Submarine Comandante Cappellini

Comandante Cappellini file photo [32499]

Comandante Cappellini

Country	Italy
Ship Class	Marcello-class Submarine
Laid Down	25 Apr 1938
Launched	14 May 1939
Commissioned	23 Sep 1939
Sunk	16 Apr 1946
Displacement	1,080 tons standard; 1,334 tons submerged
Length	240 feet
Beam	24 feet
Draft	17 feet
Machinery	Two Fiat diesel engines, two CRDA electric motors
Speed	17 knots
Crew	58
Armament	4x533mm bow torpedo tubes, 4x533mm stern torpedo tubes, 2x100mm/47cal guns, 4x13.2mm machine guns
Submerged Speed	8 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseComandante Cappellini was commissioned into Italian Navy service in Sep 1939. Under a number of commanding officers, she embarked on eleven war patrols and sank a total of 31,648 gross registered tons of Allied shipping, consisting of four cargo ships and one British Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship. In early 1943, Germany and Italy agreed that certain strategic materials should be brought to Japan to assist in the Japanese war effort; to that end, Comandante Cappellini underwent a conversion between Apr and May 1943, making her a transport submarine capable of carrying 150 tons of cargo. Her deck guns, attack periscope, and some batteries were removed, and her torpedo tubes and magazine spaces were converted into fuel tanks. She was code named Aquilla III for her journey to Japan. En route, she was slightly damaged in heavy seas near the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. She arrived at Sabang just off the northern tip of Sumatra island in the occupied Dutch East Indies, making her the first Italian Navy vessel to reach the Pacific War area during WW2. After disembarking the war materials at Singapore, she took on some cargo and began her journey back to Europe. On 9 Sep 1943, while at Sabang, she heard the news that Italy had surrendered. Commanding officer Walter Auconi requested permission to leave the port ostensibly for a training cruise, but the request was denied by the Japanese Navy which had control of the port. Vice Admiral Hiraoka Kumeichi of the 9th Base Unit at Sabang suggested that the Italians surrender in a subsequent meeting, which Auconi complied. Fearful that the Italian crew would scuttle the boat, Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces troops were dispatched. The submarine was turned over to the German Navy, along with four Italian engineers; meanwhile, most of the Italians were interned at the Sime Road prisoners of war camp in Singapore. The internees were released on 29 Oct 1943, and were placed aboard three German blockade runners for their return trip to Europe. One of the three ships, German transport Burgenland, was attacked by light cruiser USS Omaha and destroyer USS Jouett and was ultimately scuttled; Auconi and 31 other German and Italian survivors, in a lifeboat, were later picked up by a Brazilian ship and spent the rest of the war in a Brazilian prisoner of war camp. Meanwhile, Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) was commissioned into German service in Dec 1943 under the new name of UIT-24, under the command of Heinrich Pals, operating with a mix crew of Italian and German nationalities. UIT-24 was officially a member of the German 12th Submarine Flotilla between Dec 1943 and Sep 1944, and then a member of the German 33rd Submarine Flotilla between Oct 1944 and May 1945, both of which were headquartered in Europe. She attempted to return to Europe on several occasions, but the loss of German tankers and supply ships in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans led to those journeys being canceled. When Germany surrendered in May 1945, she was taken over. Commissioned as I-503, she served in the Japanese Navy as a transport submarine with a mix crew of Italian, German, and Japanese nationalities. At the war's end, I-503 was captured by the US Navy in Aug 1945. She was ultimately scuttled off Kobe, Japan on 16 Apr 1946.

ww2dbaseSources:
combinedfleet.com
uboat.net
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jul 2023

Submarine Comandante Cappellini Interactive Map

Photographs

Submarine UIT-24 in the Inland Sea, Japan, Aug 1944

Comandante Cappellini Operational Timeline

25 Apr 1938	The keel of Comandante Cappellini was laid down by the Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia, Italy.
14 May 1939	Comandante Cappellini was launched by the Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia, Italy.
23 Sep 1939	Comandante Cappellini was commissioned into service under the command of Cristiano Masi.
3 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 2300 hours.
5 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 0200 hours.
6 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 1100 hours, starting her first war patrol.
14 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini sighted a light cruiser, three destroyers, and two gunboats in the Mediterranean Sea just off the Moroccan coast. At 0050 hours, one of the destroyers, HMS Vidette, turned toward the Italian submarine with speed, and Comandante Cappellini fired a stern torpedo, which missed. The submarine was able to escape, but developed rudder problems, and thus she entered the port of Ceuta, Spain at 0200 hours.
23 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Ceuta, Spain at 2330 hours without being detected by the British.
26 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini sighted British merchant ship Cydonia in the Mediterranean Sea just off of the coast of Spain at 2030 hours. At 2106 hours, she fired one torpedo at a distance of 700 metres, which missed. One minute later, she submerged to avoid colliding with a Spanish vessel. She surfaced at 2124 hours, and the target had already disappeared.
29 Jun 1940	Comandante Cappellini arrived at La Spezia, Italy at 1950 hours, ending her first war patrol.
14 Jul 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1336 hours.
24 Jul 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 1320 hours for exercises, returning at 1550 hours.
28 Jul 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 1315 hours, starting her second war patrol.
29 Jul 1940	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 1527 hours.
30 Jul 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 1605 hours.
9 Aug 1940	Comandante Cappellini arrived at La Spezia, Italy at 0920 hours, ending her second war patrol prematurely due to mechanical trouble discovered on 29 Jul 1940.
12 Aug 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 0630 hours for exercises, returning at 1230 hours.
18 Aug 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 1000 hours for exercises, returning at 1855 hours.
13 Sep 1940	Comandante Cappellini stopped Yugoslavian freighter Rosina Topic in the Atlantic Ocean west of Lisbon, Portugal. After formal identification, the freighter was allowed to continue her journey.
20 Sep 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 1230 hours for exercises, returning at 1625 hours.
25 Sep 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 0820 hours for exercises, returning at 1905 hours.
26 Sep 1940	Salvatore Todaro was made the commanding officer of Comandante Cappellini, relieving Cristiano Masi.
27 Sep 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1630 hours.
29 Sep 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed La Spezia, Italy at 1849 hours, starting her third war patrol.
15 Oct 1940	Comandante Cappellini sighted Belgian cargo ship Kabalo in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores islands at 2315 hours, and the freighter turned away and increased speed shortly after. The cargo ship fired her stern gun at the distance of 1,500 meters, and when the distance was closed to 1,000 meters, the Italians returned fire with her deck gun, scoring a hit on the cargo ship with the third round. Shortly after, Comandante Cappellini fired three torpedoes, the first two missed and the third struck without detonating.
16 Oct 1940	Belgian cargo ship Kabalo, which had been damaged by gunfire from Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini just before midnight on the previous date, was struck by additional shells from the Italian submarine, leading to her sinking at 0400 hours in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores islands. 1 crew member, a Congolese sailor, was killed. 26 of the 42 survivors were picked up by Comandante Cappellini; the 16 others were picked up by Panamanian tanker Panam.
18 Oct 1940	Comandante Cappellini landed the 26 survivors of Belgian cargo ship Kabalo, which was sunk by Comandante Cappellini three days prior, on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores islands.
27 Oct 1940	Comandante Cappellini stopped French fishing vessel Marcella in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores islands at 0230 hours. After formal identification she was allowed to continue her journey.
4 Nov 1940	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 1607 hours, ending her third war patrol.
5 Nov 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 0825 hours, and arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1115 hours.
21 Dec 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 1036 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1520 hours.
22 Dec 1940	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1630 hours, starting her fourth war patrol.
5 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted British cargo ship Shakespear in the Atlantic Ocean at 1000 hours. The British ship was carrying 8,000 tons of coal. At 1045 hours, the British ship opened fire, and the Italian submarine returned fire. At 1100 hours, a British shell exploded in the water near the submarine's aft gun, knocking gunner Giuseppe Bastoni into the water. At 1127 hours, after being hit several times, the British ship, already starting to take on water, hoisted a white flag. Shakespear would sink moments later. 20 crew members of the British cargo ship were killed during the sinking. 22 survivors were picked up by Comandante Cappellini after the Italian submarine attempted to, without success, find Bastoni; one of the rescued British survivors would die later from wounds; these survivors were later landed at Sal, Cape Verde islands. Portuguese destroyer Goncalves Zarco picked up 25 survivors and later landed them at São Vicente, Cape Verde islands. Destroyer HMS Velox arrived shortly after but did not find any survivors.
9 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini experienced malfunctions with her hydroplane while sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. Her stern continuously went under water while sailors attempted to make repairs at sea. Rifles were used to ward off sharks attempting to bite the sailors' legs. The repairs were completed successfully.
14 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted British cargo ship Eumaeus in the Atlantic Ocean at 0830 hours. At 0900 hours, she fired two bow torpedoes at the range of 700 meters; one of them might had hit, but did not detonate. The British ship returned fire with her deck guns. The Italians maintained a distance of 2,500 meters while firing her deck guns. At 0940 hours, her aft gun broke down, but the forward gun continued to fire. At 0950 and 0955 hours, the Italian submarine was hit by two shells, one of which fatally wounded Danilo Stiepovich, who would die of his wounds at 1600 hours. After being hit at least 44 times, she was stopped. At 1009 hours, the Italian submarine fired a bow torpedo, hitting the target under the forward mast, sinking her. Of the 91 crew members and 265 passengers (100 of whom were military servicemen destined for Shanghai, China), 33 were killed during the attack. Comandante Cappellini suffered one killed and eight wounded in this attack. Detecting British warships nearby, the Italian submarine turned away. At 1122 hours, as she was in the process of diving, a British Walrus aircraft of No. 710 Squadron FAA from seaplane tender HMS Albatross attacked with three 100-pound bombs, causing serious damage; the Italian commanding officer would soon decide to end the war patrol early due to the damage suffered. Meanwhile, 63 survivors were picked up by trawlers HMT Bengali and HMT Spaniard which arrived at the site of the sinking at 1315 hours. Destroyer HMS Isis, destroyer HMS Encounter, and trawler HMT Pict arrived at 2000 hours and picked up an additional 242 survivors.
20 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Port of Las Palmas (Puerto de La Luz), Gran Canaria, Canary Islands at 0630 hours.
24 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Port of Las Palmas (Puerto de La Luz), Gran Canaria, Canary Islands at 0038 hours to intercept HMS Tribune, but she would not be able to locate her.
30 Jan 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 1710 hours.
1 Feb 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 0900 hours and arrived at Bordeaux at 1030 hours, ending her fourth war patrol.
12 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 0700 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1635 hours.
15 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0738 hours for exercises and returned at 1115 hours.
16 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0800 hours, starting her fifth war patrol.
21 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted Dutch freighter Berkel and another ship, escorted by armed trawler HMS St. Wistan, ocean boarding vessel HMS Corinthian, and sloop HMS Sandwich, in rough seas in the Atlantic Ocean at 0640 hours. These ships were a part of Allied convoy OG 59. At 0717 hours, she fired one stern torpedo from the surface at the distance of 1,000 meters and missed, and two of the Allied vessels fired back with guns and machine guns. At 0723 hours, two stern torpedoes were launched from the surface at the distance of 600 meters and then submerged; an explosion was heard, and the crew of the Italian submarine reported serious flooding in the radio room and the forward ammunition store, forcing the submarine to return to the surface. Noting that the destroyers were still present, the submarine would submerge again, and endured 21 depth charges between 0830 and 1000 hours. She returned to the surface, without any ships in sight, at 1800 hours.
22 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini was informed of a nearby Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean, but she would fail to locate it.
27 Apr 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to shift her patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean.
1 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a submarine in the Atlantic Ocean. She submerged to periscope depth and lost visual contact with the other ship.
7 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a small motor boat in the Atlantic Ocean at 0515 hours, shortly after joined by two others; suspecting them to be anti-submarine vessels, she submerged to avoid contact.
8 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 2250 hours and exchanged recognition signals.
9 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini was informed that the Germans detected an Allied convoy near her position in the Atlantic Ocean, about 300 miles away, on the previous date. The Italian submarine moved toward the reported location.
10 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 1215 hours and exchanged recognition signals.
11 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted fellow Italian submarine Luigi Torelli in the Atlantic Ocean at 1930 hours and exchanged recognition signals.
14 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini stopped French sailing ship Notre Dame Du Châtelet in the Atlantic Ocean at 1420 hours. After reviewing her papers, the Italians allowed the French ship to depart.
17 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1435 hours, ending her fifth war patrol.
18 May 1941	Comandante Cappellini began receiving repairs at Bordeaux, France.
27 Jun 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 0800 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1248 hours.
28 Jun 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0800 hours, starting her sixth war patrol.
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.
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	Comandante Cappellini sighted fellow Italian submarine Morosini in the Atlantic Ocean at 1214 hours; some information was exchanged via megaphone.
6 Jul 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted British Catalina aircraft of No. 202 Squadron RAF (Flying Officer R. Y. Powell) in the Atlantic Ocean at 1730 hours, and it soon began strafing and dropping depth charges on the Italian submarine. Italians returned fire and kept the aircarft at a distance. Powell attempted to communicate the position with others in failure, and ultimately gave up shadowing the submarine at 2245 hours. Powell's seaplane ran out of fuel and came down on the water west of Spain, and was later towed away by a British sloop.
10 Jul 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 2449 hours, ending her sixth war patrol.
14 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 1145 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1700 hours.
15 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France, starting her seventh war patrol.
17 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a German aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0850 hours. At 1130 hours, she observed another aircraft.
18 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini was given a patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 2200 hours; she was ordered to arrive at that location by 2000 hours on 20 Aug 1941.
19 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Italian submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 1615 hours; it was believed that this was Mocenigo.
20 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini was given a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 2210 hours.
21 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted an illuminated Portuguese ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0030 hours. At 2200 hours, the Italian submarine received orders to move to a new patrol area.
23 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to move to a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 0000 hours.
24 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to move to a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 1035 hours. At 1700 hours, she received yet another set of coordinates to sail to. At around this time, a German submarine was sighted, and greetings were exchanged.
26 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini discovered a fuel drum on the water marked with save-our-ship message from ocean boarding vessel HMS Malvernian, which had been fatally damaged by a German air attack in the Atlantic Ocean on 1 Jul 1941.
30 Aug 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted several neutral cargo ships along the Portuguese coast after sundown.
1 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to move to a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 1005 hours.
4 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted Portuguese destroyer Dão in the Atlantic Ocean at 0555 hours. At 1900 hours, she sighted an American destroyer; she submerged without being detected. At 2200 hours, she was ordered to shift to a new patrol area.
5 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a small Portuguese ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0210 hours. At 2300 hours, she was ordered to shift to a new patrol area.
6 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to shift to a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 2240 hours.
8 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini was ordered to shift to a new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 1200 hours.
9 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted fellow Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca in the Atlantic Ocean at 0610 hours; the officers aboard the Italian submarine chose not to open communications as they were closed to the Azores and did not wish to reveal their presence in the region.
20 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted French fishing vessel Petite Hélène in the Atlantic Ocean at 1935 hours; she took no action.
21 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0810; it was believed to be German.
22 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1315 hours, ending her seventh war patrol.
1 Oct 1941	Aldo Lenzi was made the commanding officer of Comandante Cappellini while at Bordeaux, France, relieving Salvatore Todaro.
12 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 1200 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1700 hours.
13 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0800 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1700 hours.
14 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini conducted a trial out of La Pallice, La Rochelle, France.
17 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1700 hours, starting her eighth war patrol.
20 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1230 hours and submerged to avoid detection.
21 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied Catalina aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1210 hours and submerged to avoid detection.
25 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted Portuguese freighter Santa Princeza in the Atlantic Ocean at 0315 hours; no actions were taken.
30 Nov 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a British destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean at 0620 hours, followed by another ship shortly after, whose direction led to the Italian submarine submerging. She lost contact with them by 0745 hours. At 0917 hours, another warship appeared; the Italian submarine prepared to attack her with a torpedo, but the ship would turn away before the torpedo was prepared.
2 Dec 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted British cargo ship Miguel De Larrinaga in the Atlantic Ocean at 0030 hours, sailing in a zig zag course. At 0712, the Italian submarine surfaced and closed in, firing two bow torpedoes at 0716 hours, both of which missed. At 0720 hours, two stern torpedoes were fired, scoring one hit and slowing down the target. The Italians then closed in to 1,500 meters and opened fire with her deck gun, scoring several hits, followed by another stern torpedo which missed. Comandante Cappellini then submerged to prepare two more torpedoes. At 0756 hours, two unidentified ships were observed, closing in on the submarine quickly; fearing that they were destroyers, the Italian submarine made her escape.
3 Dec 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted Spanish tanker Gobeo in the Atlantic Ocean at 1935 hours; no action was taken.
17 Dec 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted a small white yacht in the Atlantic Ocean at 1350 hours and gave pursuit; the yacht escaped from the Italian submarine.
21 Dec 1941	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1100 hours, ending her eighth war patrol. She departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer at 1500 hours and arrived at Bordeaux, France at 2010 hours.
22 Dec 1941	Comandante Cappellini entered a period of refit at Bordeaux, France.
28 Jan 1942	Sergio Bresina was made the commanding officer of Comandante Cappellini while at Bordeaux, France, relieving Aldo Lenzi.
10 Apr 1942	Marco Revedin was made the commanding officer of Comandante Cappellini while at Bordeaux, France, relieving Sergio Bresina.
21 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 0957 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1425 hours.
22 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0753 hours and arrived La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1836 hours.
23 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1434 hours for trials, returning at 1747 hours.
25 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1000 hours for trials, returning at 1336 hours.
27 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1500 hours, starting her ninth war patrol.
29 Apr 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an illuminated fishing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean at 2318 hours; the Italian submarine turned away to avoid detection.
2 May 1942	Alpino Bagnolini made contact with fellow Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini in the Atlantic Ocean at 2025 hours.
11 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean at 1705 hours, consisting of nine ships. At 1908 hours, sloop HMS Hastings was sighted turning toward the Italian submarine, forcing her to submerge. HMS Hastings attacked with depth charges shortly after, followed by another round of depth charge attack at 2315 hours, keeping the Italian submarine under the surface for the remainder of this date.
12 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini surfaced in the Atlantic Ocean at 0305 hours after being depth charged by sloop HMS Hastings on the previous date. In the heavy rain, the British sloop and the convoy she was escorting could not be seen.
18 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted Swedish cargo ship Tisnaren of convoy OS 27 in the Atlantic Ocean at 1537 hours and gave pursuit. She briefly lost sight of the target between 2309 and 2330 hours.
19 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini fired a bow torpedo and fired her guns at Swedish cargo ship Tisnaren of convoy OS 27 in the Atlantic Ocean at 0041 hours. The torpedo struck the cargo ship under the bridge, while the guns scored several hits on the hull. Gunfire ceased briefly to allow the Swedish crew to board lifeboats, and then the guns resumed firing at 0057 hours, sinking her shortly after. The entire crew of 42 survived and were later picked up by a freighter.
20 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 2015 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
22 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 2116 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
23 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1640 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1930 hours, she sighted another aircraft, and submerged once again.
24 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted Argentinian freighter Rio De La Plata in the Atlantic Ocean at 0907 hours; no action was taken. At 1020 hours, she sighted an American cruiser escorted by destroyers, and she submerged to avoid detection, resurfacing at 1347 hours. At 1630 hours, she sighted a tanker and approached, but gave up the pursuit when she determined the target to be an Argentinian ship.
26 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a PBY Catalina aircraft of US Navy squadron VP-83 (Lieutenant (jg) H. G. Cooper) in the Atlantic Ocean at 0628 hours; she submerged at 0631 hours, and at 0633 hours she observed a bomb detonating nearby.
26 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a biplane in the Atlantic Ocean at 1420 hours; she submerged by avoid detection.
28 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1450 hours; she submerged by avoid detection.
30 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted British Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship RFA Dinsdale in the Atlantic Ocean at 1130 hours and pursued her for the remainder of this date.
31 May 1942	Comandante Cappellini fired two bow torpedoes at British Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship RFA Dinsdale in the Atlantic Ocean east of Pernambuco, Brazil at 0233 hours; they missed, and the British ship began evasive maneuvers. At 0318 hours, the Italian submarine fired two bow torpedoes at the distance of 450 meters as the British began firing her deck gun; two torpedoes struck RFA Dinsdale. At 0330 hours, the Italians heard an explosion. At 0547 hours, an Italian shell struck the engine room. At 0604 hours, another shell struck the engine room. The British ship sank at 0612 hours. 5 were killed during the attack, and 44 survived. The survivors were later picked up by Spanish ship Monte Orduna.
11 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a fishing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean at 1108 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
14 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1048 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1215 hours, she sighted an aircraft, and submerged once again.
15 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1356 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
17 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted three smoke columns at the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean at 2207 hours, but lost contact shortly after.
18 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a small vessel on the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean at 2311 hours, but lost contact shortly after.
19 Jun 1942	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1300 hours, ending her ninth war patrol.
13 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 0842 hours, arriving at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1250 hours.
15 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0800 hours, arriving at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1722 hours.
17 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0804 hours for exercises, returning at 1202 hours.
21 Aug 1942	The port of La Pallice, La Rochelle, France was attacked by an Allied air raid; at 0220 hours, bombs fell near Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini, but caused no damage. At 1430 hours, Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, starting her tenth war patrol.
28 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted the conning tower of an unidentified submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 1355 hours; she turned away to avoid detection. At 1422 hours, she sighted a destroyer at the distance of about 15,000 meters; she submerged to avoid detection, and she detected two other ships with her hydrophones.
29 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an illuminated Portuguese ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0007 hours; no action was taken.
30 Aug 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a biplane aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1411 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
2 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a periscope in the Atlantic Ocean at 1008 hours; she turned away to avoid detection.
13 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini received orders to assist German submarine U-156 in the rescue of survivors of British troop ship Laconia, which was recently sunk by U-156 in the Atlantic Ocean, at 0730 hours; she was to maintain radio silence while en route. She altered course at 1010 hours toward the site of the Laconia sinking.
14 Sep 1942	At 0052 hours, Comandante Cappellini was ordered to make rendezvous with German submarine U-506 to coordinate with the rescue of survivors of British troop ship Laconia, which was sunk by U-156 in the Atlantic Ocean.
15 Sep 1942	At 1130 hours, U-506, U-507, and Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini arrived in waters 290 miles northeast of Ascension Island to help U-156 in the rescue of survivors of British troopship Laconia.
16 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted her first lifeboat from British troop ship Laconia in the Atlantic Ocean at 0828 hours. Laconia, carrying many Italian prisoners of war, had been sunk by U-156. This lifeboat carried 50 British survivors, which appeared to be stocked with ample food and water, thus the Italian submarine moved on. At 1032 hours, she sighted a second lifeboat, carrying 84 British surivors (41 men, 18 women, and 25 children); the Italian commanding officer Marco Revedin spoke to the suvivors of the second lifeboat and purposed to take on the women and children, but the British survivors refused to board the Italian submarine, so the Italians moved on after providing them with some provisions. At 1653 hours, Comandante Cappellini sighted four more lifeboats, two of which were overloaded and were taking on water; Comandante Cappellini took on 49 of the 50 Italian survivors (one confused Italian refused to board and was left behind). Shortly after, 19 British and Polish survivors were spotted in the water, and they were also picked up.
17 Sep 1942	One of the rescued Italians from sunken British troop ship Laconia passed away aboard Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini in the Atlantic Ocean at 0710 hours; he was buried at sea. At 1210 hours, another Italian survivor, Giovanni Volch, passed away and was similarly buried at sea. In the afternoon, the crew of Comandante Cappellini transferred 19 of the rescued British and Polish survivors onto lifeboats in the Atlantic Ocean and provided them with provisions.
20 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini made rendezvous with French sloop Dumont d'Urville in the Atlantic Ocean at 0948 hours and transferred 41 of the rescued Italian survivors of sunken British troop ship Laconia. Six Italians and two British officers were kept aboard.
21 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a small warship in the Atlantic Ocean at 1223 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1501 hours, she sighted another warship, and again submerged.
23 Sep 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied Sunderland aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1010 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1135 hours, while on the surface, she sighted smoke from British freighter Bruyère, and by 1246 hours she had closed to about 7,000 meters. The Italian submarine submerged, and closed the distance to about 5,500 meters by 1400 hours. At 1402 hours, an Allied Sunderland aircraft was sighted, forcing Comandante Cappellini to dive deeper. At 1442 hours, she surfaced, and regained visual contact with Bruyère. At 2304 hours, she began making an attack run, but she also sighted a shadow nearby. At 1336 hours, two explosions took place near her, and later it would be realized that German submarine U-125 had mistaken her as an enemy and fired torpedoes at her. The Italian submarine gave up the pursuit and submerged.
4 Oct 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an illuminated Swiss ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0215 hours, followed by another, Portuguese ship, shortly after; no action was taken.
13 Oct 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied Sunderland aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0842 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 0929 hours, another aircraft was sighted, and she submerged again; distant explosions were heard while under the surface.
14 Oct 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an Allied Sunderland aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1012 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1632 hours, she sighted a biplane aircraft, and she again submerged.
16 Oct 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a large seaplane in the Atlantic Ocean at 0812 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1022 hours, another aircraft was sighted, and she submerged again. At 1512 hours, she sighted a German Junker 88; because her recognition signals had expired, she submerged to avoid a friendly fire incident.
17 Oct 1942	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1457 hours, ending her tenth war patrol.
17 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Bordeaux, France at 1500 hours and arrived at Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 1730 hours.
20 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Pauillac, Aquitaine, France at 1330 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 1630 hours.
21 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0930 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1900 hours.
23 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0815 hours for trials, returning at 1400 hours.
24 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1430 hours for trials, returning at 1635 hours.
26 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1500 hours, starting her eleventh war patrol.
28 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted a submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 0500 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
29 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 2000 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
30 Dec 1942	Comandante Cappellini detected an aircraft with Metox radar detector in the Atlantic Ocean at 0030 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 2020 hours, she made another Metox contact and again submerged.
2 Jan 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1830 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
26 Jan 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1830 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 1725 hours, she sighted a seaplane, and submerged again.
27 Jan 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 2143 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
12 Feb 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted an illuminated ship in the Atlantic ocean at 1216 hours; she failed to close the distance and gave up the pursuit at 2319 hours.
19 Feb 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted a ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 2040 hours; she failed to close the distance and ultimately lost contact.
24 Feb 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted a British Catalina aircraft of No. 202 Squadron (Flight Lieutenant C. J. Le Couteur) in the Atlantic Ocean at 1413 hours, and the British pilot had spotted the Italian submarine before the submarine submerged. At 1557 hours, Comandante Cappellini surfaced; seeing a Catalina aircraft overhead, commanding officer Marco Revedin ordered the machine guns to open fire, but the signal was misinterpreted, causing confusion; meanwhile, the aircraft straddled the submarine with six depth charges, and turned around to strafe with machine guns. Comandante Cappellini suffered damage, but was able to get away. At 2306 hours, she detected another aircraft with her Metox radar detector, and submerged to avoid detection; a leak developed and prevented the submarine from going deeper than 30 meters.
25 Feb 1943	Comandante Cappellini detected an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0129 hours with her Metox radar detector; she submerged to avoid detection.
2 Mar 1943	Comandante Cappellini sighted a four-engined aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1945 hours; she submerged to avoid detection.
4 Mar 1943	Comandante Cappellini detected an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0420 hours and then again at 0521 hours; she submerged both times to avoid detection. At 0722 hours, she detected another aircraft with her Metox radar detector; she remained on the surface with gun crews at the ready in an attempt to rush back to base. She arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1605 hours, ending her eleventh war patrol. She would departed Bordeaux again before sundown.
5 Mar 1943	Comandante Cappellini arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1943 hours.
1 May 1943	Walter Auconi was made the commanding officer of Comandante Cappellini while at Bordeaux, France, relieving Marco Revedin.
11 May 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) departed Bordeaux, France.
14 May 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) sighted two anti-submarine vessels in the Atlantic Ocean at 0750 hours.
18 May 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) sighted an illuminated ship in the Atlantic Ocean after sundown.
27 May 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) sighted an illuminated ship in the Atlantic Ocean after sundown.
24 Jun 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) sighted an illuminated ship in the Indian Ocean after sundown; she submerged to avoid detection.
25 Jun 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) sighted a freighter in the Indian Ocean during the day; she submerged to avoid detection.
9 Jul 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) arrived at Sabang just off the northern tip of Sumatra island, occupied Dutch East Indies, at 1515 hours; her fuel tanks were nearly empty when she pulled into port.
10 Jul 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) departed Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies at 1935 hours, escorted by Italian sloop Eritrea.
12 Jul 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) arrived at Singapore at 1029 hours and unloaded her cargo for Japan. She began to receive some repairs for damage incurred during the journey from Europe to the Dutch East Indies.
21 Aug 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) departed Singapore with 110 tons of rubber, 44 tons of tin ingots, and 10 tons of miscellaneous cargo aboard. She was escorted by Italian sloop Eritrea.
24 Aug 1943	Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III) arrived at Singapore.
9 Sep 1943	Upon hearing the news that Italy had surrendered, Italian transport submarine Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III), in port at Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, attempted to request permission to leave port under the guise of a training exercise. The request was denied by the Japanese leadership. When the submarine's commanding officer Walter Auconi met with Vice Admiral Hiraoka Kumeichi of the 9th Base Unit at Sabang, the Japanese officer suggested surrender, which the Italian complied.
10 Sep 1943	The Japanese Navy turned over the Italian transport submarine Comandante Cappellini, captured at Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies on the previous day, to Germany.
13 Sep 1943	Comandante Cappellini departed Sabang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.
16 Sep 1943	Comandante Cappellini arrived at Singapore. A squad of Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces troops boarded the submarine in case the Italian crew from scuttling the boat. Most of the Italian crew members were detained and later transferred to the Sime Road prisoners of war camp, while four were allowed to continue working on the submarine.
29 Oct 1943	Japan released Walter Auconi and other Italian officers and men formerly of submarine Comandante Cappellini from the Sime Road prisoners of war camp.
6 Dec 1943	At Singapore, captured Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini was commissioned into German service as UIT-24 with Heinrich Pahl in command.
5 Jan 1944	German blockade runner Burgenland was attacked by light cruiser USS Omaha and destroyer USS Jouett in the Atlantic Ocean leading to the German crew scuttling their own ship. Walter Auconi, former commanding of Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini, was among the survivors; he and the 31 other Germans and Italians in his lifeboat was later picked up by a Brazilian ship and spent the rest of the war in a Brazilian prisoners of war camp.
2 Feb 1944	UIT-24 departed Singapore for Penang.
8 Feb 1944	UIT-24 departed Penang for Bordeaux, France.
12 Mar 1944	While in the Indian Ocean, UIT-24 aborted her journey toward Bordeaux, France as the tanker scheduled to refueled her was attacked by destroyer HMS Roebuck and was ultimately scuttled.
3 Apr 1944	UIT-24 arrived in Penang.
5 Apr 1944	UIT-24 departed Penang for Singapore.
25 May 1944	UIT-24 departed Singapore for Kobe, Japan.
6 Jun 1944	UIT-24 arrived in Kobe, Japan and was drydocked for repairs.
5 Sep 1944	UIT-24 departed Kobe, Japan.
20 Sep 1944	UIT-24 arrived in Singapore.
10 Oct 1944	UIT-24 departed Penang.
12 Oct 1944	UIT-24 arrived in Singapore.
15 Jan 1945	UIT-24 departed Singapore.
18 Feb 1945	UIT-24 arrived in Kobe, Japan and began receiving repairs.
8 May 1945	Heinrich Pahl stepped down as the commanding officer of UIT-24 while at Kobe, Japan.
10 May 1945	While undergoing overhaul at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Kobe, Japan, UIT-24 was taken over by the Japanese Navy.
14 Jul 1945	German submarine UIT-24 was commissioned into Japanese service in Kobe, Japan as I-503 under the command of Lieutenant Hideo Hirota.
15 Jul 1945	I-503 was attached to the Kure Naval District, though she would remain in the Mitsubishi shipyard at Kobe, Japan.
30 Aug 1945	I-503 was surrendered to Allied authorities at Kobe, Japan.
30 Oct 1945	Lieutenant Chiaki Tanaka was made the commanding officer of I-503 (formerly Comandante Cappellini) and I-504 (formerly Luigi Torelli).
30 Nov 1945	I-503 was removed from the Japanese Navy list.
1 Dec 1945	Chiaki Tanaka stepped down as the commanding officer of I-503 at Kobe, Japan.
16 Apr 1946	I-503 was scuttled by the US Navy in the Kii Channel in Japan.

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