Alabastro (AB)
Alabastro

Type	Coastal / Sea going
Class	Platino 1 (24)
Laid down	12 Mar 1941	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone
Launched	18 Dec 1941
Commissioned	9 May 1942
End service
Stricken
Loss date	14 Sep 1942
Loss position	37° 28'N, 4° 34'E
History
Fate	Sunk on 14th September 1942 north-west of Bougie, Algeria, in position 37°28'N, 04°34'E by depth charges from a British Sunderland aircraft (RAF 202 Sq./R).

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
C.C. Paolo Monechi	29 Jun 1942	14 Jul 1942
T.V. Giuseppe Bonadies	15 Jul 1942	14 Sep 1942

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
		2 Apr 1942	0915	Monfalcone	2 Apr 1942	1700	Monfalcone		Trials (gun and machine-guns).
		6 Apr 1942	1100	Monfalcone	6 Apr 1942	1850	Pola		Trials and passage Monfalcone-Pola.
		8 Apr 1942	0900	Pola	8 Apr 1942	1740	Pola		Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat T.3.
		10 Apr 1942	0930	Pola	10 Apr 1942	1630	Pola		Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat T.3.
		11 Apr 1942	0730	Pola	11 Apr 1942	2030	Pola		Diving trials to 80 metres, escorted by the torpedo boat T.3.
		13 Apr 1942	0915	Pola	13 Apr 1942	1035	Pola		Exercises, escorted by the torpedo boat T.3.
		16 Apr 1942	0835	Pola	16 Apr 1942	1830	Monfalcone		Trials and passage Pola-Monfalcone, escorted part of the way by torpedo boat T.3.
		9 May 1942		Monfalcone	9 May 1942		Monfalcone		Delivered to Regia Marina.
		5 Jun 1942	0900	Monfalcone	5 Jun 1942	1200	Monfalcone	35	Trials and/or exercises.
	Monechi, Paolo	30 Jun 1942	0730	Monfalcone	30 Jun 1942	1210	Venice	60	Passage Monfalcone-Venice.
	Monechi, Paolo	1 Jul 1942	1145	Venice	1 Jul 1942	1355	Venice	6	Exercises.
	Monechi, Paolo	6 Jul 1942	1405	Venice	6 Jul 1942	1630	Venice	6	Exercises.
	Monechi, Paolo	8 Jul 1942	0800	Venice	8 Jul 1942	1500	Pola	72	Passage Venice-Pola.
	Monechi, Paolo	11 Jul 1942	1440	Pola	11 Jul 1942	1700	Pola	8	Exercises.
	Monechi, Paolo	12 Jul 1942	0750	Pola	12 Jul 1942	1950	Pola	8	Gyrocompass tests.
	Monechi, Paolo	14 Jul 1942	0415	Pola	14 Jul 1942	1925	Pola	168	Diving trials with the torpedo boat Pilo in 44°45.2'N, 14°34.8'E and 44°50.8'N, 14°34.2'E.
	Monechi, Paolo	15 Jul 1942	0855	Pola	15 Jul 1942	1104	Pola	10	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	20 Jul 1942	0525	Pola	20 Jul 1942	1850	Pola	159	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	21 Jul 1942	0905	Pola	21 Jul 1942	1400	Pola	40	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	22 Jul 1942	1320	Pola	22 Jul 1942	1950	Pola	46	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	24 Jul 1942	1330	Pola	24 Jul 1942	1930	Pola	28	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	25 Jul 1942	1340	Pola	25 Jul 1942	1940	Pola	31	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	30 Jul 1942	1330	Pola	30 Jul 1942	1925	Pola	60	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	3 Aug 1942	1600	Pola	6 Aug 1942	1712	Naples	903	Passage Pola-Naples at 14 knots, via (1) Point E: 40°40'N, 18°50'E (2) Point Q: 39°00'N, 18°50'E (3) Point N: 37°00'N, 16°20'E (4) Point S: Messina (5) Point M2 (6) Point B1. Uneventful.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	8 Aug 1942	0815	Naples	8 Aug 1942	1947	Naples	50	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	9 Aug 1942	0805	Naples	9 Aug 1942	1555	Naples	35	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	10 Aug 1942	0805	Naples	10 Aug 1942	1607	Naples	35	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	12 Aug 1942	1405	Naples	13 Aug 1942	0027	Naples	60	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	13 Aug 1942	0915	Naples	13 Aug 1942	1620	Naples	36	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	14 Aug 1942	0805	Naples	14 Aug 1942	1634	Naples	38	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	17 Aug 1942	0805	Naples	17 Aug 1942	1603	Naples	39	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	18 Aug 1942	0532	Naples	18 Aug 1942	1530	Naples	87	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	19 Aug 1942	0804	Naples	19 Aug 1942	1635	Naples	48	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	21 Aug 1942	0803	Naples	21 Aug 1942	1607	Naples	47	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	22 Aug 1942	0810	Naples	22 Aug 1942	1622	Naples	40	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	24 Aug 1942	1410	Naples	24 Aug 1942	2333	Naples	52	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	25 Aug 1942	1423	Naples	25 Aug 1942	1931	Naples	29	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	26 Aug 1942	0825	Naples	26 Aug 1942	1819	Naples	52	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	28 Aug 1942	1015	Naples	28 Aug 1942	2300	Naples	63	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	29 Aug 1942	0746	Naples	29 Aug 1942	0849	Naples	3	Entered dock.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	30 Aug 1942	0933	Naples	30 Aug 1942	1112	Naples	6	Tests.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	31 Aug 1942	0910	Naples	31 Aug 1942	1030	Naples	3	Trials.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	31 Aug 1942	1615	Naples	31 Aug 1942	2309	Naples	44	Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	1 Sep 1942	0840	Naples	1 Sep 1942	1730	Naples		Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	2 Sep 1942	1435	Naples	2 Sep 1942	2330	Naples		Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	4 Sep 1942	0830	Naples	4 Sep 1942	1600	Naples		Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	5 Sep 1942	0840	Naples	5 Sep 1942	1900	Naples		Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	7 Sep 1942	1407	Naples	7 Sep 1942	2245	Naples		Exercises.
	Bonadies, Giuseppe	10 Sep 1942	1030	Naples	11 Sep 1942	0900	Cagliari	268,9	Passage Naples-Cagliari.
1	Bonadies, Giuseppe	13 Sep 1942	1700	Cagliari	14 Sep 1942	1620	Sunk with all hands		Sailed with Argo for a patrol off Algiers, via (1) Point C (2) 37°08'N, 04°10'E (3) 37°08'N, 02°40'E to an area between 37°30'N and 38°00'N and 02°00'E and 02°20'E. Sunk by British aircraft (Sunderland "R") of 202 Squadron in 37°28'N, 04°34'E (northeast of Cape Bengut). She had been sighted earlier by the submarine HMS Talisman (her last signal) and Hudson and Sunderland aircraft were sent to hunt her. On 26th September, she was ordered back but failed to show up.
		14 Sep 1942	1510 (e)	(0) 50 miles NW of Bougie,	At 1340 hours, the submarine HMS Talisman, on passage from Gibraltar to Malta, reported a submarine in 37°19'N, 02°23'E, steering 250°, 16 knots. Sunderland 'R' of 202 Squadron (RAF) piloted by Pilot Officer E.P. Walshe, was sent from Gibraltar to investigate. At 1510 hours, the aircraft sighted an object at a distance of 5 miles. When the range had closed to 2 miles it could be identified as a submarine steering 250°, 18 knots and the aircraft dived to perform a stern attack. The submarine's machine-guns put up antiaircraft fire, but stopped when the aircraft opened fire with its front gun. A stick of five Torpex depth charges, set at a depth of 25 feet, was released from a height of 50 feet, but one hung up. The other four straddled the submarine, two near the port bow and the other two on the starboard side of the conning tower. For 35 minutes the submarine circled, apparently out of control, firing at the aircraft with her machine-guns and perhaps with her deck gun. The crew began to abandon ship and about forty could be seen in the water as the submarine sank bow first. There is little doubt that this was Alabastro. Why she failed to send an SOS is a mystery, which remains unsolved. T.V. Giuseppe Bonadies, four officers and thirty-nine ratings perished. HMS Talisman did not survive her long. She never reached Malta and disappeared with all hands, probably mined off the Sicilian coast.

50 entries. 50 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 1 events.

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