October 1941
General Events
| 16 | October | Odessa was taken by German forces. |
| 16-19 | October | Operation CALLBOY (passage of Force K [HMS Aurora and Penelope] and Fleet Air Arm reinforcements to Malta by HMS Ark Royal). |
Mediterranean
Italian submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during October 1941
| Onice (…1 October) | Bandiera (…1 October) | Axum (…2 October) |
| Serpente (…2 October) | Aradam (…2 October) | Diaspro (…2 October) |
| Delfino (…2 October) | Squalo (…2 October) | Perla (…3 October)[1] |
| Turchese (…4 October) | Dandolo (…4 October) | Narvalo (…5 October) |
| Tricheco (…7 October) | Malachite (…8 October) | Guglielmotti (…16 October) [2] |
| Onice (1-2 October) | Onice (2-3 October) | Ambra (2-3 October) |
| Corallo (3-5 October) | Ambra (3-5 October) | Bandiera (3-4 October) |
| Onice (3-4 October) | Speri (4-5 October) | Onice (4-5 October) |
| C.B.2 (5-7 October) | C.B.4 (5-7 October) | Onice (5-6 October) |
| Onice (6-7 October) | C.B.6 (7-9 October) | Onice (7-8 October) |
| H.8 (7-8 October) | Onice (8-9 October) | Jalea (9-12 October) |
| Onice (9-10 October) | Dagabur (10-26 October) | Saint-Bon (10-13 October) Pt.1 |
| C.B.3 (10-11 October) | Aradam (10-21 October) | Bandiera (10-20 October) |
| Onice (10-11 October) | Topazio (11-27 October) | Argo (11-24 October) |
| Onice (11-12 October) | Zaffiro (12-28 October) | Onice (12-13 October) |
| Onice (13-16 October) | Saint-Bon (14-17 October) Pt.2 | C.B.1 (14-15 October) |
| C.B.5 (14-15 October) | Cagni (15-18 October) Pt.1 | C.B.4 (16-17 October) |
| C.B.3 (16-17 October) | Turchese (16-21 October) | Serpente (16-21 October) |
| Diaspro (16-21 October) | Alagi (16-21 October) | Atropo (17-22 October) Pt.1 |
| C.B.5 (17-18 October) | Ascianghi (17-24 October) | Squalo (17-20 October) |
| Narvalo (17-21 October) | Settembrini (18-21 October) | Delfino (18-20 October) |
| Beilul (18 October) | Cagni (18-22 October) Pt.2 | Beilul (19 October) |
| Uarsciek (19 October…) | C.B.5 (22-23 October) | C.B.1 (22-23 October) |
| Atropo (23-26 October) Pt.2 | Axum (23 October…) | Santarosa (23 October…) |
| Alagi (24 October…) | Diaspro (24 October…) | C.B.5 (25-26 October) |
| C.B.6 (25-26 October) | C.B.5 (26-27 October) | C.B.6 (26-27 October) |
| C.B.3 (27-28 October) | C.B.4 (27-28 October) | C.B.5 (28-29 October) |
| Dandolo (30 October…) |
On 2 October, the anti-submarine trawler Lydiard, patrolling off Haifa, attacked a submarine with depth charges. She was later joined by the destroyer HMAS Vendetta and the corvette HMS Hyacinth. It is possible that Fisalia survived the depth charge of 28 September and was sunk in this attack.
Bandiera (T.V. Carlo Forni) was on a defensive patrol near Trapani when, on 4 October, a submarine was sighted. This was almost certainly HMS Urge (Lt Cdr E.P. Tomkinson, RN) returning to Malta from a secret mission near Palermo. As the Italian submarine dived for the attack, she lost her hydrophone contact and could not locate her target anymore. The previous day, the British submarine had just carried out an unsuccessful attack on U-331 (KL Freiherr Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen). This time Bandiera was not detected.
Three days later, a needless tragedy hit the Italian submarines when Squalo accidentally discharged her gun in Trapani harbour. One rating was killed and two wounded on this submarine; Bandiera and Narvalo also suffered one wounded each.
The same day, Tricheco (T.V. Carlo Gandolfo) was attacked by a Blenheim bomber near Augusta but defended herself vigorously with accurate anti-aircraft fire and drove the aircraft off.
On 10 October, Onice (C.C. Loris Albanese) had just carried out her 22nd one-night antisubmarine patrol off Benghazi and was returning to port when an enemy submarine was observed. One torpedo missed, and three rounds from her deck gun forced the enemy to submerge. This was HMS Regent (Lt W.N.R. Knox, RN) who mistook the Italian submarine for a small destroyer.
On the morning of 12 October, Guglielmotti (T.V. Federico Tamburini) was sailing home from Betasom. As she entered the Mediterranean, an unknown submarine was sighted off Melilla. She attempted to close but lost contact. This was almost certainly HMS Porpoise returning to Gibraltar.
On the afternoon of 12 October, the transport submarine Ammiraglio Saint Bon (C.C. Gustavo Miniero) was attacked near Bardia by an RAF bomber, probably a Beaufort of 39 Squadron piloted by Sergeant Harvey, but survived the attack. Three days later, on her return trip, she was again attacked south of Crete by Blenheim ‘C’ (Z9544) of 203 Squadron, piloted by Pilot Officer Van der Water, but the bombs missed by fifty metres on her starboard side.
German submarines were beginning to operate off the Egyptian coast. On 17 October, about sixty miles west of Alexandria, U-97 (KL Udo Heilmann) was the first to draw blood by sinking the Greek transport Samos (1,208 GRT, built 1889) and the small British tanker Pass of Balmaha (758 GRT, built 1933).
During the early hours of 17 October, sixteen Wellington bombers attempted to destroy the torpedo factory in Naples. Some thirty-eight tons of bombs were dropped, including three ‘cookies’ (4,000-lb bombs) without much success. Civilian buildings were hit; there were twelve dead and thirty-seven wounded.
Informed of a sortie by a British squadron from Gibraltar, Supermarina ordered Maricosom to send four submarines to patrol off Cap de Fer (Algeria). Alagi, Aradam, Diaspro, Serpente, and Turchese sailed from Cagliari to form a patrol line.
The Italian submarines were 200 miles east of Force H,[3] which arrived north of Algiers on 18 October. Without interference, HMS Ark Royal flew off eleven Albacore of 828 Squadron and two Swordfish (one failed to arrive) to Malta (operation CALLBOY). The light cruisers Aurora, Penelope, and destroyers Lance and Lively were detached to Malta to bring thirty-eight aircraft torpedoes and heavy anti-aircraft ammunition. The four ships were to form a striking force known as Force K.
In the afternoon of 20 October, the submarines Serpente (T.V. Renato Ferrini) and Diaspro (C.C. Antonio Dotta) successively came within sight of Force K, but each time at over 10,000 metres. They could not close to attacking range.
Atropo (T.V. Libero Sauro), a transport submarine, was attacked on 19 October by a Beaufort (Pilot Officer Bone) of 39 Squadron while on a supply mission to Bardia. The submarine stayed on the surface and repulsed the attack without suffering damage.
Before dawn on the same day, Ammiraglio Cagni (C.F. Carlo Liannazza), returning from a transport mission to Bardia, was discovered by HMS Kandahar, which fired three rounds before the submarine submerged. The destroyer screened the minelayer HMS Abdiel with HMS Griffin and HMS Jaguar. They carried troops to Tobruk (Operation CULTIVATE) and did not linger to hunt the submarine.
Naples was heavily damaged by Wellington bombers during the night of 16/17 October and again during the night of 21/22 October when 4,000-lb bombs were used. The torpedo factory was targeted but escaped severe damage. Naval units were not hit.
Accidental sinking of Zoea
On 22 October 1941, Zoea (T.V. Alberto Campanella) was accidentally sunk at her moorings in Taranto harbour. There were no victims, and the submarine was raised on 5 November. It would take several months of repairs before she could return to active service.
During the evening of the last day of the month, Santorre di Santarosa (T.V. Pietro Abate) was patrolling ten miles west of Ras Engela (or Angela, Tunisia) when the French steamer Gouverneur Général Lépine (3,509 GRT, built 1928) was seen but left undisturbed, as her passage was known to Italian authorities. Shortly after, an illuminated tanker was observed, but as she had been unannounced, Abate suspected her of being an enemy ship disguised as French. The submarine stalked her and fired two warning shots. She was the French P.L.M. 20 (5,417 GRT, built 1920). A signal reporting her passage escorted by the torpedo boat La Bombarde was deciphered just in time as offensive action was about to be taken; she was allowed to proceed.
Atlantic
Italian submarine patrols in the Atlantic during October 1941
| Da Vinci (…1 October) | Archimede (…2 October) | Marconi (5-28 October*) |
| Ferraris (14-25 October*) | Archimede (16 October…) | Barbarigo (22 October…) |
Argo (T.V. Alberto Crepas) sailed from La Pallice for Italy, but she was still north of Cape Finisterre when she was attacked on 13 October by Hudson ‘I’ (AM553) of 233 Squadron piloted by Flying Officer Haigh. The first anti-submarine bomb missed the submarine by about a hundred metres on her port side. The submarine kept the aircraft at bay by firing no less than fifty-one rounds of 100mm and 478 rounds of 13.2mm ammunition. She reported being missed by another three anti-submarine bombs, which fell about fifty metres from her, and she finally dived and crawled away.
The Battle of Convoy HG.75
More Italian submarines were returning to Italy, but on 23 October, it was learned that a convoy had sailed from Gibraltar. This was convoy HG.75, which was formed of sixteen merchant ships[4] and heavily defended by no less than thirteen escorts [5], although they were not all present at a given time. It had sailed in the afternoon of 22 October, having been delayed for a few days by the presence of U-boats west of Gibraltar. On 17 October, the destroyers Lamerton, Duncan, and Vidette swept the area to clear it, but they failed to find anything. The 37th Escort Group had carried another sweep with the corvette Carnation attacking a contact. On the 19th, Carnation, joined by Vidette and Mallow, had attacked another contact, which was claimed sunk and was most likely U-204. When Axis spies reported the imminent departure of the convoy, Admiral Dönitz ordered U-432 and the U-boats of the Breslau group (U-71, U-83, U-204, U-206, U-563 and U-564) to attack it.
At the same time, Betasom, having been informed of the presence of this convoy, had ordered two submarines to join the battle and were vectored on the convoy. These were Guglielmo Marconi (C.C. Livio Piomarta) and Ferraris (T.V. Filippo Flores), both already on patrol in the Atlantic. They would be joined by Barbarigo (C.C. Enzo Grossi), who had just sailed from Le Verdon. At the same time, Archimede (C.C. Marino Salvatori) was proceeding toward Gibraltar on her way back to Italy. Captain Polacchini, who had replaced Admiral Parona at the head of Betasom, requested permission from Supermarina to interrupt her voyage and divert her to the attack. This was granted.
The convoy had not gone far when U-71 (KK Walter Flachsenberg) reported it just before midnight. Soon after, U-564 (OL Reinhard Suhren) and U-206 (KL Herbert Opitz) were also in contact. The following night, U-563 (OL Klaus Bargsten) drew first blood by torpedoing HMS Cossack. This destroyer had gained fame by boarding the German supply ship Altmark and liberating prisoners from the victims of the raider Graf Spee. HMS Cossack had also led a night attack on the German battleship Bismarck. Attempts to tow her to Gibraltar failed, but she finally sank on the morning of the 27th. At dawn on the 24th, U–564 sank in succession the Carsbreck (3,670 GRT, 1936), the commodore ship Ariosto (2,176 GRT, 1940), and the Almaha (1,352 GRT, 1938), but the U-boat had expended all her torpedoes and could only keep contact to guide the other U-boats. At about the same time, Archimede arrived on the scene and observed star shells in the distance. Captain Polacchini submitted his submarines with a series of orders to proceed to different positions to intercept the convoy. His constant interference was not of great help, and trying to control a battle from a distance was not very fruitful. By contrast, Dönitz restricted himself in providing information to his U-boats, giving them the latitude to decide the best course to follow.
Loss of Ferraris
On the morning of 25 October, Ferraris was attempting to catch up with the convoy when Catalina ‘A’ of 202 Squadron, piloted by Squadron Leader N.F. Eagleton spotted the submarine from a distance of five miles and closed into the attack. Flores mistook the aircraft for a German Focke Wulf 200 Kondor and did not react in time. The aircraft strafed the submarine and dropped two bombs, but they failed to explode. Eagleton failed to provide the position of the attack, and it was only by chance that the destroyer HMS Lamerton, on her way to Ponta Delgada (Azores) to refuel, came across the Italian submarine. At a range of 9,200 yards, Lamerton opened fire and claimed to have scored a direct hit with her first salvo. Ferraris replied ineffectually with her two 100mm guns (only a fragment of a near miss would hit the destroyer). This was T.V. Filippo Flores’ first patrol in command. He had previously been the executive officer of Mocenigo, and his inexperience showed. Mistaking the warship for a corvette, Flores thought he could outrun it but soon realised that the enemy was gaining on him. Lamerton was still 6,300 yards away when he decided to scuttle the submarine rather than dive. The decision was prompted by the leaking of oil caused by machine gun bullets, which pierced the saddle tanks and would undoubtedly help the enemy track the submarine. Five men were drowned, including the engineer officer who had stayed behind to make sure that the submarine was sinking and could not escape in time. The remaining fifty-two men were picked up. The submarine was one of the four units that had escaped from Massawa earlier in the year.
In the early hours of 26 October, U-83 (Oberleutnant Hans-Werner Kraus ) discovered the convoy and hit the fighter catapult ship HMS Ariguani, with two torpedoes. The vessel was abandoned, and the crew was picked up by HMS Campion and the Free French sloop Commandant Duboc. It was soon realized that the vessel was not sinking, and her captain and a small party returned on board. Three days later, the tug Thames, escorted by HMS Jonquil, arrived and managed to take her in tow, and she was brought back to Gibraltar, where they arrived on 2 November.
On the afternoon of the 26th, Marconi contacted the convoy. At about the same time, U-83 and U-71 reported that they had expended their torpedoes and were short of fuel, forcing them to return to base. The next day, U-564 was trailing the convoy, and despite the bad weather, she managed to load two torpedoes from her deck containers and fired one of them at a freighter, claiming a hit. The same morning, Archimede, unable to make more than 11 knots in the rough seas, closed to 3,000 metres from the convoy. Five or six merchant ships escorted by four destroyers were plodding along, but before an attack could be mounted, two destroyers turned toward the submarine, which was accurately depth-charged and forced to go down to 120 metres. After some rudimentary repairs, she had suffered some damage and tried to catch up with the convoy but never made contact again. On 1 November, she gave up the chase and returned to base.
Loss of Guglielmo Marconi
At 0515 hours on the 28th, Marconi observed distant star shells in position 40°45’ N, 21°35’ W and, at 1150 hours, made a weather report from 41°55’ N, 21°55’ W. This was the last message received from her. The Italian official account listed her last known position as 42°55’ N, 21°55’ W; this was a typographical error or an error in translating the Quadratino position. At 1332 hours, HMS Duncan observed a surfaced submarine five miles away and raced at 26 knots to attack it. A U-boat had been located by HF/DF astern of the convoy, and the destroyer had left the convoy to search for it. Since it was known that her Asdic was not working correctly, HMS Lamerton had also been detached from the convoy. She was now diverted to assist Duncan. In position 42°05’ N, 21°50’ W, Duncan gained contact and dropped a pattern of depth charges set at medium depth. Her Asdic broke down, and another pattern was dropped by ‘eye’ set this time deep, resulting in a giant air bubble. A single depth charge was dropped set at 500 feet. Two small explosions were heard at 1440 hours, and five minutes later, HMS Lamerton arrived on the scene but could not gain contact. It is believed that Marconi was sunk in this attack, but we will probably never know. She disappeared with her crew of five officers and fifty-five ratings. Duncan had also damaged Archimede on the previous day.
C.C. Livio Piomerta had volunteered to take over Marconi, replacing T.V. Mario Paolo Pollina, who was on sick leave. Piomerta, as commanding officer of Ferraris, had operated off Massawa and successfully brought his submarine to Bordeaux. This was his first Atlantic patrol. He was awarded the Medaglia d’Oro posthumously.
The only remaining Italian submarine was Barbarigo. During the afternoon of 26 October, she had been submerged by a big wave and took five tons of water through the hatch. She had tried to catch up with the convoy but without much success. During the night of 28/29 October, she was forced down by an enemy destroyer but was not attacked. She surfaced three hours later, and Capitano di Corvetta Grossi reported that his boat had been missed by a torpedo. This attack was bogus as no submarines, allied or enemy, operated in the area.
Without further incident, Convoy HG.75 reached Liverpool on 3 November. It had lost four freighters and the destroyer HMS Cossack (escort senior officer) to German U-boats; the fighter-catapult ship Ariguani was hit by two torpedoes and badly damaged.
The Italian participation ended in a complete failure as the two surviving submarines failed to close and attack the convoy.
For the Betasom submarines, the battle of convoy HG.75 marked a turning point.
This was their last attempt to mount a combined attack on a convoy in the Atlantic. From then on, the submarines operated independently and attacked isolated ships, but their most significant successes were yet to come.
There were several reasons for this failure, but the most glaring were:
- Lack of training. Of the four submarine commanders, one was on his second Atlantic patrol in command of a submarine, and the other three were on their first patrol. To throw them into battle against a well-defended convoy was unwise, to say the least.
- The constant intervention of Captain Polacchini. He should have limited himself to supply them with information rather than trying to control a battle from a distance.
- The submarines’ performance, especially their lack of speed, kept them at the convoy’s rear, and they could not position themselves ahead, which could have provided them with a better opportunity to attack.
On the last day of the month, Barbarigo discovered a convoy on a westerly course with an escorting destroyer and a submarine that did not appear Italian or German [no allied submarine participated in the escort, and HMS P36 operated much further to the east]. This was convoy OS.10. Barbarigo could not attack, but her enemy report was relayed to German U-boats, which would record successful attacks.
[1] Force H: Battleship HMS Rodney, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, light cruiser HMS Hermione, escorted by HM destroyers Cossack, Sikh, Zulu, Forester, Foresight, Fury, and Legion.
[2] Arrived from the Atlantic.
[3] Arrived from the Atlantic.
[4] British Alhama, Ariosto, Blairdevon, Carsbreck, Como, Empire Bay, Empire Brook, Empire Snipe, Empire Wolfe, Harperley, Merkland, Pacific, Tadorna, Ulea, and Wallsend and the Norwegian Ruth I.
[5] Local escort: destroyers Cossack (D.4, senior officer), Legion, Vidette.
Ocean escort: the fighter catapult ship Ariguani, the destroyer Lamerton, and the Free French sloop Commandant Duboc. At nightfall, the 37th Group, which had sailed ahead on an anti-submarine sweep, reinforced the escort with the sloop Rochester (senior officer), the destroyer Campbell, and the corvettes Bluebell, Carnation, Heliothrope, La Malouine, and Mallow.
On 24 October, the destroyer HMS Duncan sailed from Gibraltar to reinforce the escort and then to escort convoy OS.9G (Gibraltar section of OS.9).