Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Candido Corvetti
| Born | 26 Feb 1900 | Florence |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
GLAUCO (C.F. C.O.): from 15.02.1940 to August 1940?From 03.04.1941 to June 1942+, served as Head of 4° GRUPSOM (Taranto).
ATROPO (C.F. C.O.): from 08.04.1942 to 15.04.1942.
GIOVANNI DA PROCIDA (C.F. resp.): from 21.05.1942 to 30.06.1942? (not operational at Taranto).
RUGGIERO SETTIMO (C.F. resp.): from 22.05.1942 to 30.06.1942 (refit at Taranto).
LUIGI SETTEMBRINI (C.F. resp.): from 23.05.1942 to 30.06.1942 (refit at Taranto).
TITO SPERI (C.F. resp.): from 23.05.1942 to 01.07.1942 (in reserve at Taranto).
From 01.11.1942. Com. in Capo Squadra Sommergibili S.C.S.M.
Commands listed for Candido Corvetti
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atropo (AT, N.51) | Minelaying | C.F. | 8 Apr 1942 | 15 Apr 1942 |
| Giovanni da Procida (DP) | Ocean going | C.F. | 21 May 1942 | 30 Jun 1942 |
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | Ocean going | C.F. | 22 May 1942 | 30 Jun 1942 |
| Luigi Settembrini (ST) | Ocean going | C.F. | 23 May 1942 | 30 Jun 1942 |
| Tito Speri (TS) | Ocean going | C.F. | 23 May 1942 | 1 Jul 1942 |
Ships hit by Candido Corvetti
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Candido Corvetti
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glauco (GU, I.24) | 3 Jun 1940 | 2300 | La Spezia | 5 Jun 1940 | 0250 | Cagliari | Passage La Spezia-Calgari with the submarines Tazzoli, Finzi and Cappellini, escorted by the torpedo boat Curtatone. | |||
| 1. | Glauco (GU, I.24) | 21 Jun 1940 | 1820 | Cagliari | 28 Jun 1940 | 0130 | Cagliari | Patrolled west of Cape Carbon near Cape Corbelin, in 37°20'N, 04°00'E on the parallel. | ||
| 26 Jun 1940 | 0250+ 0200 (e) | (e) 37° 16'N, 4° 45'E | Two merchant ships were sighted proceeding on a 270° course at 13 knots. One was described as a 10,000-ton and the other as a 1,500-ton transport. The submarine fired one torpedo (533mm) at 1,700 metres at the largest. The torpedo missed ahead. These were the British freighters Baron Erskine (3,657 GRT, built 1930) and Baron Newlands (3,628 GRT, built 1930), on passage from Oran to Bizerta, when they were recalled to Gibraltar due to the French Armistice. Shortly after, a second torpedo (533mm) was fired from 1,400 metres at Baron Erskine. This time the torpedo missed astern. C.C. Corvetti ordered his gun crew to open fire from 1,200 metres on Baron Erskine. The forward gun alone could be used as the aft gun crew was exposed to the heavy seas. Although many hits were claimed, only one round hit the British ship causing minor damage. Not to be outdone, Baron Erskine replied with her gun, claiming two hits from a distance of 2.5 cables (about 450 metres) but the submarine escaped damage. Corvetti wanted to fire a third torpedo, but the British ship was coming head on, intending to ram the submarine, and presented a poor target. As Baron Newland was now coming to the assistance of her sister ship and was opening fire, the Italian captain decided to take his submarine down. He thought that his victim was slowly sinking and he now attempted to fire another torpedo from periscope depth to finish her off. He could not regain contact and the two ships escaped. | |||||||
| 2. | Glauco (GU, I.24) | 3 Jul 1940 | 1437 | Cagliari | 6 Jul 1940 | 2205 | Cagliari | 330 | Short patrol in 37°31'N, 10°14'E and on axis 125-305°. Uneventful. | |
| 3. | Glauco (GU, I.24) | 9 Jul 1940 | 0225 | Cagliari | 12 Jul 1940 | 1225 | Cagliari | 360 | Short patrol near Sardinia within 5 miles from 38°00'N, 09°20'E, on a patrol line with Ascianghi, Turchese and Axum. On 10th July, ordered to move 305° - 100 miles. | |
| 12 Jul 1940 | 1025 | (0) Between Cape Spartivento (Sardinia) and Cape Pula. | An Italian seaplane was observed flying at an altitude of 400 metres on opposite course. The plane returned on a second run to fly over the submarine from the stern. Despite the Italian flag being well displayed on the conning tower, it appeared to be threatening and the Glauco machine gun crew fired off 56 rounds before the error was recognised and the aircraft left. | |||||||
| 4. | Glauco (GU, I.24) | 31 Jul 1940 | 1540 | Cagliari | 8 Aug 1940 | 0150 | Naples | 1515 | Sailed for the Atlantic. However, experienced fuel leaks which apparently revealed her presence to enemy aircraft and had to turn back. | |
| 3 Aug 1940 | 0825 | 37° 35'N, 0° 38'W | The submarine was submerged at a depth of 30 meters, when four explosions were followed by two more very close. Glauco had apparently come under air attack, but was undamaged. RAF records do not seem to show such an air attack and the aircraft may have been Italian. | |||||||
| Glauco (GU, I.24) | 25 Aug 1940 | 0940 | Naples | 25 Aug 1940 | 1500 | Naples | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Atropo (AT, N.51) | 11 Apr 1942 | 0916 | Taranto | 11 Apr 1942 | 1646 | Taranto | 36,5 | Trials escorted by MAS D.3. | ||
| Giovanni da Procida (DP) | 21 May 1942 | Taranto | 30 Jun 1942 | Taranto | In Taranto. Change in command. Not operational until Armistice. | |||||
| Ruggiero Settimo (RS) | 22 May 1942 | Taranto | 30 Jun 1942 | Taranto | Change in command. Responsible during refit at Taranto. | |||||
| Luigi Settembrini (ST) | 23 May 1942 | Taranto | 30 Jun 1942 | Taranto | Refit at Taranto. Change in command. | |||||
| Tito Speri (TS) | 23 May 1942 | Taranto | 1 Jul 1942 | Taranto | In reserve at Taranto. | |||||
11 entries. 11 total patrol entries (4 marked as war patrols) and 3 events.