Ener Bettica
Ener Bettica (born February 15, 1907 in Castagnole delle Lanze near Asti , † December 2, 1942 in Bizerta ) was an officer in the Italian Navy .
Military career
When the Second World War broke out , Bettica commanded torpedo boats . In September 1940 he was promoted to corvette captain and took over the management of the optical workshops of the naval arsenal of Pola . In November 1942 he was given command of the destroyer Folgore . On December 1, 1942, he ran together with the destroyer Camicia Nera (frigate captain Adriano Foscari ) and the torpedo boats Procione and Clio from Palermo to escort convoy H (three Italian and one German merchant ship) going to Bizerta . On the night of December 2, the convoy was attacked by a British formation consisting of three cruisers and two destroyers (Force Q) . Bettica's destroyer was in a relatively favorable position for a torpedo attack. When Bettica ordered this, the British ships concentrated their fire on the destroyer Folgore , which brought all of its torpedoes to use from a short distance before it caught fire from several hits and sank. He kept firing until the guns sank in the water.
Bettica ordered his crew to leave the ship shortly before the sinking. Not all crew members obeyed this order. Bettica herself and most of the crew went down with the destroyer Folgore . In addition to the destroyer Folgore , three of the four merchant ships sank, including the German steamer KT1 , with over 1,500 Italian and German soldiers losing their lives. For this service he was posthumously awarded the highest Italian military medal of valor in gold .
Ship name
The Italian Navy recently named a patrol ship after Ener Bettica.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bettica, Ener |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian military, officer in the Italian navy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 15, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Castagnole delle Lanze near Asti |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 2, 1942 |
| Place of death | Bizerta |