Antonio Legnani (28 January 1888 – 23 October 1943) was an Italian admiral during World War II.

Early life and career

Born in Piedmont in 1888, Antonio Legnani entered the Naval Academy in Leghorn in 1905.Dizionario Biografico Uomini della Marina 1861-1946.
/ref> After graduating as an ensign in 1908, he served for a few years on

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 ...

s and

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s, and in 1911-1912 he participated in the Italo-Turkish War as a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

aboard the hydrographic survey ship ''Staffetta'', in Red Sea. During this war, Legnani was promoted to lieutenant and appointed

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 ...

of the gunboat ''Giuliana''. In the first two years of World War I, Legnani served on several ships, mainly battleships, cruisers and auxiliary cruisers; he took part in the operations in Albania, obtaining a Silver Medal of Military Valor. In September 1917 he was given command of the

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 ...

''Argonauta'', on board which he carried out 30 combat missions along the enemy coast, obtaining a second Silver Medal and two Bronze Medals of Military Valor. After the war, Legnani, who had become a lieutenant commander, interchange shore assignments in Aegean, first in the Castelrosso naval base and later in Lakki ( Leros), and periods on submarines and destroyers. In 1926 he was promoted to

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. ...

and given command of the scout cruiser ''Venezia'', after which in 1928 he became deputy chief of staff of the Northern Tyrrhenian Naval Department and in 1930 he was given command of the submarine ''Luciano Manara''. In 1931 Legnani was assigned to the Office of chief of staff at the Ministry of the Navy, and in 1933 he was promoted 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 ...

and given command of the light cruiser ''Alberico da Barbiano''. He then became chief of staff of the 5th Naval Division and, in 1936, commanding officer of the heavy cruiser ''Pola''. After another period at the Staff in the Ministry of the Navy, in 1937 Legnani was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

and placed in command of the Regia Marina's submarine fleet, a position he held for two years; he also directed the clandestine

submarine warfare Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and mine countermeasures. Submarine warfare consists primarily of diesel and nuclear submarines using torpedoes, missi ...

during the Spanish Civil War, for which he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Savoy. In 1938, for reasons that would remain unknown, he suspended the development of the "ML" apparatus - an ancestor of the snorkel - on submarines of the Regia Marina, despite four years of trials having yielded positive results; Legnani also ordered the demolition of the "ML" apparatuses already produced up to that time. The result was that Italian submarines were never equipped with snorkels until after the Second World War. In 1939 Legnani was promoted to the rank of vice admiral and given command of the 8th Naval Division (with flag on the light cruiser ''Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi'', which he still commanded when Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940).

World War II

From June 1940 to June 1941 Legnani, as the commander of the 8th Naval Division, participated in the battles

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Taranto and Cape Matapan, as well as in countering the British operations "Hats" (29 August-1 September 1940) and "MB 5" (29 September to 2 October 1940), aimed at supplying Malta. After leaving the command of the 8th Division, on 10 December 1941 he was appointed commander of the Italian submarine fleet (replacing Admiral

Mario Falangola Mario Falangola (August 9, 1880 – July 14, 1967) was an Italian admiral during World War II. Early life and career Mario Falangola was born in Rome in 1880 and was admitted to the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno in 1899, graduating as ensig ...

), a role that he kept after his promotion to

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, ...

in 1942. He directed Italian submarine operations in the Mediterranean until the 8 September 1943 armistice; in this period he was also decorated with the German Iron Cross second-class, as well as Officer's Cross of the Military Order of Savoy. An ardent supporter of the

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, after 8 September 1943 Legnani immediately decided to cooperate with the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

forces, and adhered to the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

, being appointed its Secretary of State to the Navy on 23 September 1943 (the day of its foundation). Less than a month later, however, on 20 October 1943, Admiral Legnani lost his life in a car accident near

Lonato Lonato del Garda (before 1 July 2007 simply Lonato; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lonad, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. Lonato is located about halfway between Milan and Venice, on the southwes ...

, Brescia province. His son Emilio also served in the Italian Navy, receiving the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his actions in the Black Sea during World War II.Emilio Legnani
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legnani, Antonio 1888 births 1943 deaths Regia Marina personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian admirals Road incident deaths in Italy People of the Italian Social Republic