June 1944
| 4 | June | American troops entered Rome. |
| 6 | June | Allied forces landed in Normandy (Operation OVERLORD/NEPTUNE). |
| 9 | June | Marshal Badoglio resigned. Bonomi formed a new government. |
| 19 | June | The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot decimated the Japanese Fleet Air Arm. |
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during June 1944
| Platino (21-29 June) |
Sinking of Giovanni Bausan
The old submarine Giovanni Bausan had been transformed into the oil floating depot G.S.R. 251. She had been found in Brindisi at the Armistice. On 9 June, she was towed and anchored in 41°29.5′ N, 16°20.5′ E (off Barletta) to be used as a floating target by the RAF and was sunk sometime later. The wreck was found in 1999 and mistaken for the submarine HMS Regent, known to have been mined near Monopoli in April 1943.[1]
British and Italian frogmen were brought to La Spezia by the destroyer Grecale (Commander B. Bonza di S. Martino) to sink the heavy cruisers Bolzano and Gorizia, who were to be used as block ships by the Germans. The operation was under the orders of Captain Ernesto Forza of the Regia Marina and was carried out during the night of 21/22 June. The chariots were transferred to MS.74 (Sub-Lt Piero Carminati). They were launched under three miles from the La Spezia breakwater. One was manned by Petty Officer Cook Conrad Leonard Berrey and Stoker First Class William Kenneth Lawrence, and the other by Sub-Lt R.M. Causer, RNVR, and Able Seaman H. Smith. They had for objectives Gorizia and Bolzano, respectively. The chariot manned by Berrey/Lawrence developed defects and had to be abandoned and scuttled on a small beach. Lawrence was captured, but Berrey managed to escape. The other team reached the breakwater, where they reported that the two heavy cruisers were alongside and had planted their explosives under Bolzano. The following morning, photographic reconnaissance showed that the heavy cruiser had capsized. Doubts were later raised that the attack had succeeded, as Bolzano was moored at the Garibaldi mole and Gorizia was in the basin for repairs.
Gamma men (Midshipmen F. Berlingeri and Andrea De Angelis and Sottocapo Nocchiero [Petty Officer] Corrado Gianni) were also dropped some 300 yards from the breakwater by MTSM-248 (T.V. Luigi Durand de la Penne of the famed Alexandria maiali attack) and MTSM-250 (T.V. Cugia), the latter was to recover the frogmen.[2] Their targets were submarines at Muggiano and a large merchant vessel that could be used as a blockship. Midshipman Francesco Berlingeri claimed to have attached two limpets to a submarine. This was unconfirmed, as the only submarines present were Ambra and Wolframio, and were scuttled at the time of the Armistice and not repaired. The only available submarine was Aradam and she was presently at Genoa. De Angelis and Gianni failed to find the merchant ship.
During the night of 25/26 June, Platino (T.V. Vittorio Patrelli Campagnano) transferred three agents and material to a partisan fishing boat off Porto Garibaldi (Comacchio, northern Adriatic) and picked up a fourth (Special Operation DRUPE). One of the agents landed was the radio operator Arturo Spazzoli who collaborated with the Zella mission; he was later caught by the Germans and executed.
In June, at Monfalcone, Beilul (under German control) was scuttled following damages from air raids.
On 9 June, Vortice (T.V. Giovanni Manunta) departed from Bermuda for Casco Bay (Maine), escorted by the destroyer USS Stafford (DE-411). She would conduct ASW exercises there until January 1945.
Operational control of Mameli (T.V. Cesare Buldrini) was transferred from the British to the Americans in Bermuda on 24 April, and in June, she began extensive training with Task Groups. These ASW squadrons usually consisted of an escort carrier and five or six destroyer escorts (DEs). The crew of Mameli was particularly adept at evasive tactics, which was noted with appreciation in the American reports. On 28 June, the escort carrier USS Card (CVE-11) and her five escorts (Task Group 22.10) had just concluded an exercise with Mameli, using sono-buoy, some ninety miles east of Bermuda. Barely a week later, 200 miles off Nova Scotia, they put their newly-acquired training to the test when they intercepted U-233 and sent her to the bottom.
On 30 June, Onice (C.C. Ferdinando Boggetti) and Jalea (T.V. Giuseppe Ridella), escorted by the destroyer escort USS Fessenden (DE-142) departed from Gibraltar for Bermuda to reinforce the ASW training force, but Jalea developed engine defects and had to turn back.
On 2 June, Giada (T.V. Mario Barazzuoli) sailed from Colombo for Trincomalee for more anti-submarine exercises before returning to Colombo on 19 June.
[1] The wreck was found about 1,500 metres from its initial position, at a depth of 39 metres. In 2020, it was examined by a team led by Fabio Bisciotti, who confirmed its identity.
[2] Gamma men are reported to have trained in applying limpets with the submarine Marcantonio Bragadino acting as a target during the night of 12/13 June at Taranto, though it is not clear if these were the same men who carried out the attack at La Spezia.