UIT 22
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UIT 22 was an Italian, later German, front-line and cargo submarine of the Liuzzi class in World War II .
history
UIT 22 was on 15 December 1938 as Italian submarine Alpino Bagnolini at the shipyard Franco Tosi in Taranto placed on Kiel . The launch took place on October 28, 1939, the commissioning under Capitano di Corvetta Franco Tosoni-Pittoni on December 22, 1939. On the night of June 11 to 12, 1940, he sank the British light cruiser Calypso south of the island of Crete . The Calypso was the first British ship to be sunk by the Italian Navy during World War II. Tosoni Pittoni-handed after three patrols and a successful Gibraltar breakthrough in the Atlantic command of Capitano di Giulio Corvetta Chialamberton who performed with the boat a patrol. His successor was Capitano di Corvetta Mario Tei, and carried out three enemy voyages into the Central Atlantic. The last in command of the Alpino Bagnolini was Tenente di Vascello Angelo Amendolia, who led the boat on the last patrol in the Central Atlantic.
After the return the political situation had changed; the Allies had landed in Italy, Mussolini was deposed and the Wehrmacht carried out the Axis case : the Italian crew, like all other Italian ships, had to hand the boat over to the Navy in September 1943 . This put it into service as UIT 22 on September 10, 1943 in Brest under the command of Leutnant zur See der Reserve, later Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Carl Wunderlich. Under Oberleutnant Wunderlich, UIT 22 performed a caricature of a mermaid , or Neptune , who carries a club and rides a torpedo as Maling .
Deployment as Alpino Bagnolini from September 7, 1940 to March 13, 1943
1st patrol from September 7th to September 30th
The aim of the patrol was to break through Gibraltar and to be transferred to France
- Departure from Taranto on September 7th.
- Breakthrough of the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean on September 13th.
- Torpedoing and sinking of the 3,302 GRT Spanish freighter Cabo Toratosa on September 18th.
- Start of the Betasom base in Bordeaux on September 30th.
2nd patrol from October 24, 1940 to November 15, 1940
The aim of the patrol was the operation north of the Canary Islands .
- Departure from Bordeaux on October 24th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on November 15th. No incidents on this trip.
3rd patrol from December 8, 1940 to January 5, 1941
The aim of the patrol was the operation in the North Atlantic west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Departure from Bordeaux on December 8th.
- Torpedoing and sinking of the 3,660 GRT British freighter Amicus on December 19th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on January 5th.
- Commander Franco Tosoni-Pittoni disembark.
- Capitano di Corvetta Giulio Chialamberton takes command.
4th patrol from July 10, 1941 to August 18, 1941
The aim of the patrol was to return to the area of operations in the North Atlantic west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Departure from Bordeaux on July 10th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on August 18th.
- Commander Giulio Chialamberton also disembark.
- Capitano di Corvetta Mario Tei becomes the next in command of the Alpino Bagnolini . No incidents on this trip.
5th patrol from January 18, 1942 to February 20, 1942
The aim of the patrol was to return to the area of operations in the North Atlantic west of the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Departure from Bordeaux on January 18th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on February 20th. No incidents on this trip.
6th patrol from April 26, 1942 to June 28, 1942
The aim of the patrol was the operation in the mid-Atlantic.
- Departure from Bordeaux on April 26th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on June 28th. No incidents on this trip.
7th patrol from September 15, 1942 to November 17, 1942
The aim of the patrol was the operation in the mid-Atlantic southwest of Freetown .
- Departure from Bordeaux on September 15th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on November 17th.
- Capitano di Corvetta Mario Tei also disembarks.
- Tenente di Vascello Angelo Amendolia becomes the last in command of the Alpino Bagnolini . No incidents on this trip.
8th patrol from February 14, 1943 to April 13, 1943
The aim of the patrol was the operation in the mid-Atlantic on the north coast of Brazil .
- Departure from Bordeaux on February 14th
- Arrival in Brest on April 13th
Handover of the Alpino Bagnolini to the German Navy on September 8th
Used as UIT 22 from December 2, 1943 to March 11, 1944
Relocation trip from December 2, 1943 to December 4, 1943
Relocation to the navy shipyard in Bordeaux to be converted into a transport submarine.
- Departure from Brest on December 2nd.
- Entry into the Kriegsmarinewerft, Bordeaux on December 4th.
- Start of renovation work.
- Commandant Carl Wunderlich was raised in rank from lieutenant to the sea in the reserve to first lieutenant in the sea in the reserve.
1. Transport company from January 19, 1944 to March 11, 1944
The aim of the company was to transport 18,200.7 kg of mercury and 130,829 kg of special steel from Bordeaux to Penang .
- Departure from Bordeaux on January 19th.
- Arrival in Bordeaux on January 21st.
- Departure from Bordeaux on January 26th.
- Sinking of the boat in the South Atlantic by three Catalina flying boats south of Cape Town on March 11th.
Whereabouts
UIT 22 was discovered on the surface of the water by the Consolidated PBY Catalina D on March 11, 1944 south of Cape Town at 10:22 a.m. and attacked with on-board weapons and five depth charges. UIT 22 was able to repel the attack and quickly go to depth, but it reappeared a little later. The Catalina then turned to the second attack, threw again six depth charges and fired the on-board weapons. UIT 22 was able to submerge again, but the boat turned up for the last time a little later. Then came the Consolidated PBY Catalinas P and A and dropped even more depth charges, which detonated directly in front of the tower of UIT 22 and sank the boat. The Catalinas were flown by Canadians Frederick J. Roddick (Catalina D), NSS Nash (Catalina P) and AH Surridge (Catalina A). The flying boats belonged to the 226th and 279th squadron of the British Royal Air Force , stationed in South Africa , at. UIT 22 was lost with the entire crew of 43 men in the former naval grid square JJ 4173 at position 41 ° 28 'S - 17 ° 40' E.
literature
- Georg Högel: Emblems, coats of arms, Maling's German submarines 1939–1945. 5th edition. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 .
- Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing before Munich 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .