Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Gustavo Miniero
| Born | 14 Oct 1906 | Gragnano (Naples) | |
| Died | 5 Jan 1942 | (35) | Killed in action |
| Ranks
Decorations
|
Career information
TURCHESE (C.C. C.O.): from 01.01.1940 to 05.12.1940.JALEA (C.C. C.O.): from 28.02.1941 to 16.05.1941.
AMMIRAGLIO SAINT BON (C.C. C.O.): from 16.05.1941 to 05.01.1942 (sunk, Miniero was killed).
Commands listed for Gustavo Miniero
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turchese (TC) | Coastal / Sea going | C.C. | 1 Jan 1940 | 5 Dec 1940 |
| Jalea (IA) | Coastal / Sea going | C.C. | 28 Feb 1941 | 16 May 1941 |
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | Ocean going | C.C. | 16 May 1941 | 5 Jan 1942 |
Ships hit by Gustavo Miniero
No ships hit by this Commander.War patrols listed for Gustavo Miniero
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Turchese (TC) | 9 Jun 1940 | 2002 | Cagliari | 21 Jun 1940 | 2005 | Cagliari | 1052 | Sailed to form a patrol line (S2) on the Cape Teulada meridian: Axum - 15 miles south of the Cape. Turchese - 35 miles south of the Cape. Adua - 55 miles south of the Cape. Aradam - 75 miles south of the Cape. On 13th June, ordered to Gulf of Lyons and patrolled 15 miles east of Cape Creus until the evening of 19th June. | |
| 21 Jun 1940 | 1015 | (0) Italian Grid 0261 or northeast of Balearic Islands. | At 1015 hours, three small warships were sighted at a distance of 20,000 metres. Turchese closed to 14,000 metres and identified them as a large enemy force. She gave up the chase at 1148 hours. The were probably the large destroyers of the French 8th DCT (Division de Contre-Torpilleurs), which at that time, were the fastest warships in the World. | |||||||
| 2. | Turchese (TC) | 3 Jul 1940 | 1416 | Cagliari | 6 Jul 1940 | 1200 | Cagliari | 262 | Sailed with Aradam and patrolled between Bone and Cape de Fer in 37°54'N, 07°40'E, on a patrol line with Aradam, Axum and Alagi. | |
| 3. | Turchese (TC) | 9 Jul 1940 | 0057 | Cagliari | 12 Jul 1940 | 1105 | Cagliari | 354 | Patrolled between La Galite and Tunisia in 37°50'N, 09°40'E. | |
| 12 Jul 1940 | 0325 | 38° 24'N, 9° 19'E | At 0225 hours, an illuminated vessel was sighted by the First Officer who was Officer of the Watch. Turchese closed on her electric motors to avoid revealing her presence. It was thought that the vessel behaved strangely and was perhaps an enemy vessel on a minelaying mission. At 0325 hours, one torpedo (533mm) was fired from a bow tube at a range of 500 metres. The phosphorescent wake appeared to hit amidships but it passed under the target. At 0326 hours, a second torpedo (533mm) was fired from a bow tube at the same range with the same result. C.C. Gustavo Miniero intended to renew the action with a third torpedo and gunfire. However, at 0335 hours, the submarine had a violent shock with a metallic object, followed three minutes later by a second one more violent than the first. At 0410 hours, the action was broken off. No British warships appear to have operated in the area at the time. The target was probably a neutral vessel. | |||||||
| 4. | Turchese (TC) | 1 Aug 1940 | 0100 | Cagliari | 9 Aug 1940 | 1140 | La Maddalena | 1342 | Patrolled south of Balearic Islands in 37°25'N, 06°30'E. Uneventful. | |
| Turchese (TC) | 23 Aug 1940 | 0100 | La Maddalena | 28 Aug 1940 | 1140 | Pola | 1054 | Passage La Maddalena-Pola. | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 30 Aug 1940 | 0545 | Pola | 30 Aug 1940 | 1230 | Monfalcone | 74 | Passage Pola-Monfalcone. | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 9 Nov 1940 | 0918 | Monfalcone | 9 Nov 1940 | 1610 | Monfalcone | 40 | Exercises. | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 22 Nov 1940 | 0930 | Monfalcone | 22 Nov 1940 | 1550 | Monfalcone | 44 | Exercises. | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 24 Nov 1940 | 0933 | Monfalcone | 24 Nov 1940 | 1640 | Pola | 74 | Passage Monfalcone-Pola. | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 29 Nov 1940 | 0903 | Pola | 29 Nov 1940 | 0953 | Pola | 5 | Exercises? | ||
| Turchese (TC) | 2 Dec 1940 | 0910 | Pola | 2 Dec 1940 | 1745 | Fiume | 63 | Passage Pola-Fiume, diving exercises to 60 meters, escorted by submarine Galatea. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 6 Mar 1941 | 0840 | Taranto | 6 Mar 1941 | 1710 | Taranto | 44 | Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper R.D.30. | ||
| 5. | Jalea (IA) | 10 Mar 1941 | 2125 | Taranto | 11 Mar 1941 | 1045 | Taranto | 87 | Defensive patrol in Gulf of Taranto. Uneventful. | |
| Jalea (IA) | 15 Mar 1941 | 1515 | Taranto | 15 Mar 1941 | 1646 | Taranto | 4 | Exercises. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 16 Mar 1941 | 0910 | Taranto | 18 Mar 1941 | 1048 | Pola | 534 | Passage Taranto-Pola. Sighted only an Italian convoy. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 25 Mar 1941 | 0810 | Pola | 25 Mar 1941 | 1550 | Pola | 50 | Exercises. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 27 Mar 1941 | 0817 | Pola | 27 Mar 1941 | 1929 | Pola | 71 | Exercises with the submarines Bragadino, Medusa and Des Geneys, escorted by the auxiliaries San Giorgio and Jadera. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 28 Mar 1941 | 0951 | Pola | 28 Mar 1941 | 1650 | Pola | 29 | Exercises. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 31 Mar 1941 | 1328 | Pola | 1 Apr 1941 | 0015 | Pola | 71 | Trials. | ||
| 6. | Jalea (IA) | 4 Apr 1941 | 1610 | Pola | 13 Apr 1941 | 1325 | Pola | 827 | Patrolled in 43°24'N, 15°48'E on a line 15 miles NW/SE (or in 41°50'N, 18°25'E?), off Punta Planca and Sebenico. Uneventful. Replaced Medusa who had returned due to defects. | |
| Jalea (IA) | 15 Apr 1941 | 0850 | Pola | 15 Apr 1941 | 0915 | Pola | 2 | Exercises. | ||
| Jalea (IA) | 4 May 1941 | 1000 | Pola | 4 May 1941 | 1025 | Pola | 0,5 | Docked. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 23 Jun 1941 | 1040 | Monfalcone | 23 Jun 1941 | 1850 | Pola | 67 | Passage Monfalcone-Pola. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 26 Jun 1941 | 0623 | Pola | 26 Jun 1941 | 2250 | Pola | 158 | Sailed with the submarine Bausan for exercises. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 3 Jul 1941 | 0815 | Pola | 3 Jul 1941 | 1800 | Pola | 50 | Exercises with the torpedo boat Audace. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 8 Jul 1941 | 0902 | Pola | 8 Jul 1941 | 1940 | Pola | 24 | Trials, escorted by MAS 552. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 16 Jul 1941 | 0853 | Pola | 16 Jul 1941 | 1547 | Fiume | 57 | Passage Pola-Fiume. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 18 Jul 1941 | 0740 | Fiume | 18 Jul 1941 | 1333 | Fiume | 10 | Trials. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 19 Jul 1941 | 1340 | Fiume | 19 Jul 1941 | 1630 | Fiume | 4 | Trials. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 27 Jul 1941 | 0900 | Fiume | 27 Jul 1941 | 1428 | Pola | 57 | Passage Fiume-Pola. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 29 Jul 1941 | 0800 | Pola | 29 Jul 1941 | 1800 | Pola | 56 | Exercises with the submarine Ammiraglio Cagni, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera and the torpedo boat Audace. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 2 Aug 1941 | 0900 | Pola | 2 Aug 1941 | 1409 | Monfalcone | 67 | Passage Pola-Monfalcone. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 24 Aug 1941 | 1015 | Monfalcone | 24 Aug 1941 | 1440 | Pola | 67 | Passage Monfalcone-Pola. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 28 Aug 1941 | 0750 | Pola | 28 Aug 1941 | 1833 | Pola | 37 | Exercises with the auxiliary Salvore. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 29 Aug 1941 | 0500 | Pola | 29 Aug 1941 | 1945 | Pola | 152 | Sailed for exercises with the submarine Ammiraglio Cagni. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 30 Aug 1941 | 1030 | Pola | 30 Aug 1941 | 1900 | Pola | 42 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 3 Sep 1941 | 0713 | Pola | 3 Sep 1941 | 1740 | Pola | 59 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Jadera for exercises with the torpedo boat Audace. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 4 Sep 1941 | 0740 | Pola | 4 Sep 1941 | 2252 | Pola | 51 | Exercises. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 5 Sep 1941 | 0510 | Pola | 5 Sep 1941 | 1610 | Pola | 40 | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Salvore. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 7 Sep 1941 | 1218 | Pola | 7 Sep 1941 | 2210 | Pola | 15 | Exercises. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 8 Sep 1941 | 0915 | Pola | 8 Sep 1941 | 1754 | Pola | 13 | Exercises. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 9 Sep 1941 | 1751 | Pola | 11 Sep 1941 | 0807 | Taranto | 532 | Passage Pola-Taranto. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 14 Sep 1941 | 0830 | Taranto | 14 Sep 1941 | 1245 | Taranto | 22 | Exercises, escorted by MAS 4 D. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 21 Sep 1941 | 1330 | Taranto | 21 Sep 1941 | 1732 | Taranto | 19 | Exercises, escorted by the pilot vessel Limbara. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 23 Sep 1941 | 0803 | Taranto | 23 Sep 1941 | 0930 | Taranto | 14 | Exercises. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 1 Oct 1941 | 1330 | Taranto | 1 Oct 1941 | 1715 | Taranto | 31 | Exercises, escorted by MAS 4 D. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 3 Oct 1941 | 0745 | Taranto | 3 Oct 1941 | 1230 | Taranto | 27 | Exercises, escorted by the pilot vessel Limbara. | ||
| 7. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 10 Oct 1941 | 1315 | Taranto | 13 Oct 1941 | 1825 | Bardia | Supply mission via 32°40'N, 25°20'E (153 tons of petrol in 7,346 cans). | ||
| 12 Oct 1941 | 0945 | 34° 00'N, 23° 50'E | At 0945 hours, an aircraft was sighted at 3,000 metres flying at an altitude of 500 metres. Millo did not have time to dive. The aircraft made a large circle and was identified as German. It flew away after 5 minutes. | |||||||
| 12 Oct 1941 | 1315 | 33° 50'N, 24° 30'E | At 1315 hours, an aircraft, believed to be a Blenheim bomber, was sighted at a distance of 4,000 metres. It was flying at an altitude of 500 metres and dived from the sun to about 100 metres. As it flew over the submarine flashing a white light, the British cockades were clearly seen and Millo opened fire with her machine guns. The aircraft was believed to have been hit and did not try to attack. Millo submerged at 1322 hours. This was probably Beaufort No.6504 of 39 Squadron piloted by Sergeant Harvey. It attacked a submarine in the afternoon. | |||||||
| 8. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 14 Oct 1941 | 0015 | Bardia | 17 Oct 1941 | 1608 | Taranto | 1677 | Return trip from Bardia. Supply mission [mileage is for round trip]. | |
| 15 Oct 1941 | 1430 1426 or 1230 GMT (e) | 34° 10'N, 22° 44'E | At 1430 hours, an enemy bomber was sighted at 1,000 metres. It came very quickly to the attack, dropping two depth charges which fell about 50 meters astern on the starboard side. They exploded a few seconds later. Millo did not have time to use her machine-guns and dived at 1431 hours. This was Blenheim 'C' (Z9544) of 203 Squadron piloted by Pilot Officer Van der Water. It sighted a surfaced submarine on a course of 300 degrees at 10 knots (Millo was actually steering 284° at 12 knots). The bomber climbed to 3000 feet and made a diving attack, passing over the port quarter of the submarine at a height of 100 feet. One 250-lb GP bomb was dropped and observed to fall 10 feet astern of the submarine. The maneuver was repeated and a second bomb dropped on the now submerging submarine. A third attack was delivered in the same manner, this time with two bombs. The explosions raised a great mass of water just aft of the conning tower. The submarine disappeared and when the disturbance in the water had subsided bubbles were seen rising to the surface. It was considered that the submarine was destroyed. Millo had actually come out unscathed. | |||||||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 9 Nov 1941 | 0850 | Taranto | 9 Nov 1941 | 1100 | Taranto | Exercises, escorted by the auxiliary Sparviero. | |||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 11 Nov 1941 | 0901 | Taranto | 11 Nov 1941 | 1235 | Taranto | Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper R.D.13. | |||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 14 Nov 1941 | 1355 | Taranto | 14 Nov 1941 | 1738 | Taranto | Exercises, escorted by the minesweeper R.D.24. | |||
| 9. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 16 Nov 1941 | 1342 | Taranto | 19 Nov 1941 | 1730 | Bardia | Supply mission to Bardia (136.3 tons: 133.4 tons of petrol in 7,021 cans and 2.9 tons of ammunition). Uneventful. The vapors of benzine from her cargo caused severe discomfort to the men who discharged the cargo [ULTRA intercept]. | ||
| 10. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 19 Nov 1941 | 2245 | Bardia | 22 Nov 1941 | 1400 | Taranto | 1490 | Return trip from supply mission to Bardia. Brought back twenty-two PoWs. She maintained a cruising speed of 14 knots. Uneventful [mileage is for round trip]. | |
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 26 Nov 1941 | 1425 | Taranto | 26 Nov 1941 | 1645 | Taranto | Exercises. | |||
| 11. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 27 Nov 1941 | 1350 | Taranto | 29 Nov 1941 | 1830 | Derna | Supply mission to Derna (139.7 tons: 136.7 tons of petrol, 3 tons of ammunition). Uneventful. | ||
| 12. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 29 Nov 1941 | 2330 | Derna | 2 Dec 1941 | 1300 | Taranto | 1195 | Return trip from supply mission to Derna, through 33°40'N and 22°40'E, 34°10'N and 21°20'E, 38°00'N and 18°00'E [mileage is for round trip]. | |
| 1 Dec 1941 | 1030 | 37° 34'N, 19° 00'E | At 1030 hours, a derelict mine was hit with rifle fire but did not sink. | |||||||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 8 Dec 1941 | 1050 | Taranto | 8 Dec 1941 | 1250 | Taranto | Exercises, escorted by MAS 5 D. | |||
| 13. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 8 Dec 1941 | 1405 | Taranto | 11 Dec 1941 | 0845 | Benghazi | Supply mission to Benghazi (138.2 tons: 132.4 tons of Italian benzine, 5.8 tons of ammunition). | ||
| 9 Dec 1941 | 1000 | 37° 18'N, 18° 59'E | At 1000 hours, an aircraft was seen at 5,000 metres flying at an altitude of 300 metres. It apparently maneuvered for an attack. Because the heavy seas prevented Millo from manning her machine guns efficiently, C.C. Miniero ordered the submarine to crash-dive, but no bombs were dropped. | |||||||
| 11 Dec 1941 | 2110 | 32° 50'N, 20° 10'E | At 2110 hours, a submarine was sighted at 5,000 metres steering south. | |||||||
| 14. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 11 Dec 1941 | 1550 | Benghazi | 13 Dec 1941 | 0845 | Suda | Return from supply mission to Benghazi. | ||
| 11 Dec 1941 | 2110 | 32° 50'N, 20° 10'E | At 2110 hours, a submarine was sighted at 5,000 metres steering south. | |||||||
| 15. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 15 Dec 1941 | 1730 | Suda | 17 Dec 1941 | 1815 | Derna | Sailed, escorted out by the tug Voltaire [who returned to Suda at 1900 hours on the 15th] for supply mission to Derna through 34°00'N, 22°40'E and Benghazi (1140 tons of fuel, 5 tons of ammunition). Upon arrival, C.C. Miniero was told not to unload his cargo as the town was about to be evacuated and he communicated to MARICOSOM his intention to land his stores in Benghazi [ULTRA intercept]. | ||
| 16 Dec 1941 | 0700 0700 (e) | 34° 36'N, 22° 50'E (0) German Grid CO 5262. | At 0700 hours, the conning tower of a submarine was sighted at 8,000 metres. This was U-652 (OL Georg-Werner Fraatz). | |||||||
| 16. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 17 Dec 1941 | 2100 | Derna | 18 Dec 1941 | 1115 | Benghazi | Supply mission to Derna and Benghazi (from Suda: 140 tons of fuel, 5 tons of ammunition). Uneventful. | ||
| 17. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 18 Dec 1941 | 1830 | Benghazi | 21 Dec 1941 | 1330 | Suda | Return from supply mission to Derna and Benghazi, fifteen PoWs and two guards. Uneventful. | ||
| Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 2 Jan 1942 | 1356 | Taranto | 2 Jan 1942 | 1702 | Taranto | Trials escorted by the minesweeper R.D.30. | |||
| 18. | Ammiraglio Saint Bon (SB) | 4 Jan 1942 | 0845 | Taranto | 5 Jan 1942 | 0545 | Sunk | Carried only eight torpedoes during this trip. Supply mission (155.4 tons: 140 tons of petrol, 12 tons of lubricating oil, 3.4 tons of ammunition) from Taranto via Palermo to Tripoli (passing north of Sicily). Sunk by HMS Upholder. | ||
| 5 Jan 1942 | 0440 0538 (e) | (e) 38° 22'N, 15° 22'E | At 0530 hours, the submarine HMS Upholder (Lt. Cdr. M.D. Wanklyn, VC, DSO, RN) sighted what at first was believed to be a trawler, but later proved to be a two-gun submarine zig-zagging on course 260°-360° at 15 knots. At 0538 hours, a single torpedo was fired at 1,000 yards. It was observed to hit just forward of the No. 1 gun. This was the last remaining torpedo and the first torpedo hit that Wanklyn actually watched. This was Ammiraglio Saint Bon and she was hit amidship and this detonated her cargo and she sank very quickly. HMS Upholder picked up three survivors (an officer and two ratings). Eight officers and forty-nine ratings perished including C.C. Miniero. The torpedo boat Centauro, two motorboats and an aircraft were sent to search for survivors, but none were found. | |||||||
67 entries. 65 total patrol entries (18 marked as war patrols) and 11 events.