Italian submarines in World War Two

Italian Commanders


Giuseppe Bianchini

Born  10 Jan 1907Palermo
Died  3 Feb 1981(74)Rome

Ranks

  C.C.Capitano di Corvetta

Decorations

1 Nov 1942 Croce di guerra al valore militare
7 Nov 1942 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
29 Mar 1943 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
29 Mar 1943 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare
10 Apr 1946 Croce di guerra al valore militare
29 Jul 1949 Medaglia di bronzo al valore militare

Career information

ARADAM (C.C. C.O.): from 17.12.1939 to 29.07.1941.

Commands listed for Giuseppe Bianchini


Submarine Type Rank From To
Aradam (AR)Coastal / Sea goingC.C.17 Dec 193929 Jul 1941

Ships hit by Giuseppe Bianchini

No ships hit by this Commander.

War patrols listed for Giuseppe Bianchini

 SubmarineDateTimePortArr. dateArr. timeArr. portMilesDescription
1.Aradam (AR)9 Jun 19401652Cagliari14 Jun 19401523Cagliari390,5Sailed 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.


2.Aradam (AR)20 Jun 19401836Cagliari28 Jun 19400805Cagliari847Patrolled between Cape Croisette and Cape Creus (Spain) in 42°40'N, 04°40'E.
  23 Jun 1940091242° 40'N, 4° 25'EAt 0912 hours, a warship with two or three funnels was sighted at a distance of 1,500 metres travelling at high speed. A torpedo (533mm) was fired from a bow tube. It missed.

3.Aradam (AR)3 Jul 19401423Cagliari6 Jul 19400945Cagliari249Sailed with Turchese and patrolled off Cagliari in 38°14'N, 07°40'E. On 4th July, she heard hydrophone noises, which may have been caused by the French battlecruiser Strasbourg, on her way to Toulon after the bombardment of Mers El Kebir.

4.Aradam (AR)16 Jul 19400028Cagliari16 Jul 19400617Cagliari47Sailed for patrol on a line 10 miles from 38°05'N, 08°20'E to intercept a battleship squadron, on a barrage line with Alagi, to intercept a battleship squadron, but recalled quickly.

5.Aradam (AR)22 Jul 19401608Cagliari9 Aug 19401430La Maddalena2118,5Sailed with Alagi for patrol on 36°00'N parallel between 02°10'W and 03°20'W, east of Gibraltar, 17 miles east of Alboran then off Cape Falcon. Witnessed an Italian (or French?) air raid on Gibraltar at 2250 hours on 28th July. Sighted only Spanish vessels.

Aradam (AR)20 Aug 19401100La Maddalena21 Aug 19401435Naples253,8Passage La Maddalena-Taranto.

Aradam (AR)8 Oct 19400851Naples8 Oct 19401710Naples47,5Exercises.

Aradam (AR)11 Oct 19400935Naples11 Oct 19401702Naples44,5Exercises.

Aradam (AR)13 Oct 19401000Naples13 Oct 19401130NaplesFrom 1000 to 1130 hours, while moored in harbour, there was an accidental fire on board the submarine. There were no casualties.

Aradam (AR)1 Nov 19400837Naples1 Nov 19401730Naples47Exercises.

Aradam (AR)5 Nov 19400742Naples5 Nov 19401701Naples48Exercises.

Aradam (AR)7 Nov 19400402Naples8 Nov 19401238Cagliari349Passage Naples-Cagliari.

6.Aradam (AR)9 Nov 19401836Cagliari12 Nov 19402312Cagliari421Sailed to form a patrol line with Alagi, Axum, Diaspro and Medusa, 315° - La Galite - 80 miles, north of Cape Bougaroni, on a line 120 miles west of that point. Uneventful.

7.Aradam (AR)15 Nov 19401846Cagliari19 Nov 19401645Cagliari364,5Sailed for patrol North of Cape Bougaroni, in 38°10'N, between 07°20'E and 07°40'E, on a barrage line with Diaspro. the bad weather and defects to the port diesel prevented the submarine from reaching the area in time. Heard hydrophone noises but sighted nothing.

8.Aradam (AR)26 Nov 19400137Cagliari2 Dec 19401733Cagliari576Sailed with Diaspro for patrol in 37°40'N, 08°00'E on a line 10 miles south from this point, off Cape de Fer and Cape Bougaroni on a line with Axum, Diaspro and Alagi. On the night of the 27th, she was ordered to 37°20'N, 06°00'E. Uneventful, except for the bad weather (Force 8).
  26 Nov 19400648
(0) Off Cape de Fer.
At 0648 hours, a destroyer of the JAVELIN class was sighted at a distance of 1,000 metres, steering 080°, 20 knots. Aradam dived and took avoiding action, as she was not ready to fire her torpedoes.

Aradam (AR)13 Dec 19401331Cagliari13 Dec 19401715Cagliari226Exercises.

9.Aradam (AR)7 Jan 19411830Cagliari12 Jan 19411920Cagliari645Patrolled off Sardinia, on a line 20 miles from 37°30'N, 09°50'E.
  9 Jan 19411727
(0) North of Tunis.
At 1727 hours, Aradam was at a depth of 30 metres when she was bombed or depth charged. She escaped damage. Then, from 1741 to 1801 hours, she was hunted by three enemy vessels but went deep to 115 meters to extricate herself.

From 1830 to 1900 hours, noises were heard and interpreted as a large enemy force on an easterly course. Aradam did not carry out an attack as is implied in the Seekriegsleitung diaries.

Aradam (AR)20 Jan 19411310Cagliari20 Jan 19411500Cagliari9Trials, escorted by MAS 502.

Aradam (AR)21 Jan 19410810Cagliari21 Jan 19411130Cagliari15Trials.

Aradam (AR)24 Jan 19410815Cagliari24 Jan 19411020CagliariExercises.

Aradam (AR)26 Jan 19411312Cagliari26 Jan 19411930Cagliari26,5Exercises.

Aradam (AR)29 Jan 19410814Cagliari29 Jan 19411136Cagliari26Exercises.

Aradam (AR)2 Feb 19411451Cagliari3 Feb 19412010Naples264Passage Cagliari-Naples.

Aradam (AR)28 Feb 19410909Naples28 Feb 19411647Naples27Exercises.

Aradam (AR)3 Mar 19410714Naples4 Mar 19411432Cagliari265,5Passage Naples-Cagliari.

Aradam (AR)24 Mar 19410810Cagliari24 Mar 19411340Cagliari42Exercises.

Aradam (AR)25 Mar 19410719Cagliari26 Mar 19411730Messina336Passage Cagliari-Messina.

10.Aradam (AR)27 Mar 19411056Messina12 Apr 19411300Messina1735Patrolled in Eastern Mediterranean, off Ras Aamer, on an axis NE/SW from 33°00'N, 25°40'E. Heard only hydrophone effect. Bianchini went on to become the leader of the 12th MAS flotilla which operated in Lake Ladoga.
  27 Mar 19411530
(0) Approximately east of Catania.
At 1530 hours, a German bomber, flying in formation, dropped a large bomb. It fell one mile ahead of Aradam.

Aradam (AR)14 Apr 19411758Messina15 Apr 19411436Naples224Passage Messina-Naples for extensive refit.

Aradam (AR)5 Jul 19410920Naples5 Jul 19411646Naples29,4Trials.

Aradam (AR)12 Jul 19410853Naples12 Jul 19411754Naples30Trials.

Aradam (AR)13 Jul 19410911Naples13 Jul 19411940Naples24Gyrocompass tests.

Aradam (AR)15 Jul 19410831Naples15 Jul 19411915Naples53,5Trials.

Aradam (AR)18 Jul 19410730Naples18 Jul 19411900Naples34,5Exercises.

Aradam (AR)19 Jul 19412008Naples20 Jul 19410120Naples29Exercises.

Aradam (AR)22 Jul 19410837Naples22 Jul 19411710Naples65Exercises.

Aradam (AR)25 Jul 19410705Naples25 Jul 19411622Naples19Exercises.

Aradam (AR)27 Jul 19411510Naples28 Jul 19410058Naples35,2Exercises.

Aradam (AR)29 Jul 19410720Naples29 Jul 19411522Naples43,3Exercises.

39 entries. 39 total patrol entries (10 marked as war patrols) and 4 events.

Italian Commanders

Italian Submarines