Luigi Faggioni (9 November 1909 – 23 May 1991) was an Italian naval officer 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 ...

, and an

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 the postwar

Marina Militare "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

Biography

Faggioni was born 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 ...

in 1909. After graduating from the Nautical Institute of

Camogli Camogli (; lij, label= Genoese, Camoggi ) is a fishing village and tourist resort located on the west side of the peninsula of Portofino, on the Golfo Paradiso in the Riviera di Levante, in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy. ...

(

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

), in August 1928 he began the course as a

reserve officer A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

in the Italian Navy, and in October 1929 he graduated as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. He served for some time on

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

s and

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 in 1931, after promotion to

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 became a teacher in the C.R.E.M. ('' Corpo Regi Equipaggi Marittimi'', Corps of Royal Naval Crews) schools. In 1935 he was mobilized due to the needs associated with the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, and was assigned on the destroyer ''Zeffiro''. In 1937 he became

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 ...

and was given command of MAS boats; in June 1939, after becoming aide to

Prince Eugenio of Savoy Eugenio of Savoy (Eugenio Ilarione; 21 October 1753 – 30 June 1785) was a prince of the House of Savoy and founder of the Villafranca branch of the royal family of Italy that survived until 1888. He was a brother of Queen Marie Antoinette' ...

, he organized an expedition in the East African lowland, earning a commendation for his organizational capacity.Luigi Faggioni on the Website of the Italian Navy
/ref> In June 1940, with Italy's entry into

, Faggioni became a member of the 1st MAS Flotilla in

, where he was given command of a special section of

MT explosive motorboat The explosive motorboat MT (''Motoscafo da Turismo'') also known as ''barchino'' (Italian for "little boat"), was a series of small explosive motor boats developed by the Italian Royal Navy, which was based on its predecessors, the prototype boat M ...

s. He was later tasked with organizing and training a group of eight (later reduced to six) MTM explosive motorboats that would attack British shipping in

Souda Bay Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...

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 ...

, under his command. The action, known as the

Raid on Souda Bay The Raid on Souda Bay was an assault by Regia Marina, Italian Royal Navy explosive boats on Souda Bay, Crete, during the first hours of 26 March 1941. The motor boats were launched by the destroyers and on the approaches to the bay. After neg ...

, was carried in the night of 26 March 1941. Carried by the destroyers ''Francesco Crispi'' and ''Quintino Sella'' till near Souda, the six MTM boats were led by Faggioni inside the bay, where they attacked different objectives. One MTM, operated by Sub-Lieutenant Angelo Cabrini, hit the

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

HMS ''York'', partially sinking it in shallow water, and another one, operated by

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Emilio Barberi, damaged the 8,324 GRT

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

''Pericles'', that would sink a few days later during the tow towards

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. Faggioni's MTM missed its target and hit a

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

, while the other three operators missed or were forced to scuttle their boats following mechanical breakdowns (one of them may have also hit ''Pericles'', in addition to Barberi's one). Faggioni and his comrades were taken prisoner; all six were awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor 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 ...

for the action in Souda Bay. Faggioni, promoted 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 ...

in January 1944 (while still in Allied captivity), was repatriated in January 1945 during Italy's

co-belligerence Co-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy with or without a formal treaty of military alliance. Generally, the term is used for cases where no alliance exists. Likewise, allies may not become co-belligerents in a ...

with the

Allies 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 ...

and participated in the last stages of the Italian campaign as deputy commander of Mariassalto, the successor of the Tenth MAS Flotilla in Italy's co-belligerent forces. After the war he was given command of 6th

Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

Group and then of the 4th Dredging Group; after promotion 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. ...

, he received command of the 1st Destroyer Squadron. 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 ...

in 1956, he commanded the Divers and Raiders Center in

Varignano, La Spezia Porto Venere (; until 1991 ''Portovenere''; lij, Pòrtivene) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, an ...

and then the 5th Naval Group. In 1960 became a member of the High Council of the Armed Forces, and in January 1963 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 given command of the

La Spezia Naval Base La Spezia Naval Base is one of the Italian Navy's most important and historic bases. The base lies in the central-western zone of the Gulf of Spezia, close to the historic centre of La Spezia. History Construction It was Napoleon Bonaparte who f ...

. He was then promoted to vice admiral and appointed commander of the Autonomous Naval Command

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

; after promotion to

in 1969, he was placed in auxiliary in January 1970.Dizionario Biografico Uomini della Marina 1861-1946.
/ref> He died in

Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates f ...

(Genoa) in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faggioni, Luigi 1909 births 1991 deaths Regia Marina personnel of World War II Italian admirals Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Italian prisoners of war in World War II