Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini (1939)

Comandante Cappellini was a World War II Italian Marcello-class submarine built for the Italian Royal Navy (Italian: Regia Marina). After Italy's surrender, the submarine was captured by the Japanese and handed over to Germany as UIT-24. Following the capitulation of Germany, the Japanese integrated the boat into their fleet as I-503 (Japanese: 伊号第五百三潜水艦). Following the end of the war, the United States scuttled the submarine in 1946.

For other ships with the same name, see Italian ship Alfredo Cappellini.
German submarine UIT24 in the Inland Sea, Japan, August, 1944.
History
 Regia Marina
NameComandante Cappellini
Launched14 May 1939
Commissioned23 September 1939
RenamedAquilla III, May 1943
FateCaptured by Japan, 10 September 1943, and handed over to Germany
 Kriegsmarine
NameUIT-24
AcquiredSeptember 1943
FateIncorporated into Japanese Navy after German surrender in May 1945
NotesMixed Italian/German crew
 Imperial Japanese Navy
NameI-503
AcquiredMay 1945
FateCaptured by the U.S. Navy in August 1945, and scuttled, 16 April 1946
NotesMixed Italian/Japanese/German crew
General characteristics
Class and type Marcello-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,060 long tons (1,080 t) surfaced
  • 1,313 long tons (1,334 t) submerged
Length73 m (239 ft 6 in)
Beam7.19 m (23 ft 7 in)
Draught5.1 m (16 ft 9 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h; 20.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Complement58
Armament

Service history

Operating under the command of Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Todaro, then of Lieutenant Aldo Lenzi and later of Lieutenant Marco Revedin, Comandante Cappellini carried out several war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean while based in BETASOM, sinking or damaging 31,000 gross registered tons of enemy shipping. She participated in the rescue of the survivors of the Laconia in September 1942. Was later converted to the transport of strategic materials to and from Japan.[1] After Italy's capitulation in 1943, the submarine was captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy and handed over to Germany at Sabang on 10 September 1943. Commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as foreign U-boat UIT-24 and assigned to 12th U-boat Flotilla with a mixed Italian and German crew. She remained in the Pacific because of failed attempts to return to the 12th Flotilla base at Bordeaux in occupied France.

At Germany's surrender in May 1945, the submarine was taken over and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as I-503 (its crew now a mixture of Italians, Germans, and Japanese) and shuttled between ports as a transport submarine. At Japan's surrender in August 1945, she was seized by the United States Navy, which scuttled her off Kobe on 16 April 1946.

In fiction

Cappellini is mentioned (and seen briefly in some scenes) in the 2011 TV movie The Sinking of the Laconia. The "Capellini" and its crew are the main subject of a Japanese 2 hour TV 2022 special "sensuikan-cappellini-gou-no-bouken" (The adventure of the Submarine Cappellini).

See also

Italian submarines of World War II

References
  1. Rössler, Eberhard (2003). Die deutschen U-Kreuzer und Transport-U-Boote. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-6246-9.

Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-532-3.

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