Carlo Pinna ( Turin, 9 July 1892 – Rome, 22 September 1972) was an Italian admiral during World War II.

Biography

Early life and career

He was born in Turin on 9 July 1892 and entered the Royal Naval Academy of

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 ...

in 1910, graduating with the rank of ensign in 1913. In 1911-1912, while still an officer cadet, he participated in the Italo-Turkish War aboard the protected cruiser ''Etna''. In the early stages of the First World War, with the rank of

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 ...

, he served on the battleship ''Regina Elena''; in 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Italian naval base in Vlore, after which he served on 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 ...

s ''F 13'' and ''F 17'' in the final months of the war. After the war, he served on various warships and from 1922 to 1925 he was in command of submarines, after which he was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned to the naval general staff until 1927. From 1927 to 1929 he commanded the submarines ''Lorenzo Marcello'' and ''Vettor Pisani''; in 1929 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 again assigned to the general staff of the Navy until 1932, after which he was

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 heavy cruiser ''Gorizia'' for two years and then commanding officer of the destroyer ''Emanuele Pessagno'' and its squadron in 1934-1935. In 1935 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 assigned to the general staff of the Italian armed forces in 1935-1936; during this period he accompanied Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio, Chief of General Staff, to

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. From 1936 to 1938 he commanded the heavy cruiser ''Fiume'', then the

CREM CREM may refer to: *CREM, a gene which encodes for the cAMP responsive element modulator protein *Critical emergency medicine Critical emergency medicine (CREM) refers to the acute medical care of patients who have medical emergencies that pose an ...

school in

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

and finally the Naval College of Venice.

World War II and later years

At the outbreak of the Second World War he was once again assigned to

Supermarina Supermarina was the headquarters of the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') established on 1 June 1940, just before Italy entered the Second World War. The Army and Air Force equivalents were '' Superesercito'' and '' Superaereo'', which were su ...

. In 1941 he 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 in 1943 to vice admiral; in February 1943 he became the last Italian naval commander in Tunisia, replacing

Luigi Biancheri Luigi Biancheri (31 January 1891 – 12 December 1950) was an Italian admiral during World War II. Early life and career Biancheri was born in Genoa in 1891 and entered the Royal Naval Academy in Livorno in 1907, graduating as an ensign on 1 ...

. From his headquarters in

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

he oversaw the arrival of supply convoys from Italy during the final months of the Tunisian campaign; in early May 1943, as the fighting in Africa neared its end, he moved from Bizerte to Tunis and then to Kelibia, where on 10 May he boarded with much of his staff the hospital ship ''Aquileia'' bound for Italy, where he arrived on 13 May, the day of the final surrender of all Axis forces in Tunisia. He was then appointed naval commander of Genoa, a post he held when the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

was announced on 8 September 1943. As German forces moved to occupy Italy, Pinna ordered all seaworthy merchant and naval vessels to sail for Allied-controlled ports, and all unseaworthy ships to be scuttled; he was then authorized by Admiral

Luigi Sansonetti Luigi Sansonetti (22 February 1888 – 7 November 1959) was an Italian admiral during World War II. Early life and career Luigi Sansonetti was born in Rome in 1888, and entered the Livorno Naval Academy in 1905; he graduated as an ensign in 1 ...

to leave Genoa, so as not to be captured by the Germans. He did so after releasing all his personnel from service and destroying all secret documents; he then reached Florence and joined the local

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

group "Brigata V", which cooperated with the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

. After the end of the war, Pinna held the Autonomous Naval Command of Sicily from 1945 to 1947 and was then at disposal of the Naval Department of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

until 1951, when he was transferred to the naval reserve. He was promoted to Fleet Admiral in 1957, and died in Rome in 1972.Paolo Alberini, Franco Prosperini, ''Dizionario Biografico Uomini della Marina 1861-1946'', pp. 418-419

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinna, Carlo 1892 births 1972 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of World War I Italian admirals Italian resistance movement members Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor