Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Angelo Amendolia
| Born | 16 Dec 1909 | Pace del Mela (Messina) | |
| Died | 1955 | (45) | Indian Ocean (had joined the merchant navy) |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
BARBARIGO (S.T.V. then T.V. First Officer): from 11.05.1940 to July 1942+ (wounded in air attack on 16.05.1942).Promoted to T.V. ca. May 1942.
DELFINO (T.V. First Officer): from August? 1942 to October 1942.
GIUSEPPE FINZI (T.V. C.O.): from 01.11.1942 to 21.01.1943.
ALPINOLO BAGNOLINI (T.V. C.O.): from 21.01.1943 to 31.05.1943.
S.4 (T.V. C.O.): from July? 1943 to 09.09.1943 (working up in Danzig).
Joined RSI.
Commands listed for Angelo Amendolia
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | Ocean going | T.V. | 1 Nov 1942 | 21 Jan 1943 |
| Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | Ocean going | T.V. | 21 Jan 1943 | 31 May 1943 |
Ships hit by Angelo Amendolia
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Angelo Amendolia
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 14 Nov 1942 | 0920 | Bordeaux | 14 Nov 1942 | 1510 | Le Verdon | 55 | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 14 Nov 1942 | 1605 | Le Verdon | 14 Nov 1942 | 1824 | Le Verdon | Gyrocompass tests. | |||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 15 Nov 1942 | 0855 | Le Verdon | 15 Nov 1942 | 1852 | La Pallice | 73,5 | Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 18 Nov 1942 | 1057 | La Pallice | 18 Nov 1942 | 1505 | La Pallice | 9,3 | Exercises. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 20 Nov 1942 | 1242 | La Pallice | 20 Nov 1942 | 1602 | La Pallice | 2 | Exercises. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 23 Nov 1942 | 0800 | La Pallice | 23 Nov 1942 | 1530 | La Pallice | 9,3 | Exercises. | ||
| Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | 30 Jan 1943 | 1225 | Bordeaux | 30 Jan 1943 | 1617 | Le Verdon | Passage Bordeaux-Le Verdon. | |||
| Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | 31 Jan 1943 | 0815 | Le Verdon | 31 Jan 1943 | 2151 | La Pallice | 132 | Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice and trials near Le Verdon (one rating injured in bad weather) then docking for repairs from 2 to 7th February 1943. | ||
| 31 Jan 1943 | 1206 | At 1206 hours, Sergente Segnalatore (Sergeant signalman) Aldo Marchesoni was injured when attempting to secure the port machine guns in bad weather. Bagnolini had to proceed briefly on electric motors as water kept entering through the conning tower. | ||||||||
| Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | 11 Feb 1943 | 0814 | La Pallice | 11 Feb 1943 | 1134 | La Pallice | 4,6 | Exercises. | ||
| Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | 13 Feb 1943 | 0902 | La Pallice | 13 Feb 1943 | 1225 | La Pallice | 4,7 | Exercises. | ||
| 1. | Alpino Attilio Bagnolini (BI, I.12, UIT.22) | 14 Feb 1943 | 1542 | La Pallice | 13 Apr 1943 | 1448 | Bordeaux | 8059,6 | Patrolled between 13°00'S and 16°00'S, and between 33°00'W and 36°00'W. She was to have sailed across the Bay of Biscay with two German U-boats, but did not meet them. Equipped with Metox. | |
| 19 Feb 1943 | 0405 | 43° 41'N, 10° 48'W | At 0405 hours, an aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 23 Feb 1943 | 0600 | 32° 45'N, 20° 07'W | At 0600 hours, an aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. At 0655 hours, five patterns of six depth-charges each were heard. | |||||||
| 24 Feb 1943 | 1425 | 32° 23'N, 20° 32'W | At 1425 hours, an aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 26 Feb 1943 | 1745 1559.25 (e) | 27° 10'N, 22° 10'W | At 1745 hours, an aircraft was sighted over the horizon and Bagnolini dived. She had reached a depth of 50 metres when two bombs exploded directly above, causing minor damages. The submarine escaped by going down to 110 meters. The aircraft was Avenger 4-T-7 of VT-4 Squadron piloted by Ensign G.W. Bolt, USN, from the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4). Bolt had sighted the submarine at a distance of 5 miles. Thirty seconds after Bagnolini disappeared, two 325-lb depth charges were released from a height 200 feet, some 375-400 feet ahead of the swirl. The explosions slightly damaged the underside of the aircraft. The Avenger could only stay in the area for a few minutes before she was forced to return to the aircraft carrier for lack of fuel. | |||||||
| 27 Feb 1943 | 1053 | 25° 20'N, 24° 06'W | At 1053 hours, a periscope was sighted at 2,000 metres. Bagnolini turned away. | |||||||
| 2 Mar 1943 | 1140 | 17° 30'N, 27° 15'W | At 1140 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 12 Mar 1943 | 1900 | 1° 22'S, 36° 44'W | At 1900 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 15 Mar 1943 | 1022 1110Z (e) | 5° 05'S, 33° 39'W | At 1022 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. It was a Pan American Airways Clipper which sighted Bagnolini and passed a signal. | |||||||
| 15 Mar 1943 | 1430 1335Z (e) | 4° 52'S, 33° 22'W | At 1430 hours, an aircraft was seen and Bagnolini dived. This was Catalina P-12 which sighted the submarine, but could not carry out an attack in time. | |||||||
| 15 Mar 1943 | 2305 2203 (e) | 4° 31'S, 33° 21'W | At 2305 hours, an aircraft was sighted and T.V. Amendola initially opted to face it on the surface. However, he calculated he had an opportunity to dive and ordered his submarine down. Amendola was the last one down and as he was closing the hatch, he noticed that the aircraft was using a light (Leigh Light?) to illuminate the scene. Bagnolini had barely reached a depth of 10-15 metres when she was shaken by two explosions which disabled the hyydrophones. The aircraft was Catalina P-4 (#2471) of USN squadron VP-83 piloted by Lieutenant Commander B.J. Prueher, USN. A stick of four depth charges was released on the diving submarine, but no result could be observed. Prueher would lose his life on 11th August 1943 when, flying a Liberator of VB-107 Squadron, his aircraft attacked a rendezvous between U-172, U-185 and U-604 and was shot down with the loss of the entire crew. | |||||||
| 16 Mar 1943 | 0410 | 4° 31'S, 32° 43'W | At 0410 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 16 Mar 1943 | 0410 | 4° 31'S, 32° 43'W (0) Approximately. | At 0410 hours, Bagnolini sighted a reflecting light on the horizon, then saw an aircraft flying toward it and dived. At 0501 hours, Bagnolini surfaced as her hydrophones were not in working order, At 0510 hours, she was illuminated by a searchlight from the starboard beam and crash dived. At 0600 hours, Bagnolini surfaced again but, a minute later, she noticed several searchlights pointed in her direction. She crash dived again, but the megaphone got stuck in the conning tower hatch, which could not be closed properly. Twenty tons of water entered the submarine, which had to surface again. The searchlights were still scanning the area. The gun crews were all brought to readiness. The submarine steered 150° and escaped at high speed. | |||||||
| 17 Mar 1943 | 2245 | 5° 47'S, 28° 30'W | At 2245 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 18 Mar 1943 | 1654 | 2° 30'S, 28° 36'W | At 0654 hours, a periscope was sighted. Bagnolini turned away. | |||||||
| 20 Mar 1943 | 2045 | 3° 04'N, 21° 45'W | At 2045 hours, A smoke was seen at 16,000 metres but this was in the area where attacks were prohibited. The submarine tried to investigate but could not determine the course of the ship and lost contact at 2237 hours. On 22nd March, Bagnolini was informed by BETASOM that she could not be refuelled and would have to return to base. | |||||||
| 22 Mar 1943 | 1340 | 7° 31'N, 27° 56'W | At 1340 hours, a smoke was seen on the horizon at a distance of 11,000 metres. It was closing rapidly and Bagnolini submerged to attack. The hydrophones were not working and the heavy seas (Force 5-6) made periscope observation difficult. The vessel was finally sighted at a range of 4,000 meters it was recognised as British destroyer of the 'W' class, steering 180°, 18 knots. Bagnolini dived to 70 meters. Even at this depth, the submarine was rolling. When she returned to periscope depth, the warship was seen moving away. | |||||||
| 31 Mar 1943 | 1400 | 25° 41'N, 26° 00'W | At 1400 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 6 Apr 1943 | 1337 | 40° 42'N, 13° 54'W | At 1337 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 6 Apr 1943 | 1541 | 40° 42'N, 13° 54'W (0) Position at 1337 hours. | At 1541 hours , a periscope was sighted and Bagnolini turned away. | |||||||
| 6 Apr 1943 | 1703 | 40° 55'N, 13° 40'W | At 1703 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 7 Apr 1943 | 0515 | 42° 14'N, 12° 42'W | At 0515 hours, an aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 10 Apr 1943 | 1630 | At 1430 hours, Bagnolini had come to periscope depth to obtain radio communications. At 1630 hours, four explosions were heard on the port side and shortly after another four explosions less than 100 metres on the starboard side. The submarine heard noises from of a vessel and more depth charges followed for the next hours until 2223 hours. | ||||||||
| 10 Apr 1943 | 2227 | 44° 36'N, 6° 26'W | At 2227 hours, Bagnolini had surfaced four minutes prior, when an aircraft was seen. The submarine dived. | |||||||
| 11 Apr 1943 | 0501 | 44° 39'N, 5° 51'W | At 0501 hours, an aircraft was seen and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 11 Apr 1943 | 1025 | 44° 44'N, 4° 38'W | At 1025 hours, a periscope was sighted and Bagnolini turned away. | |||||||
| 12 Apr 1943 | 0010 | At 0010 hours, Bagnolini was submerged when bombs were heard 100 metres away. A vessel passed above the submarine, without detecting her. T.V. Amendolia believed that A/S vessels were masquerading as the fishing vessels that were sighted earlier. | ||||||||
| 13 Apr 1943 | 0357 | 45° 10'N, 2° 07'W | At 0357 hours, a vessel was sighted but failed to answer Bagnolini's recognition signals. The submarine moved away. | |||||||
| 13 Apr 1943 | 0455 | 45° 16'N, 2° 00'W | At 0455 hours, a vessel was sighted but failed to answer Bagnolini's recognition signals. The submarine moved away. | |||||||
| S 4 () | 17 Jul 1943 | Danzig | 17 Jul 1943 | Danzig | Started trials. | |||||
| S 4 () | 3 Aug 1943 | Danzig | 3 Aug 1943 | Danzig | Completed trials. | |||||
| S 4 () | 11 Aug 1943 | Danzig | 11 Aug 1943 | Danzig | Exercises. | |||||
| 11 Aug 1943 | 1239 (e) | (0) Off Danzig. | At 1239 hours, S.4 collided with S.1 while exercising. Both submarines were slightly damaged. C.C. Fraternale (CO of S.1) was blamed for the incident. | |||||||
| S 4 () | 9 Sep 1943 | Danzig | 9 Sep 1943 | Danzig | Seized by the Germans at the armistice. No patrols carried out. | |||||
42 entries. 15 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 30 events.