Capitano Tarantini file photo [31811]

Capitano Tarantini

CountryItaly
Ship ClassLiuzzi-class Submarine
Hull NumberTT
BuilderCantieri navali Tosi di Taranto, Taranto, Italy
Laid Down5 Apr 1939
Launched7 Jan 1940
Commissioned16 Jan 1940
Sunk15 Dec 1940
Displacement1,050 tons standard; 1,508 tons submerged
Length253 feet
Beam25 feet
Draft14 feet
MachineryTwo Tosi diesel engines (1,750hp), two electric motors
Speed18 knots
Crew50
Armament8x533mm torpedo tubes, 2x100mm/47cal guns, 4x13.2mm machine guns
Submerged Speed8 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseCapitano Tarantini was launched in Jan 1940. She sank one ship, Panamanian tanker Beme, during her second war patrol on 11 Jul 1940. In Oct 1940, she arrived at the Italian submarine base Bordeaux Sommergibile (BETASOM) in Bordeaux, France. On her first mission out of Bordeaux, she survived a particularly long depth charge attack by Allied convoy escorts northwest of Ireland on 2 Dec 1940, but she would not be so lucky when discovered by British submarine HMS Thunderbolt in the Bay of Biscay on 15 Dec 1940, which sank her with a torpedo. Only five survived the sinking, including executive officer Lieutenant Attilio Frattura; Captain Alfredo Iaschi was lost. Her wreck was later found to be situated under 40 meters of water just off of the French coast.

ww2dbaseSources:
regiamarina.net
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: May 2022

Submarine Capitano Tarantini (TT) Interactive Map

Photographs

Launching of Capitano Tarantini, Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto shipyard, Taranto, Puglia, Italy, 7 Jan 1940

Capitano Tarantini Operational Timeline

5 Apr 1939 The keel of Capitano Tarantini was laid down at the Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto shipyard in Taranto, Italy.
7 Jan 1940 Capitano Tarantini was launched at the Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto shipyard in Taranto, Italy.
16 Jan 1940 Capitano Tarantini was delivered to the Italian Navy.
11 Jun 1940 Capitano Tarantini attacked a merchant ship in the Mediterranean Sea, but the torpedo failed to detonate.
27 Jun 1940 Capitano Tarantini started her second war patrol.
28 Jun 1940 Capitano Tarantini was attacked by an Allied aircraft in the Ionian Sea, which caused no damage.
29 Jun 1940 Capitano Tarantini sighted a British destroyer, probably HMS Dainty, in the Mediterranean Sea southwest of Cape Matawan, Greece at 0500 hours. She fired a torpedo, which missed. and the British destroyer counterattacked, also without success.
11 Jul 1940 Capitano Tarantini attacked Panamanian tanker Beme in the Mediterranean Sea about 60 miles south of Cyprus at 2300 hours as the tanker was in ballast on a voyage from Haifa, Palestine to Istanbul, Turkey. The first torpedo fired missed, but the tanker was then disabled by gunfire. After removing the tanker's crew, the ship was sunk by a second torpedo.
12 Jul 1940 Capitano Tarantini completed her second war patrol.
29 Aug 1940 Capitano Tarantini departed waters off the Azores Islands.
31 Aug 1940 Capitano Tarantini departed Trapani, Sicilia, Italy.
10 Sep 1940 Capitano Tarantini transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
5 Oct 1940 Capitano Tarantini arrived at Bordeaux, France.
11 Nov 1940 Capitano Tarantini departed Bordeaux, France for a war patrol.
18 Nov 1940 Capitano Tarantini began patrolling waters northwest of Ireland.
2 Dec 1940 Capitano Tarantini discovered a large Allied convoy, but she was discovered by the convoy's escorts in turn. The submarine survived a long depth charge attack; Capitano Tarantini's crew counted 106 depth charge detonations.
5 Dec 1940 Sergio Ciotti, a sailor aboard Capitano Tarantini, was washed away by a large wave off of the conning tower while the submarine was underway northwest of Ireland; he would never be found.
9 Dec 1940 Capitano Tarantini departed waters northwest of Ireland.
15 Dec 1940 Capitano Tarantini was sunk by a torpedo from HMS Thunderbolt in the Bay of Biscay 10 kilometers west of Grayan-et-l'Hôpital, France. Executive officer Lieutenant Attilio Frattura and four others survived the sinking; commanding officer Captain Alfredo Iaschi was lost.45.41, -1.38




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Launching of Capitano Tarantini, Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto shipyard, Taranto, Puglia, Italy, 7 Jan 1940


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