Submarine Leonardo da Vinci (LV)

Leonardo da Vinci

Country	Italy
Ship Class	Marconi-class Submarine
Hull Number	LV
Builder	Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy
Laid Down	19 Sep 1938
Launched	16 Sep 1939
Sunk	24 May 1943
Displacement	1,194 tons standard; 1,489 tons submerged
Length	251 feet
Beam	22 feet
Draft	16 feet
Machinery	Two CRDA diesel engines (3,600hp), two Marelli electric motors (1,500hp), two shafts
Speed	18 knots
Crew	57
Armament	4x533mm bow torpedo tubes, 4x533mm stern torpedo tubes, 1x100mm/47cal gun, 4x13.2mm machine guns
Submerged Speed	8.2 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLaunched in Sep 1939, Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci joined in the war in Oct 1940 when she was dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean, making Bordeaux, France as her home port. In Jul 1942, she was converted to carry a CA-class midget submarine and 28 underwater demolition experts aimed at striking American harbors along the Atlantic coast, namely the New York harbor, but delays in the CA-class's readiness returned her to her regular Atlantic Ocean patrols. Her eleventh and final war patrol was her most successful, although it was also marked with the tragedy of the sinking the 21,500-ton troop ship RMS Empress of Canada, which was actually carrying Italian prisoners of war, Polish refugees, and Greek refugees; 392 of the 1,800 aboard were killed in the sinking, 149 of whom were Italians. In late Apr 1943, completing her war patrol in southwestern Indian Ocean off of the coast of South Africa, she set a course back to France. She made it all the way to the Central Atlantic Ocean when her commanding officer made a radio transmission on 22 May 1943 informing friendlies that she was making her final approach on Bordeaux. The transmission was detected by Allied direction-finding, and on the following day destroyer HMS Active and frigate HMS Ness were ordered to break off from their convoy duties to hunt for the source of the transmission. On 24 May 1943, the two British warships discovered Leonardo da Vinci and sank her by depth charging 300 miles west of Vigo, Spain. All aboard were killed. With a total of 17 ships sunk, Leonardo da Vinci was Italy's most successful submarine during WW2.

ww2dbaseSources:
uboat.net
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Mar 2023

Submarine Leonardo da Vinci (LV) Interactive Map

Leonardo da Vinci Operational Timeline

19 Sep 1938	The keel of Leonardo da Vinci was laid down by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CRDA) at Monfalcone, Italy.
16 Sep 1939	Leonardo da Vinci was launched by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CRDA) at Monfalcone, Italy.
8 Mar 1940	Ferdinando Calda was named the commanding officer of Leonardo da Vinci.
7 Apr 1940	Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned into service.
8 Jun 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy for exercises at 0745 hours, returning at 1820 hours.
22 Jun 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy, arrived at Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 1225 hours, and returned to Naples, Italy at 1755 hours.
27 Jun 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0810 hours for exercises, returning at 1705 hours.
29 Jun 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1705 hours.
1 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1715 hours.
2 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0805 hours for exercises, returning at 1700 hours.
4 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1640 hours.
5 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0825 hours, arriving at Naples, Italy at 1710 hours.
8 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0930 hours for exercises, returning at 1610 hours.
11 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0931 hours for exercises, returning at 1635 hours.
13 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0930 hours for torpedo exercises with torpedo boat Cilo, returning at 1630 hours.
16 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0930 hours for exercises, returning at 1625 hours.
22 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0930 hours for exercises, returning at 1615 hours.
30 Jul 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0900 hours for exercises, returning at 1630 hours.
9 Aug 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0915 hours for exercises, returning at 1930 hours.
15 Aug 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0930 hours for exercises, returning at 1700 hours.
25 Aug 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0900 hours for exercises, returning at 1435 hours.
26 Aug 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0600 hours to patrol waters east of Cape Ferrato, Sardinia, Italy.
29 Aug 1940	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Naples, Italy at 1100 hours.
8 Sep 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0915 hours for exercises, returning at 1355 hours.
9 Sep 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 1045 hours for exercises, returning at 1830 hours.
10 Sep 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0850 hours for exercises, returning at 1230 hours.
22 Sep 1940	Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Naples, Italy at 0900 hours for Bordeaux, France.
27 Sep 1940	Leonardo da Vinci transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
28 Sep 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted British destroyer HMS Wishart in escort of British battlecruiser HMS Renown in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar. At 1220, she attempted, but failed, to get in position to attack. Two minutes later, she was counterattacked with depth charges by the British, forcing Leonardo da Vinci to remain under the surface until 1929 hours.
30 Sep 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci spotted a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, but could not get in a good position to attack.
2 Oct 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted British armed merchant cruiser HMS Cicilia in the Atlantic Ocean at 1825 hours. At 1910 hours, she fired two torpedoes at the distance of 350 meters. Commanding officer Ferdinando Calda assumed that the torpedo could not miss at such short range and ordered the submarine to surface to sink the target with deck guns, but upon surfacing he was surprised with an unharmed destroyer, and an aircraft carrier, HMS Argus, that the Italians had not detected before. The Leonardo da Vinci dove to escape, firing three rounds at the British ships in the meanwhile; HMS Cicilia also fired 13 rounds. All 16 rounds missed their targets.
8 Oct 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted the liner Highland Brigade in the Atlantic Ocean at 1600 hours. At 2024 hours, she fired two torpedoes at the distance of 2,500 meters; both missed.
31 Oct 1940	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1900 hours, escorted into the harbor by German minesweepers M2 and M13.
21 Dec 1940	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France.
30 Dec 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci intercepted a distress message from freighter Bodnant in the Atlantic Ocean. She searched for the Allied vessel, but failed to find her.
31 Dec 1940	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci continued to search for freighter Bodnant in the Atlantic Ocean after she had intercepted a distress message from this ship on the previous day. At 0750 hours, she intercepted another message from British steamer Oporto indicating that Bodnant had sunk from a collision and had picked up the survivors. Leonardo da Vinci thus abandoned the search.
14 Jan 1941	Leonardo da Vinci was ordered to attack an Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles from her position.
15 Jan 1941	Leonardo da Vinci abandoned a chase of a reported Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean as her fuel was starting to run low.
16 Jan 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a possible destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean in rough seas. She fired a bow torpedo at the distance of 1,200 meters at 0133 hours and dove immediately. She reported a single depth charge counter attack.
23 Jan 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Pauillac, France at 1315 hours and sailed southward up the Gironde estuary, reaching Bordeaux, France at 1600 hours.
25 Mar 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1729 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Pauillac, France at 2020 hours.
26 Mar 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Pauillac, France at 0800 hours and sailed out of the Gironde estuary for trials. Upon completion, she briefly docked at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1503 hours, and then set sail for Bordeaux, France at the southern end of the estuary, arriving at 1825 hours.
31 Mar 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1010 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1322 hours.
1 Apr 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1010 for a patrol; in rough seas, gunner De Martino was seriously injured, and the submarine set sail for Le Verdon-sur-Mer.
2 Apr 1941	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1020 hours, disembarking gunner De Martino who was injured in rough seas on the previous date. The submarine then went on to make port call at Bordeaux, France at 1445 hours.
3 Apr 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 0830 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1245 hours. At 1945 hours, she set out to sea for a war patrol.
23 Apr 1941	Leonardo da Vinci was informed of a convoy sighted in the Atlantic Ocean; she reached the projected location at 1230 hours, finding nothing, and returned to her patrol area.
4 May 1941	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1245 hours, ending her war patrol.
18 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1345 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1815 hours. She then set sail for a war patrol at 2150 hours.
19 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci encountered fellow Italian submarine Brin in the Atlantic Ocean at 1700 and exchanged recognition signals.
22 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci detected an illuminated Spanish passenger ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0230 hours at the distance of 1,000 meters.
23 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci came across an abandoned lifeboat with the marking Nord Deutscher Lloyd in the Atlantic Ocean at 1236 hours. Later in the evening, she received a signal from Bordeaux, France to carry out a search and rescue mission for German survivors of the supply ship Alstertor.
24 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci, while searching for survivors of German supply ship Alstertor in the Atlantic Ocean, came across a German aircraft; they exchanged recognition signals. At 1248 hours, she came across British carrier HMS Furious escorted by light cruiser HMS Hermione, destroyer HMS Legion, and destroyer HMS Lance; the Italian submarine submerged, but could not get in a good attack position.
25 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci received report of an Allied convoy of 16 ships escorted by two destroyers, two gunboats, and a Dutch submarine which had departed Gibraltar at 1900 hours on the previous day.
27 Jun 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean at the distance of 10,000 meters and submerged for cover. At 1704 hours, she surfaced, noting a destroyer at 6,000 meters, dove again.
28 Jun 1941	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted British tanker Auris in the Atlantic Ocean at 1254 hours. At 2315 hours, she fired three bow torpedoes, two of which hit. At 2324 hours, she fired a stern torpedo, which missed. At 2359 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes, both hitting the target. 22 of the 59 aboard Auris were killed; 26 of the survivors were rescued by escort destroyer HMS Farndale. At 2334 hours, Leonardo da Vinci fired a bow torpedo, followed by a stern torpedo at 2336 hours, at the destroyer, but both missed. Having expended all of her torpedoes, she set a course for France.
30 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at her assigned patrol position in the Atlantic Ocean at 0630 hours. At 1045 hours, orders for new patrol areas were sent to Italian submarines Luigi Torelli, Morosini, Comandante Cappellini, Leonardo Da Vinci, Maggiore Baracca, and Alessandro Malaspina. Maggiore Baracca was ordered to arrive by her new location by 3 Jul 1941. At 2115 hours, Alessandro Malaspina sighted Morosini and exchanged recognition signals.
3 Jul 1941	Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1201 hours. At 1540 hours, the ship was identified as Portuguse freighter Carvalho Araujo.
4 Jul 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1600 hours, bearing markings of a neutral nation. At 1930 hours, fellow Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sighted Comandante Cappellini.
5 Jul 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted another vessel in the mist in the Atlantic Ocean at 2010 hours. At 2049 hours, she closed in and observed two illuminated vessels. Determining them not to be Allied ships, she broke off her persuit.
11 Jul 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1100 hours. At 1218 hours, the target was identified as the Spanish Navy tanker Pluton.
15 Jul 1941	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1140 hours, ending a war patrol.
27 Aug 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 0916 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France about 3 hours later.
30 Aug 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 2105 hours for a war patrol.
19 Sep 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a large aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1147 hours. She sent recognition signals, but the aircraft did not respond. At 1155 hours, the aircraft, now visibly an Allied aircraft, attacked with a bomb and strafed the Italian submarine. Two minutes later, the submarine returned fire with her deck gun, which forced the aircraft to keep its distance. At 1328 hours, with the aircraft still circling overhead, Leonardo da Vinci submerged to escape further danger.
20 Sep 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted another submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 0035 hours. She was later identified as fellow Italan submarine Luigi Torelli.
23 Sep 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted smoke on the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean at 0935 hours. At 1102 hours, the source, a merchant ship, was sighted. At 2030 hours, she lost contact with the ship due to poor visibility and rough seas.
24 Sep 1941	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 0840 hours, which the crew determined to be a German submarine. At 1327 hours, she sighted a German Kondor aircraft.
26 Sep 1941	Leonardo da Vinci heard guns being fired in the Atlantic Ocean between 0032 and 0250 hours, assuming to be an Allied convoy under attack. She was not able to locate the source of the fighting.
1 Oct 1941	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1640 hours, ending a war patrol.
9 Oct 1941	Luigi Longanesi Cattani was named the commanding officer of Leonardo da Vinci, relieving Ferdinando Calda.
15 Nov 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1320 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1735 hours.
16 Nov 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 0930 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1700 hours.
17 Nov 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1200 hours for sea trials, returning to La Pallice at 1825 hours.
19 Nov 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1816 hours for a war patrol.
8 Dec 1941	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1020 hours, ending a war patrol. At 1630 hours, she set sail for Pauillac, France, arriving at 1815 hours.
9 Dec 1941	Leonardo da Vinci departed Pauillac, France at 0930 hours and sailed southward up the Gironde estuary, reaching Bordeaux, France at 1130 hours.
23 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1140 hours for trials, returning in the evening.
24 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 0916 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1910 hours.
25 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0850 hours for exercises, returning at 1215 hours.
26 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0850 hours for exercises, returning at 1330 hours.
27 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1522 hours for exercises, returning at 1845 hours.
28 Jan 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1450 hours for a war patrol.
2 Feb 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1045 hours at the distance of about 8,000 meters; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1545 hours, she once again submerged after spotting an aircraft.
11 Feb 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1620 hours; she pursued until 2350 when contact was lost.
25 Feb 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted Brazilian freighter Cabedello, carrying coal and sailing toward Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0922 hours. At 0944 hours, the Italian submarine fired two bow torpedoes, both hitting the freighter and sinking her in six minutes. Leonardo da Vinci sighted three lifeboats and tried to pick up survivors for interrogation, but rough seas created the danger of accidental ramming, so commanding officer Luigi Longanesi Cattani gave the order to resume the patrol. None of the survivors would be rescued, and thus the entire crew of 54 were ultimately lost in this attack.
27 Feb 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted Latvian freighter Everasma, detached from Allied Convoy TAW-12 and sailing toward Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the Atlantic Ocean at 1955 hours.
28 Feb 1942	Leonardo da Vinci, pursuing Latvian freighter Everasma since the previous date, fired four stern torpedoes at the target at 0143 hours at the distance of 800 meters, and all four missed. At 0234 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes at the distance of 800 meters, and both missed. At 0235 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes, and again missed. At 1043 hours, she fired two stern torpedoes, and both hit. The Italian submarine surfaced and fired 14 100-millimeter rounds at the freighter with her deck gun, followed by another stern torpedo, finally sinking the freighter. 18 were killed in the attack out of the crew of 33.
2 Mar 1942	Leonardo da Vinci made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Morosini in the Atlantic Ocean at 2250 hours and attempted to transfer 20 tons of fuel in rough seas. After both 80-meter hoses broke, the fuel transfer attempt was abandoned.
9 Mar 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a hostile aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1350 hours and submerged to avoid detection.
15 Mar 1942	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1930 hours, ending a war patrol.
7 May 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1110 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, reaching Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1600 hours.
8 May 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 0800 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1400 hours.
9 May 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0810 hours for sea trials, returning to La Pallice at 1210 hours. At 1740 hours, she set out to sea again for a war patrol.
18 May 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted two corvettes in the Atlantic Ocean at 1320 hours, but would lose contact after dusk.
19 May 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1440 hours, but would eventually lose contact.
2 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted Panamanian sailing ship Reine Marie Stewart en route between Lourenço Marques, Mozambique and New York, United States in the Atlantic Ocean at 1745 hours. At 2250 hours, she stopped her with three 100-millimeter rounds and machine gun fire and forced all crew members off the ship. Two boarding parties successively failed to sink the ship with demolition charges.
3 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci fired a stern torpedo at Panamanian sailing ship Reine Marie Stewart, which had already been stopped by the Italian submarine on the previous date, 20 miles off of the coast of Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate in the Atlantic Ocean at 0655 hours; it missed. At 0730 hours, another torpedo was fired, hitting the target amidships, sinking her.
7 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1240 hours, but would quickly lose contact. At 1815 hours, she sighted another ship, Danish freighter Chile, sailing toward Liverpool, England, United Kingdom with ground nuts, pig iron, and cotton seeds aboard. The Italian submarine fired two torpedoes at the freighter at 2328 hours, but both missed.
8 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci fired two torpedoes at Danish freighter Chile, which she had been pursuing since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0005 hours. Both torpedoes hit the freighter on the port side, sinking her. 5 of the 44 aboard were killed, while the 39 survivors would later be picked up by British Royal Navy trawler HMT Spaniard.
10 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted Dutch freighter Alioth, en route from Liverpool, United Kingdom to Cape Town, South Africa in the Atlantic Ocean at 2024 hours. She fired two torpedoes at 2333 hours, both of which missed.
11 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci fired two torpedoes at Dutch freighter Alioth, which she had been pursuing since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0022 hours, both of which missed. At 0149 hours, she fired a bow torpedo, scoring a hit in the aft portion of the freighter. At 0212 hours, the Italian submarine fired a stern torpedo, which missed. At 0355 hours, she sank the target by gunfire. The entire crew of 44 survived the sinking, and their lifeboat would eventually be spotted by carrier HMS Archer, which brought the survivors to Freetown, Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate.
13 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted British collier Clan Macquarrie, en route from Durban, South Africa to New York, United States, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0830 hours. Shortly after, she fired four stern torpedoes at the distance of 2,200 meters, scoring one hit. Heavily damaged, Clan Macquarrie was declared abandoned, and the Italians observed the crew leaving the ship. At 1153 hours, with the British ship still afloat, the Italian submarine fired another torpedo at the distance of 500 meters, which missed. At 1200 hours, Leonardo da Vinci surfaced. At 1258 hours, she sank the collier with gunfire. The 93 aboard took to lifeboats and were picked up by Norwegian freighter Glarona and another ship named Desirade. One person, Clan Macquarrie's chief engineer, died while aboard the lifeboat.
20 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Giuseppe Finzi in the Atlantic Ocean at 1856 hours. Between 2000 and 2300 hours, Giuseppe Finzi transferred 14 tons of fuel to Leonardo da Vinci.
21 Jun 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean at 0200 hours and took evasive action. At 1010 hours, she sighted a freighter and again avoided contact as she was out of torpedoes and was heading for her home port of Bordeaux, France.
1 Jul 1942	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 2135 hours, ending a war patrol.
10 Aug 1942	Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia was named the commanding officer of Leonardo da Vinci, relieving Luigi Longanesi Cattani.
9 Sep 1942	Leonardo da Vinci, with midget submarine CA 2 aboard, departed Bordeaux, France at 1623 hours and sailed northward up the Gironde estuary, arriving at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 2030 hours.
10 Sep 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 0800 hours, exercised along with midget submarine CA 2, and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1750 hours.
21 Sep 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0955 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 2015 hours.
22 Sep 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1415 hours and sailed southward up the Gironde estuary, arriving at Bordeaux, France at 1755 hours.
6 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1510 hours and sailed northward down the Gironde estuary, arriving at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1730 hours.
7 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 0930 hours, performed sea trials, and returned at 1300 hours. At 1945 hours, she departed for a war patrol.
8 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1630 hours and submerged for cover.
9 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1702 hours and submerged for cover.
11 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1310 hours and submerged for cover.
12 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1335 hours and submerged for cover.
16 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted another submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 2030 hours and lost contact with her at 2055 hours.
17 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a tanker in the Atlantic Ocean at 0453 hours; after a brief chase, the tanker was identified as Spanish in origin, and the Italian submarine broke off the pursuit.
27 Oct 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a small ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 1957 hours, but was unable to keep up with her speed. At 2132 hours, she intercepted a distress message from British ship Palma.
2 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci detected British freighter Empire Zeal in the Atlantic Ocean at 0713 hours. At 0756 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes, both hit their target. Between 0805 and 0820 hours, the Italian submarine attacked the British freighter with gunfire, expending 12 100-millimeter and 90 13.2-millimeter rounds. She paused for 45 minutes to allow the British crew to take to lifeboats, and then gunfire continued at 0905 hours, sinking the ship shortly after. The Italians kept Master William MacPherson and First mate Samuel Haines as prisoners, while the other 49 took to lifeboats, to be picked up by American destroyer USS Winslow two days later. At 1740 hours, she sighted Dutch ship Frans Hals at the distance of 7,000 meters. At 1918 hours, she surfaced to pursue at greater speed.
3 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci fired two stern torpedoes at Dutch ship Frans Hals, which had been pursued since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0105 hours; both narrowly missed. At 0142 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes; both missed. At 0200 hours, Frans Hals sent a distress signal. After several more missed torpedoes, Leonardo da Vinci fired two bow torpedoes at 0437 hours at the distance of 400 meters and the dove to avoid further hits from Dutch guns; one hit. At 0515 hours, the Italan submarine surfaced due to water entering through a shell hole in the conning tower, and observed a large oil slick. The Italian commanding officer Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia assumed that Frans Hals had been sunk, although she actually made her escape while Leonardo da Vinci was submerged. At 1330 hours, Leonardo da Vinci sighted an American PBY-5A aircraft (Lieutenant (jg) G. E. Waugh, VP-83) and submerged for cover, but it was too late, and the aircraft dropped four depth charges which caused only minor damage. At 1940 hours, she again sighted an aircraft and submerged.
4 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted smoke at the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean at 1730 hours, which turned out to be Greek freighter Andreas, en route from Trinidad to Alexandria, Egypt with 8,500 tons of military supplies on board. At 2208 hours, the Italian submarine fired a stern torpedo, which missed. At 2210 hours, the Greeks sent a distress signal. At 2304 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes, both of which missed. At 2330 hours, the Greeks sent another distress signal. At 2340 hours, the Italians fired a torpedo, scoring a hit.
5 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci continued to attack Greek freighter Andreas in the Atlantic Ocean, which she had been pursuing since the previous date. At 0007 hours, the Italian submarine sank Andreas with gunfire. The Italians picked up Greek Chief Officer Spyros Andrea Phocas, Estonian sailor Josep Meister, British sailor Richard Bradstow Kewley, British gunner James Jones, and British gunner Edward Boscall as prisoners. 5 survivors reached Trinidad and 19 survivors reached Fortaleza, Brazil. 20 were killed in the sinking.
9 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted American freighter Marcus Whitman, en route from Cape Town, South Africa to Dutch Guyana, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0931 hours.
10 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci fired two stern torpedoes at American freighter Marcus Whitman, which she had been pursuing since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0014 hours, scoring one hit in the No. 5 hold. At 0017 hours, the American freighter sent a distress signal. At 0030 hours, the American master gave orders to abandon ship. At 0116 hours, the Italian submarine fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 1,000 meters, scoring another hit. Closing in, Leonardo da Vinci began attacking with gunfire, scoring about 20 hits, while the Americans fired back with their 4-inch gun, though unable to score any hits. At 0219 hours, Leonardo da Vinci fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 400 meters, which detonated prematurely. Nevertheless, Marcus Whitman sank around this time. All 52 aboard survived the sinking and their four lifeboats all reached Brazil two days later.
11 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted Dutch freighter Veerhaven, en route from Buenos Aires, Argentina to the United Kingdom, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0300 hours. At 0611 hours, the Italian submarine attacked with gunfire, scoring fatal hits. All 46 aboard the Dutch ship took to two lifeboats and survived the sinking. 23 of them were later picked up by Brazilian submarine chaser Gurupi and the other 23 were picked up by Argentinian tanker Juvenal. At 0945 hours, Leonardo da Vinci sighted two aircraft and submerged. At 1900 hours, she sighted a large passenger liner, but was unable to keep up with the fast target.
28 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli in the Atlantic Ocean at 1205 hours. Leonardo da Vinci transferred 25 tons of fuel to Enrico Tazzoli between 1235 and 1950 hours.
30 Nov 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a Portuguese ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 1959 hours and abandoned the pursuit once the identification was made.
4 Dec 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted a large aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0823 hours and submerged. At 0823 hours, she sighted another aircraft and submerged. At 1058 hours, she spotted yet another, and once again submerged.
5 Dec 1942	Leonardo da Vinci sighted several Spanish fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean at 1530 hours. The Italian submarine made rendezvous with one of them and took on several fish, which would be prepared for the evening's dinner.
5 Dec 1942	Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1600 hours, ending a war patrol.
20 Feb 1943	Leonardo da Vinci departed Bordeaux, France at 1943 hours for a war patrol.
14 Mar 1943	Leonardo da Vinci fired a torpedo at British troop ship RMS Empress of Canada, which she had already damaged on the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0040 hours and scoring what was the second torpedo hit on the British ship. At 0115 hours, Empress of Canada sank. She had carried 1,844 passenger and crew aboard, including 499 Italian prisoners of war. 392 were killed in the sinking, 149 of whom were Italians. Leonardo da Vinci rescued one survivor, Italian Army doctor Sub-Lieutenant Vittorio Del Vecchio.
15 Mar 1943	Leonardo da Vinci sighted British troop ship RMS Empress of Canada, en route from Cape Town, South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, in the Atlantic Ocean and fired two stern torpedoes at 2356 hours, scoring one hit.
19 Mar 1943	Leonardo da Vinci sank British freighter Lulworth, en route from Cape Town, South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, with two torpedo hits in the Atlantic Ocean at 0400 hours. One of the survivors was rescued by Leonardo da Vinci, while 14 others took to a lifeboat. The lifeboat was not found until 49 days later, by HMS Rapid, by which time only two were still alive. At 2158 hours, Leonardo da Vinci made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Giuseppe Finzi and transferred the Lulworth survivor and Empress of Canada survivor to Giuseppe Finzi. Meanwhile, Giuseppe Finzi transferred 90 tons of fuel, three torpedoes, food, and lubricating oil to Leonardo da Vinci. The two submarines parted ways at 2340 hours.
17 Apr 1943	Leonardo da Vinci sank Dutch freighter Sembilan, en route from Glasgow, United Kingdom to Durban, South Africa with ammunition aboard, in the Indian Ocean at 1130 hours. Of the 86 aboard, only the Indian sailor Shamshen survived. Leonardo da Vinci picked up Shamshen, who had suffered a broken leg.
18 Apr 1943	The 7,459-ton Panamanian Merchant Steamer Empire Bruce was hit in the stern by a torpedo fired from German submarine U-123 (Horst von Schroeter) whilst sailing 100 mile southwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The crew abandoned the ship which was carrying 9,000 tons of linseed and the vessel sank after being hit by two more torpedoes two hours later. The Master, J. Edwards, his 41 crew members and seven gunners were picked up by the British Minesweeper HMS MMS-107 and landed in Freetown the following day.
21 Apr 1943	Leonardo da Vinci sank American freighter John Drayton, en route from Bahrain to Cape Town, South Africa, with one torpedo hit (out of four fired) and gunfire in the Indian Ocean at 1815 hours. All 56 aboard survived the sinking, but only 30 would survive the subsequent journeys aboard lifeboats.
25 Apr 1943	Leonardo da Vinci hit British tanker Doryssa, en route from Cape Town, South Africa to Abadan, Iran, with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean at 1726 hours. At 1845 hours, a second torpedo hit her. Shortly after, Leonardo da Vinci closed in and sank the tanker with gunfire. 53 were killed, and the 11 survivors were picked up by British whaler HMSAS Southern Barrier five days later. Having expended all torpedoes, the Italian submarine began her journey back to Bordeaux, France.
30 Apr 1943	Leonardo da Vinci transmitted her final signal in the Atlantic Ocean about 600 miles northwest of Cape Town, South Africa.
24 May 1943	British destroyer HMS Active (H 14), escorting Allied convoy KMF-15, sighted Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci in the Atlantic Ocean at 1130 hours. Shortly after, frigate HMS Ness (K 219), escorting Allied convoy WS-30 which sailed together with KMF-15, also sighted her. Leonardo da Vinci submerged, and HMS Active attacked with 10 depth charges at 1143 hours. At 1150 hours, HMS Ness joined in with 10 depth charges of her own. At 1158 hours, HMS Active dropped 10 depth charges. At 1212 hours, HMS Ness dropped 10 depth charges. At 1223 hours, HMS Active dropped 10 depth charges. At 1240 hours, wreckage, life jackets, coffee tins, and human remains were observed. At 1305 hours, HMS Ness dropped 10 depth charges. Leonardo da Vinci, with her crew of 9 officers and 54 ratings, was never heard from again.

Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

Facebook
Reddit
Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

RSS Feeds

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
	Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Search WW2DB

World War II Database

Leonardo da Vinci