The sinking of CALIFORNIA is described in: Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Quoting Eric Zimmerman's work on aircraft attack on U-boats: only one submarine was sunk by a Beaufort and this was shared with the destroyers HMS Pakenham and HMS Hursley. The victim was the Italian Narvalo. See the Italian section of this site for details: Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Fabrizio, The identity of the ship torpedoed by BRIN has yet to be found. Curiously, the diaries of the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean makes no mention of this attack except that a U-boat was sighted and attacked by HMS CONVOLVULUS. The only sources confirming this attack are two signals from HMS WISHART which are mentioned in the War Diary Summaries (ADM199/2266 and ADM199/2267). T
Forum: General Discussions

See: Congratulations to Kostas Thoctarides and his team. The depth is 203 metres so outside the normal range of divers but it has been examined by ROV. Another wartime mystery solved! The story of her last patrol and secret operation ISINGLASS (SOE) was described in Chapter 11 of my book "Target Corinth Canal 1940-1944". Captain Atkinson of SOE was shot for having m
Forum: General Discussions

Hello, I have been asked to give my views on the disappearance of the submarine HMS Turbulent. She was lost during a patrol off Naples in March 1943. This was the third patrol off Naples for Commander Linton and the three patrols are examined to try to get some clues of what happened. For those interested in the subject, this was published on the Linton blog: Comments are welcome. Pl
Forum: General Discussions

"Is not all that deep"? Actually depth is the most serious obstacle as it is about 2,000 metres. Perhaps Robert Ballard or his successors might be induced to search for the wreck. It is indeed regrettable there does not seem to be much interest in it. Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hello, I assume that when the wreck of U 250 was raised by the Russians, the Enigma coding machine was recovered and probably some secret documents. These were not shown to British naval officers although they were permitted to examine three torpedoes. Can anyone shed light if the Russians had any success in deciphering Enigma as did the British and Americans? Many thanks. Platon
Forum: General Discussions

It is with great sadness that I heard today of the passing away of my dear friend Francesco De Domenico. Francesco had an excellent knowledge of the merchant navies of the World and was a frequent contributor of this forum. I had the privilege of meeting him several times during my visits to Rome. He was the President of the AIDMEN association and was kind enough to translate my article on the Fr
Forum: General Discussions

Dr Fabio Bisciotti interviewed on Italian TV (TELEBLU) on 13th May 2022 (broadcast on the 14th) about the discovery of the wreck of the submarine Giovanni Bausan (originally mistaken for HMS Regent) off Barletta in the Adriatic. Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Another link posted by Professor Timmy Gambin with some interesting photographs:
Forum: General Discussions

Last week in Malta we were invited at a number of events for the commemoration of the loss of HMS Urge (27th April 1942). With dives occurring on 25th April to deploy a White Ensign on the wreck as well as a commemorative plaque. The movie of these dives shown at a screening at the University of Malta the same afternoon. The next evening we were privileged to watch a movie in virtual reality at t
Forum: General Discussions

The target may have been U-66. She reported two depth charges at that time but the position seems to be off (her KTB shows that she was in Grid BF 8412 or 44°32' N, 07°42' W at midnight 20/21). So unless one of the protagonists made an error in position... Platon
Forum: General Discussions

It does not seem possible that U-665 was the submarine attacked by USS Herring. 1. Herring was off Cape Ortegal (44°13'N, 08°23'W) at the time of her attack and too far south from U-665 probable path on her return trip. 2. U-665's last signal reported a sighting of a Red Cross ship at 2000/19 in Grid BE 1693. This was nearly 600 miles from Herring's position so the U-bo
Forum: General Discussions

Hello Fabio, Marcello Marconi, born in Ancona on 10.09.1920 in Ancona, son of Guerrino and Maria Baldinelli is listed among the victims of Marconi. Best regards, Platon Alexiades
Forum: General Discussions

The wreck of U-13 is visited by modern divers. See: Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Your question is timely. I was just thinking about it. AFAIK the U-13 wreck was examined by divers in the first days of June 1940. I do not know if the rotor was recovered at this time. I think it would have been rather difficult. Perhaps one of the survivors had it in its pocket (as occurred with U-33 survivors). Can anyone suggest another Enigma "pinch" in August 1940? I have not so f
Forum: General Discussions

For those interested in a list of the British warship losses through the ages, there is a list which can be downloaded at: It is not perfect as many omissions and errors can be found but hopefully the list will be updated from time to time. Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Among the documents recovered from U-49 were: 1. The German Naval Grid Chart. 2. The U-boat dispositions (1st phase only) for Operation HARTMUT (U-boat side of Weserübung). As far as I know, no code books were recovered at that time. This occurred only on 26 April 1940, when the Q-ship Schiff 26 was captured off Norway. See ADM199/361 (war diaries of Admiral Forbes, C. in C. Home Fleet
Forum: General Discussions

Today, it was announced that the wreck of the submarine Jantina, sunk near Mykonos by HMS Torbay in July 1941, has been found by Kostas Thoctarides (he had previously located HMS Perseus and RHS Katsonis). Congrats to all involved! Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Keith, I assume you have checked all the logs and patrol reports at TNA? There are German and Italian sources on the actions involving her targets and subsequent antisubmarine hunt. For special operations in Corsica, there are brief mentions in the SOE files (HS series) and I would suggest you investigate Paulin Colonna d'Istria, a well-known figure of the French Resistance who was lan
Forum: General Discussions

Hi Mark, Postwar assessment believed the submarine to have been U-617 (KL Brandi) and that she was damaged, However her KTB does not support this thesis as she did not report any attack at that time and at 2000/12 was in CH 8413 (36°33' N, 00°22' W). This was actually U-596 (KL Günther Jahn) and she sighted a warship at 1959/12 in CH 5773 (37°45' N, 00°22' W (the initia
Forum: General Discussions

Dear Mr King, There is a list of her crew as given by Ms Connolly in: (scroll down to 11th February 1941 entry). There is a document at the National Archives which is a bit more detailed (address of next of kin, etc.) reference ADM 358/3825. I am afraid date of birth is not listed. I can supply a copy if you contact me by private message. Best regards, Platon Alexiades
Forum: General Discussions

I do not have particular knowledge on the evolution of the "Lifeboat" script but I do think that Hitchcock was not particularly interested in realism (use of MacGuffin, etc). It is doubtful that Hitch or John Steinbeck who wrote the script were inspired by the Laconia episode or any other similar incident. Just a thought... Platon
Forum: Movies and Films

Hi John and Urs, You might be interested to check: Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Urs is quite correct, many thanks! Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hello, This past week, divers led by Professor Timmy Gambin from the University of Malta positively identified the submarine wreck found in 2019 off Malta as that of HMS Urge. The name can clearly be seen on the port side of the conning tower of the submarine. This had not been picked up by the ROV in 2019 as only the starboard side had been examined and letters could barely been due t
Forum: General Discussions

Boulevard Suchet not Souchet in Paris. Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hi, I am working on something if you are patient enough. Best regards, Platon
Forum: General Discussions

Hello, I am interested in the story of the armed whaler HMS Thorbryn (ex Norwegian). The warsailors page is not very detailed. I have a few info collected from the C. in C. Med War Diaries and the casualties in ADM358 but little else. Some sources mention that she was sunk by fourteen Ju 87. A survivor mentions four Ju 88. Can anyone provide which G.A.F. unit was involved? Any info on earlier
Forum: Warship forum

I am sure this is a fantasy and what is amazing is the promptness in which news organisations pick up the stories and relay them without fact-checking. What would a U-boat go there for? This reminds me of the "submarines graveyard at Tabarka" story. Next they will tell us that they found a U-boat upstream of Niagara Falls... Platon
Forum: General Discussions