Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Alberto Ginocchio
| Born | 29 Nov 1901 | La Spezia | |
| Died | 6 Dec 1947 | (46) | Venice |
| Ranks
Decorations
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Career information
From 07.02.1940, Head of 2° GRUPSOM (Naples).PIETRO MICCA (C.F. C.O.): From 04.08.1940 to 13.09.1940.
LUIGI TORELLI (C.F. C.O.): From 29.07.1940 to 22.08.1940?
MOCENIGO (C.F. C.O.): From 16.09.940 to 25.10.1940.
From August 1944: Head of COMANDO SUPERIORE SOMMERGIBILI.
Commands listed for Alberto Ginocchio
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | Ocean going | C.F. | 29 Jul 1940 | 22 Aug 1940 |
| Pietro Micca (MC) | Minelaying | C.F. | 4 Aug 1940 | 13 Sep 1940 |
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | Ocean going | C.F. | 16 Sep 1940 | 25 Oct 1940 |
Ships hit by Alberto Ginocchio
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Alberto Ginocchio
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pietro Micca (MC) | 4 Aug 1940 | 1700 | Taranto | 21 Aug 1940 | 1325 | Taranto | 2123 | Laid 40 mines from 31°22'N, 29°27'E, northwest of Alexandria, then patrolled in area between 32°00'N and 32°40'N and 28°20'E and 29°20'E. | |
| 12 Aug 1940 | 0025 | 31° 22'N, 29° 42'E (0) Approximately. | Between 0025 and 0055 hours, Micca laid 40 mines on a line 3.6 km in length eastward from 31°22' N, 29°42' E at a depth of 322 fathoms. Eight mines were swept on 12th August in 320° - Ras-El-Tin (Alexandria) -14 miles, seven on 13th August and four on 14th August. Admiral Cunningham reported that a mine was recovered on 13th August 1940, which showed a sinker with 51 fathoms of mooring wire and another 207 fathoms when she was laid. Another 26 mines were destroyed (two were floating and two were found ashore) from this field between 12-14th August 1940, in time when the Mediterranean Fleet sailed on 16th August for operation M.B.2 (bombardment of Bardia) and crossed this area. On 21st August, a mine was recovered with 250 fathoms of 3/4" mooring rope. The next day, at 1415 hours, HMS Loch Melfort believed she was in contact with a submarine, which was later thought to be one of the mines from this field, as the position was 320° - Ras El Tin - 13 miles. Four mines were found in 220 fathoms on 3rd September 1940. On 16th May 1941, Loch Melfort destroyed a mine, perhaps belonging to this field in 31°55' N, 29°31' E (which was much farther north than position reported). There also were mines laid from the air, but usually these were ground mines. Following the discovery of this minefield, British submarines were usually ordered to remain outside the 200 fathom line in Italian-controlled waters. The order remained in effect at least until December 1940, greatly reducing their effectiveness. | |||||||
| 14 Aug 1940 | 1358 1500 (e) | 31° 59'N, 28° 32'E | Toward noon, the hydrophones picked up noises believed to be from a destroyer. At 1340 hours, a destroyer was sighted and shortly after, a second one. At 1358 hours, a single torpedo (533mm, S.I. H type) was fired from a stern tube at a distance of 800 metres, aimed at the first of the two destroyers. A violent explosion was heard after 40 seconds. The torpedo actually missed. This was a squadron consisting of the light cruisers HMAS Sydney and HMS Neptune, escorted by the destroyers HMS Nubian, HMS Mohawk, HMS Hostile and HMS Imperial. HMS Nubian sighted a torpedo approaching and avoided it. Nubian and Hostile were left behind to hunt the submarine, but made no ASDIC contact. | |||||||
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 12 Aug 1940 | 0800 | La Spezia | 12 Aug 1940 | 1230 | La Spezia | 18 | Exercises. | ||
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 19 Aug 1940 | 0800 | La Spezia | 19 Aug 1940 | 1900 | La Spezia | 42 | Trials. | ||
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 21 Aug 1940 | 0700 | La Spezia | 21 Aug 1940 | 1200 | La Spezia | 16 | Trials. | ||
| Luigi Torelli (TI, I.9, UIT.25) | 22 Aug 1940 | 0800 | La Spezia | 22 Aug 1940 | 1700 | La Spezia | 42 | Trials. | ||
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | 19 Oct 1940 | 0800 | La Spezia | 19 Oct 1940 | 1700 | La Spezia | 53 | Exercises. | ||
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | 21 Oct 1940 | 0826 | La Spezia | 21 Oct 1940 | 1655 | La Spezia | 49,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | 22 Oct 1940 | 1522 | La Spezia | 22 Oct 1940 | 1552 | La Spezia | 0,5 | Changed moorings? | ||
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | 24 Oct 1940 | 0748 | La Spezia | 24 Oct 1940 | 1130 | La Spezia | 26,4 | Exercises. | ||
| Mocenigo (MO, I.19) | 25 Oct 1940 | 1630 | La Spezia | 25 Oct 1940 | 1645 | La Spezia | 0,1 | Changed moorings? | ||
11 entries. 10 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 2 events.