Italian submarines in World War Two


Jantina (IN)
Jantina

TypeCoastal / Sea going 
ClassArgonauta (20) 
Laid down 20 Jan 1930 Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano
Launched16 May 1932
Commissioned1 Mar 1933
End service
Stricken
Loss date5 Jul 1941
Loss position37° 21'N, 25° 20'E
History
Fate Torpedoed and sunk on 5th July 1941 in the Aegean south of Mykonos, Greece in position 37°21'N, 25°20'E by the submarine HMS Torbay. On 14 November 2021, it was announced that a team led by Kostas Thoctarides had located the wreck at a depth of 103 metres.

Commands


CommanderDate fromDate toCommand notes
T.V. Vincenzo Politi24 Dec 19385 Jul 1941

Ships hit

No ships hit by this submarine.

Patrols and events

 CommanderDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
1Politi, Vincenzo9 Jun 19400745Leros20 Jun 19400830Leros380Patrolled 13 miles north-east of Cape Sidero (Crete).

2Politi, Vincenzo29 Jun 19402250Leros14 Jul 19402220Leros778Patrolled between Cerigo and Cerigotto (Cerigotto Channel).

Politi, Vincenzo6 Aug 19401600Leros6 Aug 19401735Leros2Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo14 Aug 19400900Leros14 Aug 19401225Leros8Exercises.

3Politi, Vincenzo16 Aug 19401855Leros1 Sep 19400710Leros1096,5Patrolled north of Crete, between Cape Sidero and the Cyclades. Only neutral vessels were sighted. Then refit until 10th October 1940.

4Politi, Vincenzo23 Oct 19401940Leros26 Oct 19400745Leros279Patrolled between the islands Chios and Kaloyeri (SW of Chios).
  25 Oct 1940032038° 30'N, 26° 00'E
(0) Position very approximate.
At 0320 hours, a submarine was sighted surfacing at 2,000 metres. She dived before an attack could be mounted and contact was lost.

No Hellenic, British or Italian submarines operated in the area.

Politi, Vincenzo30 Nov 19400805Leros30 Nov 19401115Leros2,2Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo30 Nov 19400805Leros30 Nov 19401115Leros2,2Exercises.

5Politi, Vincenzo3 Dec 19400240Leros4 Dec 19401045Leros136,5Patrolled off the Cyclades, south of Amorgos, but cut short because of defects. According to British intelligence, she was to operate between 36°30'N and 37°00'N and the vicinity of 26°30'E.

Politi, Vincenzo19 Dec 19400855Leros19 Dec 19401125Leros3,5Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo24 Dec 19401710Leros24 Dec 19401925Leros9Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo26 Dec 19401700Leros26 Dec 19401830Leros9Exercises.

6Politi, Vincenzo1 Jan 19411720Leros7 Jan 19410915Messina654Passage Leros-Messina. Uneventful.

6bPoliti, Vincenzo10 Jan 19410950Messina12 Jan 19410930La Spezia470Passage Messina-La Spezia. Uneventful, except for the bad weather encountered.

Politi, Vincenzo15 Mar 19411005La Spezia15 Mar 19411640La Spezia43Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo18 Mar 19411320La Spezia18 Mar 19411725La Spezia31Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo10 Apr 19411145La Spezia10 Apr 19411415La Spezia10Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo12 Apr 19411330La Spezia12 Apr 19411615La Spezia20Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo15 Apr 19410840La Spezia15 Apr 19410955La Spezia8Exercises.

Politi, Vincenzo18 Apr 19410615La Spezia20 Apr 19411035Messina547Passage La Spezia-Messina. Uneventful.

Politi, Vincenzo11 May 19410820Messina11 May 19411700MessinaTrials with auxiliary Castiglia.

Politi, Vincenzo15 May 19410825Messina15 May 19411620MessinaExercises with the auxiliary Castiglia.

Politi, Vincenzo23 May 19410830Messina23 May 19411635MessinaExercises with the auxiliary Tullio.

Politi, Vincenzo26 May 19410810Messina26 May 19411630MessinaExercises, escorted by motorboat Turba.

Politi, Vincenzo28 May 19411140Messina28 May 19411820MessinaExercises with the minesweeper R.D.55.

Politi, Vincenzo6 Jun 19412208Messina6 Jun 19410545Augusta72Passage Messina-Augusta.

7Politi, Vincenzo11 Jun 19412100Augusta16 Jun 19412258LerosSailed via 34°20' N, 24°00' E for patrol off Haifa between 32°20' N and 33°00' N and between 34°20' E and Palestinian coast. On 16th June, she was ordered to area between 32°13'N and 32°27'N and 25°00'E and 25°20'E but diverted to Leros because of engine defects. Politi had been ordered to maintain the patrol at all cost and earned the disapproval of MARICOSOM. The patrol report is lost.

8Politi, Vincenzo19 Jun 19410825Leros30 Jun 19411315LerosPatrolled 20 miles north of Ras Kayanis. She sailed with defective hydrophones and was to operate between 27°40'E and 28°00'E and between 31°34'N and the Egyptian coast.
  27 Jun 19410545
0705 (e)
31° 34'N, 27° 48'EJantina's patrol report has been lost. The following is therefore not detailed as only references from signals have survived.

At 0545 hours, a destroyer of the HERO class was sighted at a single torpedo was fired. A hit was claimed but it actually missed.

This was the sloop HMAS Parramatta. She obtained an ASDIC contact, dropped ten depth charges and was then joined in the hunt by the destroyer HMAS Stuart.

At 1345 hours, Stuart obtained a contact and carried out four runs, dropping a total of 20 depth charges. Jantina suffered multiple leaks and had to abandon her patrol.

9Politi, Vincenzo4 Jul 19411400Leros5 Jul 19412100SunkOn passage Leros to Piraeus (and Patras). Sunk by HMS Torbay in 240° - Stapodia Island -11.5' or 37°21'N, 25°20'E (near Phleves) (south of Mykonos).
  5 Jul 19412016
1930 or 2100 (e)

(0) 240° - Stapodia Island - 11.5 miles.
At 1946 hours, the submarine HMS Torbay was patrolling off Stapodia Island when a submarine was sighted at a distance of 4 miles, steering 255°. Initially, she was thought to be French of the DAUPHIN class. With the Campaign in Syria going full blast, she was thus considered fair game.

At 2016 hours, six torpedoes were fired from a distance of 1,500 yards. About a minute later, a loud explosion was heard followed by a tremendous double explosion, which caused minor damages to the British submarine. Because an aircraft was seen approaching, HMS Torbay went deep. This was a German aircraft flying from Rhodes to Athens who witnessed the scene.

This was Jantina. Only six men (two officers, two petty officers and two ratings) survived by swimming to the coast. Help was quickly organised. Three MAS boats and a motorboat from Syros and Samos, three seaplanes from Rhodes and Leros and one seaplane from Piraeus were directed to the scene but no other survivors were found. Four officers (including C.C. Vincenzo Politi) and thirty-eight ratings perished.

29 entries. 29 total patrol entries (9 marked as war patrols) and 3 events.

All Italian submarines