Luigi Durand de la Penne
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Luigi Durand de la Penne (February 11, 1914 – January 17, 1992) was an Italian naval diver in Decima MAS during World War II. de la Penne was born in Genoa, where he also died.
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[edit] "Iride" submarine crew rescue action
On the 22nd of August, 1940, in the Gulf of Bomba, an Italian submarine Iride, being a "human torpedo" carrier, was sunk by a torpedo released by a British Fairey "Swordfish" plane. The air attack happened during an exercise, in shallow water, when four "human torpedo" squads were around, including Teseo Tesei and Luigi Durand de la Penne. The divers were able to make an immediate rescue action. Of the 12 "Iride" crewmen who survived, two died during an unsuccessful attempt to surface, nine were retrieved alive (two of them died soon, due to wounds), and one was too shocked to leave the sunken submarine. De la Penne tried to persuade him to surface, and even gave him his own aqualung, but the seaman refused surfacing and died.
[edit] Sinking of the Valiant
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As part of a team of divers he took part in the human torpedo attacks on British vessels in the Mediterranean. In December 1941, he was one of a team of six (Emilio Bianchi, his second; Antonio Marceglia with Spartaco Schergat; Vincenzo Martellotta with Mario Marino) that attacked Alexandria harbour. They used the new italian secret torpedo S.L.C. (Siluro Lenta Corsa, also know as "maiale"), small underwater assault vehicle with a crew of two. As a result the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria were sunk. De la Penne placed personally the limpet mine on the Valiant.
Being captured along with all other frogmen, he refused to inform the ship's captain of the mines until a few minutes of their detonation, to allow the British to evacuate.
Although both ships had settled to the sea bed, their decks were still clear of the waterline. The entire team was captured and both vessels appeared to be operational so the success of the attack in neutralising the British ships was not known.
[edit] With the Allies in La Spezia
After the 8 September Armistice, de la Penne was offered the opportunity to be released from prison and fight for the Allies. He accepted and returned to duty as a frogman.
In June 22, 1944, he participated in a joint Italian/British operation against the Germans. A team formed of British and Italian divers was transported by the Italian destroyer Grecale in an attack on La Spezia harbour, at the time in German hands. They sank the cruisers Gorizia and Bolzano before they could be used to block the harbour entrance.
[edit] Post-war career
After the war, de la Penne stayed in the Marina Militare. He was promoted to Capitano di Fregata (Commander) in 1950 and Capitano di Vascello (Captain) in 1954. In 1956 he was appointed as Naval Attaché in Brazil. He was also Deputy of the Parliament of Italy for the second through the sixth legislatures as an independent candidate. He retired with the rank of Ammiraglio di Squadra (Vice-Admiral).
In his honour, the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) named its new destroyer class of 1993 as the Durand de la Penne. Two vessels were launched: the lead ship, Luigi Durand de la Penne (D560) and Francesco Mimbelli (D561).
[edit] External links
- Luigi Durand de la Penne's biography at the official site of the Italian Navy. (Italian)
