Leonardo da Vinci was a Marconi-classsubmarine 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.[3][4]
Leonardo da Vinci was built at the CRDA shipyard in Monfalcone, near Trieste, Italy's leading submarine builder. One of six boats of the Marconi class, which were laid down in 1938–39, Leonardo da Vinci was launched in September 1939. Designed as an ocean-going vessel, she was intended for operations both in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic.
Service historyedit
With Italy's entry into World War II in June 1940 Leonardo da Vinci was dispatched to the Atlantic to Bordeaux in occupied France to serve in the Italian submarine flotilla there, BETASOM. She arrived October 1940 after a successful transit of the Straits of Gibraltar, scene of a number of Axis submarine losses.
Leonardo da Vinci carried out 11 war patrols, sinking 17 ships of 120,243 GRT,[5] which included the 21,500-ton ocean linerRMS Empress of Canada. Leonardo da Vinci was Italy's most successful submarine in World War II, and her captain, Lt. Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia, Italy's leading submarine ace. In July 1942 Leonardo da Vinci was assigned to a special operation aimed at mounting raids on harbours on the eastern seaboard of the United States. To this end she was converted to carry a CA-classmidget submarine, and during the autumn engaged in trials with the new weapon.[6] However, the operation was delayed due to the need for modifications to the CA craft and Leonardo da Vinci returned to action to the Atlantic.
Planned attack on New York Harboredit
Leonardo da Vinci was to be used on a clandestine attack on the New York Harbor. The project, first started in July 1942 by Junio Valerio Borghese, involved launching Leonardo da Vinci from the BETASOM base in Bordeaux to the mouth of the Hudson River loaded with a CA-class submarine and a team of divers armed with 28 explosive charges.[7] Once in position, the divers would take the CA-class into the harbor. Their charges – ranging in size from 20 to 100 kg – would be set to undermine the ships in the harbor.[8]
Early tests carried out in August 1942 were promising, showing that Leonardo da Vinci could effectively launch the CA-class and recover it.[9] In reality, however, recovery of the CA-class was a remote possibility, and it was more likely that the divers would have to destroy the vehicle once they had completed setting their charges.[9]
The mission was postponed following the loss of Leonardo da Vinci, and was ultimately canceled when the armistice was signed four months later.[10]
Last patroledit
In March 1943 Leonardo da Vinci made her last and most successful patrol, to the South Atlantic. On 14 March she sank the Empress of Canada en route to Takoradi, West Africa. She was carrying Italian prisoners of war, and Polish and Greek refugees, and of the 1800 people on board, 392 perished.[11] On 19 March Leonardo da Vinci torpedoed and sank the 7,628 ton British cargo ship SS Lulworth Hill in the South Atlantic.[12] She captured and took on board one survivor;[13] two other men survived following a 50-day ordeal on a liferaft.[14]
In April 1943 Leonardo da Vinci sank four vessels in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Durban.[15]
Fateedit
After the last sinking at the end of April, Leonardo da Vinci turned for home. On 22 May 1943, off the coast of Spain, her commander unwisely signaled his intention to head for Bordeaux.[15] The submarine's position having been fixed by direction-finding, on 23 May the destroyer HMS Active and the frigate HMS Ness (both escorts to convoys WS-30 and KMF-15) subjected the submarine to an intense depth charge attack and sank it 300 miles (480 km) west of Vigo at an estimated position of 42°16′0″N15°40′0″W / 42.26667°N 15.66667°W / 42.26667; -15.66667.[16] There were no survivors.
^Clay Blair, Hitler's U-boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942, p.740
^The US Navy's most successful submarine, USS Tang, sank 116,454 GRT, while HMS Upholder, the Royal Navy's most successful submarine, sank 93,031 GRT of shipping.
^Giorgerini, Giorgio. (2002). Uomini sul fondo : storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi. Mondadori, Cles, tipografo trentino. Milano: Mondadori. pp. 374–375. ISBN8804505370. OCLC 801321615.
^Giorgerini, Giorgio. (2007). Attacco dal mare : storia dei mezzi d'assalto della marina italiana (1st ed.). Milano: Mondadori. pp. 107, 114. ISBN9788804512431. OCLC 127107202.
^ abRaiola, Giulio; de Risio, Carlo (1969). Obiettivo America, in Storia Illustrata.
^Giancarlo, Pertegato (2001-09-23). "Attacco a New York: nel '43 Borghese voleva minare un grattacielo". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
^Associated Press, “400 Lives Lost In Sinking of Liner Year Ago”, The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Saturday 19 February 1944, Volume 50, page 2.
^Piccinotti, Andrea (2000–2006). . La storia della Regia Marina Italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale. Andrea Piccinotti. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
^Allen, Tony (9 May 2008). "SS Lulworth Hill (+1943)". The Wreck Site. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
^"What Cares the Sea?" by Kenneth Cooke, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960.
^ abcChristiano D'Adamo. "Regia Marina Italiana – Boats – Leonardo da Vinci".
italian, submarine, leonardo, vinci, 1939, other, ships, with, same, name, italian, submarine, leonardo, vinci, leonardo, vinci, marconi, class, submarine, italian, navy, during, world, operated, atlantic, from, september, 1940, until, loss, 1943, became, scor. For other ships with the same name see Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci 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 3 4 Leonardo da Vinci in 1940HistoryItalyNameLeonardo da VinciBuilderCRDA Monfalcone Italy Launched16 September 1939HomeportBETASOM BordeauxFateSunk 24 May 1943General characteristicsClass and typeMarconi class submarine 1 2 Displacement1 175 long tons 1 194 t standard 1 465 long tons 1 489 t full loadLength76 5 m 251 ft Beam6 81 m 22 3 ft Draught4 72 m 15 5 ft PropulsionDiesel engines 3 600 hp 2 685 kW surfaced Electric motors 1 500 hp 1 119 kW submerged 2 shaftsSpeed17 8 knots 33 0 km h 20 5 mph surfaced 8 2 kn 15 2 km h 9 4 mph submergedComplement57Armament1 100 mm 4 in 47 caliber gun 4 13 2 mm anti aircraft guns 8 21 in 533 mm torpedo tubes 4 bow 4 stern 12 torpedoes Contents 1 Construction 2 Service history 2 1 Planned attack on New York Harbor 2 2 Last patrol 3 Fate 4 Successes 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Bibliography 6 External linksConstruction editLeonardo da Vinci was built at the CRDA shipyard in Monfalcone near Trieste Italy s leading submarine builder One of six boats of the Marconi class which were laid down in 1938 39 Leonardo da Vinci was launched in September 1939 Designed as an ocean going vessel she was intended for operations both in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic Service history editWith Italy s entry into World War II in June 1940 Leonardo da Vinci was dispatched to the Atlantic to Bordeaux in occupied France to serve in the Italian submarine flotilla there BETASOM She arrived October 1940 after a successful transit of the Straits of Gibraltar scene of a number of Axis submarine losses Leonardo da Vinci carried out 11 war patrols sinking 17 ships of 120 243 GRT 5 which included the 21 500 ton ocean liner RMS Empress of Canada Leonardo da Vinci was Italy s most successful submarine in World War II and her captain Lt Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia Italy s leading submarine ace In July 1942 Leonardo da Vinci was assigned to a special operation aimed at mounting raids on harbours on the eastern seaboard of the United States To this end she was converted to carry a CA class midget submarine and during the autumn engaged in trials with the new weapon 6 However the operation was delayed due to the need for modifications to the CA craft and Leonardo da Vinci returned to action to the Atlantic Planned attack on New York Harbor edit Leonardo da Vinci was to be used on a clandestine attack on the New York Harbor The project first started in July 1942 by Junio Valerio Borghese involved launching Leonardo da Vinci from the BETASOM base in Bordeaux to the mouth of the Hudson River loaded with a CA class submarine and a team of divers armed with 28 explosive charges 7 Once in position the divers would take the CA class into the harbor Their charges ranging in size from 20 to 100 kg would be set to undermine the ships in the harbor 8 Early tests carried out in August 1942 were promising showing that Leonardo da Vinci could effectively launch the CA class and recover it 9 In reality however recovery of the CA class was a remote possibility and it was more likely that the divers would have to destroy the vehicle once they had completed setting their charges 9 The mission was postponed following the loss of Leonardo da Vinci and was ultimately canceled when the armistice was signed four months later 10 Last patrol edit In March 1943 Leonardo da Vinci made her last and most successful patrol to the South Atlantic On 14 March she sank the Empress of Canada en route to Takoradi West Africa She was carrying Italian prisoners of war and Polish and Greek refugees and of the 1800 people on board 392 perished 11 On 19 March Leonardo da Vinci torpedoed and sank the 7 628 ton British cargo ship SS Lulworth Hill in the South Atlantic 12 She captured and took on board one survivor 13 two other men survived following a 50 day ordeal on a liferaft 14 In April 1943 Leonardo da Vinci sank four vessels in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Durban 15 Fate editAfter the last sinking at the end of April Leonardo da Vinci turned for home On 22 May 1943 off the coast of Spain her commander unwisely signaled his intention to head for Bordeaux 15 The submarine s position having been fixed by direction finding on 23 May the destroyer HMS Active and the frigate HMS Ness both escorts to convoys WS 30 and KMF 15 subjected the submarine to an intense depth charge attack and sank it 300 miles 480 km west of Vigo at an estimated position of 42 16 0 N 15 40 0 W 42 26667 N 15 66667 W 42 26667 15 66667 16 There were no survivors Successes editShips sunk by da Vinci 15 Patrol Date Ship Flag Tonnage Notes4th 28 June 1941 Auris nbsp United Kingdom 8 030 Tanker 27 survivors from a crew of 596th 25 February 1942 Cabedello nbsp Brazil 3 557 Freighter no survivors6th 28 February 1942 Everasma nbsp Latvia 3 644 Freighter from Convoy TAW 12 torpedoed at 16 00 N 49 00 W 16 000 N 49 000 W 16 000 49 000 15 survivors7th 2 June 1942 Reine Marie Stewart nbsp Panama 1 087 Schooner7th 7 June 1942 Chile nbsp Denmark 6 956 Freighter 39 survivors from a crew of 447th 10 June 1942 Alioth nbsp Netherlands 5 483 Freighter 8 survivors from a crew of 367th 13 June 1942 Clan Macquarrie nbsp United Kingdom 6 471 Collier 1 killed from a crew of 908th 2 November 1942 Empire Zeal nbsp United Kingdom 7 009 Freighter8th 5 November 1942 Andreas nbsp Greece 6 566 Freighter8th 10 November 1942 Marcus Whitman nbsp United States 7 176 Liberty ship no casualties8th 11 November 1942 Veerhaven nbsp Netherlands 5 291 Freighter no casualties9th 14 March 1943 RMS Empress of Canada nbsp Canada 21 517 Troopship 392 killed from 1 800 aboard9th 18 March 1943 Lulworth Hill nbsp United Kingdom 7 628 Freighter9th 17 April 1943 Sembilan nbsp Netherlands 6 566 Freighter9th 18 April 1943 Manar nbsp United Kingdom 8 007 Freighter9th 21 April 1943 John Drayton nbsp United States 7 177 Liberty ship9th 25 April 1943 Doryessa nbsp United Kingdom 8 078 Tanker 11 survivors from a crew of 54Total 120 243References editNotes edit Conway p 306 Bagnasco p161 Clay Blair Hitler s U boat War The Hunters 1939 1942 p 740 The US Navy s most successful submarine USS Tang sank 116 454 GRT while HMS Upholder the Royal Navy s most successful submarine sank 93 031 GRT of shipping Blair p 739 Kemp p 59 60 Giorgerini Giorgio 2002 Uomini sul fondo storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi Mondadori Cles tipografo trentino Milano Mondadori pp 374 375 ISBN 8804505370 OCLC 801321615 Giorgerini Giorgio 2007 Attacco dal mare storia dei mezzi d assalto della marina italiana 1st ed Milano Mondadori pp 107 114 ISBN 9788804512431 OCLC 127107202 a b Raiola Giulio de Risio Carlo 1969 Obiettivo America in Storia Illustrata Giancarlo Pertegato 2001 09 23 Attacco a New York nel 43 Borghese voleva minare un grattacielo Corriere della Sera Retrieved 2019 06 14 Associated Press 400 Lives Lost In Sinking of Liner Year Ago The San Bernardino Daily Sun San Bernardino California Saturday 19 February 1944 Volume 50 page 2 Piccinotti Andrea 2000 2006 Sommergibili Classe Marconi La storia della Regia Marina Italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale Andrea Piccinotti Archived from the original on 23 October 2009 Retrieved 1 July 2010 Allen Tony 9 May 2008 SS Lulworth Hill 1943 The Wreck Site Retrieved 1 July 2010 What Cares the Sea by Kenneth Cooke published by McGraw Hill New York 1960 a b c Christiano D Adamo Regia Marina Italiana Boats Leonardo da Vinci WRECKsite Leonardo da Vinci Bibliography edit Erminio Bagnasco Submarines of World War Two Cassell amp Co London 1977 ISBN 1 85409 532 3 Blair Clay 1996 Hitler s U Boat War The Hunters 1939 1942 Cassell ISBN 0 304 35260 8 Gardiner Robert Chesneau Roger eds 1980 Conway s All The World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7 Paul Kemp Underwater Warriors 1997 ISBN 1 85409 455 6 Giorgerini Giorgio Uomini sul fondo Storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi Mondadori 2002 ISBN 978 88 04 50537 2 Zolandez Thomas December 2017 Question 32 53 Warship International LIV 4 280 281 ISSN 0043 0374 External links editLeonardo da Vinci at regiamarina net U boats off Natal Bill Bizley Leonardo da Vinci 1939 Marina Militare websitePortals nbsp Italy nbsp Engineering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci 1939 amp oldid 1202669944, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
