Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Giovanni Sorrentino
| Born | 9 Jul 1916 | Taranto |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
LEONARDO DA VINCI (S.T.V. officer): from July 1940? to ?C.B.3 (S.T.V. C.O.): from 10.05.1941 to 31.10.1942?
Promoted to T.V. on ?
From ca. June 1943, transferred to MARISCUOLASOM
AXUM (T.V. C.O.): from 25.11.1943? to 28.12.1943 (sunk, Sorrentino survived).
In 1944-1945: Head of 2° Squadriglia Sommergibili "C.B.".
Commands listed for Giovanni Sorrentino
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB 3 () | S.T.V. | 10 May 1941 | 31 Oct 1942 | |
| Axum (AX) | Coastal / Sea going | T.V. | 25 Nov 1943 | 28 Dec 1943 |
Ships hit by Giovanni Sorrentino
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Giovanni Sorrentino
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB 3 () | 10 May 1941 | La Spezia | 10 May 1941 | La Spezia | Commissioned. | |||||
| CB 3 () | 30 May 1941 | La Spezia | 30 May 1941 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||||
| 1. | CB 3 () | 14 Jun 1941 | 2050 | La Spezia | 15 Jun 1941 | 0950 | La Spezia | 65 | Patrolled with CB 2. On 15th June 1941 joined MARICOSOM. | |
| CB 3 () | 23 Jun 1941 | 1900 | La Spezia | 23 Jun 1941 | 1300 | La Spezia | 14 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 26 Jun 1941 | 0900 | La Spezia | 26 Jun 1941 | 1220 | La Spezia | 15,5 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 28 Jun 1941 | 1430 | La Spezia | 28 Jun 1941 | 1610 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 8 Jul 1941 | 0830 | La Spezia | 8 Jul 1941 | 1200 | La Spezia | 11 | Exercises. | ||
| 2. | CB 3 () | 8 Jul 1941 | 1630 | La Spezia | 9 Jul 1941 | 0815 | La Spezia | 57 | Antisubmarine patrol with CB 2. Uneventful. | |
| CB 3 () | 11 Jul 1941 | 0830 | La Spezia | 11 Jul 1941 | 1800 | La Spezia | 31 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 13 Jul 1941 | 0730 | La Spezia | 13 Jul 1941 | 1205 | La Spezia | 15 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 15 Jul 1941 | 1535 | La Spezia | 15 Jul 1941 | 1815 | La Spezia | 7,7 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 18 Jul 1941 | 0845 | La Spezia | 18 Jul 1941 | 1225 | La Spezia | 15,8 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 22 Jul 1941 | 1420 | La Spezia | 22 Jul 1941 | 1800 | La Spezia | 18,5 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 28 Jul 1941 | 1340 | La Spezia | 28 Jul 1941 | 1640 | La Spezia | 3 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 31 Jul 1941 | 0945 | La Spezia | 31 Jul 1941 | 1220 | La Spezia | 3 | Exercises. | ||
| 3. | CB 3 () | 3 Aug 1941 | 1800 | La Spezia | 4 Aug 1941 | 1140 | La Spezia | Patrolled with CB 2. | ||
| CB 3 () | 9 Aug 1941 | 2140 | La Spezia | 10 Aug 1941 | Date? | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 11 Aug 1941 | 0940 | La Spezia | 11 Aug 1941 | 1310 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 12 Aug 1941 | 1605 | La Spezia | 12 Aug 1941 | 1900 | La Spezia | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Crotone. | |||
| CB 3 () | 12 Aug 1941 | 2110 | La Spezia | 13 Aug 1941 | 0030 | La Spezia | Exercises, escorted by the tug Porto Sdoba. | |||
| CB 3 () | 9 Sep 1941 | 0925 | La Spezia | 9 Sep 1941 | 1142 | La Spezia | 10 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 10 Sep 1941 | 0752 | La Spezia | 10 Sep 1941 | 1115 | La Spezia | 10 | Exercises. | ||
| CB 3 () | 11 Sep 1941 | 1610 | La Spezia | 12 Sep 1941 | Naples | Passage La Spezia-Naples (by train). | ||||
| CB 3 () | 15 Sep 1941 | 0325 | Naples | 15 Sep 1941 | 0940 | Salerno | 42 | Passage Naples-Salerno. | ||
| CB 3 () | 22 Sep 1941 | 1550 | Salerno | 22 Sep 1941 | 1718 | Salerno | 5,5 | Exercises. | ||
| 4. | CB 3 () | 29 Sep 1941 | 1700 | Salerno | 30 Sep 1941 | 1050 | Salerno | 96 | Antisubmarine patrol with CB 5. Uneventful. | |
| 5. | CB 3 () | 10 Oct 1941 | 1730 | Salerno | 11 Oct 1941 | 1300 | Salerno | 93 | Antisubmarine patrol. Uneventful. | |
| 6. | CB 3 () | 16 Oct 1941 | 1700 | Salerno | 17 Oct 1941 | 1155 | Salerno | 70 | Antisubmarine surface patrol. Uneventful. | |
| CB 3 () | 25 Oct 1941 | 0300 | Salerno | 25 Oct 1941 | 1055 | Naples | 43 | Passage Salerno-Naples with CB 4. | ||
| CB 3 () | 26 Oct 1941 | 0810 | Naples | 26 Oct 1941 | 1445 | Salerno | 43 | Passage Naples-Salerno. | ||
| 7. | CB 3 () | 27 Oct 1941 | 1800 | Salerno | 28 Oct 1941 | 0920 | Salerno | 74 | Antisubmarine patrol with CB 4. Uneventful. | |
| CB 3 () | 19 Nov 1941 | Salerno | 19 Nov 1941 | 1530 | Salerno | Exercises. | ||||
| CB 3 () | 23 Nov 1941 | 0900 | Salerno | 23 Nov 1941 | 1000 | Salerno | Exercises or change of anchorage? | |||
| 8. | CB 3 () | 25 Nov 1941 | 1800 | Salerno | 26 Nov 1941 | 0900 | Salerno | 77 | Antisubmarine patrol. Uneventful. | |
| CB 3 () | 1 Dec 1941 | 0845 | Salerno | 1 Dec 1941 | 1225 | Salerno | 15 | Exercises with the motorboats A.S.83 and A.S.65. | ||
| CB 3 () | 3 Dec 1941 | 0840 | Salerno | 3 Dec 1941 | 1235 | Salerno | 11 | Exercises with the motorboats A.S.75 and A.S.83. | ||
| CB 3 () | 5 Dec 1941 | 0900 | Salerno | 5 Dec 1941 | 1215 | Salerno | 11 | Exercises with the motorboat A.S.83. | ||
| CB 3 () | 10 Dec 1941 | 0900 | Salerno | 10 Dec 1941 | 1200 | Salerno | 7,5 | Exercises with the motorboat A.S.83. | ||
| CB 3 () | 11 Dec 1941 | 0955 | Salerno | 11 Dec 1941 | 1215 | Salerno | 7 | Exercises with the motorboats A.S.65 and A.S.83. | ||
| CB 3 () | 12 Dec 1941 | 0835 | Salerno | 12 Dec 1941 | 1150 | Salerno | 7,5 | Exercises with the motorboats A.S.83. | ||
| CB 3 () | 13 Dec 1941 | 0810 | Salerno | 13 Dec 1941 | 1210 | Salerno | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 4 Jan 1942 | 0825 | Salerno | 4 Jan 1942 | 1440 | Naples | 40 | Passage Salerno-Naples on the surface at 6 knots then by rail to La Spezia. | ||
| CB 3 () | 25 Feb 1942 | 0900 | La Spezia | 25 Feb 1942 | 1605 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 26 Mar 1942 | 1155 | La Spezia | 26 Mar 1942 | 1530 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 28 Mar 1942 | 1100 | La Spezia | 28 Mar 1942 | 1540 | La Spezia | Exercises. | |||
| CB 3 () | 5 May 1942 | Galatz | 7 May 1942 | 1945 | Costanza | Passage Galatz-Costanza. | ||||
| CB 3 () | 22 May 1942 | 0945 | Costanza | 22 May 1942 | 1400 | Costanza | Exercises. | |||
| 9. | CB 3 () | 2 Jun 1942 | 2340 | Costanza | 6 Jun 1942 | 0540 | Yalta | 286 | Passage Costanza-Yalta and patrol south of Sevastopol with CB 1 and CB 2. | |
| 5 Jun 1942 | 0330 | At 0330 hours, a destroyer was sighted at a distance of 6,000 metres, proceeding at 25 knots. | ||||||||
| 5 Jun 1942 | 0510 | (0) Near Cape Sarytsch. | At 0510 hours, a submarine was sighted at a distance of 5-6,000 metres and passed out of range. | |||||||
| 5 Jun 1942 | 1710 | (0) Near Cape Sarytsch. | At 1710 hours, a Soviet submarine was sighted at a distance of 3,000 metres, steering 300° at 10 knots. CB 3 could not close the range and could only make an enemy report, which was not acknowledged. | |||||||
| 10. | CB 3 () | 7 Jun 1942 | 1924 | Yalta | 9 Jun 1942 | 0645 | Yalta | 145 | Patrolled south of Sevastopol, between 44°10'N and 43°50'N, and between 33°38'E amd 33°52'E. Uneventful. | |
| 11. | CB 3 () | 12 Jun 1942 | 1412 | Yalta | 13 Jun 1942 | 1400 | Yalta | 93 | Patrolled south of Sevastopol, on the meridian of Cape Sarych, 35 miles from the cape, then at dawn of the 13th 200° - Cape Chersonese - 22 miles. | |
| 13 Jun 1942 | 0417 | (0) South of Sevastopol. | At 0404 hours, a cruiser [destroyer leader] of the TASCHENT [TASHKENT] class followed at a distance of 2,000 metres by a cruiser of the KIROV class, were sighted at a distance of 8,000 metres, steering 180° at 20 knots. At 0417 hours, two torpedoes (450mm) were fired at a range of 1,800 metres, aimed at the KIROV class cruiser. The torpedoes sank almost immediately upon firing due to lack of maintenance at Yalta (the staff had not arrived yet). The target was the light cruiser Molotov, escorted by the destroyer Bditelniy. and they were evacuating wounded from Sebastopol. They did not observe the attack. | |||||||
| 12. | CB 3 () | 14 Jun 1942 | 1230 | Yalta | 16 Jun 1942 | 0805 | Yalta | 160 | Patrolled south of Sevastopol with CB 4. Proceeded to 43°40'N, 34°00'E then from dawn on 15th June moved westward for 10 miles until the meridian of Cape Sarych was reached. | |
| 15 Jun 1942 | 1226 | (0) 40 miles south of C, Sarytsch. | At 1212 hours, a Soviet submarine of the DEKABRIST class was sighted at a distance of 5,000 metres on a northerly course at 3 knots. At 1215 hours, the enemy submarine began to emit a lot of smoke and had probably started the diesels. Three men could be observed on the bridge. At 1226 hours, CB 3 fired two torpedoes (450mm) at a range of 1,200 metres and dived to 14 metres. One hit was heard after 63 seconds. Nothing could be seen when the midget returned to periscope depth. At 1345 hours, the midget surfaced in the area and found a floating corpse and assumed it was from the sunken submarine. The target was the Soviet submarine S-32 (Captain 3rd rank Stefan Klimentievich Pavlenko) on a supply mission to Sebastopol. She was missed but would be sunk by a German bomber on 26th June. | |||||||
| 15 Jun 1942 | 1540 | At 1540 hours, two Soviet aircraft were seen at a distance of 1,000 metres. | ||||||||
| CB 3 () | 19 Jun 1942 | 1300 | Yalta | 19 Jun 1942 | 1300 | Yalta | At Yalta damaged under air attack. | |||
| 19 Jun 1942 | 1300 | (0) At Yalta. | At 1300 hours, CB 2 and CB 3 were anchored at Yalta when they came under air attack. The periscope of CB 3 was seriously damaged and could only be repaired at Costanza. | |||||||
| CB 3 () | 21 Jun 1942 | 1615 | Yalta | 25 Jun 1942 | 1715 | Costanza | 362 | Passage Yalta-Costanza with CB 2 through 43°47'N, 31°38'E. Uneventful except for the rough weather encountered. Needed repairs that lasted three weeks. | ||
| CB 3 () | 15 Aug 1942 | 1215 | Costanza | 17 Aug 1942 | 1315 | Costanza | 15 | Passage Costanza-Yalta with CB 2 and CB 6, but all returned because of defects. | ||
| CB 3 () | 18 Aug 1942 | Date??? | Costanza | 19 Aug 1942 | Costanza | Exercises. | ||||
| CB 3 () | 13 Sep 1942 | 1300 | Costanza | 14 Sep 1942 | 1500 | Burgas | Passage Costanza-Burgas with CB 2. | |||
| 13. | CB 3 () | 16 Sep 1942 | 1800 | Burgas | 19 Sep 1942 | 0700 | Burgas | Patrolled with CB 2 near Bosphorus, between 41°30'N and the Turkish coast, and between 29°10'E and 29°30'E. She carried C.C. Luigi Longanesi Catani (Capo Squadriglia) as a passenger. | ||
| 16 Sep 1942 | 2145 | At 2145 hours, a large sailing vessel was sighted on a southerly course. The following days sighted only Turkish sailing vessels. | ||||||||
| CB 3 () | 21 Sep 1942 | 0830 | Burgas | 22 Sep 1942 | 1540 | Costanza | 530 | Passage Burgas-Costanza with CB 2 [mileage from 13th September]. | ||
| CB 3 () | 16 Oct 1942 | 1250 | Costanza | 17 Oct 1942 | 0745 | Sulina | Passage Costanza-Sevastopol with CB 2, but due to bad weather was diverted to Sulina. | |||
| CB 3 () | 17 Oct 1942 | 1100 | Sulina | 19 Oct 1942 | 1100 | Bay of Karadscha | Passage Sulina-Sevastopol with CB 2, but her engine failed and she had to use a makeshift sail at 1010 hours on the 18th in heavy seas (Force 6-7). She took refuge in the Bay of Karadscha (near Cape Tarkhan, 45°27’32” N, 36°26’54” E). | |||
| CB 3 () | 20 Oct 1942 | 0540 | Bay of Karadscha | 20 Oct 1942 | 0540 | Bay of Karadscha | She lost an anchor in bad weather and was beached at 0540 hours on the 20th. A German minesweeper finally arrived at 0600 hours on the 21st to help out. | |||
| CB 3 () | 21 Oct 1942 | 1430 | Bay of Karadscha | 21 Oct 1942 | 1800 | Ak Metchet | At 1100/21 she was freed with the help of the tug RA-56 and was taken in tow to Ak Metchet. | |||
| CB 3 () | 27 Oct 1942 | 2330 | Ak Metchet | 28 Oct 1942 | 1800 | Otschakov | Passage Ak Metchet-Otschakov towed by the German tug Wagrein. | |||
| CB 3 () | 27 Oct 1942 | 2330 | Ak Metchet | 31 Oct 1942 | 1630 | Costanza | Passage Ak Metchet-Costanza, towed by the German tug Wagrein with stops at Ociak, Bugaz and Sulina. | |||
| CB 3 () | 29 Oct 1942 | 0600 | Otschakov | 29 Oct 1942 | 1700 | Bugaz | Passage Otschakov-Bugaz. | |||
| CB 3 () | 30 Oct 1942 | 0600 | Bugaz | 30 Oct 1942 | 1600 | Sulina | Passage Bugaz-Sulina. | |||
| CB 3 () | 31 Oct 1942 | 0400 | Sulina | 31 Oct 1942 | 1630 | Costanza | 565 | Passage Sulina-Costanza. | ||
| Axum (AX) | 25 Jul 1943 | 2400 | La Maddalena | 27 Jul 1943 | 0830 | La Spezia | 297 | Passage La Maddalena-La Spezia. | ||
| 26 Jul 1943 | 1330-1430 | 41° 54'N, 7° 50'E | At 1300 hours, a convoy of four ships was sighted. The submarine was hunted ineffectively and fifteen depth charges were dropped. Recognising the Italian flag, Axum surfaced, made the recognition signal and the vessels parted company. These were the Italian destroyer Orsa with a German UJ-boat, escorting the French Ville De Bastia (1,336 GRT, built 1920) and Ville D'Ajaccio (2,444 GRT, built 1929) on passage from Marseilles to Ajaccio. | |||||||
| Axum (AX) | 25 Nov 1943 | 0836 | Taranto | 26 Nov 1943 | 0800 | Brindisi | ? | Passage Taranto-Brindisi. | ||
| 14. | Axum (AX) | 30 Nov 1943 | 1620 | Brindisi | 7 Dec 1943 | 0840 | Brindisi | 805,5 | Special Operation DECENCY. Landed a group of fifteen OSS agents (SOE gave some assistance) near Castel di Mezzo (at Pesaro, see Max Corvo). Apparently, this was the "Vittorio" mission which sent valuable intelligence until the station was captured by the Germans on 17th March 1944. | |
| 1 Dec 1943 | 0230 | At 0230 hours, two British destroyers were sighted. They had sailed earlier from Brindisi. | ||||||||
| 4 Dec 1943 | 2330+ | (0) Castel di Mezzo ( south of Chioggia). | During the night, Axum landed fifteen OSS agents for Operation DECENCY. This was the "Vittorio" mission, which sent valuable intelligence until the station was captured by the Germans on 17th March 1944. André Pacatte, a French OSS officer (who was a teacher of French at the Berlitz school in Cleveland, joined the party as an observer but did not land. He was supposed to be sent to Corsica, but was then assigned to the Italian SI section, although he did not speak Italian). | |||||||
| Axum (AX) | 9 Dec 1943 | 1525 | Brindisi | 10 Dec 1943 | 0834 | Taranto | Passage Brindisi-Taranto with the submarine Marea, escorted by the corvette Pomona. | |||
| 15. | Axum (AX) | 19 Dec 1943 | 1500 | Taranto | 21 Dec 1943 | 1445 | Taranto | Special Operation to pick up personnel on the Greek coast, but returned because a diesel engine broke down. | ||
| 19 Dec 1943 | 1500 | (0) Taranto harbour. | At 1500 hours, as Axum was clearing the quay, she was involved in a slight collision with the British corvette C.13 [?]. The submarine incurred only superficial damage. | |||||||
| 19 Dec 1943 | 2340 | At 2340 hours, an Allied convoy of seven ships was sighted on an opposite course, at a distance of 700-1,000 metres. | ||||||||
| 16. | Axum (AX) | 25 Dec 1943 | Taranto | 28 Dec 1943 | PM | Scuttled | Sailed from Taranto, to land a British agent and pick up seven Allied Military Mission personnel, one I.S.L.D. agent and two USAAF personnel (Operation VOUCHSAFE 1) in the Gulf of Arcadia (south of the Channel between Zante and Morea). Ran aground on the Morean coast in 37°31'N, 21°35'E in Ionian Sea on 27th December. Scuttled on 28th December. There were no casualties, but the survivors could not linger near the wreck for fear of being captured by the Germans. They had to trek over mountainous terrain with the help of the Greek Resistance and the RAF, which parachuted boots and warm clothing. They were picked up by the torpedo boat Ardimentoso on 29th January 1944 at Marathopolis (in front of Proti Island) in 37°03'N, 21°34'E and brought to Taranto on the next day. At the time of her loss, consideration had been given to send Axum to Bermuda for ASW training. | |||
| 27 Dec 1943 | 2000+ | 37° 31'N, 21° 35'E | At about 2000 hours, a British I.S.L.D. agent, Captain Peter, was successfully landed (operation VOUCHSAFE 1). Axum was also to extricate seven Allied Military Mission personnel, one I.S.L.D. agent and two USAAF personnel, but accidentally ran aground on Kaifas Beach. Despite numerous efforts, she could not free herself and had to be abandoned at 2200 hours. She was scuttled during the afternoon of 28th December. The crew (six officers and thirty-eight ratings), with the help of the Greek Resistance and the parachuting of warm clothes by a RAF aircraft, eluded the efforts of the Germans to capture then. They walked for five days across the mountains of Morea and were picked up along with three British and two Greek officers, two British and four Greek other ranks by the torpedo-boat Ardimentoso (C.C. Domenico Ravera) on Proti Island on 29th January 1944 and returned to Taranto on the next day (operation VOUCHSAFE 3). | |||||||
78 entries. 73 total patrol entries (16 marked as war patrols) and 14 events.