Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli (1935)
Enrico Tazzoli
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History | |
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Italy | |
Name | Enrico Tazzoli |
Namesake | Enrico Tazzoli |
Builder | Muggiano, La Spezia |
Laid down | 16 September 1932 |
Launched | 14 October 1935 |
Commissioned | 18 April 1936 |
Fate | Lost May 1943 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | submarine cruiser |
Displacement | |
Length | 84.3 m (276 ft 7 in) |
Beam | 7.7 m (25 ft 3 in) |
Draft | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 90 m (300 ft) |
Crew | 77 |
Armament |
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Enrico Tazzoli was one of three
Design and description
The Calvi class was an improved and enlarged version of the preceding
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 2,200-
The boats were armed with eight 53.3-centimeter (21 in)
Construction and career
Enrico Tazzoli, named after
Italy's entry into World War II in June 1940 found Tazzoli in operations in the western Mediterranean. In October she was assigned to BETASOM, the Regia Marina's task force in the Atlantic campaign. In December Tazzoli operated off the British Isles in company with five other Italian boats, but saw little success.
Operations during the autumn and winter of 1940 showed the Italian vessels were ill-suited to conditions in the North Atlantic, so the spring 1941 saw a change in strategy by Admiral
In December 1941 Tazzoli was involved in the rescue of the crews from the German
In February 1942 Tazzoli made her most successful raiding patrol, to the Caribbean as part of Operation Neuland. Over a two-month period she sank six Allied merchant ships.[5] In summer she returned to the Caribbean, but in nearly three months found only two victims. At the end of the year Tazzoli operated off the coast of Brazil, claiming four more victims.
In March 1943 Tazzoli was handed over for conversion to a submarine transport, for blockade-running to the Far East, and her commander received a new posting.[6]
Fate
In May 1943 the submarine set out for Japanese-occupied territory with a cargo of 165 metric tons (162 long tons) of trade goods. On 17 May contact was lost, and she was pronounced missing. One source suggests Enrico Tazzoli was sunk in the Bay of Biscay in attacks by USS Mackenzie,[6] while another suggests she was sunk by aircraft in the Bay of Biscay on 23 May.[7] There is no confirmed explanation for her loss.[1]
Patrol history
Tazzoli conducted ten war patrols over a 30-month period, and made one voyage as a blockade-runner.
Patrol number | Departed | Returned | Area of operations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 30 June 1940 | 2 July 1940 | North Africa | no success |
2 | 30 July 1940 | 9 Aug 1940 | Western Mediterranean | failed attempt to pass Straits of Gibraltar |
3 | 2 October 1940 | 24 October 1940 | North Atlantic | sank 1 merchant ship; joined BETASOM at Bordeaux |
4 | 13 December 1940 | 6 January 1941 | British Isles | sank 1 merchant ship |
5 | 7 April 1941 | 23 May 1941 | Azores | sank 3 merchant ships |
6 | 15 July 1941 | 11 September 1941 | Freetown | sank 3 merchant ships |
7 | 7 December 1941 | 27 December 1941 | South Atlantic | rescue mission for crew of raider Atlantis |
8 | 2 February 1942 | 31 March 1942 | Caribbean | Operation Neuland; sank 6 merchant ships |
9 | 18 June 1942 | 5 September 1942 | Caribbean | sank 2 merchant ships |
10 | 14 November 1942 | 2 February 1943 | Brazil | sank 4 merchant ships |
11 | 16 May 1943 | d.n.a | transport mission to Far East | lost in transit |
Successes
Tazzoli is credited with sinking 18 ships, for a total of 96,650 GRT, making her the highest-scoring Italian submarine after Leonardo da Vinci.
Patrol | Date | Ship | Flag | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3rd | 12 October 1940 | Orao | Yugoslavia | 5,135 | Freighter shelled then torpedoed while radioing; 2 killed |
4th | 27 December 1940 | Ardanbahn | United Kingdom | 4,980 | No survivors from freighter of unescorted Convoy OB 263 |
5th | 15 April 1941 | Aurillac | United Kingdom | 4,248 | Freighter, 1 killed |
5th | 7 May 1941 | Fernlane | Norway | 4,310 | Freighter with ammunition cargo, no casualties |
5th | 10 May 1941 | Alfred Olsen | Norway | 8,817 | Tanker, no casualties |
6th | 19 August 1941 | Sildra | Norway | 7,313 | Tanker, no casualties |
8th | 6 March 1942 | Astrea | Netherlands | 1,406 | Freighter, no casualties |
8th | 6 March 1942 | Tønsbergfjord | Norway | 3,156 | Freighter; 1 killed |
8th | 8 March 1942 | Montevideo | Uruguay | 5,785 | Freighter; 14 killed |
8th | 10 March 1942 | Cygnet | Greece | 3,628 | Freighter; no casualties |
8th | 13 March 1942 | Daytonian | United Kingdom | 6,434 | Freighter; 1 killed |
8th | 15 March 1942 | Athelqueen | United Kingdom | 8,780 | Tanker; 3 killed |
9th | 2 August 1942 | Kastor | Greece | 5,497 | Freighter; 4 killed |
9th | 6 August 1942 | Havsten | Norway | 6,161 | Tanker; 2 killed |
10th | 12 December 1942 | Empire Hawk | United Kingdom | 5,032 | Freighter, no casualties |
10th | 12 December 1942 | Ombillin | Netherlands | 5,658 | Freighter, no casualties |
10th | 21 December 1942 | Queen City | United Kingdom | 4,814 | Freighter, 6 killed |
10th | 25 December 1942 | Doña Aurora | United States | 5,011 | Freighter, 7 killed |
Total: | 96,165 |
See also
Italian submarines of World War II
Notes
References
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War, The Hunters 1939–1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
- Brice, Martin (1981). Axis Blockade Runners of World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-908-1.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Frank, Willard C. Jr. (1989). "Question 12/88". Warship International. XXVI (1): 95–97. ISSN 0043-0374.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
External links
- Enrico Tazzoli (1935) Marina Militare website