General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Hartenstein wasn\'t alone.
Posted by:
Walter M.
()
Date: June 07, 2001 01:35PM
<HTML>Capt. Hartenstein was not the sole or the first to be loyal to his opponents during WW2.
The spaghetti-eaters mandolin-players skippers were the real leaders in survivors’ rescue.
One episode: RSM “Malaspina†(Comdr. Leoni) torpedoed the British armed tanker “British Fame†in mid Atlantic. Then he towed the three overcrowded lifeboats up to the Azores and released them just outside Portuguese territorial waters. Only the British skipper, Capt. Knight, was kept on board and had to stay with the Italian Officers for three weeks. The “Malaspina†was later torpedoed by Dutch submarine with all hand lost
Another episode: RSM “Cappellini†(Comdr. Todaro) torpedoed by night the (leased to the British) Belgian armed freighter “Kabalo†(Capt. Vogel, FO Reclercq) in central Atlantic. First the Italian submarine searched the survivors in the sea, then gave medical help to the wounded and finally reunited the dispersed lifeboats. The Italian skipper tried to tow the lifeboats for a couple of days in rough waters but the weather became worse and worse. The skipper embarked all the 26 survivors on his submarine and sailed to the Azores (as usual). All the survivors were let free on a quiet seashore. (One movie is loosely based on this episode: “The great hope, 1954†(La grande speranza, 1954) [us.imdb.com] (the “Cappellini†was captured by the IJN in september 1943)
When back in Bordeaux the Italian skipper got a very caustic comment from Doeniz in person: “In the German Navy you only could command an hospital shipâ€. Comdr. Todaro wrote a memoirs book (listed in the site book section) but was killed later in action by an American plane while attacking Algiers.
Anyway Doenitz’s questionable statement on the Italian skipper was later vindicated: when German raider “Atlantis“ and tanker “Python†were sunk, he had to ask the Italians to send their large submarines to help rescue the German crews.
For those unfamiliar with Italian acronyms, RSM states for Regio SoMmergibile (=Royal submarine).
Best regards.
Walter M.
</HTML>
The spaghetti-eaters mandolin-players skippers were the real leaders in survivors’ rescue.
One episode: RSM “Malaspina†(Comdr. Leoni) torpedoed the British armed tanker “British Fame†in mid Atlantic. Then he towed the three overcrowded lifeboats up to the Azores and released them just outside Portuguese territorial waters. Only the British skipper, Capt. Knight, was kept on board and had to stay with the Italian Officers for three weeks. The “Malaspina†was later torpedoed by Dutch submarine with all hand lost
Another episode: RSM “Cappellini†(Comdr. Todaro) torpedoed by night the (leased to the British) Belgian armed freighter “Kabalo†(Capt. Vogel, FO Reclercq) in central Atlantic. First the Italian submarine searched the survivors in the sea, then gave medical help to the wounded and finally reunited the dispersed lifeboats. The Italian skipper tried to tow the lifeboats for a couple of days in rough waters but the weather became worse and worse. The skipper embarked all the 26 survivors on his submarine and sailed to the Azores (as usual). All the survivors were let free on a quiet seashore. (One movie is loosely based on this episode: “The great hope, 1954†(La grande speranza, 1954) [us.imdb.com] (the “Cappellini†was captured by the IJN in september 1943)
When back in Bordeaux the Italian skipper got a very caustic comment from Doeniz in person: “In the German Navy you only could command an hospital shipâ€. Comdr. Todaro wrote a memoirs book (listed in the site book section) but was killed later in action by an American plane while attacking Algiers.
Anyway Doenitz’s questionable statement on the Italian skipper was later vindicated: when German raider “Atlantis“ and tanker “Python†were sunk, he had to ask the Italians to send their large submarines to help rescue the German crews.
For those unfamiliar with Italian acronyms, RSM states for Regio SoMmergibile (=Royal submarine).
Best regards.
Walter M.
</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Hartenstein wasn\'t alone.
|
Walter M. | 06/07/2001 01:35PM |
|
RE: Hartenstein wasn\\\'t alone.
|
Walt | 06/07/2001 02:04PM |
|
RE: Hartenstein wasn\\\\\\\'t alone.
|
Walter M. | 06/08/2001 08:51AM |
|
RE: Hartenstein wasn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t alone.
|
Walt | 06/08/2001 09:06AM |
|
RE: Hartenstein wasn\\\'t alone.
|
Visje | 06/07/2001 03:24PM |
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RE: Hartenstein wasn\\\\\\\'t alone.
|
Walter M | 06/08/2001 08:22AM |