''Console Generale Liuzzi'' was an Italian ''Liuzzi''-class ocean-going submarine of the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

, launched in 1939 and sunk in 1940 by Royal Navy destroyers. It was named after Alberto Liuzzi (1898–1937), a '' console generale'' (brigadier general) of the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

Design

Armament

The four submarines of the ''Liuzzi''-class were armed with a single deck gun, four machine guns in twin mounts and eight

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, with four reloads for a total of twelve torpedoes carried.

History

''Liuzzi'' was built at the Tosi Shipyard in

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

. She was laid down on 1 October 1938 and launched on 17 September 1939.

Loss

''Liuzzi'' was attacked on 27 June 1940 by the British destroyers ''Dainty'', ''Ilex'', ''Decoy'', ''Defender'' and the Australian destroyer ''Voyager'' south 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 ...

; fatally damaged, she was abandoned and scuttled. Her commanding officer at the time of the attack was Capitano di Corvetta Lorenzo Bezzi. He received the Italian Navy Gold Medal in recognition of the choice to go down with his ship after ordering his crew to abandon the sinking submarine.

Legacy

Even if the submarine was destroyed without sinking any enemy ships,Sinking by Italian submarines during WWII
/ref> it is remembered because of the sacrifice of its commander Lorenzo Bezzi. The Italian Submarine Naval school in

was named in his honour.

References

External links

Liuzzi Class submarines at Photo Gallery of World War II

Console Generale Liuzzi
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Console Generale Liuzzi Liuzzi-class submarines Ships built by Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto Ships built in Taranto 1939 ships World War II submarines of Italy Lost submarines of Italy Maritime incidents in June 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in Libya Submarines sunk by British warships Submarines sunk by Australian warships