Ferdinando Casardi (1 January 1887 – 11 January 1975) was an Italian admiral 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 ...

Early life and career

Born in Barletta in 1887, Casardi entered the

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 ...

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

in 1904, graduating as Ensign in 1907.Dizionario Biografico Uomini della Marina.
/ref> Between 1911 and 1912, as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, he first took part in a campaign in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

aboard the aviso ''Staffetta'', and then fought in the Italo-Turkish war. 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 as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 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 ...

s ''Vittorio Emanuele'' and ''Dante Alighieri''. After the end of the war, Casardi served for some years in command of torpedo boats; in 1920 he sailed up the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

on the torpedo boat ''69 PN''. After promotion to

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

, he was appointed commanding officer 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 ...

s and ; he was subsequently 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 shore assignments in the Ministry of the Navy and the Arms and Naval Armaments Management Direction in

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 ...

, then he became deputy chief of staff of the Special Naval Division and later commanding officer of the destroyers and in 1931-1932. From 1932 to 1934, after 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 sent to

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as naval attaché and then, back in Italy, he became honorary aide-de-camp to Victor Emmanuel III. In 1935 Casardi became adjunct chief of staff of the 1st Naval Division, embarked on the heavy cruiser ''Pola'', while in 1936 he briefly commanded the cruisers ''Giovanni delle Bande Nere'' and ''Zara''. In 1937, after promotion 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 ...

, he was placed in command of Naval Command

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, which he held until February 1940. During this period, in 1939, he was promoted to vice admiral; from February to May 1940 he commanded the 4th Naval Division. He was then placed in command of the 2nd Naval Division, formed by light cruisers ''Giovanni delle Bande Nere'' (

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

) and ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'', and he still held this role when Italy entered

, on 10 June 1940.

World War II and later years

After escorting to

the convoy that triggered the

Battle of Calabria The Battle of Calabria, known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the World War II, Second World War. Ships of the Kingdom of Italy, Italian ''Regia Marina'' were oppose ...

, Casardi became a protagonist, in July 1940, of the

Battle of Cape Spada The Battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in Second World War. It took place on 19 July 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete. Prelude The battle occurred whe ...

, in which ''Colleoni'' was sunk.Giorgio Giorgerini, "La guerra italiana sul mare. La Marina tra vittoria e sconfitta 1940-1943", pp. 168 to 202. Following the loss of ''Colleoni'', the 2nd Naval Division was dissolved; in August 1940 Casardi was placed in command of the 7th Naval Division, with flag on the light cruiser ''Eugenio Savoia'' and later on ''Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta''. For a year, as the commander of the 7th Division, Casardi participated in convoy escort, bombardment and

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

missions; he was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor, the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy. History The origin of ...

and Cross of the Order of the German Eagle, second class. Since August 1941, having left the command of the Seventh Division, Casardi was for two years the staff and general services director of the Regia Marina. On 7 August 1943 he was appointed commander in chief of the

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 ...

Naval Department. Following the armistice of 8 September 1943, clashes broke out in Naples between Italian and German soldiers, and in a few days the city was occupied by German forces.Giuseppe Fioravanzo (USMM), "La Marina dall’8 settembre 1943 alla fine del conflitto", pp. 141-142-143-144. On September 11 Casardi, in order to avoid capture, sought refuge with his main collaborators in a building owned by his chief of staff, where he continued to work clandestinely until September 30, when German troops left Naples in the face of the insurrection of the population of the city and the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

advance. He immediately returned to his

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

, devastated by bombing and fighting, and reactivated it on the following day, immediately starting the cooperation with the commands of the Allied forces, which reached Naples from 1 October. He left the command of the Naples Naval Department in February 1945, and was then assigned to the General Secretariat of the Navy and later became president of the High Council of the Navy. In 1948 he was elected in the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

in the first legislature of the Italian Republic (1948-1953), serving as Undersecretary for Finance in the

De Gasperi VI Cabinet The De Gasperi VI Cabinet held office from 27 January 1950 until 26 July 1951, a total of 558 days, or 1 year, 5 months and 29 days. Party breakdown * Christian Democracy (DC): Prime minister, 12 ministers, 23 undersecretaries * Socialist Party ...

.Scheda di attività, Ferdinando Casardi.
/ref> He was placed in availability on 1 March 1949, and in the reserve on 1 January 1950, having reached the age limit. Casardi died in Barletta on 11 January 1975.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casardi, Ferdinando 1887 births 1975 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Regia Marina personnel of World War II Italian admirals Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Senators of Legislature I of Italy