Italian submarine fates
Ships hit by Italian submarines
Oscilla
| Type | Tanker | |||
| Country |  Dutch | |||
| Built | 1939 | GRT | 6,341 | |
| Date of attack | 16 Mar 1942 | Time | 0553-0620 | |
| Fate | Sunk by submarine Morosini (C.C. Athos Fraternale) | |||
| Position of attack | 19° 09'N, 60° 36'W | |||
| Complement | 56 (4 dead and 52 survivors) | |||
| Convoy | ||||
| Notes | At 2005 hours, the masts of a tanker were observed on the port bow. She was steering 190° at about 12 knots. Morosini took an interception course. At 0503 hours, a pair of torpedoes (533mm, W 270 type) were fired from the bow tubes at 600 metres. After 25 seconds, two torpedoes were claimed to have simultaneously hit amidships; survivors would report only one hit on the port side amidship. This was the Dutch tanker Oscilla (6341 GRT, built 1939) in ballast, on passage from Gourock to Curaçoa. She had a crew of nineteen Dutchmen, thirty-six Chinese and one Englishman. The ship was still afloat, fifty-two men abandoned ship in three lifeboats except for four men who were missing. At 0520 hours, Morosini fired a torpedo (450mm, A 115 type) from a stern tube at a distance of 600 metres. It had a straight run but appeared to hit without detonating. At 0523 hours, another torpedo (450mm, type A 115) was launched from a stern tube and appeared to have the same result. At 0534 hours, a torpedo (533mm, W 270 type) followed from a distance of 700 metres. It broke surface twice but hit the target. Survivors confirmed that it hit amidship but this time on the port side, Nevertheless, Oscilla remained afloat. At 0553 hours, Morosini opened fire with both 100mm guns. Although the tanker was armed, she did not have a gun crew on board. After 81 rounds were expended, the tanker finally capsized and sank. The survivors were picked up by the American steamer Explorer. | |||