Aldo Cocchia (30 August 1900 – 12 December 1968) was an Italian naval officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Cocchia was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1900 and attended the

Italian Naval Academy The Italian Naval Academy (Italian: ''Accademia Navale'') is a coeducational military university in Livorno, which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy. History The Hospitals The Hospital of St. Jame ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, graduating in 1916 with the rank of

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served on board the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

''Conte di Cavour''. In the 1930s he participated in the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

and the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, commanding

MAS Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and torpedo boats. When Italy entered

Cocchia, with the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, was the commanding officer of the submarine ''

Luigi Torelli Luigi Torelli (9 February 1810 – 14 November 1887) was born in Villa di Tirano, in the Valtellina of Lombardy, at the time part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Being a patriot, he took part in the Five Days of Milan, most noted in drivin ...

''; he commanded the boat during its first mission in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, after which he was assigned to

BETASOM BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of ''Bordeaux Sommergibile'' or ''Sommergibili'') was a submarine base established at Bordeaux, France by the Italian '' Regia Marina Italiana'' during World War II. From this base, Italian submarines particip ...

base in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

as Chief of Staff. After his promotion to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he was repatriated, and in May 1941 he led the motley flotilla that carried and landed near

Sitia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...

(on the eastern coast of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

), during the German invasion of the island, an Italian regiment sent as reinforcement to the German troops engaged in the battle. He was then appointed military commander of the island of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight fr ...

, a role he held until April 1942, when he was replaced by Captain

Luigi Mascherpa Luigi Mascherpa (April 15, 1893 – May 24, 1944) was an Italian admiral during World War II. He led the Italian defense during the Battle of Leros and was later executed by the Italian Social Republic. Early life and career Luigi Mascherpa was ...

. In April 1942 he was given command of the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

and the 16th Destroyer Squadron; in the subsequent months, he was the escort leader in numerous

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

carrying supplies from Italy and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

towards

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, facing many attacks by British aircraft and submarines, with changing fortunes. His last escort mission resulted, on 2 December 1942, in the

Battle of Skerki Bank The Battle of Skerki Bank was an engagement during the Second World War which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of 2 December 1942. Force Q, a flotilla of Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers, attacked Convoy ...

: his convoy (composed of the transport ships ''Aventino'', ''Aspromonte'', ''Puccini'' and ''KT 1''), escorted by three destroyers (''Da Recco'', ''Folgore'' and ''Camicia Nera'') and two torpedo boats ( and ), was attacked during the night by the British Force Q, consisting of the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s ''Aurora'', '' Sirius'' and ''Argonaut'' and the destroyers ''Quiberon'' and ''Quentin''. On Cocchia's orders, the entire escort launched a determined counterattack, but could not prevent the destruction of the convoy; ''Da Recco'', after two unsuccessful attacks with guns and

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es, closed in on Force Q to launch a third attack, but the accidental ignition of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

contained in the forward

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

originated a column of sparks, that gave away the position of the ship. Accurate British fire immediately crippled ''Da Recco'', igniting her forward magazines; more than half of the crew was killed or wounded, including Cocchia, who suffered severe

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

s, especially on his face. Temporarily blinded, he had to give up the command to his

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

; he was initially hospitalized at the hospital in Torrebianca (

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

), and had to spend the next three years in a number of clinics, undergoing numerous

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

operations in an attempt to mitigate the damage caused by the fire. He was permanently disfigured; for his determined defense of the convoy against superior forces he was awarded

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

. Due to his wounds, after the war he was transferred to the Role of Honour, where he reached the rank of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

; from November 1958, he was Director of the "Rivista Marittima" (the monthly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

of the Italian Navy), and from July 1960 to June 1963 he was the head of the Italian Navy Historical Branch, directing the drafting of several volumes of its series on the activity of the Italian Navy in World War II. In his private life, he also authored several books about the war. He died in Naples on 12 December 1968.

Bibliography

* Aldo Cocchia, ''Convogli. Un marinaio in guerra 1940-1942'', Mursia

External links

Aldo Cocchia on the Website of the Italian Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocchia, Aldo 1900 births 1968 deaths Italian admirals Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Regia Marina personnel of World War II