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Un caso interessante: il sommergibile NARVAL


Francesco Mattesini
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Fulvio Petronio, da Trieste, mi ha fatto appena notare un errore comparso nell'articolo del Bollettino sul NARVAL (di cui mi ero accorto ma troppo tardi, purtroppo). Alle pagine 188 e 189, il testo di Ruia e la didascalia della foto identificano il cacciatorpediniere britannico DIAMOND come se fosse un incrociatore.... faccio ammenda a nome dell'AIDMEN, un errata corrige comparirà sul prossimo Bollettino, insieme ad un altro sempre di Petronio (probabilmente il massimo esperto che ci sia in Italia in materia di identificazione di sommergibili) relativo ad una delle foto erroneamente attribuite ad un ex sommergibile classe R nel pezzo di Luciano Grazioli.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have received the Bollettino this week and would like to commend the quality and diversity of all the articles and congratulations to our President Francesco De Domenico and all concerned!

My interest in Italian submarines was particularly rewarded by the articles on their construction by Gian Carlo Poddighe and on the "R" class submarines by Luciano Grazioli but all the articles were praiseworthy and I would not like to fail to mention Franco Mattesini's article on the end of the Malta's blockade.

 

But to return to the very one by Stefano Rula on the French submarine NARVAL, I will only make a minor correction:

 

There is no evidence that this submarine carried a cargo of limpets for Free French saboteurs in Tunisia. So the massive explosion in the bow was probably solely by the mine or perhaps a torpedo was also detonated in its tube. First contacts between Tunisia and Malta were initiated by the lawyer André Mounier who travelled in the fishing vessel PESCADOU from Tunisia to Malta in January 1941 that is after NARVAL was lost. The submarine HMS UTMOST was used on four occasions to pick up or land agents (Commandant Breuillac and Verdier) in Tunisia (28 February, 19 April, 27 April and 27 May 1941) and limpets were probably brought on 27 April or 27 May (or possibly on both occasions). They were used in sabotage attempts on the Italian ships ACHILLE, SIRIO and PROSERPINA but only ACHILLE was damaged. Mounier was killed in an air accident so the whole story is not very well known and SOE files concerning these operations were probably lost or destroyed at the end of the war.

 

Platon Alexiades

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  • 5 years later...

Sono Cama Antonino, il nipote dell'ammiraglio Pasquale Giliberto, allora tenente di vascello e comandante della torpediniera Clio. Sono il figlio della sorella Giliberto Giovanna. Ho una serie di giornali dell'epoca, nei quali c'è la foto della torpediniera con la prua visibilmente accartocciata. Mio zio non ha raccontato balle. Il sommergibile è stato veramente colpito prima che si immergesse, e la enorme macchia di nafta che si formò attorno ne fu la prova tangibile dell'affondamento. Posso fornirvi tutte le foto dei giornali dell'epoca ed anche il conferimento della medaglia d'argento al valor militare.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/10/2021 at 3:31 AM, Antonino Cama said:

Sono Cama Antonino, il nipote dell'ammiraglio Pasquale Giliberto, allora tenente di vascello e comandante della torpediniera Clio. Sono il figlio della sorella Giliberto Giovanna. Ho una serie di giornali dell'epoca, nei quali c'è la foto della torpediniera con la prua visibilmente accartocciata. Mio zio non ha raccontato balle. Il sommergibile è stato veramente colpito prima che si immergesse, e la enorme macchia di nafta che si formò attorno ne fu la prova tangibile dell'affondamento. Posso fornirvi tutte le foto dei giornali dell'epoca ed anche il conferimento della medaglia d'argento al valor militare.

Hello Antonino,

I would be interested to see the photos you have and the newspapers extracts. I would also be interested in locating the Clio's report of this action. Neither Francesco Mattesini or I ever found it at the USMM. It is missing from the Clio's file.

Unfortunately, as you may have surmised from the previous exchanges on this thread, Clio never sank Narval. The wreck of Narval was located by Micoperi in November 1957 near Kerkenah (Tunisia) and again visited by the French Navy in 1985 (I have been in contact with the Chief of Staff of the French Navy in the Mediterranean who conducted the search). The wreck was positively identified and was the victim of an Italian minefield. Narval was assigned a patrol area between Lampedusa and Kerkenah. She could never have been operating in the Tobruk area which was 600 miles away. The submarine attacked by Clio was HMS Rover, she was damaged but escaped.

Best regards,
Platon

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