''Barbarigo'' was a

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 ...

Italian . It was built by the

Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico ("United Shipbuilders of the Adriatic") was an Italian manufacturer in the sea and air industry which was active from 1930 to 1966. This shipyard is now owned by Fincantieri. History In 1930, Stabilimento Tecnic ...

, and was commissioned on 19 September 1938.

History

After early peacetime training activity, and two fruitless missions in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, the ''Barbarigo'' was assigned to the Atlantic theater, reaching its 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 ...

on 8 September 1940, after an unsuccessful patrol. From October 1940 to May 1941, she went on three missions around

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

waters, which obtained only the damaging of a merchantman. In July, she sailed to the west of the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

and obtained its first successes, sinking the British ship ''Macon'' (5135 tls) on 25 July, and then the oiler ''Horn Shell'' (8272 tls), before turning for port. On 22 October, ''Barbarigo'' sailed again, under the command of ''Capitano di Corvetta''

Enzo Grossi __NOTOC__ Enzo Grossi (São Paulo, Brazil, 20 April 1908 - Corato, 11 August 1960); was an officer in the Regia Marina (Italian Navy) during World War II. Life and the ''Barbarigo'' affair During World War II he commanded the submarines ''Medusa'' ...

, but the patrol was unsuccessful. On the next patrol, the submarine met a lighted ship, but Grossi torpedoed and sank her nonetheless (it was the neutral Spanish ship SS Navemar), on 23 January 1941. Afterwards, ''Barbarigo'' was sent to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian waters, departing Bordeaux on 30 April. She was responsible for the first Brazilian war action of World War II; she attacked the Brazilian merchant ship ''Comandante Lyra'' on 18 May 1942, without sinking her, and she was chased by Brazilian aero-naval forces for five days. The submarine managed to escape two attacks by Brazilian B-25 aircraft. On 20 May, the ''Barbarigo'' met the cruiser and the destroyer ; wrongly recognizing the former as a , Grossi fired two torpedoes at the cruiser. With himself and his crew convinced to having seen and felt the battleship being struck and sinking, ''Barbarigo'' sailed away, while the American ships had not even been aware of the attack. Grossi reported his sinking, and, despite the doubts and misgivings of BETASOM commander

Romolo Polacchini Romolo Polacchini (May 20, 1897 – October 16, 1968) was an Italian admiral during World War II. Early life and career Romolo Polacchini was born in La Spezia in 1897 and attended the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno from November 6, 1911 ...

, the action was widely publicized on Italian and German press; Grossi was awarded with a

Gold Medal of Military Valour 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 ...

and promoted to ''Capitano di Fregata'' (Commander). On its way home, ''Barbarigo'' attacked and sank the ship ''Charlbury'' (4836 tls), 28 May. On 29 August, the submarine sailed again, this time for a mission around the African coast. On the night of 6 October, ''Barbarigo'' met the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

, and Grossi "recognized" her as a ; he fired four torpedoes, and again he was convinced he had successfully sunk the enemy battleship, while ''Petunia'' had escaped unharmed. ''Barbarigo'' returned to port on the night of 29 October. Again, Grossi's success was widely reported, and he was promoted to ''Capitano di Vascello'' (Captain) and awarded a second Gold Medal; he left the submarine to replace Polacchini as BETASOM commander. After the war, Grossi's actions would be the object of two enquiries in 1949 and 1962, which concluded that he and his crew had been in good faith, but stripped him of his promotions and awards.Giorgerini, p. 539-43 On 24 January 1943, the submarine departed for its last mission as an attack submarine, in which it sank the ships ''Monte Igueldo'' (3453 tls) on 24 February, ''Alfonso Pena'' (3540 tls) on 2 March, and ''Staghound'' on 3 March, before returning to Bordeaux on 3 April. After a period of time for repairs, as well as some replacements and retraining of crew, the submarine was converted into a transport to carry

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

between Germany and Japan in 1943, with guns, torpedoes and all but one periscope being removed; it departed Bordeaux on 16 June, with 130 tons of valuable load, but disappeared. After the war, British records showed that an unidentified submarine had been attacked and presumed sunk between 17 and 19 June, in the area where ''Barbarigo'' might have been.

Notes

References

*
''Barbarigo'' at regiamarina.net
* Barone, João (2013) ''"1942: O Brasil e sua guerra quase desconhecida" (1942: Brazil and its almost forgotten war)'' Editora Nova Fronteira

External links

Barbarigo
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbarigo Marcello-class submarines Ships built in Monfalcone 1938 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Lost submarines of Italy Maritime incidents in June 1943 Missing submarines of World War II Ships built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico Merchant submarines

History

See also

Notes

References

External links