May 1941

General Events

1	May	Revolt led by Rashid Ali. Iraqi Army units attacked British forces.
2	May	Operation TEMPLE failed (attempt to supply Malta by the disguised transport Parracombe).
4-12	May	Operation TIGER (convoy from Gibraltar to Alexandria via Malta).
19-22	May	Operation SPLICE (aircraft reinforcements to Malta).
20	May	German paratroopers began landing in Crete.
24-25	May	The battlecruiser HMS Hood, the largest warship in the world, was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The brand-new battleship HMS Prince of Wales was hit and forced to retire.
27	May	Bismarck was sunk in action with the Home Fleet.
28	May	An Italian amphibious force landed in Eastern Crete.

Mediterranean

Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during May 1941

Settembrini (…4 May)	Fisalia (…4 May)	Galatea (…7 May)
Turchese (…7 May)	Squalo (…8 May)	Adua (…11 May)
Settimo (…12 May)	Santarosa (…12 May)	Ambra (1-7 May)x
H.6 (1-2 May)	H.4 (1-2 May)	H.6 (2-3 May)
H.4 (2-3 May)	Ascianghi (2-14 May)	Sirena (3-10 May)
Tricheco (7-8 May)	Beilul (8-14 May)	H.8 (8-9 May)
Corallo (8-12 May)	Salpa (9-25 May)	H.4 (9-10 May)
H.1 (9-10 May)	H.8 (9-10 May)	Atropo (9-12 May) Pt.1
Atropo (13-15 May) Pt.2	H.6 (13-14 May)	H.1 (13-14 May)
Ambra (13-21 May)	Tricheco (13-29 May)	Uarsciek (13-30 May)
Zoea (14-17 May) Pt.1	Fisalia (14-31 May)	Topazio (15 May…)
Scirè (15-23 May)[3]	Onice (16-31 May)	Galatea (16-26 May)
Zoea (18-20 May) Pt.2	Atropo (18-20 May) Pt.1	Malachite (18 May…)
Menotti (18-28 May)	H.8 (18-19 May)	Squalo (19 May…)
Diaspro (21-23 May)	Corallo (21-23 May)	Atropo (21-24 May) Pt.1
H.8 (21-22 May)	Speri (22-23 May)	Zoea (23-26 May) Pt.1
Dessié (23 May…)	Scirè (24-31 May)	Adua (24 May…)
Smeraldo (26 May…)	Sirena (26 May…)	Zoea (27-29 May) Pt.2
Nereide (27 May…)	Alagi (28 May…)	Speri (30-31 May)
Turchese (31 May…)

The transport Parracombe bringing Hurricane fighters to Malta, passed the Strait of Gibraltar on the night of 28/29 April. It was an attempt to supply Malta by unescorted merchantmen disguised as French vessels (Operation TEMPLE). On 2 May, she was mined and sunk near Cape Bon.

On 5 May, Force H, the 15th Cruiser Squadron, and destroyers sailed from Gibraltar to screen the important TIGER convoy (five transports carrying tanks for Egypt). The convoy ran into a minefield; the transport Empire Song was sunk and New Zealand Star damaged, but the four surviving transports reached Alexandria. Force H came under heavy air attacks as it returned home. No submarine was in a position to intercept.

After midnight on 9 May, some seventy miles west of Malta, Settimo (C.C. Mario Spano) fired three torpedoes at four small vessels, without results. These were probably Breconshire escorted by the destroyers Hotspur, Havock, and Imperial.

On 21 May, the Yugoslav submarines Smeli, Ostvenik, and Hrabri, taken in prize at Teodo, were escorted by the torpedo boat Angelo Bassini to Spalato and the following days to Zara and Pola where they were assigned the names of N 1, N 2 and N 3 respectively. Eventually, the first two were renamed Antonio Bajamonti and Francesco Rismondo and were used for training only; the third was found to be inoperable and broken up.

The same day, following a report that Force H had sailed eastward from Gibraltar, the submarines Corallo (T.V. Gino Andreani) and Diaspro (T.V. Antonio Dotta) sailed from Cagliari to intercept them but save from hearing hydrophone noises, they found nothing and returned to base two days later. In fact, the force consisting of the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Furious, the battlecruiser Renown, the light cruiser Sheffield, and destroyers, had successfully flown off five Fulmars and forty-seven Hurricanes to Malta (operation SPLICE). The Furious was damaged in a collision, but otherwise, the force returned to Gibraltar unscathed.

The invasion of Crete

As the invasion of Crete developed, Italian submarines were ordered to create a ring around the island. The following submarines were deployed:

Adua (T.V. Luigi Riccardi) in 34°40′, 24°50′ E. Patrol was then taken over by Alagi (T.V. Giulio Contreas).
Dessié (T.V. Adriano Pini) in 34°50′ N, 24°20′ E.
Fisalia (C.C. Girolamo Acunto) west of Cerigotto Channel and off C. Spada.
Malachite (T.V. Enzo Zanni) in 34°40′ N, 25°30′ E.
Nereide (T.V. Augusto Migliorini) 12 miles north of Cape Chersonese.
Onice (C.C. Gustavo Lovatelli) in Kaso Straits.
Sirena (C.C. Rodolfo Scarelli) in 35°08′ N, 26°47′ E.
Smeraldo (T.V. Bartolomeo La Penna) southwest of Cape Krio in 35°10′ N, 23°20′ E.
Squalo (T.V. Lodovico Grion) off Koupho Island (south of Crete). Turchese (T.V. Pier Vincenzo di Domenico) then took over the patrol.
Topazio (C.C. Emilio Berengan) in Cerigotto Channel.

Despite this concentration, on 21 May, only Onice (C.C. Gustavo Lovatelli) had the opportunity to fire three torpedoes at three destroyers eight miles south of the Kaso Straits without achieving any result. They were the destroyers Jervis (D.14), Nizam, and Ilex (Force E) on their way to shell and neutralise Scarpanto aerodrome as the invasion of Crete began. HMAS Nizam spotted one of the torpedoes and took avoiding action. Italian submarines came under heavy criticism for having failed to attack a single ship during the occupation of Crete, while the Royal Navy was severely mauled by the Luftwaffe.

Italian submarines were increasingly used to transport stores and ammunition to North Africa. Atropo (C.C. Bandino Bandini) initiated the first of many missions, bringing to Derna on 12 May seventy-eight tons of ammunition for the Afrika Korps. On the following trip, she was returning from Derna on the morning of 22 May when she was sighted by five destroyers of the 5th Flotilla under Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, HMS Kelly (D.5), Kashmir, Kelvin, Kipling, and Janus. They had sailed from Malta to reinforce the 7th Cruiser Squadron with the battleship Warspite to the west of Crete. They dropped a total of fifty depth charges in a period of three hours, but Admiral Cunningham recalled them, and Atropo escaped without suffering any damage. Kelly and Kashmir were both lost to dive-bombers the following day.

By the end of the month, following a costly German airborne assault, the island of Crete was in Axis hands. An Italian force landed unopposed on the east coast of the island. It was under the orders of C.V. Aldo Cocchia, former commanding officer of Torelli and former Chief of Staff at Betasom. The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses but managed to extricate half of the Crete garrison.

Despite the conquest of Greece, the situation of Italian submarines in the Mediterranean was not as rosy as it seemed. On 22 May 1941, Admiral Falangola wrote to the Comando Supremo and gave an outline of the situation after nearly one year of war. There were fifty-eight submarines^[1] available in the Mediterranean, of which twenty-six could not be used for offensive operations in metropolitan waters. These were the five types “H”, Colonna, and Da Procida, which only could be used for defensive patrols in the Gulf of Genoa; nine submarines were assigned for training at the Pola School; three minelayers were transformed for use as transport submarines, six were based in the Dodecanese and Scirè was used for special missions. Of the remaining thirty-two, twenty-one were old (built 1927-1931), making only an average of 50% available at any one time for missions.^[2]

Atlantic

Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during May 1941

Da Vinci (…4 May)	Baracca (…4 May)	Guglielmotti (…7 May)
Archimede (…7 May)	Ferraris (…9 May)	Calvi (…13 May)
Torelli (…16 May)	Cappellini (…17 May)	Malaspina (…20 May)
Perla (…20 May)	Morosini (…22 May)	Tazzoli (…23 May)
Bianchi (2-28 May)	Barbarigo (5-30 May)	Otaria (8-24 May)
Argo (19 May…)	Mocenigo (20 May…)	Veniero (20 May…)
Emo (22-27 May)x	Marconi (24 May…)	Brin (27 May…)
Velella (28 May…)	Emo (29 May…)

Admiral Parona visited Lorient on 15 May 1941.

On 2 May, Betasom ordered the submarines Cappellini, Torelli, Malaspina, and Morosini to respectively occupy, from north to south, squares between 59° N and 53° N and with a western limit of 25° W. During the night of 3/4 May, some 430 miles west of Ireland, Malaspina (T.V. Giuliano Prini), encountered the British Lycaon (7,552 GRT, built 1913) but attempts to launch a torpedo, mechanically and then manually, from no.4 tube failed. The target disappeared in a rain squall but was spotted again an hour and a half later. This time, two torpedoes misfired. Finally, one left the tube but missed. The steamer replied with gunfire, but her shooting was wild, and she finally made off in a rain squall.

On 11 May, during a period of maintenance, a torpedo man accidentally discharged a torpedo from the No.4 tube, which had twice misfired, causing damage to the torpedo tube as the bow cap was closed. Four days later this would not prevent the submarine from diving to 126 metres. Upon her return to base, an inquest presided by C.V. Polacchini reprimanded Prini and his executive officer Paolo Monechi for the errors during the two attacks. Of the two ratings directly responsible for the accident, one would receive a prison term, and the other would be transferred to a surface unit. Prini was still in command of Malaspina when she would be lost with all hands in September. He would be awarded the Medaglia d’Oro posthumously. His executive officer was more fortunate, having transferred before and obtained the command of Mocenigo. This was later followed by the command of the new submarine Tritone, which would be lost on her first patrol off Bougie, but Monechi would survive.

On the morning of 7 May, about 400 miles west of Conakry, Tazzoli (C.C. Carlo Fecia di Cossato) attacked the Norwegian Fernlane (4,310 GRT, built 1927). It took three torpedo hits to send her to the bottom, but there were no victims. The crew of thirty-two and her three passengers reached Caravela Island (Bissagos Archipelago, off West Africa) by their own means. The same afternoon, Barbarigo (C.C. Giulio Ghiglieri) was informed that a German bomber had ditched in the sea and combed the area until the next morning without finding the survivors. During the night of 9/10 May, she finally located a convoy of thirty ships which had been reported earlier in the day. A destroyer appeared to have been detached from the convoy to investigate; the submarine fired a single torpedo. Nothing was heard and the enemy did not appear to have been aware of the attack. Forced down by aircraft, Barbarigo abandoned the chase the next morning.

After midnight on 10 May, Tazzoli had an encounter with another Norwegian vessel Alfred Olsen (8,817 GRT, built 1934). This vessel tried desperately to escape. It required no less than eleven torpedoes, fired singly (probably three of them were hits), as well as gunfire to sink her after a chase of over ten hours. Her crew of thirty-four distributed in three lifeboats would all be rescued. On the same date, Barbarigo (C.C. Giulio Ghiglieri) unsuccessfully attacked a destroyer in a large convoy.

At dusk on 13 May, west of Ireland, Morosini (C.C. Athos Fraternale) fired two rounds at the British Vancouver (5,729 GRT, built 1928), who made an SOS and replied with ten rounds before taking off. Morosini’s shooting was wild because of heavy seas, the rounds falling 3,000 metres short of their target, and Fraternale, nicknamed ‘The Musketeer of the Atlantic,’ did not insist. The following afternoon, he discovered the British Manchester Port (5,569 GRT, built 1935), but despite efforts, could not close the range. After midnight, the same vessel was the target of Barbarigo, with five torpedoes delivered in three attacks, scoring one hit on the stern section. Despite her damages, the vessel managed to escape.

On 14 May, Cappellini (C.C. Salvatore Todaro) stopped the French fishing vessel Notre Dame du Châtelet (453 GRT, built 1921) on her way from St. Malo to the Newfoundland banks. She was examined, her papers found to be in order, and she was released. The next day, the unfortunate vessel came across U-43 (Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Lüth) and was sunk without warning. On 23 May, two of her survivors were picked up by Otaria (C.C. Giuseppe Vocaturo) as she was returning to Bordeaux.

On 15 May, Bianchi (C.C. Franco Tosoni Pittoni) was trying to catch up with a convoy when she was caught on the surface by Wellington ‘J’ of 221 Squadron, piloted by Squadron Leader Montague-Smith. The aircraft dropped three depth charges as the submarine dived without causing serious damage. She was apparently hunted by the destroyers HMS Winchelsea and Vanquisher but without success. Before sundown, Malaspina was trailing the same convoy and was attacked by Catalina ‘Z’ of 209 Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant D.F. Spotswood, which released a bomb. This was followed by a hunt from the corvette HMS Hibiscus, later joined by Rhododendron. They depth-charged the submarine, which escaped to a depth of 126 metres. A short time later, the same aircraft attacked Morosini without result, and she was probably hunted by the same corvettes.

Coastal Command was proving to be an enemy to reckon with. On 16 May, it was now the turn of Barbarigo to be attacked by Catalina ‘B’ of 210 Squadron, piloted by Flying Officer Coutts. The submarine tried to dive, but the hatch did not close properly. At a depth of twenty metres water started to rush in. She was forced to surface and opened fire with her Breda guns but was herself strafed by the aircraft, which was hit and could not release its depth charges. Barbarigo had a fuel tank perforated; Ghiglieri, S.T.V. Angelo Amendola, and the gunner Carbonetti were slightly wounded, but the submarine escaped.

On 19 May, Malaspina was attacked by Sunderland ‘J’ of 10 Squadron (RAAF), piloted by Flight Lieutenant J. Costello. The aircraft dropped four depth charges; they widely missed their mark, and a burst of machine-gun fire from her rear and port midship’s side turrets did not do better. After replying with her anti-aircraft guns, the submarine managed to submerge without being molested.

In the early hours of 20 May, Otaria (C.C. Giuseppe Vocaturo) sank the British Starcross (4,662 GRT, built 1936). She was on a voyage from Lagos and Freetown to Hull, part of convoy SL.73. Her forty crew members were rescued by HMCS St Francis and Bancroft.

On 23 May, Tazzoli was attacked by Beaufort ‘K’ of 217 Squadron (piloted by Sergeant Harper) as she was near the mouth of the Gironde. She was missed by six bombs and claimed to have shot the bomber down, but one of her gunners was seriously wounded; his leg had to be amputated. The aircraft was damaged by return fire and crash-landed at Penzance with all its crew injured and would be a total write-off.

In the early hours of 24 May, Velella (T.V. Pasquale Terra) was sailing from Le Verdon for an Atlantic patrol when she encountered the German blockade runner Alsterufer (2,729 GRT, built 1939) on her way to Bordeaux escorted by M-boats from the 8th Minensuchflottille. They collided slightly, and the submarine had to delay her departure by four days. Her commanding officer was reprimanded.

On the same afternoon, west of Porto, Mocenigo (C.C. Alberto Agostini) observed a submarine that did not reply to her recognition signals. This was HMS Pandora which fired two rounds at the Italian submarine. Agostini took his boat down and attempted a torpedo attack but failed to get a hydrophone contact. The British submarine was on passage from Gibraltar to Portsmouth. The Italian submarine did not have better luck when, on 30 May, she attacked the tanker British Yeoman (6,990 GRT, built 1923) with four torpedoes fired singly, all missed.

Operation B.G.3

Scirè (C.C. Junio Valerio Borghese) crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and proceeded to Cadiz, where she picked up a team of divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS from the supply ship Fulgor (night of 23/24 May). Before midnight on 26 May, the submarine surfaced off Gibraltar to carry out operation B.G.3. As the three SLCs were about to leave, they were disappointed to learn that their targets had left harbour. In fact, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the battle cruiser Renown had sailed on the 24th to hunt the German battleship Bismarck. The SLC teams were made up of: T.V. Decio Catalano/S.C. Pal. Giuseppe Giannoni, T.V. Amedeo Vesco/S.C. Pal. Amelio Franchi and S.T.V. Licio Visintini/S.C. Pal. Giovanni Magro. In reserve: Ten. G.N. Antonio Marceglia/S.C. Pal. Spartaco Schergat. The three SLCs were launched but the one piloted by Vesco broke down and had to be sunk. Soon after it was Marceglia’s maiale that had to be abandoned. Only Visintini attempted to attach his two charges to a tanker, but his SLC sank and the attempt was abandoned. The six men swam to shore and were assisted by the local Italian organization; they soon rejoined Italy.

In the meantime, the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen had broken out in the Atlantic, sunk the battlecruiser HMS Hood, and put to flight the brand-new battleship Prince of Wales. But retribution was at hand, Bismarck was hunted relentlessly by the Home Fleet and Force H. On 27 May, with her steering gear out of control, the pride of the German Navy was in difficulty. U-boats were ordered to her assistance. Of the Italian submarines, only Barbarigo was within range, but the rough weather prevented her from making good progress. At 1330 hours, she was informed that Bismarck had been sunk, and she resumed her return passage. The next day, she was told to rescue the survivors, by this time, she was 190 miles away and did not turn back. C.C. Giulio Ghiglieri would incur criticism for having failed to do so.

Further southward, Argo, Veniero, Marconi, and Mocenigo were ordered to form a patrol line to intercept Force H, which was returning to Gibraltar. At sundown on 28 May, Argo (T.V. Alberto Crepas) sighted a submarine, which did not answer recognition signals. This was HMS Severn which attempted to get into an attacking position without success. The British submarine had sailed from Gibraltar for a patrol when the breakouts of the German warships were announced. She was the same submarine that had attacked without result the Italian units from Massawa and her luck had not improved. The following day, Argo discovered a convoy but could only make an enemy report.

During the night of 29/30 May, Veniero (T.V. Manlio Petroni) attacked a destroyer with a single stern shot and claimed, without foundation, to have hit her. This was HMS Forester; she was later joined by HMS Fury, and the submarine was hunted for two hours. She reported twenty-eight depth charges dropped, some very close, but got away unscathed.

The next day at dawn, Mocenigo fired five torpedoes singly at the British Tanker British Yeoman (6,990 GRT, built 1923) but failed to stop the ship. Instead of using his gun, for which he would incur criticism, Agostini took his submarine down in the hope of gaining a more favourable position but soon lost contact. The tanker reported being torpedoed but reached Gibraltar with little damage. She may have been hit by a torpedo which failed to explode.

A few hours later, Marconi (T.V. Mario Paolo Pollina) fired four torpedoes, in two pairs (two of 533mm and two of 450mm), at the British motor tanker Cairndale (8,129 GRT, built 1939); one hit was enough to sink the vessel. Four were killed. The survivors were rescued by the tug St. Day and brought to Gibraltar.

The circumnavigation of Africa (Part Three)

The four submarines from the Red Sea successfully completed their voyage around Africa and reached Bordeaux:

Guglielmotti and Archimede on 7 May.
Ferraris on 9 May.
Perla on 20 May.

British RDF located Guglielmotti at 0347 GMT on 6 May as she was making her final approach to Bordeaux, but it was too late to intercept her.

The four Italian commanders and their crew received an enthusiastic welcome and the congratulations of a grateful Admiral Riccardi. Their exploits greatly boosted Italian morale.

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^[1]      Fieramosca had been radiated, and the three Balilla-class submarines were too old to be operational.
^[2]      Cf. Corrispondenza e Direttive Tecnico-Operative di Supermarina (Vol. II) by Francesco Mattesini (USMM, Rome, 2001).
^[3]      Scirè briefly entered the Atlantic to pick up divers at Cadiz.