Jump to content

Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JJMC89 bot III (talk | contribs) at 06:49, 3 December 2020 (Moving Category:Ships built by Oto Melara to Category:Ships built by OTO Melara per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other ships with the same name, see Italian ship Alfredo Cappellini.
German submarine UIT24 in the Inland Sea, Japan, August, 1944.
History
Kingdom of Italy
NameComandante Cappellini
Launched14 May 1939
Commissioned23 September 1939
RenamedAquilla III, May 1943
FateCaptured by Japan, 10 September 1943, and handed over to Germany
Nazi Germany
NameUIT-24
AcquiredSeptember 1943
FateIncorporated into Japanese Navy after German surrender in May 1945
NotesMixed Italian/German crew
Empire of Japan
NameI-503
AcquiredMay 1945
FateCaptured by the U.S. Navy in August 1945, and scuttled, 16 April 1946
NotesMixed Italian/Japanese/German crew
General characteristics
Class and typeTemplate:Sclass-
Displacement
  • 1,060 long tons (1,080 t) surfaced
  • 1,313 long tons (1,334 t) submerged
Length73 m (239 ft 6 in)
Beam7.19 m (23 ft 7 in)
Draught5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h; 20.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Complement58
Armament

Comandante Cappellini was a World War II Italian Template:Sclass- built for the Italian Royal Navy (Template:Lang-it). After Italy's surrender, the submarine was captured by the Japanese and handed over to Germany as UIT-24. Following the capitulation of Germany, the Japanese integrated the boat into their fleet as I-503 (Template:Lang-ja). Following the end of the war, the United States scuttled the submarine in 1946.

Service history

Operating under the BETASOM command, Comandante Cappellini made war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean sinking or damaging 31,000 tons of enemy shipping. She participated in the rescue of the survivors of the Laconia in September 1942. Was later converted to the transport of strategic materials to and from Japan.[1] After Italy's capitulation in 1943, the submarine was captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy and handed over to Germany at Sabang on 10 September 1943. Commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as foreign U-boat UIT-24 and assigned to 12th U-boat Flotilla with a mixed Italian and German crew. She remained in the Pacific despite failed attempts to return to the 12th flotilla base at Bordeaux, France.

At Germany's surrender in May 1945, the submarine was taken over and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as I-503 (its crew now a mixture of Italians, Germans, and Japanese) and shuttled between ports as a transport submarine. At Japan's surrender in August 1945, she was seized by the United States Navy, which scuttled her off Kobe on 16 April 1946.

In fiction

Cappellini is mentioned (and seen briefly in some scenes) in the 2011 TV movie The Sinking of the Laconia.

References

  1. ^ Rössler, Eberhard (2003). Die deutschen U-Kreuzer und Transport-U-Boote. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-6246-9.

Bibliography

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  • Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-532-3.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_submarine_Comandante_Cappellini&oldid=992055779"