Italian submarine Barbarigo

Barbarigo

Company type	Submarine
Industry	Naval military vessel
Founded	19 September 1938
Headquarters	Italy
Products	Marcello-class submarine

{{Infobox ship characteristics

Hide header=

Header caption=

Ship class= Marcello-class submarine

Ship displacement=*1,060 long tons (1,077 t) surfaced 1,313 long tons (1,334 t) submerged

Ship length= 73 m (239 ft 6 in)

Ship beam= 7.19 m (23 ft 7 in)

Ship height=

Ship draught= 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)

Ship depth=

Ship propulsion=*Diesel-electric 2 × CRDA diesel engines 2 × CRDA electric motors

Ship speed=*17.4 knots (20.0 mph; 32.2 km/h) surfaced 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) submerged

Ship range=

Ship endurance=

Ship complement=58 personnel

Ship sensors=

Ship armament=*8 × 533 millimetres (21.0 in) torpedo tubes (4 forward, 4 aft) 2 × Škoda 10 cm K10 100 millimetres (3.9 in)/47 caliber guns 4 × Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun 13.2 millimetres (0.52 in) machine guns

Barbarigo was an Italian World War II submarine of the class, constructed by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico and officially commissioned on 19 September 1938.

History

Following initial peacetime training exercises and two unsuccessful missions within the Mediterranean Sea, Barbarigo was redeployed to the Atlantic theater, arriving at its BETASOM base in Bordeaux on 8 September 1940 after a patrol that yielded no results.

Between October 1940 and May 1941, the submarine undertook three patrols near the waters surrounding Ireland, managing only to damage a single merchant vessel. In July, it operated west of the Strait of Gibraltar, achieving its first confirmed victories by sinking the British cargo ship Macon (5,135 tons) on 25 July and subsequently the oiler Horn Shell (8,272 tons) before returning to port. On 22 October, under the command of Capitano di Corvetta Enzo Grossi, Barbarigo embarked on another patrol which ended without success. During the following mission, the submarine encountered a vessel displaying lights but nonetheless torpedoed and sank it on 23 January 1941; this ship was later identified as the neutral Spanish vessel SS Navemar.

Subsequently, Barbarigo was assigned operations off the coast of Brazil, departing Bordeaux on 30 April. It became involved in Brazil's first wartime naval engagement of World War II when it attacked the Brazilian merchant ship Comandante Lyra on 18 May 1942 without sinking it, subsequently evading pursuit by Brazilian air and naval forces for five days. The submarine successfully avoided two attacks by Brazilian North American B-25 Mitchell bombers.

On 20 May, Barbarigo encountered the cruiser USS Milwaukee (CL-5) and destroyer USS Moffett (DD-362). Mistaking the cruiser for a , Commander Grossi launched two torpedoes at it. Convinced that they had struck and sunk a battleship, Grossi withdrew; however, the American vessels were unaware of any attack. Despite skepticism from BETASOM commander Romolo Polacchini, Grossi’s report was publicized widely in Italian and German media, earning him a Gold Medal of Military Valour and promotion to Capitano di Fregata. On its return journey, Barbarigo sank the cargo ship Charlbury (4,836 tons) on 28 May.

The submarine set out again on 29 August for a patrol along Africa’s coastline. On the night of 6 October, it engaged the corvette HMS Petunia (K79), which Grossi misidentified as a . He fired four torpedoes and was once more convinced he had sunk an enemy battleship; however, Petunia escaped unharmed. Returning to port on 29 October, Grossi’s claimed success received extensive media coverage and led to his promotion to Capitano di Vascello along with a second Gold Medal. He left command of Barbarigo to succeed Polacchini as BETASOM commander. Post-war investigations in 1949 and 1962 concluded that Grossi and his crew acted in good faith but resulted in his demotion and loss of awards.

On 24 January 1943, Barbarigo departed for its final combat mission during which it sank three vessels: Monte Igueldo (3,453 tons) on 24 February, Alfonso Pena (3,540 tons) on 2 March, and Staghound on 3 March before returning to Bordeaux by 3 April.

After undergoing repairs, crew retraining, and equipment replacement, the submarine was converted into a transport vessel tasked with ferrying materiel between Germany and Japan in 1943. This conversion involved removing its guns, torpedoes, and all but one periscope. Departing Bordeaux on 16 June carrying approximately 130 tons of valuable cargo, Barbarigo vanished en route. Postwar British intelligence records indicate that an unidentified submarine was attacked and presumed destroyed between 17 and 19 June within the area where Barbarigo was likely operating.

See also

• Italian submarines of World War II

References

• Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-532-3.
• Barbarigo on regiamarina.net (in Italian)
• Barone, João (2013) "1942: O Brasil e sua guerra quase desconhecida" (1942: Brazil and its almost forgotten war) (in Portuguese) Editora Nova Fronteira ISBN 8520933947

External links

• Italian submarine Barbarigo undertaking a successful Atlantic mission. 1942 Italian news footage on YouTube
• Barbarigo official page at Marina Militare website