Italian submarine fates

Ships hit by Italian submarines


Affonso Penna

TypeCargo ship
CountryBrazilian Brazilian
Built1910GRT3,540

Date of attack2 Mar 1943Time2301
2200Z (e)
FateSunk by submarine Barbarigo (T.V. Roberto Rigoli)
Position of attack16° 44'S, 36° 10'W
Complement242 (115 dead and 127 survivors)
Convoy
Notes At 1703 hours, a vessel was sighted zigzagging at 12 knots, on a mean course of 200°. The submarine moved easily to take position ahead of her. At 2301 hours, a pair of torpedoes (533mm) was fired, angled at 15° to port, at a distance of 540 metres. The second torpedo did not appear to follow the proper path and a third one was immediately fired. All three hit the target.

At 2302 hours, Rigoli also decided to open fire, but after the first round, it was checked as crew and passengers were observed taking to lifeboats and the ship sank. This was Brazilian Affonso Penna (3,540 GRT, built 1910) on a trip from Pernambuco to Rio de Janeiro. Some 119 survivors were picked up by the American freighter Tennessee. Eight survivors reached land at Porto Seguro on 6th March. Thirty-one crew members and eighty-four passengers were missing.

Position of attack

Ships hit by Italian submarines