Beilul (BU)
Beilul

Type	Coastal / Sea going
Class	Adua (23)
Laid down	2 Jul 1937	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched	22 May 1938
Commissioned	14 Sep 1938
End service
Stricken
Loss date	25 May 1944
Loss position	45° 47'N, 13° 33'E
History	Captured by the Germans at Monfalcone on 9th September 1943 while undergoing repairs and refit. Converted into a fuel barge. Sunk at Monfalcone during an Allied air attack on 25th May 1944 (some sources also give the date as 27th June 1944).
Fate

Commands

Commander	Date from	Date to	Command notes
C.C. Paolo Vagliasindi	24 Sep 1939	1 Aug 1941
T.V. Giorgio Bacchetti	1 Aug 1941	20 Aug 1941
T.V. Francesco Pedrotti	20 Aug 1941	22 Aug 1942
S.T.V. Lando Caimmi	24 May 1942	31 Aug 1942
T.V. Pasquale Beltrame	24 Aug 1942	9 Sep 1943

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

	Commander	Date	Time	Port	Arr. date	Arr. time	Arr. port	Miles	Description
1	Vagliasindi, Paolo	9 Jun 1940	1450	Augusta	19 Jun 1940	0645	Augusta	660	Patrolled between Pantelleria and Lampedusa. Uneventful.
2	Vagliasindi, Paolo	24 Jun 1940	2300	Augusta	27 Jun 1940	1930	Leros	650	Sailed for patrol in 35°50'N, 23°10'E but then ordered to proceed immediately to Leros. British Intelligence reported the position as 35°40'N, 23°10'E and that she arrived at Leros at 1912 hours on the 27th.
3	Vagliasindi, Paolo	3 Jul 1940	2000	Leros	10 Jul 1940	0500	Leros	680	Sailed with submarine Tricheco and patrolled between Alexandria and Cape Kupho (Crete) in 32°40'N, 28°10'E.
		7 Jul 1940	2341 2339 (e)	32° 40'N, 28° 10'E	At 2340 hours, the Officer of the Watch sighted the shadow of a destroyer. He recognised it to be of the "W" class. At 2341 hours, a single torpedo (450mm, W.200 type) was fired from a bow tube at a range of 1,000-1,200 metres and Beilul crash-dived. About a minute later, the submarine had reached a depth of 25 metres when a loud explosion was heard, followed by six or seven more, causing various damages, especially to the hydroplane control and the depth gauge. The submarine went down to 80 metres. The damages were repaired in a short time. It was believed that the target had been sunk, but the hydrophones detected two other vessels, which were now hunting the submarines. At 2355 hours, one vessel dropped 10-12 depth charges, which exploded on the port side. At 0103 hours, another attack followed again with 10-12 depth charges causing further damages. Prudently, C.C. Paolo Vagliasindi took his submarine to a depth of 95 metres. At 1105 hours, Beilul returned to periscope depth to find the vessels were gone. Still, the submarine surfaced only at 1945 hours. Vagliasindi decided to abort his mission and return to Leros. The target had been the destroyer HMS Hasty. She had avoided the torpedo and attacked the submarine with a full pattern of depth-charges. Italian Naval Intelligence heard that HMS Whirlwind had been sunk the next day and attributed her loss to Beilul. Actually, she was sunk on 5th July in home waters.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	17 Aug 1940	1600	Leros	17 Aug 1940	1900	Leros	10	Trials.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	22 Aug 1940	0800	Leros	22 Aug 1940	1200	Leros	15	Trials.
4	Vagliasindi, Paolo	16 Sep 1940	0800	Leros	21 Sep 1940	0700	Leros	502	Patrolled in southwest Aegean.
5	Vagliasindi, Paolo	27 Sep 1940	1530	Leros	4 Oct 1940	1045	Naples	827	Patrol and passage Leros-Naples. At 0530 hours on 30th September, she heard what appeared to be a naval force with her hydrophones, when 20 miles off Zante, but nothing was sighted.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	4 Nov 1940	1000	Naples	4 Nov 1940	1700	Naples	37	Trials.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	6 Nov 1940	1300	Naples	6 Nov 1940	1800	Naples	24	Trials.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	16 Nov 1940	1000	Naples	16 Nov 1940	1700	Naples	26	Exercises.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	20 Nov 1940	0800	Naples	20 Nov 1940	1800	Naples	36	Exercises.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	21 Nov 1940	1300	Naples	21 Nov 1940	1700	Naples	22	Exercises.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	22 Nov 1940	1215	Naples	22 Nov 1940	?	Naples		Exercises.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	23 Nov 1940	2300	Naples	24 Nov 1940	0900	Naples	29	Exercises.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	26 Nov 1940	0835	Naples	27 Nov 1940	1435	Augusta	292	Passage Naples-Augusta.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	23 Dec 1940	1400	Augusta	28 Dec 1940	1200	Leros	674	Passage Augusta-Leros via Cerigotto Channel through (1) 35°40'N, 20°20'E (2) 328° - Agria Grabusa Lt. (Crete) - 10' (3) 260° - C. Malaka (Crete) - 29' (4) 158° - Makra Island - 11' (5) Point E of Stampalia . Uneventful.
6	Vagliasindi, Paolo	7 Jan 1941	1950	Leros	13 Jan 1941	0800	Leros	541	Patrolled off Cape Sidero and in Kaso Strait [or area D for DARIO].
		9 Jan 1941	0017 After midnight (e)	35° 25'N, 26° 28'E	At 2340 hours, the Officer of the Watch detected a number of vessels. Soon they appeared to be from a convoy in two columns, consisting of five merchant vessels estimated at over 5,000 GRT, escorted by three destroyers proceeding at 10 knots. At 0017 hours, Beilul fired four bow torpedoes (three 533mm and one 450mm), from the surface, at a distance of 3,000 metres, aimed at three vessels forming a continuous target. The submarine was forced to dive as a destroyer turned toward her. Explosions were heard after 175 and 185 seconds and it was believed that two vessels had been hit. Two minutes later, this was followed by two loud detonations and attributed to secondary explosions on the stricken ships. This was the convoy A.S. 10 on passage from Piraeus to Port Said and Alexandria, consisting of the freighters British Destro (3,553 GRT, built 1920, convoy leader), Bantria (2,402 GRT, built 1928), Desmoulea (8,120 GRT, built 1939), Christa (2,590 GRT, built 1938), El Hak (1,022 GRT, built 1929), Meroë (3,832 GRT, built 1936), Greek Styliani (1,420 GRT, built 1920), Odysseus (1,065 GRT, built 1922), Maiotis (1,718 GRT, built 1888), Heron (1,516 GRT, built 1906) , Sofia (593 GRT, built 1938) (Sofia was diverted to Suda and was not present) screened by the Hellenic destroyers Vasilefs Georgios (escort leader: Captain Mezeviris), Vasilissa Olga, Spetsai, Psara and Koundouriotis. The closest explosion occurred near Vasilefs Georgios. Captain Meseviris initially thought that one of his destroyers had dropped depth charges. It was only discovered that a submarine attack had taken place after the Italian Radio Station Stefani announced it. Vagliasindi complained that Beilul did not carry reload torpedoes and, having emptied his forward tubes, he could not effectively mount another attack.
7	Vagliasindi, Paolo	8 Feb 1941	2030	Leros	15 Feb 1941	0715	Leros	524	Patrolled between 35°40'N and 36°20'N, and between 24°00'E and 24°40'E, between Polykandro and Milo. Uneventful, except for H.E.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	5 Mar 1941	0900	Leros	5 Mar 1941	1700	Leros	37	Exercises.
8	Vagliasindi, Paolo	13 Mar 1941	2300	Leros	18 Mar 1941	1000	Leros	415	Patrolled in Aegean, about 30 miles south of Kaso Strait. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. at 1720 hours on the 17th, believed to be from enemy naval force reported the previous day by Air Reconnaissance.
9	Vagliasindi, Paolo	10 Apr 1941	0240	Leros	23 Apr 1941	1400	Leros	901	Patrolled in 34°00'N, 27°43'E on axis 60°-240°. Uneventful. Heard only H.E. at a distance.
10	Vagliasindi, Paolo	8 May 1941	2000	Leros	14 May 1941	0430	Leros	664	Patrolled between 31°20'N and 33°30'N and 34°00'N, and between 28°00'E and 29°20'E,
		11 May 1941	2000	33° 34'N, 29° 08'E	At 2000 hours, information was received of the passage of a convoy and Beilul altered course to intercept. At 0405 hours on 12th May, the convoy was distinctly heard on the hydrophones at a distance of 40 miles, but the sound grew fainter and disappeared at about 1000 hours in the direction of Alexandria. Beilul gave up the chase at 1045 hours, when she was in 32°40' N, 28°14' E.
		12 May 1941	1157	33° 34'N, 29° 08'E (0) Approximately.	At 1157 hours, a hydrophone effect was heard and was suspected to be an A/S vessel. Beilul dived to 60 meters. At 1400 hours she was suddenly straddled by depth-charges. Close explosions continued until 1511 hours, causing serious damage to the submarine. Three vessels were detected. Beilul finally surfaced at 1945 hours, ready to battle it out, only to find they had disappeared. However, the damages forced the submarine to abandon the patrol.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	19 Jun 1941	1150	Leros	20 Jun 1941	1800	Corinth		Passage Leros-La Spezia, via Corinth Canal and Patras. Uneventful.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	21 Jun 1941	0352	Corinth	21 Jun 1941	1040	Patras		Passage Corinth-Patras.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	21 Jun 1941	1255	Patras	22 Jun 1941	2115	Messina		Passage Patras-Messina.
	Vagliasindi, Paolo	24 Jun 1941	1600	Messina	26 Jun 1941	1110	La Spezia	1109	Passage Messina-La Spezia for major refit. Uneventful.
	Bacchetti, Giorgio	1 Aug 1941		La Spezia	20 Aug 1941		La Spezia	1109	Change in command during refit.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	22 Sep 1941	0802	La Spezia	22 Sep 1941	1756	Portofino	49	Trials.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	24 Sep 1941	0705	La Spezia	24 Sep 1941	1750	Portofino	73,6	Trials.
11	Pedrotti, Francesco	26 Sep 1941	1635	La Spezia	29 Sep 1941	0747	Portofino	391,1	Patrolled 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	29 Sep 1941	1635	Portofino	29 Sep 1941	2000	La Spezia	391,1	Passage Portofino-La Spezia.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	8 Oct 1941	0740	La Spezia	8 Oct 1941	1230	La Spezia	28,6	Exercises.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	10 Oct 1941	0718	La Spezia	10 Oct 1941	1817	La Spezia	35,5	Exercises.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	16 Oct 1941	0800	La Spezia	16 Oct 1941	1545	La Spezia	2	Gyrocompass tests.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	17 Oct 1941	0712	La Spezia	17 Oct 1941	1020	La Spezia	26,3	Exercises with the tug San Antonio.
12	Pedrotti, Francesco	18 Oct 1941	1220	La Spezia	18 Oct 1941	1510	La Spezia	35,6	Defensive patrol.
13	Pedrotti, Francesco	19 Oct 1941	1915	La Spezia	19 Oct 1941	2045	La Spezia	10	Defensive patrol.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	20 Oct 1941	1854	La Spezia	20 Oct 1941	2230	La Spezia	23	Exercises, escorted by the tug Torre D'Annunziata.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	25 Oct 1941	0800	La Spezia	25 Oct 1941	1710	La Spezia	34,9	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Capodistria and MAS 570.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	30 Oct 1941	2200	La Spezia	1 Nov 1941	1030	Naples	321	Passage La Spezia-Naples.
14	Pedrotti, Francesco	3 Nov 1941	1617	Naples	8 Nov 1941	1605	Messina	809	Sailed 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	22 Nov 1941	0847	Messina	22 Nov 1941	1128	Messina	13,8	Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary A.S.45.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	24 Nov 1941	0957	Messina	24 Nov 1941	1725	Augusta	71,1	Passage Messina-Augusta.
15	Pedrotti, Francesco	26 Nov 1941	1900	Augusta	4 Dec 1941	0115	Leros	998	Patrol 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 1941	2155	33° 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	24 Dec 1941	Time not given	Leros	24 Dec 1941	Time not given	Leros	19,4	Trials.
16	Pedrotti, Francesco	31 Dec 1941	1703	Leros	8 Jan 1942	0525	Leros	984	Sailed 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	6 Feb 1942	0700	Leros	6 Feb 1942	1250	Leros	28	Exercises.
17	Pedrotti, Francesco	10 Feb 1942	1800	Leros	25 Feb 1942	1150	Leros	1542,5	Patrolled 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	28 Mar 1942	0758	Leros	28 Mar 1942	1156	Leros	19,5	Exercises.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	25 Apr 1942	0555	Leros	25 Apr 1942	1355	Leros	21,2	Exercises.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	16 May 1942	1249	Leros	16 May 1942	1739	Leros	18,8	Exercises.
18	Pedrotti, Francesco	23 May 1942	1316	Leros	6 Jun 1942	1117	Leros	1252	Sailed 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 1942	0110		At 0110 hours, a biplane (Swordfish?) was sighted. Beilul dived.
		4 Jun 1942	1350 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.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	21 Jun 1942	1315	Leros	26 Jun 1942	1712	Pola	1142	Passage Leros-Pola. Sighted only Axis ships and German aircraft.
	Caimmi, Lando	1 Jul 1942	0905	Pola	1 Jul 1942	1538	Monfalcone	68,5	Passage Pola-Monfalcone.
	Pedrotti, Francesco	22 Aug 1942		Monfalcone	22 Aug 1942		Monfalcone		Completed refit.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	1 Sep 1942	0813	Monfalcone	1 Sep 1942	1440	Monfalcone	30	Trials.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	2 Sep 1942	1640	Monfalcone	2 Sep 1942	2038	Monfalcone	30,5	Trials.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	4 Sep 1942	0650	Monfalcone	4 Sep 1942	1357	Venice	78	Passage Monfalcone-Venice (one source gives the date as 3rd September).
	Beltrame, Pasquale	5 Sep 1942	0925	Venice	5 Sep 1942	1125	Venice	15	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	7 Sep 1942	0715	Venice	7 Sep 1942	1728	Pola	88	Passage Venice-Pola.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	9 Sep 1942	0607	Pola	9 Sep 1942	2102	Pola	129	Exercises with torpedo boat Insidioso.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	10 Sep 1942	0930	Pola	10 Sep 1942	1934	Pola	11	Gyrocompass tests.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	12 Sep 1942	1603	Pola	16 Sep 1942	0950	Messina	620,7	Passage Pola-Messina. Uneventful.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	19 Sep 1942	0706	Messina	19 Sep 1942	1226	Messina	13,3	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	20 Sep 1942	0706	Messina	20 Sep 1942	1226	Messina	13	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	21 Sep 1942	1300	Messina	21 Sep 1942	1731	Messina	15	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	23 Sep 1942	0805	Messina	23 Sep 1942	1241	Messina	13	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	26 Sep 1942	0800	Messina	26 Sep 1942	1146	Messina	17	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	5 Oct 1942	1320	Messina	5 Oct 1942	1700	Messina	6	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	15 Oct 1942	0800	Messina	15 Oct 1942	1101	Messina	6	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	19 Oct 1942	1750	Messina	23 Oct 1942	1418	Leros	865	Passage Messina-Leros. Uneventful. Sighted only an Italian convoy at 0730 hours on 23rd October.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	14 Nov 1942	0640	Leros	14 Nov 1942	1104	Leros	15,5	Exercises.
19	Beltrame, Pasquale	15 Nov 1942	0706	Leros	30 Nov 1942	1310	Leros	1625	Sailed for patrol near Rhodes. MAS 542 escorted her only until 0930 hours on the 15th as the bad weather forced her to turn back. An aircraft escorted her until 1130 hours on the 15th.
		19 Nov 1942	2040		At 2040 hours, an aircraft was seen at a distance of 1,000 metres. It made a green signal. Beilul dived.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	28 Dec 1942	0805	Leros	28 Dec 1942	1140	Leros	7	Exercises.
20	Beltrame, Pasquale	7 Jan 1943	1200	Leros	23 Jan 1943	0450	Leros	1519	Patrolled south of 34°00'N, between 21°30'E and 22°00'E. Uneventful. Heard only H.E.
		17 Jan 1943	2258	33° 14'N, 21° 52'E	At 2258 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
		18 Jan 1943	0257	33° 14'N, 21° 36'E	At 0257 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	6 Feb 1943	0218	Leros	6 Feb 1943	0645	Stampalia		Passage Leros-Stampalia.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	9 Feb 1943	0803	Leros	9 Feb 1943	1116	Leros	12,5	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	16 Feb 1943	0930	Leros	16 Feb 1943	1202	Leros	10,5	Exercises.
21	Beltrame, Pasquale	25 Feb 1943	0800	Leros	12 Mar 1943	1240	Leros	1487	Patrolled west of Cyprus between 35°00'N and 36°00'N, and between 30°00'E and 30°40'E. Uneventful. Heard only H.E.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	30 Mar 1943	0936	Leros	30 Mar 1943	1205	Leros	8	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	1 Apr 1943	0908	Portolago (Leros)	1 Apr 1943	1055	Parteni (Leros)	5,8	Passage Portolago-Parteni (Leros).
	Beltrame, Pasquale	7 Apr 1943	0903	Parteni (Leros)	7 Apr 1943	1032	Portolago (Leros)	6,2	Passage Parteni-Portolago (Leros).
	Beltrame, Pasquale	13 Apr 1943	0836	Leros	13 Apr 1943	1147	Leros	19	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	20 Apr 1943	1004	Leros	20 Apr 1943	1200	Leros	6	Exercises.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	1 May 1943	0856	Leros	1 May 1943	1056	Leros	9	Exercises.
22	Beltrame, Pasquale	26 May 1943	1545	Leros	15 Jun 1943	1820	Leros	1297	Sailed escorted by a MAS until 1705 hours on the 26th, via 34°28'N, 26°20'E for a patrol in Gulf of Sirte in area bounded by the African coast and 34°00'N, and the parallels 14°00'E and 20°00'E.
		28 May 1943	0844 0955 (e)	34° 00'N, 24° 00'E (0) Submarine position is approximate.	At 0844 hours, two Blenheim bombers were sighted at a distance of 4-5,000 metres, flying toward the submarine at an altitude of 500 metres. There was no time to crash-dive and, when when range was 1,200 metres, the submarine opened fire with her machine-guns. The two aircraft did not drop any bomb but attacked with cannon fire. As soon as they were over the submarine, T.V. Pasquale Beltrame seized the opportunity to order the crash-dive. Beilul was undamaged. These aircraft were actually Beaufighters from 227 Long Range Fighter Squadron (201 Group) piloted by Flight Lt. M.B. Curtis and Flight Officer M.B.E. Amos. They had apparently already expended their bombs in an attack on a caique earlier in the morning.
		31 May 1943	2252		Two small warships were sight at respectively 600 and 800 metres. Beilul dived.
		13 Jun 1943	0200		At 0200 hours, information was received from SUPERMARINA of five enemy vessels near Ras-El-Tin (Libya), course and speed were not given. It was believed this was a convoy earlier reported and was probably steering toward Benghazi. Beilul moved southward to be in a position to intercept.
		13 Jun 1943	1440-1517		At 1233 hours, Beilul initiated her return trip. At 1440 hours, a depth-charge exploded near the submarine. No enemy craft had been heard approaching. At 1450 hours, a second explosion occurred, followed by two more at 1457 hours and another two at 1459 hours. At 1501 hours, noises from a vessel nearing the submarine were heard. More followed until 1517 hours.
23	Beltrame, Pasquale	25 Jun 1943	2000	Leros	17 Jul 1943	0800	Taranto	1760,5	Patrol and passage Leros-Brindisi via Rhodes. Patrolled in 32°15'N, 25°55'E. From 1st July, patrolled between 34°00'N and the African coast, and between 23°40'N and 27°00'E. Ordered to Pola on 9th July. On 10 July was ordered to proceed to 37°00'N, 16°00'E (east of Syracuse). Ordered to leave patrol on 14th July.
		28 Jun 1943	1504	32° 00'N, 26° 00'E (0) Approximate position.	At 1504 hours, Beilul was submerged when she was shaken by a loud explosion, followed minute later by another one. The submarine was undamaged.
		2 Jul 1943	0613		At 0613 hours, after noises were detected with the hydrophones, five explosions were heard near Beilul. The noises were heard off and on. At 1651 hours, another five depth charges exploded near her.
		12 Jul 1943	2155	36° 54'N, 15° 35'E	At 2143 hours, the forward lookout noticed the shadows of two vessels. A minute and a half later, three destroyers of the JERVIS class could be made out. At 2155 hours, three torpedoes were fired from the bow tubes (a fourth misfired) at a range of 1,500 metres. Shortly after, two explosions were heard 3 seconds apart. There is no evidence that the attack was successful. The targets were possibly the light cruisers HMS Cleopatra and HMS Euryalus screened by the destroyers HMS Ilex and HMS Echo. They had sailed from Malta at 1600 hours for a patrol off the East Sicilian coast.
		16 Jul 1943	2234 2247 (e)	(0) 304° - Punta Alice - 24 miles.	At 2234 hours, a dark shadow was sighted but could not be identified. This was actually the submarine HMS United (Lieutenant John Charles Young Roxburgh, DSC, RN) who observed a submarine generating a great deal of smoke, but this suddenly stopped. Beilul's diesels were indeed produced a great deal of smoke and when the shadow was seen, T.V. Beltrame prudently ordered the crew to shut down the main engines, switch to the electric motors and, take avoiding action. HMS United (who had sunk Remo the previous day) refrained from attack as British submarines were operating in the adjacent areas.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	22 Jul 1943	1030	Taranto	25 Jul 1943	0704	Pola	536	Passage Taranto-Pola. Uneventful.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	27 Jul 1943	0454	Pola	27 Jul 1943	1138	Monfalcone	68	Passage Pola-Monfalcone.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	31 Jul 1943	0910	Monfalcone	31 Jul 1943	1155	Monfalcone	4	Trials.
	Beltrame, Pasquale	9 Sep 1943		Monfalcone	9 Sep 1943		Monfalcone		Beilul could not sail because she lacked part of her machinery. She was to have been sunk on 11th September 1943, after the submarine Argo was scuttled, but her C.O. T.V. Beltrame reported receiving orders to surrender the submarine to the Germans. Seized by the Germans, but was in need of a major overhaul. In February 1944, she was mentioned as ceded to the Decima Flottiglia MAS and transformed as a special operation submarine.
		25 May 1944		Monfalcone	25 May 1944		Sunk		Sunk by air attack (see entry of 27th June for another source).
		25 May 1944		(0) At Monfalcone.	During the day, 61 Liberators, escorted by 47 Lightnings of the USAAF, conducted an air raid on Monfalcone. Beilul was reportedly destroyed during this air attack.
		27 Jun 1944		Trieste	27 Jun 1944		Sunk		Sunk by air attack (see also entry of 25th May for another source).
		18 Jul 1944			22 Jul 1944				Beilul is mentioned in German documents without comments on her being lost on an earlier date.

103 entries. 94 total patrol entries (23 marked as war patrols) and 19 events.

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