Italian submarines in World War Two
Italian Commanders
Mario Rossetto
| Born | 22 Jan 1915 | San Remo | |
| Died | 9 May 2015 | (100) | San Donato Milanese |
| Ranks
Decorations
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Career information
GIUSEPPE FINZI (T.V. C.O.): from 21.01.1943 to 21.05.1943.S.6 (T.V. C.O.): from 04.08.1943? to 09.09.1943 (working up at Danzig).
Commands listed for Mario Rossetto
| Submarine | Type | Rank | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | Ocean going | T.V. | 21 Jan 1943 | 21 May 1943 |
| S 6 () | Sea going | T.V. | 4 Aug 1943 | 9 Sep 1943 |
Ships hit by Mario Rossetto
| Date | Submarine | Ship hit | Type | GRT | Nat. | Loss type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 28 Mar 1943 | Giuseppe Finzi | Granicos | Cargo ship | 3,689 |  | Sunk |
| 2. | 30 Mar 1943 | Giuseppe Finzi | Celtic Star | Cargo ship | 5,575 |  | Sunk |
War patrols listed for Mario Rossetto
| Submarine | Date | Time | Port | Arr. date | Arr. time | Arr. port | Miles | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 4 Feb 1943 | 1555 | Bordeaux | 4 Feb 1943 | 1815 | Pauillac | 24 | Passage Bordeaux-Pauillac. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 5 Feb 1943 | 1350 | Pauillac | 5 Feb 1943 | 1750 | Le Verdon | 27 | Passage Pauillac-Le Verdon. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 6 Feb 1943 | 0805 | Le Verdon | 6 Feb 1943 | 1643 | La Pallice | 80 | Passage Le Verdon-La Pallice. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 7 Feb 1943 | 1505 | La Pallice | 7 Feb 1943 | 1845 | La Pallice | 2,5 | Exercises. | ||
| Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 9 Feb 1943 | 1601 | La Pallice | 9 Feb 1943 | 1838 | La Pallice | 5,4 | Exercises. | ||
| 1. | Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 11 Feb 1943 | 1105 | La Pallice | 18 Apr 1943 | 1048 | Le Verdon | 9681 | Sailed for patrol in Indian Ocean and to supply Da Vinci. The submarine was equipped with METOX. | |
| 14 Feb 1943 | 0259 | 45° 07'N, 7° 45'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 14 Feb 1943 | 2300 | 44° 56'N, 9° 18'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 15 Feb 1943 | 0510 | 44° 54'N, 9° 35'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 15 Feb 1943 | 2330 | 44° 45'N, 10° 52'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 19 Feb 1943 | 2328 | 38° 17'N, 17° 09'W | A Portuguese illuminated ship was sighted and the submarine turned away. Following BETASOM's signal of 1930 hours, the submarine proceeded to a Grid delimited by 15°00' N and 16°00' N and by 20°00' W and 21°00' W. On 27th February, another signal ordered her to a square delimited by 12°00' N and 13°00' N and by 02°00' E and 03°00' E. | |||||||
| 18 Mar 1943 | 2038 | 11° 47'S, 1° 40'E (e) 11° 44'S, 1° 44'E | At 2015 hours, a vessel was sighted at a distance of 9,000 metres. At 2038 hours, Giuseppe Finzi closed to 2,500 metres and fired a single torpedo from a bow tube. This was a surface attack and it missed astern. The target was the British steamer Lulworth Hill (7,628 GRT, built 1940) travelling from Capetown to Freetown. At 2039 hours, a second torpedo was fired from a bow torpedo from a range of 1,200 metres at Lulworth Hill and again it missed. At 2040 hours, a third torpedo fired from a bow tube was not more successful. At 2042 hours, Lulworth Hill opened fire with a stern gun and forced the submarine to submerge. At 2215 hours, Giuseppe Finzi sighted Leonardo Da Vinci and informed her about the steamer. A few hours later, Lulworth Hill was sunk by Da Vinci. | |||||||
| 19 Mar 1943 | 2158-2340 | 12° 30'S, 2° 30'E | Giuseppe Finzi met Leonardo Da Vinci and gave her 90 tons of fuel, three torpedoes (450 mm), provisions and lubricating oil. In return, Finzi took from her two survivors from Empress Of Canada (one Italian and one British). They were fortunate as Leonardo Da Vinci would later be lost with all hands. | |||||||
| 28 Mar 1943 | 2218 2000 (e) | 3° 50'N, 15° 15'W | At 1545 hours, a smoke was sighted on the horizon and Giuseppe Finzi proceeded at full speed to intercept. At 1650 hours, it was observed to be a ship zigzagging at a distance of 20,000 metres on a 020° course. The submarine maneuvered to take a position ahead of the target after dark. At 2218 hours, a pair of bow torpedoes (533mm?) were fired from 700 metres but they missed. This was the Greek steamer Granicos (3,689 GRT, built 1916) on passage from Rio de Janeiro to Freetown. At 2219 hours, a second pair of bow torpedoes (533mm and 450mm?) were fired from 700 metres. One torpedo hit and the Greek ship sank. Thirty of her crew were killed. A Portuguese (or Brazilian?) survivor was picked up by the Italian submarine. Another survivor, Nikolaos Antilis, was found on a raft on 4th April in 01°00' S, 17°00' W. | |||||||
| 30 Mar 1943 | 0057 | 4° 08'N, 17° 35'W | A smoke was sighted at 1150 hours on 29th March 1943 in 05°15' N, 17°03' W. The submarine maneuvered to intercept after dark. At 0057 hours on the 30th, Giuseppe Finzi fired a pair of torpedoes from a distance of 2,700 metres. They missed. The target was the British Celtic Star (5,575 GRT, built 1918) on a voyage from Manchester and Greenock to Montevideo and Buenos Aires. At 0058 hours, a second pair of torpedoes was fired and this time both hit after 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Celtic Star sank at 0112 hours. Two men were killed. A Canadian G. Paatinson was captured by the submarine. HMS Fandango, HMS Aimwell and HMS Wastwater searched for survivors and sixty-three were recovered (also reported as sixty-six). | |||||||
| 1 Apr 1943 | 0840 | 9° 25'N, 21° 50'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 8 Apr 1943 | 2325 | 26° 10'N, 21° 56'W | An illuminated ship was observed from a distance of 15,000 metres. The submarine closed to 1,500 metres and identified her as a Spanish vessel steering 230°, 8 knots. The submarine turned away. | |||||||
| 11 Apr 1943 | 0655 | 36° 22'N, 16° 34'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 12 Apr 1943 | 0635 | 36° 28'N, 15° 21'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 12 Apr 1943 | 1845 | 39° 28'N, 14° 47'W | A small tanker was sighted at 18,000 metres. After closing, it was believed to a neutral vessel on a 270° and the submarine turned away. | |||||||
| 14 Apr 1943 | 0618 | 42° 29'N, 12° 00'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 15 Apr 1943 | 0309 | 42° 53'N, 9° 37'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 15 Apr 1943 | 1358 | What appeared to be a torpedo wake was observed but no action was taken. | ||||||||
| 15 Apr 1943 | 1850 | 44° 27'N, 8° 17'W | An unknown ship was sighted at a distance of 15,000 metres and the submarine turned away. | |||||||
| 16 Apr 1943 | 0452 | 44° 35'N, 6° 40'W | An aircraft was detected with Metox and the submarine dived. | |||||||
| 18 Apr 1943 | 0741 | 45° 37'N, 1° 29'W | As the submarine was proceeding in the wake of a Sperrbrecher, a mine detonated under her and near the auxiliary motors. The submarine suffered some damage but managed to reach her base without further incidents. The mine was possibly laid by HMS Cachalot on 28th March 1941 (F.D.32) but was more probably an air-laid magnetic mine. | |||||||
| 2. | Giuseppe Finzi (FZ, I.2) | 18 Apr 1943 | 1245 | Le Verdon | 18 Apr 1943 | 1919 | Bordeaux | Passage Le Verdon-Bordeaux. | ||
| 18 Apr 1943 | 0741 | 45° 37'N, 1° 29'W | As the submarine was proceeding in the wake of a Sperrbrecher, a mine detonated under her and near the auxiliary motors. The submarine suffered some damage but managed to reach her base without further incidents. The mine was possibly laid by HMS Cachalot on 28th March 1941 (F.D.32) but was more probably an air-laid magnetic mine. | |||||||
| S 6 () | 5 Aug 1943 | Danzig | 5 Aug 1943 | Danzig | Started trials. | |||||
| S 6 () | 9 Sep 1943 | Danzig | 9 Sep 1943 | Danzig | Seized by the Germans at the armistice. No patrols carried out. | |||||
28 entries. 9 total patrol entries (2 marked as war patrols) and 21 events.