Francesco Mimbelli
Encyclopedia
Francesco Mimbelli was an 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...

 Naval
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 officer who fought in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Crete

Mimbelli was a commander of a Torpedo boat destroyer flotilla which fought in the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...

 he was responsible for defending a convoy to Crete in the face of superior British
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...

 forces.

Black Sea

He was also the commander of the Italian naval force based in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

, where he commanded a force of MAS boats. The Italian flotilla was responsible for sinking two submarines and a transport ship. They also torpedoed the Soviet cruiser Molotov which was not repaired until after the end of the conflict.

Post War

In 1946 Mimbelli was appointed captain of the Cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi, He was subsequently promoted to Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 and became commander of the Italian Naval academy
Accademia Navale di Livorno
The Italian Naval Academy is a coeducational military university in Leghorn , which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy.-The Hospital of St. James:...

. He retired as a Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 in 1964.

Commemoration

In 1992 the new Italian destroyer Francesco Mimbelli of the De la Penne class was named in his honour.
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