Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini

Italian submarine 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 in August 1944.
History
Italy
NameComandante Cappellini
Laid down25 April 1938
Launched14 May 1939
Commissioned23 September 1939
RenamedAquilla III in May 1943
FateCaptured by Japan on 10 September 1943 and handed over to Germany
Service record as Comandante Cappellini
Commanders:
Victories: 5 merchant ships sunk
(31,648 GRT)
Nazi Germany
NameUIT-24
Acquired10 September 1943
Commissioned6 December 1943
FateIncorporated into Japanese Navy after German surrender on 10 May 1945
NotesMixed Italian / German crew
Service record as UIT-24[1]
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Pahls[2]
  • 6 December 1943 – 8 May 1945
Operations: 6 patrols
Victories: None
Japan
NameI-503
Acquired10 May 1945
Commissioned14 July 1945
FateCaptured by the U.S. Navy in August 1945 and scuttled on 16 April 1946
NotesMixed Italian / German / Japanese crew
Service record as I-503[3]
Commanders:
Operations: None
Victories: None
General characteristics
Class and typeMarcello-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 Capitano di corvetta Cristiano Masi, later Capitano di corvetta Salvatore Todaro, then of Tenente di vascello Aldo Lenzi, later of Tenente di vascello Marco Revedin and Capitano di corvetta Walter Auconi, Comandante Cappellini carried out several war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean while based in BETASOM, sinking 31,648 gross registered ton 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.[4] 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 (her 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 her crew are the main subject of a Japanese two hour TV 2022 special "Sensuikan Cappellini-go no Boken" (The adventure of the Submarine Cappellini). The vessel plays a central part in the upcoming 2023 Italian war film Comandante.[5]

Summary of raiding history
Ships sunk by Comandante Cappellini[6]
Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate
15 October 1940 Kabalo  Belgium 5,186 Sunk
5 January 1941 Shakespeare  United Kingdom 5,029 Sunk
14 January 1941 Eumaeus  United Kingdom 7,472 Sunk
18 May 1942 Tisnaren  Sweden 5,747 Sunk
31 May 1942 RFA Dinsdale  United Kingdom 8,214 Sunk
Total:31,648

See also

References

Notes
  1. Served as commander of I-504 concurrently

Citations
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Foreign U-boats UIT-24". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Heinrich Pahls". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. "I-503". IJN Submarine Service – Ijnsubsite.info. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  4. Rössler, Eberhard (2003). Die deutschen U-Kreuzer und Transport-U-Boote. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-6246-9.
  5. Vivarelli, Nick (10 November 2022). "Pierfrancesco Favino to Play Humanitarian World War II Hero in 'Comandante,' Production Builds 70-Ton Submarine Replica". Variety. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. Léonce Peillard, p.152

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). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. 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.
  • Léonce Peillard, 長塚隆二（Translation), Submarine war 1939-1945 (潜水艦戦争 1939-1945), Hayakawa Publishing, 1979 (Japanese)

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