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warspite1 -> RE: Naval War Day-by-Day (12/16/2019 7:05:05 AM)
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I have tried to use 'Italian' sources for the location and make-up of formations but information, as ever with these OOB, is often incomplete and/or contradictory - starting positions in particular. On this I've gone with Brecia unless stated otherwise. In order to ensure I had all ships and submarines included, I cross-referenced these sources with Conways. This left a few anomalies that I was able to get some clarity using Roskill. The key thing is that I am confident that ALL ships (down to torpedo boats) and submarines that started the war are shown below.
June 1940 (Regia Marina)
As was the case with many navies around the world, World War II found the Regia Marina fighting a war it hadn't been specifically built to fight, and for which it was not ready.
Benito Mussolini was the Supreme Commander of all armed forces and the navy's Chief of Staff was Admiral Cavagnari. Day to day control was administered by Supermarina, the naval headquarters, commanded by Admiral Somigli.
There were two sea or fleet commands plus a submarine command (Squadra Sommergibili). In addition there were 10 Departments with jurisdiction over specific coastal areas:
- Upper Tyrrhenian (La Spezia)
- Lower Tyrrhenian (Naples)
- Upper Adriatic (Venice)
- Albania (Durazzo)
- Ionian and Lower Adriatic (Taranto)
- Libya (Benghazi)
- Aegean (Leros)
- Far East (Shanghai)
- East Africa (Massawa)
- MARICOTRAF
So on 10 June 1940, when Mussolini makes his fateful announcement from the Palazzo Venezia, where were the ships and submarines of the Regia Marina.
Note:
BB - Battleship
BC - Battlecruiser
CV - Fleet Carrier
CVL - Light Carrier
CA - Heavy Cruiser
CL - Light Cruiser
CD - Coast Defence Cruiser
DD - Destroyer
TB - Torpedo Boat (Note these were effectively very small destroyers and not MTB type craft)
DS - Sloop
SS - Submarine
Fleet Commands
1st Fleet (Taranto) - Admiral Campioni
2 x BB: Guilio Cesare, Conti de Cavour
6 x CA: Zara, Gorizia, Fiume, Trento, Bolzano, Trieste*
6 x CL: Alberto Da Barbiano, Luigi Cadorna, Amberto Di Guissano, Armando Diaz, Luigi Di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, Giuseppe Garibaldi**
4 x DD: 7th Destroyer Flotilla (Dardo, Freccia, Saetta, Strale)
4 x DD: 8th Destroyer Flotilla (Baleno, Folgore, Fulmine, Lampo)
4 x DD: 9th Destroyer Flotilla (Vittorio Alfieri, Giosue Carducci, Vincenzo Gioberti, Alfredo Oriani)
3 x DD: 14th Destroyer Flotilla (Ugolini Vivaldi, Antonio Da Noli, Leone Pancaldo)
5 x DD: 15th Destroyer Flotilla (Antonio Pigafetta, Nicolo Zeno, Alvise Da Mosta, Giovanni Di Verrazzano, Lanzerotto Malocello)
4 x DD: 16th Destroyer Flotilla (Nicoloso Da Recco, Antoniotto Usodimare, Luca Tarigo, Emanuele Passagno)
1 x Seaplane Tender
* Brescia states the latter three were part of the 2nd Fleet and O'Hara states three heavy cruisers were at Messina but part of 1st Fleet.
** O'Hara states two of these light cruisers were in Tripoli
2nd Fleet (Taranto) - Admiral Paladini
1 x CA: Pola
6 x CL: Eugenio Di Savoia, Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Muzio Attendolo, Raimondo Montecucolli, Giovanni Delle Bande Nere, Bartolomeo Colleoni*
4 x DD: 10th Destroyer Flotilla (Maestrale, Libeccio, Grecale, Scirocco)
4 x DD: 11th Destroyer Flotilla (Artigliere, Camicia Nera, Aviere, Geniere)
4 x DD: 12th Destroyer Flotilla (Lanciere, Carabiniere, Corazziere, Ascari)
4 x DD: 13th Destroyer Flotilla (Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Granatiere)
* O'Hara states two of these (likely Bande Nere and Colleoni) were in Tripoli
La Spezia
4 x TB: 10th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Vega, Sagittario, Perseo, Sirio)
4 x TB: 16th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Monzambano, Curtatone Calatafimi, Castelfidardo)
2 x TB: Audace and Albatross*
4 x SS: 11th Submarine Squadron (Pietro Calvi, Giuseppe Finzi, Enrico Tazzoli, Ettore Fieramosca)
6 x SS: 12th Submarine Squadron (Commandante Cappellini, Commandante Faa Di Bruno, Mocenigo, Veniero, Glauco, Otaria)
3 x SS: 13th Submarine Squadron (Berillo, Onice, Gemma)
3 x SS: 14th Submarine Squadron (Iride, Argo, Velella)
4 x SS: 15th Submarine Squadron (Gondar, Neghelli, Ascianghi, Scire)
2 x SS: 16th Submarine Squadron (Pietro Micca, Foca)
6 x SS: 17th Submarine Squadron (H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, H8)**
20 x Boats of the 1st Flotilla MAS
* Brescia does not mention these, but Roskill has them at La Spezia (No squadron attached)
** O'Hara states 27 submarines. The anomaly might be H3 as Conways states this was discarded in 1937.
Bold O'Hara states two submarines were in the Atlantic. Finzi and Cappellini sailed for the Atlantic on the 5 June 1940
Taranto
2 x CL: Bari and Taranto
4 x DD: 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (Espero, Borea, Zeffiro, Ostro)
4 x TB: 6th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Rosalino Pilo, Francesco Stocco, Giuseppe Missori, Giuseppe Sirtori)
4 x SS: 40th Submarine Squadron (Balilla, Antonio Sciesa, Enrico Toti, Domenico Millelire)
4 x SS: 41st Submarine Squadron (Console Generale Liuzzi, Alpino Bagnolini, Reginaldo Giuliani, Capitano Tarantini)
1 x SS: 42nd Submarine Squadron (Brin)
2 x SS: 43rd Submarine Squadron (Ruggiero Settimo, Luigi Settembrini)
1 x SS: 44th Submarine Squadron (Anfitrite)
2 x SS: 45th Submarine Squadron (Salpa, Serpente)
4 x SS: 46th Submarine Squadron (Dessie, Dagabur, Uarsciek, Uebi,Scebeli)
3 x SS: 47th Submarine Squadron (Malachite, Rubino, Ambra)
1 x SS: 48th Submarine Squadron (Ondina)
3 x SS: 49th Submarine Squadron (Atropo, Zoea, Filippo Corridoni)
1 x SS: Marcantonio Bragadin*
4 x Minelayers
* Brescia does not mention this boat but Roskill has her at Taranto (No Squadron attached)
Brindisi
2 x DD: Riboty, Mirabello
4 x TB: 7th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Angelo Bassini, Enrico Cossenz, Nicola Fabrizi, Giacomo Medici)
3 Boats of the 3rd Flotilla MAS
1 x Gunboat
Venice
4 x TB: 15th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Confienza, Solferino, San Martino, Palestro)
3 x Minelayers
Pola
4 x Boats of the 6th Flotilla MAS
3 x Minelayers
1 x Gunboat
Cagliari
4 x SS: 71st Submarine Squadron (Alagi, Adua, Axum, Aradan)
4 x SS: 72nd Submarine Squadron (Diaspro, Corallo, Turchese, Medusa)
2 x SS: Luigi torrelli, Michele Bianchi*
* Brescia does not mention these boats but Roskill has them at Cagliari (no squadron specified)
Naples
4 x TB: 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron (Cantore, Giacinto Carini, La Masa, Marcello Prestinari)
4 x TB: 4th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Procione, Orione, Orsa, Pegaso)
3 x TB: 5th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Simone Schiaffino, Guiseppe Dezza, Guiseppe Cesare Abba)*
1 x TB: Giuseppe La Farina**
4 x SS: 21st Submarine Squadron (Marcello, Nani, Dandolo, Provana)
5 x SS: 22nd Submarine Squadron (Barbarigo, Emo, Morosini, Guglielmo Marconi, Leonardo Da Vinci)
2 x Minelayers
* and ** Brescia does not mention these ships but Roskill has them at Naples.
Messina
4 x TB: 1st Torpedo Boat Squadron (Airone, Ariel, Aretusa, Alcione)
4 x TB: 12th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Altair, Antares, Aldebaran, Andromeda)
4 x TB: 13th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Circe, Clio, Calliope, Calipso)
4 x TB: 14th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Partenope, Polluce, Pleiadi, Pallade)
4 x SS: 31st Submarine Squadron (Vettor Pisani, Marcantonio Colonna, Giovanni Bausan, Des Geneys)
4 x SS: 33rd Submarine Squadron (Fratelli Bandiera, Luciano Manara, Ciro Menotti, Santorre Santarosa)
4 x SS: 34th Submarine Squadron (Goffredo Mameli, Pier Capponi, Tito Speri, Giovanni Da Procida)
3 x SS: 35th Submarine Squadron (Durbo, Tembien, Beilul)
2 x SS: 37th Submarine Squadron (X2, X3)
4 x Minelayers
Leros
2 x DD: 4th Destroyer Flotilla (Francesco Crispi, Quintino Sella)
4 x TB: 8th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Lupo, Lince, Lira, Libra)
4 x SS: 51st Submarine Squadron (Narvalo, Squalo, Tricheco, Delfino)
4 x SS: 52nd Submarine Squadron (Ametista, Zaffiro, Jalea, Jantina)
15 boats of the 3rd Flotilla MAS
2 x Minelayers
2 x Gunboats
Shanghai
1 x DS: *
Brescia refers to 1 x Minelayer and 1 x Gunboat
Massawa
1 x DS: Eritrea
4 x DD: 3rd Destroyer Flotilla (Cesare Battisti, Danielle Manin, Francesco Nullo, Nazario Sauro)
3 x DD: 5th Destroyer Flotilla (Leone, Pantera, Tigre)
2 x TB: No Squadron named (Giovanni Acerbi, Vincenzo Orsini)
4 x SS: 81st Submarine Squadron (Guglielmotti, Galvani, Galilei, Ferraris)
4 x SS: 82nd Submarine Squadron (Archimede, Torricelli, Perla, Macalle)
1 x Minelayer
2 x Gunboats
La Maddelena
4 x TB: 2nd Torpedo Boat Squadron (Achille Papa, Montanari, Cascino, Chinotto)
4 x TB: 9th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Cassiopea, Canopo, Fratelli Cairoli, Antonio Mosto)
4(?) Boats of the 4th Flotilla MAS
5 x Minelayers
Tripoli
4 x TB: 11th Torpedo Boat Squadron (Cigno, Castore, Climene, Centauro)
1 x Minelayer
1 x Gunboat
Tobruk
4 x TB: *
1 x CD: San Giorgio
4 x DD: 1st Destroyer Flotilla (Turbine, Aquilone, Euro, Nembo)
5 x SS: 61st Submarine Squadron (Sirena, Argonauta, Fisalia, Smeraldo, Naiade)
5 x SS: 62nd Submarine Squadron (Diamante, Galatea, Nereide, Topazio, Lafole)
* Brescia refers to 5 Gunboats, not 4 Torpedo Boats
There was a minesweeper flotilla at each of Taranto, Messina, Palermo and Augusta
Ships Under Construction, undergoing Modernisation or under repair
2 x BB: Littorio, Vittorio Veneto (Both working up)
2 x BB: Caio Duillo, Andrea Doria (Both nearing completion/working-up following major modernisation works)
1 x BB: Roma had just been launched and began fitting out. She would not be completed for 2 more years
1 x CV: Originally the liner Roma, Aquila was taken in hand at the outbreak of war for conversion to a CVE. However work on a revised design as a CV only began in January 1941 and she was never completed.
12 x CL: The Capitani Romani Class. 8 were launched of which only 4 were completed
2 x CL: The Etna Class. Both were launched but neither completed.
2 x SS: Working up.
Sources:
On Seas Contested (O'Hara)
Mussolini's Navy (Brescia)
Conways All The World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946
The War at Sea 1939-1945 Volume I (Roskill)
Regia Marina.net
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