Italian submarine Luigi Torelli

Last updated
History
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svgItaly
NameLuigi Torelli
Namesake Luigi Torelli
Builder Oto (La Spezia, Italy)
Laid down15 February 1939
Launched6 January 1940
CommissionedMay 15 1940
Homeport BETASOM, Bordeaux
FateSeized by the Japanese on 8 September 1943 and handed over to Nazi Germany on 10 September 1943
Service record as Luigi Torelli
Commanders:
Victories: 7 merchant ships sunk
(42,968  GRT)
War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg Nazi Germany
NameUIT-25
Acquired10 September 1943
Commissioned6 December 1943
FateIncorporated into the Japanese Navy following the German surrender on 10 May 1945
Service record as UIT-25 [1]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Werner Striegler [2]
  • 6 December 1943 – 13 February 1944
  • 16 February – 31 August 1944
  • Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Herbert Schrein (acting) [3]
  • September 1944 – February 1945
  • Oblt.z.S. Alfred Meier [4]
  • 25 November 1944 – February 1945
Operations: 3 patrols
Victories: None
Naval Ensign of Japan.svgJapan
NameI-504
Acquired10 May 1945
Commissioned14 July 1945
FateCaptured by the U.S. Navy and scuttled on 16 April 1946
Service record as I-504 [5]
Commanders:
Operations: None
Victories: None
General characteristics
Class and type Marconi-class submarine [6]
Displacement
  • 1,195 tons (standard)
  • 1,400t (full load)
Length251 ft (77 m)
Beam22.4 ft (6.8 m)
Draught15.6 ft (4.8 m)
Propulsion
  • (surfaced/submerged) diesel / electric, 2 shafts
  • 2,700 / 1,100 kW (3,600 / 1,500 hp)
Speed33.0 / 15.2 km/h (17.8 / 8.2  kn) (surfaced/submerged)
Complement57
Armament

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli was a Marconi-class submarine of the Italian navy during World War II. The vessel operated in the Atlantic from September 1940 until mid-1943, then was sent to the Far East. After Italy's surrender in 1943, the Luigi Torelli was taken over by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine , then, in the waning months of the war, the Japanese Imperial Navy. It was one of only two ships to serve in all three major Axis navies, the other being the Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini .

Contents

Construction

Luigi Torelli was built at the Oto shipyard in La Spezia, Italy. One of six boats of the Marconi-class submarine, which were laid down on 15 February 1939, Luigi Torelli was launched on 6 January 1940. Designed as an ocean-going vessel, she was intended for operations both in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic.

Service history

When Italy entered World War II in June 1940 the Luigi Torelli was still completing its training and shakedown period. [7] Afterward, it conducted a short reconnaissance mission in the Gulf of Genoa, and was then dispatched to the Atlantic to Bordeaux in occupied France to serve in the Italian submarine flotilla there. [7]

Between 11 and 29 September 1940, the Luigi Torelli was assigned to patrol an area just off the Azores Islands. [7] On 5 October 1940, she reached Bordeaux. In the following weeks, the boat left port several times and made short practice missions. [7]

On 15 January 1941 Luigi Torelli, under the command of Primo Longobardo, sighted a small convoy and sank the Greek vessel Nemea, the Norwegian vessel Brask and the Greek vessel Nicolas Filinis. A fourth vessel was also damaged, but escaped due to the foul weather. [7] This was one of the few examples of an Italian submarine achieving great results while participating in a Wolfpack attack, according to Regia Marina Italiana. [7] Two weeks later, the Luigi Torelli sank the British vessel Urla. In July 1941, she sank the Norwegian tanker Ida Knudsen. [8] A year later, she sank the British vessel Scottish Star and the Panamanian motor tanker Esso Copenhagen. [7]

The Torelli was the first submarine to be attacked by an Allied Vickers Wellington using the Leigh light, on the night of 3 June 1942 at roughly 70 miles (110 km) off the Spanish coast, suffering considerable damage but managing to reach the port of Avilés and, after an attempt to reach Bordeaux ended when an Australian Short Sunderland attacked the submarine and inflicted further damage upon it, it ended up in Santander; after emergency repairs, the submarine managed to exit the port (where the Spanish authorities intended to intern it) with a stratagem, and safely reached Bordeaux on July 15. [9]

In 1943, the Luigi Torelli, after surviving at least two serious air attacks, was one of seven Italian submarines designated to be converted into transports. The Italian boats, due to their dimensions, were deemed better suited for long voyages to the Far East on missions to acquire precious and rare material. The Luigi Torelli left for the Far East on 14 June 1943. The operation was under German control but the Luigi Torelli retained its Italian crew. [7]

The Luigi Torelli was one of three Italian submarines in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. Of the three, the Luigi Torelli, Comandante Cappellini and Giuliani and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The Luigi Torelli and two other boats then passed to German U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, continued to fight against the Allies. The Kriegsmarine assigned new officers to the Luigi Torelli, renamed her the UIT-25 and had her take part in German war operations in the Pacific.

Following the German surrender in 1945, the Luigi Torelli was again given a new name, the I-504, by the Japanese, and operated with the Imperial Japanese Navy until 30 August 1945. The Luigi Torelli and sister submarine Comandante Cappellini were the only two ships to fly the flags of all three main Axis powers during World War II.

As the I-504, Luigi Torelli's crew claimed to shoot down a B-25 Mitchell bomber while under the Japanese flag near the very end of the war in the Pacific, allegedly the last success by an Axis naval vessel in the conflict. [10]

Fate

Captured by the U.S. in Kobe, Japan, at the conclusion of the war, the Luigi Torelli was scuttled by the US Navy in the Kii Strait on 16 April 1946. [8]

Summary of raiding history

Ships sunk by Luigi Torelli [11]
PatrolDateShipFlagTonnageNotes
3rd15 January 1941 Nemea Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 5,198Freighter; 14 survivors from a crew of 31
3rd15 January 1941 Brask Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 4,079Freighter; 20 survivors from a crew of 32
3rd16 January 1941 Nicolas Filinis Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 3,111Freighter; 26 survivors from a crew of 29
3rd28 January 1941 Urla Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 5,198Freighter; no casualties
5th21 July 1941 Ida Knudsen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 8,913Tanker; 5 killed
8th19 February 1942 Scottish Star Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 7,224Freighter; 4 killed from a crew of 73
8th25 February 1942 Esso Copenhagen Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 9,245Tanker; 1 killed from a crew of 39
Total:42,968

Notes

Notes

  1. 1 2 Serve as commander of I-504 concurrently

Citations

  1. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Foreign U-boats UIT-25". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Werner Striegler". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Herbert Schrein". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Alfred Meier". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "I-504". IJN Submarine Service – Ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Bagnasco p161
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Boats". www.regiamarina.net.
  8. 1 2 "Imperial Submarines". www.combinedfleet.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020.
  9. ↑ Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). Uomini sul fondo : storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi. Milano: Mondadori. pp. 518–23. ISBN   8804505370.
  10. ↑ Willmott, H. P. (2010). The Last Century of Sea Power, Volume 2: From Washington to Tokyo, 1922–1945. Indiana University Press. p. 276. ISBN   978-0253004093.
  11. ↑ "Boats". www.regiamarina.net.

Related Research Articles

<i>Regia Marina</i> 1861–1946 branch of Italian military; predecessor of the Marina Militare

The Regia Marina or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Regia Marina changed its name to Marina Militare.

German submarine U-195 was a Type IXD1 transport U-boat which served in World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 May 1941 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 1041, launched on 8 April 1942, and commissioned on 5 September 1942 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Heinz Buchholz.

German submarine <i>U-504</i> German World War II submarine

German submarine U-504 was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 29 April 1940 at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg as yard number 294, launched on 24 April 1941 and commissioned on 30 July 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Hans-Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Poske. Initially attached to the 4th U-boat Flotilla for training, the U-boat was transferred to the 2nd flotilla on 1 January 1942 for front-line service. She was a member of six wolfpacks.

Foreign U-boats was the title for a special section created by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine that adopted 13 captured enemy submarines and a single Turkish vessel into the U-boat corps. Beginning in 1939 and lasting until the end of World War II in 1945, the Kriegsmarine modified a total of 13 captured enemy submarines, then deployed them into combat with German crews. The special corps was not especially successful, as only ten enemy ships were destroyed by Foreign U-boats through the entire war. Eight of these were destroyed by UA, which was a modified Type IX U-boat originally built for the Turkish Navy. However, some were effective as minelayers.

German submarine U-759 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 November 1940 at the Kriegsmarinewerft yard at Wilhelmshaven, launched on 30 May 1942, and commissioned on 15 August 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Rudolf Friedrich.

Italian submarine <i>Comandante Cappellini</i> World War II Italian Marcello-class submarine

Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini was a World War II Italian Marcello-class submarine built for the Italian Royal Navy. After Italy's surrender, the submarine was captured by the Japanese and handed over to Germany as UIT-24. Following the capitulation of Germany, the Japanese integrated the boat into their fleet as I-503. Following the end of the war, the United States scuttled the submarine in 1946.

Italian submarine <i>Barbarigo</i>

Barbarigo was a World War II Italian Marcello-class submarine. It was built by the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, and was commissioned on 19 September 1938.

<i>Marcello</i>-class submarine

The Marcello class was a class of nine submarines built in 1937 and 1938 by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy. Two similar submarines built in 1939 at La Spezia by Oto Melara are sometimes considered part of the class. All eleven served in the Mediterranean Sea at the start of the Second World War. After Provana's 1940 sinking, the remaining boats were transferred to the BETASOM Atlantic submarine base at Bordeaux in August 1940. After four boats had been sunk in the Atlantic, Barbarigo and Comandante Cappellini were then selected for conversion to "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. Cargo capacity of 160 tons reduced reserve buoyancy from 20–25% to 3.5–6%; and armament was reduced to defensive machine guns. Only Dandolo was in operational condition at the end of the war.

<i>Marconi</i>-class submarine Italian submarine class

The Marconi class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy. The submarines were all launched between 1939 and 1940, and all but one, Luigi Torelli, were lost in the Atlantic during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Fecia di Cossato</span>

Carlo Fecia di Cossato was an officer in the Regia Marina, in command of submarines and torpedo boats during World War II. He was credited with the confirmed sinking of 23 enemy ships. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and of the Gold Medal of Military Valor, the highest decoration of the Italian Armed Forces.

Brin was a Brin-class submarine built for and operated by Italy's Regia Marina during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BETASOM</span> Italian submarine base in Bordeaux, France

BETASOM was a submarine base established at Bordeaux, France by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana during World War II. From this base, Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from 1940 to 1943 as part of the Axis anti-shipping campaign against the Allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th U-boat Flotilla</span> Military unit

The 12th U-boat Flotilla was a German U-boat flotilla formed on 15 October 1942 at Bordeaux under the command of Korvettenkapitän Klaus Scholtz. The flotilla was disbanded on 25 August 1944 due to the imminent arrival of Allied forces.

German submarine U-177 was a Type IXD2 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 25 November 1940, at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, as yard number 1017. She was launched on 1 October 1941, and commissioned on 14 March 1942, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schulze. After a period of training with the 4th U-boat Flotilla at Stettin, the boat was transferred to the 10th flotilla on 1 October 1942, and based at Lorient, for front-line service, she was then reassigned to the 12th flotilla at Bordeaux on 1 December.

Italian submarine <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> (1939) Italian submarine

Leonardo da Vinci was a Marconi-class submarine of the Italian navy during World War II. It operated in the Atlantic from September 1940 until its loss in May 1943, and became the top scoring non-German submarine of the entire war.

SM <i>UB-50</i> German Type UB III submarine

SM UB-50 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 May 1916. She was commissioned into the Pola Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 12 July 1917 as SM UB-50.

German submarine <i>U-105</i> (1940) German World War II submarine

German submarine U-105 was a Type IXB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was ordered on 24 May 1938 as part of Germany's naval rearmament program. Her keel was laid down in Bremen on 16 November 1938. After roughly seven months of construction, she was launched on 15 June 1940 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 10 September 1940.

German submarine U-407 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 12 September 1940 by Danziger Werft, Danzig as yard number 108, launched on 16 August 1941 and commissioned on 18 December 1941 under Oberleutnant zur See Ernst-Ulrich Brüller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Neuland</span> Naval operation during the Second World War

Operation Neuland was the German Navy's code name for the extension of unrestricted submarine warfare into the Caribbean Sea during World War II. U-boats demonstrated range to disrupt United Kingdom petroleum supplies and United States aluminum supplies which had not been anticipated by Allied pre-war planning. Although the area remained vulnerable to submarines for several months, U-boats never again enjoyed the opportunities for success resulting from the surprise achieved by the submarines participating in this operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Todaro (naval officer)</span>

Salvatore Bruno Todaro was an Italian naval officer and submariner during World War II. He is best known for his participation in the battle of the Atlantic and the two instances in which he towed to safety the lifeboats carrying the survivors of ships he had sunk.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.