Italian submarines in World War Two

Italian Commanders


Francesco Pedrotti

Born  16 Sep 1911Genoa

Ranks

  T.V.Tenente di Vascello
10 Mar 1942 C.C.Capitano di Corvetta

Decorations

29 Dec 1941 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
31 Dec 1941 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
21 Jul 1942 Croce di guerra al valore militare
14 Nov 1942 Croce di guerra al valore militare
25 Jan 1943 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
12 Apr 1946 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare

Career information

LUIGI TORELLI (T.V. First Officer): from 16.02.1940 to ?
H.1 (T.V. C.O.): from 23.08.1941 to 30.08.1941.
BEILUL (T.V. C.O.): from 20.08.1941 to 22.08.1942.
Promoted C.C. on 10.03.1942.
FRANCESCO RISMONDO (C.C. C.O.): from 11.11.1942 to 28.12.1942.
Ex-French SAPHIR (C.C. C.O.): from 31.12.1942 to 12.01.1943?
Ex-French ESPADON (C.C. C.O.): from 17.01.1943 to 22.01.1943?
FRANCESCO RISMONDO (C.C. C.O.): from 01.02.1943 to 15.04.1943.
MARCANTONIO BRAGADINO (C.C. C.O.): from 18.04.1943 to 27.05.1943.
H.4 (C.C. C.O.): from 01.0.1943 to 15.09.1943.

Commands listed for Francesco Pedrotti


Submarine Type Rank From To
H 1 (H1, P.56)CoastalT.V.23 Aug 194130 Aug 1941
Beilul (BU)Coastal / Sea goingT.V.20 Aug 194122 Aug 1942
Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)C.C.11 Nov 194228 Dec 1942
FR 114 (ex-Espadon) ()C.C.17 Jan 1943Feb 1943
Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)C.C.1 Feb 194315 Apr 1943
Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)MinelayingC.C.18 Apr 194327 May 1943
H 4 (H4)CoastalC.C.1 Sep 194315 Sep 1943

Ships hit by Francesco Pedrotti

No ships hit by this Commander.

War patrols listed for Francesco Pedrotti

 SubmarineDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
1.H 1 (H1, P.56)23 Aug 19412045La Spezia27 Aug 19411730La Spezia413Defensive patrol with H.4, Onice and Colonna on line 252° - 8 miles from 44°13'N, 08°47.5'E. This was following a report of a strong naval force had sailed from Gibraltar. Uneventful.

H 1 (H1, P.56)29 Aug 19410855La Spezia29 Aug 19411710La Spezia32Exercises.

Beilul (BU)22 Sep 19410802La Spezia22 Sep 19411756Portofino49Trials.

Beilul (BU)24 Sep 19410705La Spezia24 Sep 19411750Portofino73,6Trials.

2.Beilul (BU)26 Sep 19411635La Spezia29 Sep 19410747Portofino391,1Patrolled in 44°02'N, 08°35'E on a barrage line with the submarines Da Procida, H 1, H 4 and H 6 in Gulf of Genoa in anticipation of an enemy force from Gibraltar. Uneventful.

Beilul (BU)29 Sep 19411635Portofino29 Sep 19412000La Spezia391,1Passage Portofino-La Spezia.

Beilul (BU)8 Oct 19410740La Spezia8 Oct 19411230La Spezia28,6Exercises.

Beilul (BU)10 Oct 19410718La Spezia10 Oct 19411817La Spezia35,5Exercises.

Beilul (BU)16 Oct 19410800La Spezia16 Oct 19411545La Spezia2Gyrocompass tests.

Beilul (BU)17 Oct 19410712La Spezia17 Oct 19411020La Spezia26,3Exercises with the tug San Antonio.

3.Beilul (BU)18 Oct 19411220La Spezia18 Oct 19411510La Spezia35,6Defensive patrol.

4.Beilul (BU)19 Oct 19411915La Spezia19 Oct 19412045La Spezia10Defensive patrol.

Beilul (BU)20 Oct 19411854La Spezia20 Oct 19412230La Spezia23Exercises, escorted by the tug Torre D'Annunziata.

Beilul (BU)25 Oct 19410800La Spezia25 Oct 19411710La Spezia34,9Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Capodistria and MAS 570.

Beilul (BU)30 Oct 19412200La Spezia1 Nov 19411030Naples321Passage La Spezia-Naples.

5.Beilul (BU)3 Nov 19411617Naples8 Nov 19411605Messina809Sailed for patrol 343° - Cape Blanc - 21 miles (about 30 miles east of Galite Island), then ordered to 30 miles west La Galite Island. A new area was then assigned between 37°40'N and the North African coast and between 08°20'E and 09°50'E but returned due to defective battery. Uneventful.

Beilul (BU)22 Nov 19410847Messina22 Nov 19411128Messina13,8Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary A.S.45.

Beilul (BU)24 Nov 19410957Messina24 Nov 19411725Augusta71,1Passage Messina-Augusta.

6.Beilul (BU)26 Nov 19411900Augusta4 Dec 19410115Leros998Patrol and passage Augusta-Leros. First was ordered to relieve the submarine Dagabur between 33°00'N and 33°40'N, and between 22°20'E and 23°00'E. At 1225 hours on the 29th, MARICOSOM ordered her to patrol between 33°20'N and 34°00'N, and between 23°40'E and 24°20'E. Damaged by air attack on 1st December and forced to abandon her patrol. At the issue of this patrol, C.F. Luciano Morra, in charge of V.Grupsom, remarked that the Koritzka binoculars were quite inadequate for submarine use as they were not waterproof. The only dependable binoculars was a pair of Zeiss binoculars which were held on Beilul.
  1 Dec 1941215533° 05'N, 24° 00'E
(0) Position approximate.
At 2155 hours, the forward lookout spotted a four-engine aircraft, believed to be a Sunderland, at a distance of 1,000 metres. It attacked the submarine with machine-gun and cannon fire from a height of 200 metres. Beilul replied with 60 rounds of machine-gun and then four 100mm rounds to keep the aircraft at bay. The aircraft appeared to have been hit and did not drop any bomb. The submarine seized the opportunity that the Sunderland was at some distance, to crash-dive. However, it was noticed that the enemy's fire had perforated the submarine's hull in several places and damaged the hydrophones. Beilul had to return to base.

Beilul (BU)24 Dec 1941Time not givenLeros24 Dec 1941Time not givenLeros19,4Trials.

7.Beilul (BU)31 Dec 19411703Leros8 Jan 19420525Leros984Sailed through Kaso Strait and 20 miles south of Cape Koupho and patrolled in area between 33°20'N and 34°00'N, and between 21°40'N and 22°20'E, or 40 miles north of Appolonia. Uneventful. Heard only distant explosions.

Beilul (BU)6 Feb 19420700Leros6 Feb 19421250Leros28Exercises.

8.Beilul (BU)10 Feb 19421800Leros25 Feb 19421150Leros1542,5Patrolled off Beirut between 33°10'N and 34°20'N, and between 33°00'E and 34°00'E. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. Had a defective attack periscope.

Beilul (BU)28 Mar 19420758Leros28 Mar 19421156Leros19,5Exercises.

Beilul (BU)25 Apr 19420555Leros25 Apr 19421355Leros21,2Exercises.

Beilul (BU)16 May 19421249Leros16 May 19421739Leros18,8Exercises.

9.Beilul (BU)23 May 19421316Leros6 Jun 19421117Leros1252Sailed with the submarine Ondina and locally escorted by the destroyer Sella for a patrol between 33°40'N and 34°40'N, and between 21°40'E and 22°40'E. On 26th May, Beilul was ordered to an area between 32°10'N and the African coast and between 26°00'E and 26°40'E (off Ras Haleima). On her return to Leros, the local escort was provided by the torpedo boat Libra.
  2 Jun 19420110At 0110 hours, a biplane (Swordfish?) was sighted. Beilul dived.
  4 Jun 19421350
1530 (e)

(0) 10 miles NE of Ras Haleima [Sidi Barrani].
At 1345 hours, the hydrophone picked up noises and Beilul came to periscope depth. She observed three steamers, preceded by a corvette, in single file, with a four-engined aircraft circling above. Another steamer, escorted by a corvette, was also sighted in a separate group, as well as a third corvette proceeding independently.

At 1350 hours, three torpedoes were fired from bow tubes at a range of 2,500 metres. The first two corvettes turned toward the submarine. Beilul reached the bottom at 54 metres, expecting the inevitable counter attack. It came at 1510, 1516 and 1522 hours. The submarine was damaged, but this was not realised until she reached her base.

This was probably convoy T.A.46 consisting of three empty ships escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Airedale, HMS Aldenham and the corvettes HMS Peony, and HMS Erica. The previous day, the convoy had sailed from Tobruk for Alexandria. The escort reported depth charging a U-boat at about this time but believed the attack had been ineffective. Before the day was over, the convoy would come under attack by U-453 (KL Freiherr Egon Reiner von Schlippenbach) but escape damage.

Beilul (BU)21 Jun 19421315Leros26 Jun 19421712Pola1142Passage Leros-Pola. Sighted only Axis ships and German aircraft.

Beilul (BU)22 Aug 1942Monfalcone22 Aug 1942MonfalconeCompleted refit.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)23 Dec 19420909Genoa23 Dec 19421751Genoa36Trials.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)26 Dec 19420912Genoa26 Dec 19421610Genoa36Trials.

FR 112 (ex-Saphir) ()31 Dec 19421100Bizerta31 Dec 19421100BizertaTaken over by the Italian crew. The submarine was in operating condition.

FR 112 (ex-Saphir) ()1 Jan 1943Bizerta1 Jan 1943BizertaTrials.

FR 112 (ex-Saphir) ()2 Jan 19430700Bizerta2 Jan 19431100BizertaTrials. There was a fire on board and the submarine had to return to base.

FR 112 (ex-Saphir) ()6 Jan 19431310Bizerta8 Jan 19430030Palermo215Passage Bizerta-Palermo with submarine ex-Phoque and the German transport Ruhr, escorted by torpedo boats Groppo and Animoso.

FR 112 (ex-Saphir) ()11 Jan 19430830Palermo12 Jan 19431130Naples180Passage Palermo-Naples with ex-Phoque, towed by the tugs Luni and Ursus escorted by the torpedo boat Groppo.

FR 114 (ex-Espadon) ()18 Jan 1943Ferryville (Bizerta)18 Jan 1943Ferryville (Bizerta)Trials interrupted by defects.
  18 Jan 19432200
(0) At Ferryville.
At 2200 hours, a heavy air raid on Ferryville caused many fires very close to FR.114 but she escaped damage.

FR 114 (ex-Espadon) ()20 Jan 19430740Ferryville (Bizerta)22 Jan 19430340Naples316Passage Bizerta-Naples with Requin, escorted by the torpedo boat Cascino, who took Espadon in tow. Torpedo boats Animoso and Ardito, also escorted. On 8th February 1943, she was assigned to the La Spezia command.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)11 Feb 19430800La Spezia11 Feb 19431725La Spezia27A/S exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)12 Feb 19430949La Spezia12 Feb 19431120La Spezia6Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)22 Feb 19431712La Spezia22 Feb 19431733Fezzano2Passage La Spezia-Fezzano for tests.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)23 Feb 19431539Fezzano23 Feb 19431610La Spezia2Passage Fezzano-La Spezia.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)24 Feb 19430715La Spezia24 Feb 19431841La Spezia34A/S exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)1 Mar 19430800La Spezia1 Mar 19431415La Spezia2Gyrocompass test.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)10 Mar 19430825La Spezia10 Mar 19431825La Spezia34Demagnetization.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)11 Mar 19430837La Spezia11 Mar 19431440La Spezia30Demagnetization.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)12 Mar 19430815La Spezia12 Mar 19431523La Spezia2Gyrocompass test.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)17 Mar 19430815La Spezia17 Mar 19431151La Spezia24Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)20 Mar 19430730La Spezia20 Mar 19431630La Spezia40Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)21 Mar 19431816La Spezia21 Mar 19431844Fezzano1Passage La Spezia-Fezzano for radio tests.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)22 Mar 19431510Fezzano22 Mar 19431522La Spezia1Passage Fezzano-La Spezia.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)23 Mar 19430735La Spezia23 Mar 19431955La Spezia42Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)25 Mar 19430740La Spezia25 Mar 19431320La Spezia19Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)31 Mar 19430745La Spezia31 Mar 19431240La Spezia22Exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)3 Apr 19430734La Spezia3 Apr 19431607La Spezia40A/S exercises.
  3 Apr 1943
1128 (e)
At 1122 hours, the submarine HMS Trident (Lieutenant P.E. Newstead, RN) was lurking near La Spezia when a smoke was sighted. Shortly after, it was identified as a German U-boat, bearing 280° at a distance of 5,000 yards, course 222°.

At 1128 hours, five torpedoes (a sixth torpedo from an external tube misfired) were fired at 9-second firing intervals at a range of 7,000 yards. They all missed. Four explosions were heard 10 minutes later, evidently torpedoes at the end of their run.

The submarine must have been Francesco Rismondo who was exercising at that time. The attack was not observed.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)7 Apr 19431610La Spezia7 Apr 19431950La Spezia19A/S exercises.

Francesco Rismondo (ex-N.1, ex-Osvetnik) (RI)13 Apr 19430800La Spezia13 Apr 19431615La Spezia24A/S exercises.

Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)21 Apr 19430840Naples21 Apr 19431210Naples24Trials.

Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)26 Apr 19431305Naples26 Apr 19431735Naples32Trials.

Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)28 Apr 19430507Naples29 Apr 19430906Augusta279Passage Naples-Augusta.

10.Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)12 May 19431813Augusta16 May 19432055LampedusaSupply mission to Lampedusa. Uneventful. Heard only H.E.

11.Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)17 May 19430330Lampedusa21 May 19430528AugustaReturn trip from supply mission.
  18 May 1943041134° 38'N, 14° 14'EAt 0411 hours, an aircraft was sighted and Bragadino dived.

12.Marcantonio Bragadino (BG)21 May 19432200Augusta24 May 19431208Taranto1042Return trip from supply mission [mileage is for round trip].
  22 May 19430015
2357/21 (e)
37° 10'N, 15° 30'EAt 0003 hours, the forward lookout on the port side sighted a shadow bearing 280° but the other persons on the bridge could not make it out.

0015 hours, four torpedo wakes were sighted and Bragadino managed to avoid them, as they missed her on the port side. The Italian submarine remained on the surface and pulled away.

The four torpedoes had been fired by the submarine HMS Unruly (Lieutenant. J.P. Fyfe, RN). She had sighted an outward bound U-boat at 2344 hours on 21st May before firing her torpedoes at 2357 hours, at a distance of 3,000 yards.

H 4 (H4)7 Sep 19431715La Spezia8 Sep 19431330Ajaccio160Passage La Spezia-Ajaccio.

H 4 (H4)11 Sep 19430030Ajaccio12 Sep 19430810Portoferraio170Passage Ajaccio-Portoferraio.

H 4 (H4)12 Sep 19432105Portoferraio14 Sep 19431930Palermo330Passage Portoferraio-Palermo with H.1 and H.2.
  14 Sep 19430315
(0) About 80 miles from Palermo (60 miles SW of Guardia Point).
At 0315 hours, an aircraft believed to be a German Dornier 215 bomber, was sighted at a distance of 1,000 metres flying at a height of 100-200 metres. It dropped four bombs on the submarine and strafed her. H.4 was missed.

This was probably Liberator 'Q' (1st Lieutenant H.S. Cantrell) of the 1st USAAF A/S Squadron (480 Group) operating out of Protville, which dropped six depth charges but then identified the two submarines as Italian.

67 entries. 66 total patrol entries (12 marked as war patrols) and 8 events.

Italian Commanders

Italian Submarines