Supermarina was the headquarters of the Italian Royal Navy (''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

'') established on 1 June 1940, just before 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 opposi ...

. The Army and Air Force equivalents were '' Superesercito'' and '' Superaereo'', which were subordinate to ''

Comando Supremo ''Comando Supremo'' (High Command) was the highest command echelon of the Italian armed forces between June 1941 and May 1945. Its predecessor, the ''Stato Maggiore Generale'' (Supreme General Staff), was a purely advisory body with no direct cont ...

'' the Supreme Command of the Italian armed forces.

History

The plan to centralise control of naval operations began in November 1934. The ''Supermarina'' headquarters at ''

Lungotevere Lungotevere (Italian for ''Tiber Waterfront'') is an alley or boulevard running along the river Tiber within the city of Rome. The building of the Lungoteveres required the demolition of the former edifices along the river banks and the constr ...

'' Flaminio 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 ...

, was completed in 1938 and was inaugurated by Benito Mussolini on 14 October. When the capital was declared an

open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will be ...

, in 1943, ''Supermarina'' moved to Santa Rosa on the

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed through ...

, about from Rome. The Santa Rosa headquarters remains the seat of Commander in Chief Naval Fleet (CINCNAV). From 10 June 1940 to 8 September 1943, ''Supermarina'' supervised all Italian naval operations in the Battle of the Mediterranean, the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and the oceans. The head of ''Supermarina'' should have been the chief of staff of the Navy, the de facto commander was the deputy chief of staff. At the start of the war, the Chief of Staff of the Navy State was Admiral Domenico Cavagnari and the head of ''Supermarina'' was Admiral Odoardo Somigli. On 10 December 1940, Cavagnari was replaced by Admiral Arturo Riccardi and Admiral Inigo Campioni became Deputy Chief of Staff. In July 1941, Admiral

Luigi Sansonetti Luigi Sansonetti (22 February 1888 – 7 November 1959) was an Italian admiral during World War II. Early life and career Luigi Sansonetti was born in Rome in 1888, and entered the Livorno Naval Academy in 1905; he graduated as an ensign in ...

became Deputy Chief of Staff. ''Supermarina'' was divided into several sections responsible for functions like decryption, strategic moves and communications. Orders issued by ''Supermarina'' to the units and commands were taken in accordance with ''Comando Supremo''. The commander of an Italian battle squadron had little discretion to depart from orders received from ''Supermarina'' and when circumstances changed he had to wait for new instructions from ''Supermarina''. This centralisation caused serious problems, when to situations evolved quicker than ''Supermarina'' could react. Later in 1940, ''Supermarina'' granted commanders more discretion over tactics but maintained strict orders not to engage superior enemy forces, which restrained the initiative of the commanders, to avoid losses that could not be replaced. After 8 September 1943, ''Supermarina'' issued orders for the execution of the clauses of the Armistice of Cassibile, the transfer of all seaworthy ships into Allied-controlled ports and the

scuttling Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

of ships unable to sail, to avoid their capture by the Germans and then ceased operations on 12 September 1943, following the German capture of Rome.

History

Notes

Further reading