
| Millo (…1 February) Pt.2 | Cagni (1-5 February) Pt.1 | Cagni (7-9 February) Pt.2 |
| Ondina (8-18 February) | Menotti (8-26 February) | Brin (8-17 February) |
| Alagi (8-17 February) | Mocenigo (9-11 February)x | Dandolo (9-25 February) |
| Axum (9-21 February) | Aradam (9-21 February) | Turchese (9-21 February) |
| Tricheco (9-25 February) | Topazio (9-25 February) | Sirena (10-16 February) |
| Santarosa (10-14 February) | Malachite (10-26 February) | Perla (10-26 February) |
| Delfino (10-11 February)x | Narvalo (10-14 February) | Beilul (10-25 February) |
| Platino (10-26 February) | H.6 (10-15 February) | Colonna (10-15 February) |
| Dagabur (11-23 February) | Narvalo (14-25 February) | Santarosa (14-25 February) |
| Mocenigo (14-27 February) | Millo (23-25 February) | Brin (27 February…) |
| Turchese (27 February…) | Axum (27 February…) | Aradam (27 February…) |
| H.6 (28 February…) | H.4 (28 February…)x | Rismondo (28 February…) |
Rough weather was encountered by Alagi (T.V. Marco Revedin) patrolling off Cap de Fer. On 9 February, one of her lookouts was swept away. The submarine turned back to search for him, but it was in vain. The next day, the submarine was informed that a cruiser and a destroyer had been sighted on an easterly course. Alagi tried in vain to intercept, but only heard them with her hydrophones as they passed much further north of her position. Aradam, Axum, Brin, Narvalo, and Santarosa were also directed to intercept but did not observe anything. Only Aradam, off Cap de Garde, heard hydrophone effects at 2100 hours on the 10th and gave the alarm. These were the light cruiser HMS Cleopatra and the destroyer HMS Fortune, who reached Malta at noon on 11 February, but not before they came under heavy air attack from the Luftwaffe and were both damaged.
At about this time, eleven submarines were to be deployed north of Cyrenaica to intercept anticipated Malta convoys from Alexandria. Ondina sailed from Brindisi on the 8th of the month. The next day, Dandolo and Mocenigo sailed from Taranto, Menotti from Augusta, and Topazio and Tricheco from Messina. Finally, on the 10th, Sirena sailed from Brindisi, Malachite, and Perla from Messina, Platino from Augusta, and Delfino from Trapani but Mocenigo and Delfino, plagued by defects, had to turn back. Three days later, Mocenigo sailed again, but this time, it took a position southeast of Malta.
On 11 February, Malachite (T.V. Enzo Zanni), on her way to her patrol area, spotted an unidentified submarine south of Cape Spartivento. Both submarines were submerged, and contact was lost. This was HMS Upright (Lt J.W.D. Coombe, RN) on her way to form a patrol line in the Gulf of Taranto.
In the afternoon of the 12th, operation MF.5 was underway: two convoys sailed from Alexandria for Malta.[1] During the night of the 13th, a third convoy departed from Malta for Alexandria.[2] The Fifteenth Cruiser Squadron was to act as covering Force B for all three convoys.[3]
On the morning of 14 February, Ondina (T.V. Corrado Dal Pozzo) was submerged when she was shaken by the explosions of four bombs. This was possibly Hudson ‘Y’ of 459 Squadron (RAAF) as the aircraft reported dropping four 250lb bombs in the same area, but the times do not quite match. The same afternoon, it was the turn of Sirena (C.C. Rodolfo Scarelli) to be attacked while submerged by Hudson “Y” of 203 RAF/459 RAAF[4] Squadron (Flight Lt. Campbell with Wing Cdr. Johnson). Four depth charges were dropped, but two failed to explode. The submarine was damaged, a fuel leak forcing it to abort the patrol.
During the afternoon, Dandolo (T.V. Walter Auconi), patrolling about 100 miles north of Benghazi, had been warned of a convoy escorted by a battleship, three cruisers, and destroyers coming from the west in her direction. Distant noises were heard on her hydrophones, but nothing was seen. This was probably Force B (cruisers Naiad, Dido Euryalus, and destroyers) with convoy ME.10.
The same evening, north of Cyrenaica, Topazio (T.V. Bruno Zelik) attacked one of two destroyers with a stern shot but missed; they were probably screening ME.10. Immediately after the attack, Zelik took his submarine down to forty metres. However, no counterattack developed. The two westbound British convoys came under heavy air attacks. The transports Clan Chattan and Rowallan Castle were lost, while the damaged Clan Campbell had to turn back to Alexandria. The eastbound convoy managed to reach Alexandria without much damage.
Beilul (T.V. Francesco Pedrotti) and Dagabur (C.C. Alberto Torri) sailed from Leros on 10 and 11 February for patrols off Beirut and Port Said, respectively. British Intelligence learned through Ultra of their sortie and patrol zones. It is not certain that the information was useful as their patrol covered a large area (70 x 50 miles). None achieved any success. On 20 February, the destroyers HMS Arrow (later relieved by Southwold), Hasty, Havock, Hero, Heythrop, and Hursley carried out an anti-submarine sweep of the Levant coastal routes and off Famagusta (Operation M.F.6). On the 23rd, Heythrop detected a contact in 35°35’ N, 35°08’ E; it was hunted without result. Beilul’s eastern limit was the 34° E meridian, and she did not observe anything of interest.
After midnight, on 23 February, Tricheco (C.C. Giovanni Cunsolo) was struck suddenly by a large wave as she was patrolling about 220 miles north of Benghazi. The submarine nearly capsized as she pitched and rolled 60-70°. Her diesel engines broke down, and she was forced to use her electric motors. Acid from the batteries was spilled, and the crew had to don gas masks. For safety reasons, the four bow tubes were discharged. Cunsolo requested immediate assistance. The battleship Duilio was at sea, covering a convoy to Libya[5], and was about ninety miles from the submarine. She detached the destroyer Geniere to help her out. Geniere was herself in difficulty as winds reached Force 7-8 and signalled that she was unable to assist the submarine. Finally, the submarine Dandolo arrived on the scene and escorted Tricheco to Augusta.
At dawn on 27 February, HMS Eagle, carrying sixteen Spitfire fighters, sailed from Gibraltar in company with the battleship Malaya and five destroyers. Later, the aircraft carrier Argus, the light cruiser Hermione, and four destroyers joined them. This was Operation SPOTTER, but it had to be abandoned when long-range tanks proved to be defective, and they returned to base before midnight on the 28th.
On 27 February, Axum, Brin, Aradam, and Turchese sailed to form a patrol line near Majorca. Force H’s sortie did not appear to have prompted this, and the patrols were uneventful.
Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during February 1942
| Barbarigo (…16 February) | Bagnolini (…20 February) | Da Vinci (…) |
| Torelli (1 February…) | Finzi (5 February…) | Tazzoli (7-9 February)x |
| Morosini (11 February…) | Tazzoli (11 February…) |
The war with the United States had opened new opportunities for Axis submarines. A handful of German U-boats were causing devastation on the American East Coast. Operation PAUKENSCHLAG [DRUMBEAT] was underway. Italian submarines were also ordered to operate in the Western Hemisphere.
On 2 February, C.V. Polacchini, head of Betasom, issued orders for the submarines Finzi and Tazzoli to carry out a bombardment of Atlantic City and Berkeley, respectively; both cities were in the State of New Jersey. Three days later, a signal from Admiral Legnani ordered the operation immediately cancelled and warned Polacchini against entertaining similar ideas with other submarines.
On 5 February, Finzi (C.C. Ugo Giudice) sailed from Bordeaux to patrol the eastern Caribbean. Four days later, roughly 250 miles west of Porto, she observed two destroyers but appeared to have been detected by one of them as two depth charges were dropped. After being delayed by mechanical defects, Tazzoli (C.C. Carlo Fecia di Cossato) was sent to operate off the coast of Florida.
On 20 February, Torelli (C.C. Antonio De Giacomo) fired two torpedoes at the British Scottish Star (7,224 GRT, built 1917) on a voyage from Loch Ewe to Montevideo, scoring two hits. Six rounds were fired to stop the ship from transmitting an SOS before she was abandoned and sent to the bottom. Four were killed, fifty-two survivors were later picked up by the cruiser HMS Diomede, and another seventeen managed to reach Barbados. This sinking was followed by that of the Panamanian tanker Esso Copenhagen (9,245 GRT, built 1939), some 300 miles north-northeast of Paramaribo. She was carrying 15,000 tons of oil from Aruba to Buenos Aires. At mid-day on 25 February, two torpedoes missed. The submarine’s battery was low, and a new attack had to wait after midnight. After a torpedo hit and machine gun fire, the tanker was abandoned. The deck gun was used, and some ten rounds hit the target, but it would take another torpedo to finish her off. De Giacomo saw seven survivors clinging to an overturned raft and brought them to an unmanned lifeboat. One crew member had been killed; thirty-eight would survive.
On the evening of 23 February, Morosini (C.C. Athos Fraternale) came in sight of the British Sagaing (7,958 GRT, built 1925) and gave chase, but despite working up to a speed of 13 knots, she was unable to catch up.
Not to be outdone, Da Vinci (C.C. Luigi Longanesi Cattani) sank the Brazilian Cabedello (3,557 GRT, built 1912) on 25 February. She attempted to close the three lifeboats to interrogate the survivors, but desisted after she nearly rammed one of them in the heavy seas. None of the crew survived. On 27 February, it took her some ten hours and no less than eleven torpedoes and gunfire to dispose of the Latvian Everasma (3,562 GRT, built 1920); the latter was part of convoy TAW.12. There were fifteen survivors. The submarine had difficulty in reloading torpedoes in the rough seas.
[1] Convoy MW.9A: Clan Chattan and Clan Campbell escorted by the antiaircraft cruiser Carlisle and the destroyers Heythrop, Lance, Avon Vale, and Eridge.
Convoy MW.9B: Rowallan Castle escorted by the destroyers Southwold, Beaufort, Dulverton, and Hurworth.
Supermarina attempted to intercept them by sailing from Taranto on the evening of 14 February the light cruisers Duca d’Aosta and Montecuccoli (Seventh Cruiser Division, Admiral De Courten) screened by the destroyers Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, and Carabiniere (13^ Squadriglia), and from Messina the heavy cruisers Gorizia and Trento (Third Cruiser Division, Admiral Parona, former chief of Betasom) and the destroyers Aviere, Geniere, Camicia Nera and Ascari (11^ Squadriglia). They failed to make contact as the two convoys turned back, but the Italian squadrons came under attack from British torpedo bombers and the submarine HMS P36. The latter missed the cruiser Trento in a first attack but damaged the destroyer Carabiniere in a second one.
[2] Convoy ME.10: Clan Ferguson, City of Calcutta, and Ajax with HMS Breconshire escorted by the light cruiser Penelope and the destroyers Sikh, Zulu, Legion, Lively, Fortune, and Decoy.
[3] Force B: the light cruisers Naiad (CS.15), Dido and Euryalus, and the destroyers Jervis (D.14), Kipling, Kelvin, Jaguar, Griffin (D.2), Arrow, Hasty and Havock.
[4] There is controversy over whether the Hudson bomber was technically part of 203 Squadron (RAF) or the newly formed 459 Squadron (RAAF). The aircraft had been part of the former and was being transferred to the latter at the time.
[5] The battleship Duilio, screened by the destroyers Aviere, Camicia Nera, Ascari, and Geniere, sailed from Taranto in the early hours of the 24th as part of the cover for two convoys to Libya (operation K.7).