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Enrico Toti (submarine)
Encyclopedia
Enrico Toti was a Balilla-class
Italian
submarine
laid down on 26 January 1925 at the Odero-Terni-Orlando
Naval Yard, located in Muggiano
, La Spezia
. She was one of four in her class, launched on 14 April 1928 and commissioned on 19 September. Her name pays homage to Major Enrico Toti
, a First World War combatant posthumously awarded the Italian Gold Medal
. The submarine is notable as being the only Italian submarine to have sunk a Royal Navy
submarine during the Second World War.
was a T-class
submarine of the Royal Navy
that had set sail from Malta
on 9 October 1940 under the command of Lieutenant-Commander G.S. Salt. On the night of 15 October at 38°16′N 17°37′E, off the Gulf of Taranto
, she encountered the Enrico Toti, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Bandino Bandini.
Bandini, the officer on watch at the time, sighted the Triad on the surface at 01:00 hrs, and sounded battle stations on board the Italian submarine. Both submarines altered course until they were heading towards each other, with the Royal Navy submarine opening fire first with her deck gun.
Italian accounts record that the British submarine scored no hits. Triad also fired one torpedo, which the Italian ship turned to avoid. Bandini's vessel opened fire on the British deck guns with her four 13.2 mm machine guns, preventing the Royal Navy personnel from operating their deck gun and driving them below deck. Accounts show that the two submarines passed within four feet, with Triad cutting across the stern of the Italian vessel.
Enrico Toti launched a torpedo, however the distance was such that the torpedo failed to arm in time prior to impact and caused no damage to the British submarine. At this stage, Lieutenant-Commander Salt began to dive his ship, however she was sunk during this manoeuvre by two direct shell hits and possibly a further torpedo from the Enrico Toti. The time from first sighting until sinking was 30 to 45 minutes, and there were no survivors picked up by the Italian submarine or any other vessels. For this action, the entire crew and their commander received an award.
The Enrico Toti subsequently became a training vessel, and was then used to transport supplies to Italian forces in North Africa
. She was scrapped in 1943. Her commander, Bandini, retired from active service in 1949.
submarine , which was patrolling nearby and had not been in contact. However, research in 1988 by the Royal Navy
came to the conclusion that HMS Rainbow had in fact been sunk in a collision with the Italian cargo ship Antonietta Costa five days prior to the sinking of the Triad, on 10 October.
), with the S506 Enrico Toti being laid down in 1965, launched in 1967, decommissioned in 1992 and preserved as a museum ship in Milan
.
in 1968; Soon after that 3 more identical units were added to what is called the “classe Toti”.
They are small submarines (so small that they were called “pocket sized submarines”), employed from the late '60s until the end of the 90s. They were conceived to work inside the Mediterranean sea and therefore, not having ever gone into the ocean, they have never had to face real war situations. They had two main tasks:
1- patrol the mediterranean sea with special attention to the Channel of Sicily during the Cold War
; for this reason their main base was the Military Arsenal of Augusta (Syracuse);
2- participate in NATO exercises with other submarines (USA)
The Enrico Toti arrived at the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum in August 2005 with a trip in 2 steps:
2001: From Augusta to the Cremona
port, towed through the Adriatic sea
and the Po
(14 days)
2005: From Cremona to Milan, on top of a specially built convoy, on a road trip lasting four nights.
Another Toti-class unit is on exhibition at the Arsenale in Venice
, while the remaining two are still in Augusta and are scheduled for scrapping.
width: 4,75 m
speed: 9.5 knots in surface, 14 knots underwater
operational depth: 150 m
test depth: 300m
displacement: 530 tons in surface, 590 tons underwater
engines: 1 electrical propeller engine (900 hp); two Fiat diesel engines (1040 hp) generating electrical power.
armament: 4 launcher tubes for 533-mm torpedoes; Wire-guided electrical torpedoes with auto-guided warhead.
Balilla class submarine
The Balilla-class were the first submarines to be built for the Italian navy following the end of World War I. They were large ocean-going cruiser submarines designed to operate in the Indian Ocean based in Italy's East African colonies. The design was double-hulled and based on the German Type UE...
Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
laid down on 26 January 1925 at the Odero-Terni-Orlando
Oto Melara
Oto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of Vickers and Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the...
Naval Yard, located in Muggiano
Lerici
Lerici is a town and comune in the province of La Spezia in Liguria , part of the Italian Riviera. Its nearest bay is the Bay of Lerici. The town is connected by ferry to the Cinque Terre and Portovenere....
, La Spezia
Province of La Spezia
The Province of La Spezia is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia.It has an area of 881 km², and a total population of 223,606 inhabitants...
. She was one of four in her class, launched on 14 April 1928 and commissioned on 19 September. Her name pays homage to Major Enrico Toti
Enrico Toti
Enrico Toti was an Italian cyclist, patriot and hero of World War I.Enrico lost his left leg while working for Italian railways, at the age of 24. After his injury he became a cyclist....
, a First World War combatant posthumously awarded the Italian Gold Medal
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
. The submarine is notable as being the only Italian submarine to have sunk a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
submarine during the Second World War.
Service in the Second World War
During the Second World War the Enrico Toti was assigned to the Italian 4th Submarine Group’s 40th Squadron.The sinking of HMS Triad
HMS TriadHMS Triad (N53)
HMS Triad was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched in May 1939. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Triad.-Career:...
was a T-class
British T class submarine
The Royal Navy's T class of diesel-electric submarines was designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P and R classes. Fifty-three members of the class were built just before and during the Second World War, where they played a major role in the Royal Navy's submarine operations...
submarine of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
that had set sail from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
on 9 October 1940 under the command of Lieutenant-Commander G.S. Salt. On the night of 15 October at 38°16′N 17°37′E, off the Gulf of Taranto
Gulf of Taranto
The Gulf of Taranto is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in southern Italy.The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, 140 km long and wide, and is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca and Colonna...
, she encountered the Enrico Toti, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Bandino Bandini.
Bandini, the officer on watch at the time, sighted the Triad on the surface at 01:00 hrs, and sounded battle stations on board the Italian submarine. Both submarines altered course until they were heading towards each other, with the Royal Navy submarine opening fire first with her deck gun.
Italian accounts record that the British submarine scored no hits. Triad also fired one torpedo, which the Italian ship turned to avoid. Bandini's vessel opened fire on the British deck guns with her four 13.2 mm machine guns, preventing the Royal Navy personnel from operating their deck gun and driving them below deck. Accounts show that the two submarines passed within four feet, with Triad cutting across the stern of the Italian vessel.
Enrico Toti launched a torpedo, however the distance was such that the torpedo failed to arm in time prior to impact and caused no damage to the British submarine. At this stage, Lieutenant-Commander Salt began to dive his ship, however she was sunk during this manoeuvre by two direct shell hits and possibly a further torpedo from the Enrico Toti. The time from first sighting until sinking was 30 to 45 minutes, and there were no survivors picked up by the Italian submarine or any other vessels. For this action, the entire crew and their commander received an award.
The Enrico Toti subsequently became a training vessel, and was then used to transport supplies to Italian forces in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. She was scrapped in 1943. Her commander, Bandini, retired from active service in 1949.
HMS Rainbow
It had been long believed that HMS Triad had been sunk by a mine, and that the ship sunk by the Enrico Toti was in fact the R-classRainbow class submarine
The Rainbow class submarine or R class was a class of four submarines built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. They were designed as long range patrol submarines for the Far East and were essentially repeats of the preceding Parthian class submarines with minor modifications...
submarine , which was patrolling nearby and had not been in contact. However, research in 1988 by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
came to the conclusion that HMS Rainbow had in fact been sunk in a collision with the Italian cargo ship Antonietta Costa five days prior to the sinking of the Triad, on 10 October.
Italian submarine Enrico Toti (S506)
The name Enrico Toti was later used for a new class of Italian submarine (Toti-classToti class submarine
The Toti class were submarines built for the Italian Navy in the 1960s. They were the first submarines designed and built in Italy since World War II. These boats were small and designed as "hunter killer" anti-submarine submarines...
), with the S506 Enrico Toti being laid down in 1965, launched in 1967, decommissioned in 1992 and preserved as a museum ship in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
Historical facts
The submarine was built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, between 1965 and 1967, and given to the Italian NavyItalian Navy
Italian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic...
in 1968; Soon after that 3 more identical units were added to what is called the “classe Toti”.
They are small submarines (so small that they were called “pocket sized submarines”), employed from the late '60s until the end of the 90s. They were conceived to work inside the Mediterranean sea and therefore, not having ever gone into the ocean, they have never had to face real war situations. They had two main tasks:
1- patrol the mediterranean sea with special attention to the Channel of Sicily during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
; for this reason their main base was the Military Arsenal of Augusta (Syracuse);
2- participate in NATO exercises with other submarines (USA)
The Enrico Toti arrived at the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum in August 2005 with a trip in 2 steps:
2001: From Augusta to the Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
port, towed through the Adriatic sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
and the Po
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
(14 days)
2005: From Cremona to Milan, on top of a specially built convoy, on a road trip lasting four nights.
Another Toti-class unit is on exhibition at the Arsenale in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, while the remaining two are still in Augusta and are scheduled for scrapping.
Technical data
length: 46 mwidth: 4,75 m
speed: 9.5 knots in surface, 14 knots underwater
operational depth: 150 m
test depth: 300m
displacement: 530 tons in surface, 590 tons underwater
engines: 1 electrical propeller engine (900 hp); two Fiat diesel engines (1040 hp) generating electrical power.
armament: 4 launcher tubes for 533-mm torpedoes; Wire-guided electrical torpedoes with auto-guided warhead.