Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Alberto Donato
| Born | 4 May 1914 | La Spezia | |
| Died | 26 Sep 1980 | (66) | Rome |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
From 25.02.1940, served on the staff of 5° GRUPSOM (Leros).BEILUL (T.V. First Officer): from 20.07.1940 to November 1940+.
ZOEA (T.V. First Officer): from 18.12.1940 to ?
From 13.09.1941 to June 1942+, served as T.V. (Capo Servizio T.) of 3° GRUPSOM (Messina).
DIASPRO (T.V. C.O.): from 30.11.1942 to 05.09.1943.
LUCIANO MANARA (T.V. C.O.): from 10.12.1943 to 15.04.1944.
CIRO MENOTTI (T.V. C.O.): from 15.04.1944 to 18.06.1944.
Commands listed for Alberto Donato
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaspro (DS) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 30 Nov 1942 | 5 Sep 1943 |
| Luciana Manara (MR) | Ocean going | T.V. | 10 Dec 1943 | 15 Apr 1944 |
| Ciro Menotti (ME, N.66) | Ocean going | T.V. | 15 Apr 1944 | 18 Jun 1944 |
Ships hit by Alberto Donato
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Alberto Donato
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Diaspro (DS) | 2 Dec 1942 | 0316 | La Maddalena | 4 Dec 1942 | 0006 | La Maddalena | 278,5 | Defensive patrol near La Maddalena, between 41°40'N and 41°55'N, and between 08°20'E and Corsican coast. Uneventful. | |
| Diaspro (DS) | 6 Dec 1942 | 1745 | La Maddalena | 7 Dec 1942 | 1530 | Cagliari | 197,6 | Passage La Maddalena-Cagliari. | ||
| 2. | Diaspro (DS) | 12 Dec 1942 | 2345 | Cagliari | 24 Dec 1942 | 0925 | Cagliari | 1032,5 | Patrolled in Western Mediterranean between 38°00'N and 38°20'N, and between 08°20'E and 08°40'E. | |
| 13 Dec 1942 | 0725 | At 0725 hours, three German aircraft were seen and exchanged recognition signals with Diaspro. | ||||||||
| 13 Dec 1942 | 0930 | At 0930 hours, an Italian aircraft was seen and exchanged recognition signals with Diaspro. | ||||||||
| 21 Dec 1942 | 0055 | 38° 05'N, 8° 30'E | At 0055 hours, a vessel initially believed to be a submarine was sighted but may have been an A/S vessel. Diaspro submerged and heard explosions coming from the direction of the vessel. | |||||||
| 22 Dec 1942 | 2240-2245 | 38° 12'N, 8° 29'E | At 2245 hours, a submarine was sighted on a northerly course. This was perhaps HMS P 247 (later named HMS Saracen). Diaspro lost contact in a rain squall. | |||||||
| 23 Dec 1942 | 0255 | 38° 12'N, 8° 27'E | At 0255 hours, a submarine was sighted on a northerly course at a distance of 3,000 metres. This was perhaps HMS P 247 again. Diaspro lost contact. | |||||||
| Diaspro (DS) | 1 Jan 1943 | 1457 | Cagliari | 2 Jan 1943 | 2110 | Naples | 271 | Passage Cagliari-Naples. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 20 Feb 1943 | 0836 | Naples | 20 Feb 1943 | 1401 | Naples | 17 | Exercises and trials. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 23 Feb 1943 | 1340 | Naples | 23 Feb 1943 | 1830 | Naples | 22,5 | Exercises and trials. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 24 Feb 1943 | 1343 | Naples | 24 Feb 1943 | 2030 | Naples | 25 | Exercises and trials. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 27 Feb 1943 | 1009 | Naples | 27 Feb 1943 | 1633 | Naples | 29 | Exercises and trials. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 20 Mar 1943 | 0820 | Naples | 20 Mar 1943 | 1747 | Naples | 21 | Gyrocompass tests and exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 21 Mar 1943 | 1535 | Naples | 21 Mar 1943 | 1947 | Naples | 7 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 23 Mar 1943 | 1018 | Naples | 23 Mar 1943 | 1331 | Naples | 19 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 24 Mar 1943 | 1212 | Naples | 24 Mar 1943 | 1355 | Pozzuoli | 12,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 25 Mar 1943 | 0855 | Pozzuoli | 25 Mar 1943 | 1551 | Pozzuoli | 28 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 26 Mar 1943 | 0824 | Pozzuoli | 26 Mar 1943 | 1607 | Pozzuoli | 37 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 3 Apr 1943 | 1400 | Pozzuoli | 3 Apr 1943 | 1555 | Naples | 12,5 | Passage Pozzuoli-Naples. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 4 Apr 1943 | 0045 | Naples | 5 Apr 1943 | 0645 | La Maddalena | 250,2 | Passage Naples-La Maddalena. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 7 Apr 1943 | 0853 | La Maddalena | 7 Apr 1943 | 1747 | Ajaccio | 68,1 | Passage La Maddalena-Ajaccio. | ||
| 3. | Diaspro (DS) | 2 May 1943 | 2310 | Ajaccio | 17 May 1943 | 1215 | La Maddalena | 1076,2 | Patrolled in Western Mediterranean, between 39°00'N and 39°40'N, and between 05°00'E and 05°40'E. | |
| 12 May 1943 | 2251 | 38° 56'N, 5° 22'E | At 2251 hours, an aircraft was seen at 1,000 metres and the submarine dived. When it reached a depth of 50 meters, a leak was noticed, through the stern torpedo tube no. 6. Diaspro surfaced and at 0545 hours on the 13th, a rating donned a diving apparatus and managed to remove an obstruction from the tube door stopping the leak. | |||||||
| 17 May 1943 | 0630 | (0) 058° - Porto Torres - 4.7 miles. | At 0630 hours, Diaspro came under fire from an Italian coastal battery when she was mistaken for an enemy submarine. Fortunately, the nearest round fell some 800 meters short and, after making recognition signals and displaying the Italian flag, the battery checked fire. | |||||||
| Diaspro (DS) | 27 May 1943 | 1100 | La Maddalena | 27 May 1943 | 1202 | Porto Palma | 3,5 | Passage La Maddalena-Porto Palma. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 28 May 1943 | 0925 | Porto Palma | 28 May 1943 | 1030 | Mezzo Schifo | 4 | Passage Porto Palma-Mezzo Schifo. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 6 Jun 1943 | 0920 | Mezzo Schifo | 6 Jun 1943 | 1010 | Villamarina | 2 | Passage Mezzo Schifo-Villamarina. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 10 Jun 1943 | 0455 | Cala Villamarina | 10 Jun 1943 | 0820 | Bonifacio | 21,5 | Passage Cala Villamarina-Bonifacio. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 18 Jun 1943 | 1342 | Bonifacio | 18 Jun 1943 | 1730 | La Maddalena | 23,5 | Passage Bonifacio-La Maddalena. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 22 Jun 1943 | 0855 | La Maddalena | 22 Jun 1943 | 1000 | G. Salina | 5 | Passage Bonifacio-G. Salina. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 24 Jun 1943 | 1030 | G. Salina | 24 Jun 1943 | 1104 | Porto Palma | 2,5 | Passage G. Salina-Porto Palma. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 26 Jun 1943 | 0507 | Porto Palma | 26 Jun 1943 | 0826 | Bonifacio | 23,5 | Passage Porto Palma-Bonifacio. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 28 Jun 1943 | 0755 | Bonifacio | 28 Jun 1943 | 1255 | Bonifacio | 20 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 1 Jul 1943 | 0830 | Bonifacio | 1 Jul 1943 | 1330 | Bonifacio | Exercises. | |||
| Diaspro (DS) | 3 Jul 1943 | 0500 | Bonifacio | 3 Jul 1943 | 0732 | La Maddalena | 23,5 | Passage Bonifacio-La Maddalena. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 6 Jul 1943 | 0500 | Mezzoschifo | 6 Jul 1943 | 1220 | Ajaccio | 65,8 | Passage Mezzoschifo-Ajaccio. | ||
| 4. | Diaspro (DS) | 10 Jul 1943 | 0400 | Ajaccio | 16 Jul 1943 | 0630 | Naples | 753 | Sailed with Platino. Patrolled in Western Mediterranean in zone 99 [between 37°20'N and North African coast, and between 07°20'E and 07°40'E], off Cap de Fer (Algeria). | |
| 11 Jul 1943 | 2141 | (0) Near Sardinia. | At 2141 hours, a submarine was sighted on a southerly course at a distance of 5,000 metres. Shortly after, another submarine was sighted at a distance of 3,000 metres steering WNW. Diaspro took avoiding action. | |||||||
| 13 Jul 1943 | 0113 | 37° 05'N, 7° 40'E | At 0000 hours, two shadows were sighted. The submarine closed to 5,000 metres and identified them as two 10,000-ton steamers. Shortly after, a destroyer was sighted in between them. At 0007 hours, the destroyer, closing on Diaspro, was now at 1,000 metres and T.V. Donato decided to dive to 60 metres. At 0102 hours, the submarine surfaced and immediately sighted a large steamer escorted by two corvettes at a distance of 3,000 metres. At 0113 hours, four torpedoes were fired from the bow tubes, at a distance of 2,500 metres, at the steamer estimated to be of 15,000 tons. Her speed was intially estimated to 15 knots, but later corrected to 8 knots. It was then realised that the vessel was perhaps going at a slower speed causing the torpedoes to miss. Diaspro now reverted course. At 0120 hours, the two stern torpedoes were fired at a range of 2,500 metres. Two hits were heard after 148 seconds but no such success is confirmed in British documents. The target has not yet been identified. | |||||||
| 5. | Diaspro (DS) | 23 Jul 1943 | 2205 | Naples | 3 Aug 1943 | 0738 | Naples | 887,7 | Patrolled off Pantelleria and east coast of Sicily for operation ZETA. | |
| 25 Jul 1943 | 0300 | (0) Near Point M3 (near Cape Vaticano). | At 0300 hours, a hospital ship was sighted on a southerly course. | |||||||
| 25 Jul 1943 | 0310 | (0) Near Point M3 (near Cape Vaticano). | At 0310 hours, two Italian steamers and a corvette were encountered on an opposite course. This was the convoy consisting of Viminale, Magliulo and Petsamo escorted by the torpedo boat Pallade, the corvette Gabbiano and the tug Forte and Tenax sailing from Messina for Naples. Pallade fired four star shells before recognising the submarine. | |||||||
| 26 Jul 1943 | 0220 | 37° 38'N, 16° 38'E | At 0220 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 26 Jul 1943 | 2133 | At 2133 hours, a MTB was sighted and Diaspro dived to 50 metres. | ||||||||
| 27 Jul 1943 | 0243 | At 0243 hours, a MTB was sighted and Diaspro dived. | ||||||||
| 27 Jul 1943 | 0405 | 36° 30'N, 16° 09'E | At 0405 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 27 Jul 1943 | 0440 | At 0440 hours, several aircraft were seen and the submarine dived. | ||||||||
| 27 Jul 1943 | 2308 | 36° 20'N, 15° 02'E | At 2308 hours, flares apparently dropped by an aircraft were seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 28 Jul 1943 | 0232 | At 0232 hours, a MTB was seen and the submarine dived. | ||||||||
| 28 Jul 1943 | 1713 | 36° 22'N, 14° 40'E | At 1713 hours, an aircraft was seen when Diaspro was at periscope depth. She went deep. | |||||||
| 28 Jul 1943 | 2345 | At 2345 hours, a MTB was seen and the submarine dived. | ||||||||
| 29 Jul 1943 | 0120 | At 0120 hours, a MTB was seen and the submarine dived to 50 metres. | ||||||||
| 29 Jul 1943 | 2210 | At 2210 hours, a hospital ship was sighted and the submarine crash-dived, perhaps to avoid a collision. | ||||||||
| 2 Aug 1943 | 2215 | 39° 07'N, 11° 56'E | At 2215 hours, flares, apparently dropped by an aircraft, were seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| Diaspro (DS) | 11 Aug 1943 | 0800 | Naples | 11 Aug 1943 | 1257 | Naples | 7 | Exercises. | ||
| 6. | Diaspro (DS) | 15 Aug 1943 | 0830 | Naples | 22 Aug 1943 | 0725 | Naples | 335,6 | Patrolled north of the Strait of Messina between parallel of Stromboli and coast. | |
| 18 Aug 1943 | 0052 | 38° 41'N, 15° 20'E | At 0048 hours, two enemy destroyers were sighted, steering 149° at a distance of 8,000 metres. At 0052 hours, Diaspro fired two stern torpedoes (533mm, S.I. type) at a distance of 5,000 metres. They missed. | |||||||
| 19 Aug 1943 | 2323 | 38° 42'N, 15° 20'E | At 2319 hours, two destroyers were sighted steering 099°. Diaspro fired four torpedoes (533mm, G7e type) from her bow tubes at a range of 3,500 metres. Two were claimed to have hit. T.V. Donato believed he had sunk one and damaged the other. At 0145 hours, an immobilised destroyer was sighted but the submarine had expended all her torpedoes and could not finish her off. Unfortunately, the results were not confirmed. This was the last attack by an Italian submarine in the Mediterranean Theatre. | |||||||
| Diaspro (DS) | 28 Aug 1943 | 0920 | Naples | 28 Aug 1943 | 1604 | Naples | 37,8 | Exercises. | ||
| Diaspro (DS) | 29 Aug 1943 | 1350 | Naples | 29 Aug 1943 | 1555 | Naples | 10,3 | Exercises. | ||
| 7. | Diaspro (DS) | 3 Sep 1943 | 0131 | Naples | 5 Sep 1943 | 0852 | Naples | 231,1 | Defensive patrol in Gulf of Policastro. | |
| 4 Sep 1943 | 0820 | At 0820 hours, a buoy similar in shape to a mine was sunk by machine gun fire. | ||||||||
| Diaspro (DS) | 7 Sep 1943 | 1448 | La Maddalena | 12 Sep 1943 | 1239 | Cagliari | 474,3 | Sailed for patrol in Gulf of Salerno, when the Armistice ordered her to Bone (Algeria) but because of defects to her port side diesel, she had to go to Cagliari where she surrendered. She required repairs to be completed by the end of October but this was delayed until mid-December because of lack of spare parts. | ||
| 7 Sep 1943 | 2130 | at 2130 hours, a hospital ship was seen at a distance of 3,000 metres. | ||||||||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 11 Dec 1943 | 1515 | Brindisi | 12 Dec 1943 | 0925 | Taranto | 142 | Passage Brindisi-Taranto. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 16 Dec 1943 | 0640 | Taranto | 16 Dec 1943 | 1607 | Taranto | 49 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 22 Dec 1943 | 0845 | Taranto | 22 Dec 1943 | 1556 | Taranto | 33 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 29 Dec 1943 | 0655 | Taranto | 29 Dec 1943 | 1510 | Taranto | 36,3 | A/S exercises with torpedo boats Ardimentoso and Ariete. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 3 Jan 1944 | 0640 | Taranto | 3 Jan 1944 | 1425 | Taranto | 36 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 7 Jan 1944 | 0642 | Taranto | 7 Jan 1944 | 1730 | Taranto | 41 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 14 Jan 1944 | 0835 | Taranto | 14 Jan 1944 | 1156 | Taranto | 17 | Trials. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 18 Jan 1944 | 0640 | Taranto | 18 Jan 1944 | 1750 | Taranto | 58 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Jan 1944 | 0800 | Taranto | 21 Jan 1944 | 1650 | Taranto | 41 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 28 Jan 1944 | 1645 | Taranto | 30 Jan 1944 | 0859 | Palermo | 367,8 | Passage Taranto-Palermo, escorted by the corvette Baionetta. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 1 Feb 1944 | 1000 | Palermo | 1 Feb 1944 | 1600 | Palermo | 29 | A/S exercises with the destroyer USS Charles F. Hughes (DD-428). | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 4 Feb 1944 | 0728 | Palermo | 4 Feb 1944 | 1310 | Palermo | 29 | A/S exercises with the minesweeper USS YMS-15 and the patrol vessel USS PC-625. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 10 Feb 1944 | 0937 | Palermo | 10 Feb 1944 | 1304 | Palermo | 16 | A/S trials with hydrophones, escorted by the minesweeper USS YMS-21 and degaussing tests (which were not satisfactory). | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 16 Feb 1944 | 0800 | Palermo | 16 Feb 1944 | 1208 | Palermo | 25 | A/S exercises with the patrol vessel USS PC-557 and the net tender USS Hackberry (AN-25). | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 17 Feb 1944 | 0800 | Palermo | 17 Feb 1944 | 1232 | Palermo | 32 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Feb 1944 | 0925 | Palermo | 21 Feb 1944 | 1300 | Palermo | 17 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 28 Feb 1944 | 1218 | Palermo | 28 Feb 1944 | 1400 | Palermo | 7 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 29 Feb 1944 | 0850 | Palermo | 29 Feb 1944 | 1300 | Palermo | 22 | A/S exercises with the destroyer USS Ericsson (DD-440). | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 6 Mar 1944 | 1805 | Palermo | 7 Mar 1944 | 1722 | Augusta | 195 | Passage Palermo-Augusta. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 12 Mar 1944 | 0515 | Augusta | 12 Mar 1944 | 1638 | Malta | 105 | Passage Augusta-Malta. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 15 Mar 1944 | 0728 | Malta | 15 Mar 1944 | 1841 | Malta | 63 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 16 Mar 1944 | 0733 | Malta | 16 Mar 1944 | 2008 | Malta | 74 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 21 Mar 1944 | 0755 | Malta | 21 Mar 1944 | 1613 | Malta | 53 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 24 Mar 1944 | 1125 | Malta | 24 Mar 1944 | 1827 | Malta | 54 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 25 Mar 1944 | 1055 | Malta | 25 Mar 1944 | 1903 | Malta | 55 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 28 Mar 1944 | 1759 | Malta | 29 Mar 1944 | 0758 | Augusta | 110 | Passage Malta-Augusta. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 30 Mar 1944 | 0555 | Augusta | 31 Mar 1944 | 1048 | Taranto | 276 | Passage Augusta-Taranto. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 12 Apr 1944 | 0640 | Taranto | 12 Apr 1944 | 1540 | Taranto | 39,8 | A/S exercises. | ||
| Luciana Manara (MR) | 14 Apr 1944 | 0802 | Taranto | 14 Apr 1944 | 1619 | Taranto | 39 | Exercises. | ||
| Ciro Menotti (ME, N.66) | 15 Apr 1944 | Taranto | 18 Jun 1944 | Taranto | At Taranto. Change in command. | |||||
88 entries. 68 total patrol entries (7 marked as war patrols) and 27 events.