Salvatore Bruno Todaro (
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
, 16 September 1908 –
La Galite
The Galite Islands (Tunisian Arabic: جالطة ''Jalita'', French: ''La Galite'', Italian: ''Isola della Caletta'') are a rocky group of islands of volcanic origin that belong to Bizerte Governorate, northern Tunisia. They are located northwe ...
, 14 December 1942) was an Italian naval officer and
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 ...
r during
World War II. He is best known for his participation in the
battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
and the two instances in which he towed to safety the
lifeboats carrying the survivors of ships he had sunk.
Biography
Early life and career
Todaro was born in
Sicily but grew up in
Chioggia. He entered the
Naval Academy of Livorno on October 18, 1923, and graduated with the rank of
ensign in 1927. On the following year he was promoted to
lieutenant and sent to
Taranto to attend the aerial observation course. He was then assigned to the headquarters of the Ionian and Southern Adriatic Naval Department in
Taranto in 1931, and on the
heavy cruiser ''Triest''e on the following year.
In 1933 he married in
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 ...
Rina Anichini, with whom he had two children, Gian Luigi (born in 1939) and Graziella Marina (born after his death in 1943). On April 27, 1933, Todaro was involved in a plane crash aboard a
Savoia-Marchetti S.55
The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in Italy, beginning in 1924. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range.
Design and development
The S.55 featured many in ...
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
of the 187th Squadron, on which he was embarked as an observer; the floatplane crashed into the sea after dropping a
torpedo, and Todaro suffered a
spinal fracture that would force him to wear a
corset
A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...
for the rest of his life.
After serving at the
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
command of the Northern
Tyrrhenian Sea, he returned to the ranks of the Regia Marina from 1 October 1934. From 4 October 1935 Todaro was assigned to the 146th Seaplane Squadron of the Air Force of
Sardinia, and on the following year he became
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 ...
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 ''
Marcantonio Colonna'' (from 27 April to 14 December 1936) and
''Des Geneys'' (from 14 December 1936). On 22 May 1937 he obtained his first command, the small
coastal submarine ''H 4'', participating in the
Spanish Civil War with patrols against
Republican shipping; he then commanded
''Macallè'' in 1938-39 and
''Jalea'' in 1939-40.
[Giorgio Giorgerini, Uomini sul fondo. Storia del sommegibilismo italiano dalle origini ad oggi, pp. 448-450-452-463-487-489]
On 27 April 1940 he assumed command of the submarine
''Luciano Manara''; on 1 July 1940, twenty days after Italy's entry into
World War II, he was promoted to
lieutenant commander, and on September 26 he was given command of the brand new ocean-going submarine
''Comandante Cappellini''. Soon after completion, ''Cappellini'' was transferred to the new base of
Betasom, in
Bordeaux, to participate in the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
.
Battle of the Atlantic
On the night of 16 October 1940, during its first Atlantic patrol off the island of
Madeira
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, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
, ''Cappellini'' sighted the Belgian
steamer ''Kabalo'' (5,186 tons), carrying aircraft spare parts, and after unsuccessfully firing three torpedoes, sank her with its
deck gun. Afterwards, the submarine approached a
lifeboat containing twenty-six survivors and towed it for four days towards the
Azores; when the boat started sinking after being damaged by the heavy seas, on the fourth day, Todaro had the survivors taken aboard his submarine and proceeded to
Salt Island, where they were safely landed in neutral territory. To a Belgian officer who expressed his surprise for his sinker's humanitarian initiative, Todaro replied "I am a seaman like you. I am convinced that in my place you would have done the same".
On 22 December 1940 Todaro sailed from Bordeaux for another patrol in command of ''Cappellini''. On 5 January 1941, in the stretch of ocean between the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and the African coast, ''Cappellini'' attacked the 5,029-ton British armed steamship ''Shakespear'', sinking her after a prolonged gun duel in which an Italian gunner was killed. Afterwards, Todaro once again took a lifeboat with twenty-two survivors in tow, towing them to the
where they safely landed. ''Cappellini'' then resumed its patrol and on 14 January it attacked the 7,472-ton British armed merchant ''Eumaeus'' off
Freetown; after the unsuccessful launch of two torpedoes and a prolonged gun battle in which nine Italian gunners were wounded and ''Cappellinis executive officer, Lieutenant Danilo Stiepovich, was killed, ''Eumaeus'' was sunk. Soon afterwards, ''Cappellini'' was attacked and damaged by a
Supermarine Walrus
The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton.
The Walrus f ...
floatplane. The damage forced Todaro to seek refuge in
Puerto de La Luz
Port of Las Palmas (also called La Luz Port) ( es, Puerto de Las Palmas Puerto de La Luz) is port for fishing, commercial, passenger and sports boats in the city of Las Palmas in the north-east of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. For five cen ...
on
Gran Canaria; after hasty repairs that lasted three days, ''Cappellini'' sailed again on 23 January 1941 and returned to Bordeaux. For this patrol, Todaro was awarded a
Silver Medal of Military Valor.
Todaro later carried out two more Atlantic patrols with ''Cappellini'', but scored no further success.
MAS service and death
In November 1941 Todaro was transferred at his own request to the
MAS
Mas, Más or MAS may refer to:
Film and TV
* Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series
* Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad''
Songs
* Más ( ...
service, being assigned to the 4th MAS Flotilla, stationed in the
Black Sea; he distinguished himself during the
siege of Sevastopol, being awarded another Silver Medal of Military Valor.
He was then transferred to the ''
Decima Flottiglia MAS'', the special operations unit of the Royal Italian Navy, and tasked with planning and conducting assault craft attacks on Allied-controlled ports in
French North Africa after
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
. On 13 December 1942, while returning from one such operation, he was killed in his sleep when the
armed trawler ''Cefalo'', used as
mothership for assault craft, was strafed by a
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
off
La Galite
The Galite Islands (Tunisian Arabic: جالطة ''Jalita'', French: ''La Galite'', Italian: ''Isola della Caletta'') are a rocky group of islands of volcanic origin that belong to Bizerte Governorate, northern Tunisia. They are located northwe ...
. He was posthumously awarded the
Gold Medal of Military Valor; a
class of submarines of the postwar Italian Navy has been named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todaro, Salvatore
1908 births
1942 deaths
Regia Marina personnel of World War II
Italian military personnel of the Spanish Civil War
Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor
Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor
Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor
Submarine commanders
Italian military personnel killed in World War II
Deaths by airstrike during World War II
People from Messina