Italian submarines in World War Two

Italian Commanders


Salvatore Vassallo

Born  15 Jul 1914Porto Maurizio (Imperia)
Died   1970(55)

Ranks

  S.T.V.Sottotenente di Vascello
  T.V.Tenente di Vascello

Decorations

18 Apr 1942 Croce di guerra al valore militare
29 Apr 1943 Medaglia d'argento al valore militare
13 Jun 1943 Croce di guerra al valore militare
5 Aug 1943 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare

Career information

EMO (S.T.V. officer): from 10.05.1940 to November 1940+.
Promoted to T.V. on ?
EMO (T.V. First Officer): from 09.12.1941 to June 1942+.
EMO (T.V. resp.): from 13.02.1942 to 04.03.1942 (refit at Naples).
AMBRA (T.V. First Officer): from 15.09.1942 to February 1943+.
REMO: from 19.06.1943 to 15.07.1943 (sunk, Vassallo survived as PoW).

Commands listed for Salvatore Vassallo


Submarine Type Rank From To
Emo (EO, I.17)Ocean goingT.V.13 Feb 19424 Mar 1942
Remo (RE)TransportT.V.19 Jun 194315 Jul 1943

Ships hit by Salvatore Vassallo

No ships hit by this Commander.

War patrols listed for Salvatore Vassallo

 SubmarineDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
Emo (EO, I.17)13 Feb 1942Naples4 Mar 1942NaplesRefit in Naples. Change in command.

Remo (RE)21 Jun 19430800Taranto21 Jun 19431820Taranto60Exercises.

Remo (RE)27 Jun 19431215Taranto27 Jun 19432129Taranto50Exercises with the torpedo boat Fabrizi and the auxiliary Claretta.

Remo (RE)29 Jun 19431040Taranto29 Jun 19432100Taranto70Exercises.

Remo (RE)1 Jul 19431152Taranto1 Jul 19432040TarantoExercises.

Remo (RE)2 Jul 19430645Taranto2 Jul 19431155TarantoExercises with the submarine Romolo and the torpedo boats Pegaso and Partenope.

Remo (RE)11 Jul 19430433Taranto11 Jul 19431945TarantoExercises.

Remo (RE)13 Jul 19430610Taranto14 Jul 19430640Taranto400Exercises [mileage estimated since 1st July].

1.Remo (RE)15 Jul 19431221Taranto15 Jul 19431830SunkOn passage Taranto-Naples. Attacked by HMS United with four torpedoes and sunk. She was to have been loaded with ammunition on 5th July to sail on 10th July for Augusta, but the invasion of Sicily brought a change in plan.
  15 Jul 19431830
1831B (e)

(e) 38° 19'N, 17° 30'E
At about 1830 hours, Remo was proceeding on the surface when she was struck by a torpedo and sunk.

The culprit was the submarine HMS United (Lieutenant John Charles Young Roxburgh, DSC, RN). She was part of a barrage line (with HMS Unbroken, HMS Unshaken, HMS Uproar and ORP Dzik) at the entrance of the Gulf of Taranto, deployed at the beginning of Operation HUSKY (the invasion of Sicily).

At 1809B hours, the British submarine had sighted an object at a distance of 4 miles. Five minutes, later it was identified as an Italian submarine steering 140° at 10 knots and it was not zigzagging. United crossed the enemy's bow and made a turn to get the sun behind her.

At 1831B hours, United fired four torpedoes from a range of 500 yards. The first torpedo missed ahead, but the second and third torpedoes hit 31 and 41 seconds after the first torpedo was fired. The U-boat was seen to rise out of the water at an angle of 60° then sank stern first in about 45 seconds.

At 1836B hours, four survivors were seen through the periscope. Thirteen minutes later, the British submarine surfaced to pick them up. They were T.V. Salvatore Vassallo, his navigating officer and two ratings. Five officers and fifty ratings perished.

9 entries. 9 total patrol entries (1 marked as war patrols) and 1 events.

Italian Commanders

Italian Submarines