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Who is now a partner, a friend and an ally, once was the hardest enemy Italian Navy ever faced: the British Royal Navy.
Its Mediterranean commander-in-chief, Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham, was probably the best sea warlord of WW2.
Admiral Cunningham (Mondadori)
His calm and cold nerves were legendary, someone said that the only time he was just a little bit nervous was when the British captured the Durand de la Penne's commando in Alexandria: he knew that some of his ships could explode suddenly.
The war between Italian and the British Navy was fierce but there was respect, fairness and no hate among the opponents. The Italian were aware of the glorious tradition and of the seapower of the British, and the British were amazed by the Italian bravery (in a war that Italian people were not motivated to fight) and by what the Italians managed to do with their inadequate means. After every battle the winner always tried to save as many lives of the opponent as possible.
Chivalry between men of sea: after having sunk Hms submarine Tempest crew of Italian torpedo-boat Circe rescued British survivors. (Mondadori)
Admiral Cunningham was an extraordinary strategist and he had the opportunity to act completely in an autonomous way, while the Italian Admirals had to ask permission to Supermarina (Italian Navy HQ) for everything they had to do, and asking permissions could take several hours too!
In addition, the British Navy philosophy was to be always aggressive even if it could challenge the fortune; the Italian Headquarter, instead, was too careful. If the Italian captains and crews had been let free to decide what to do on every situations maybe they could have won many more battles.
The British ships had the advantage of being radar-equipped and Cunningham took advantage of this fact in a devastating way: he always tried for fighting during moon less nights when Italians were completely blind. He also exploited very well the cooperation between air forces and Navy: the planes always were at the right place at the right time.
Among the British units I want to remember the submarine Upholder and his smart and brave Captain Wanklyn, Ace of British submariners. This sub was a constant threat for every Italian ship, military or not, in the Mediterranean sea from May 1941 to April 1942. It sunk a large number of units, among them: Neptunia, Oceania, Conte Rosso, Libeccio, Tembien and Subs Tricheco and Saint Bon.
A British friend of mine, Michael French sent kindly me a description of the end of HMS Upholder:
On 6 April 1942, HMS Upholder, after an extraordinarily successful career of some sixteen months, was sent on her twenty-fifth patrol to the waters off of Sfax, in what was intended to be her last patrol before returning home to Portsmouth for a refit.
Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn had originally wanted to take her to Brindisi, but the Captain (Submarines) at Malta, Captain G.W.G.Simpson, persuaded him instead to patrol what were believed to be the quieter waters off of Sfax, as Simpson did not want to risk her and her crew unnecessarily in view of the fact that this was to be her last mission before returning home. At about 6 o'clock in the morning of 14 April 1942, HMS Urge (Lieutenant Commander E.P.Tomkinson), the Upholder's sister-ship, heard the distant explosion of a single depth-charge. This was repeated, one every hour, during the morning.
The sounds came from the vicinity of HMS Upholder's station. At midday this changed from a single explosion to a fierce barrage, which was sustained throughout the afternoon and did not cease until 6.00 in the evening.
After the explosions had subsided, Urge attempted to establish communications with Upholder, without success. Upholder was never heard from again. At around the same time, the Italian torpedo-boat Pegaso, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Francesco Acton, carried out a prolonged depth-charge attack against a submarine.
Although the attack did not result in any visible wreckage or oil, Lieutenant Commander Acton was fairly sure that he had sunk the submarine and reported accordingly. Acton never saw the other ship. But, taking all the known circumstances into account, today there can be little doubt that the ship he attacked was, in fact, the Upholder. At the time, Lieutenant Commander Acton had no idea of the identity of his adversary. It was not until much later that he learned who it was that he had killed.
At 1300 and 1400 on 18 April, the Italian authorities announced that a torpedo-boat had sunk a submarine in the central Mediterranean.
On 1 May Mrs Elspeth Wanklyn received a letter from the Admiralty notifying her that her husband's ship was seriously overdue and must be presumed lost; she was requested not to disclose the information to anyone else until such time as an official announcement was made.
That announcement was released on 22 August 1942.
In addition to the formal text of the ship's loss, the Admiralty took the very unusual step of paying solemn tribute to HMS Upholder and the men who had served in her: "It is seldom proper for Their Lordships to draw distinction between different services rendered in the course of naval duty, but they take this opportunity of singling out those of HMS Upholder, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn, for special mention.
She was long employed against enemy communications in the central Mediterranean in that arduous and dangerous duty. Such was the standard of skill and daring set by Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn and the officers and men under him, that they and their ship became an inspiration not only to their own flotilla, but to the Fleet of which it was a part and to Malta, where for so long Upholder was based.
The ship and her company are gone, but the example and inspiration remain." Captain G.W.G.Simpson, Captain (Submarines) at Malta, wrote to Mrs Elspeth Wanklyn, "What is it possible to write? Nothing that can in any way really help you, but perhaps some word from me may be acceptable. ..... I have lost a friend and adviser whom I believe I knew better than my brother to you I send all thoughts of sympathy in this terrible blow. His record of brilliant leadership will never be equalled. He was by his very qualities of modesty, ability, determination, courage and character - a giant among us.
The island of Malta worshipped him. This tribute is no overstatement." HMS Urge, the Upholder's sister-ship, was lost on patrol soon after, some time in May 1942.
One account that I have read states that she, too, was sunk by the Pegaso; but others say that she probably struck a mine. We will probably never know exactly what happened to her.
A.S.Evans, BENEATH THE WAVES. A HISTORY OF HM SUBMARINE LOSSES 1904©1971 (William Kimber Ltd., London, 1986)
John Frayn Turner, PERISCOPE PATROL. THE STORY OF MALTA SUBMARINES (first published George G.Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1957; reprinted Airlife Publishing Ltd., Shrewsbury, 1997)
John M.Young, BRITAIN'S SEA WAR. A DIARY OF SHIP LOSSES 1939©1945 (Patrick Stephens Ltd., Wellingborough, 1989)
Commander J.J.Tall and Paul Kemp, HM SUBMARINES IN CAMERA, 1901©1996 (Sutton Publishing Ltd., Stroud, 1996)
I.S.O.Playfair, HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE MIDDLE EAST (III) (London, 1960)
Reginald Longstaff, SUBMARINE COMMAND. A PICTORIAL HISTORY (Robert Hale Limited, London, 1984
Kenneth Poolman, PERISCOPE DEPTH. THE FULL STORY OF SUBMARINES AT WAR (Sphere Books Ltd., London, 1984)