Stanislao Caraciotti (11 December 1897 – 9 September 1943) 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 ...

Biography

Born into an aristocratic family, originally hailing from

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

, Caraciotti entered the Italian Naval Academy 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 ...

in 1911 and graduated as an ensign in 1915, participating in the

First World War 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 ...

– initially on board

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, and later, after promotion to

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 ...

in 1916, in command of torpedo boats. After the war, he was 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 ...

and became an aide to Eugene of Savoy, Duke of Ancona, as well as honorary ordnance officer of Thomas of Savoy, Duke of Genoa. In 1932, 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 was given command 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 ...

''Antonio Da Noli'' and later ''Libeccio''.Paolo Alberini e Franco Prosperini, ''Uomini della Marina - Dizionario bibliografico'', Roma, USMM, 2015, pp. 121-122. When Italy entered the

Second World War 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 ...

, Caraciotti held the rank of

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 ...

and the command of the light cruiser ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'', on which he took part in 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 ...

on 9 July 1940, and later carried out interception missions against enemy naval forces, convoy escort and coastal bombardments against the Greek coasts. He was later appointed commander of the 10th Destroyer Squadron, with flag on the destroyer ''Maestrale''; for his actions in this period, he received a Silver Medal of Military Valor, two Bronze Medals of Military Valor, and a War Cross for Military Valor. In December 1941, Caraciotti was posted to the General Directorate of Personnel in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, a charge that he held even after his 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 ...

in July 1942. In April 1943, he was designated Chief of Staff of the Naval Battle Force under Admiral Carlo Bergamini, and assigned to Bergamini's flagship ''Roma''. Following the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

, ''Roma'' and the rest of the squadron left

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 ...

on 9 September 1943, heading initially for

La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', sc, Sa Madalena) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. The main town of the same name is locat ...

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 ...

. A few hours later, ''Roma'' was attacked off Asinara by German Dornier Do 217 bombers and sunk by two Fritz X bombs, which detonated the ship's magazines. Caraciotti, along with Bergamini and the entire battle force staff, was killed in the explosion. He was posthumously awarded another Silver Medal of Military Valor.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caraciotti, Stanislao 1897 births 1943 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Regia Marina personnel of World War II Italian admirals Italian military personnel killed in World War II Deaths by German airstrikes during World War II