Submarine Maggiore Baracca

Maggiore Baracca

Country	Italy
Ship Class	Marconi-class Submarine
Builder	Odero-Terni-Orlando, Muggiano, Italy
Laid Down	1 Mar 1939
Launched	21 Apr 1940
Commissioned	10 Jul 1940
Sunk	8 Sep 1941
Displacement	1,214 tons standard; 1,510 tons submerged
Length	251 feet
Beam	22 feet
Draft	16 feet
Machinery	Two CRDA diesel engines, two Marelli electric motors
Speed	18 knots
Range	2,900nm at 17 knots surfaced, 10,500nm at 8 knots surfaced, 8nm at 8 knots submerged, 110nm at 3 kno
Crew	57
Armament	4x533mm bow torpedo tubes, 4x533mm stern torpedo tubes, 1x100mm/47cal gun, 4x13.2mm machine guns
Submerged Speed	8.2 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseItalian submarine Maggiore Baracca entered service in mid-1940. She departed her first war patrol in Sep 1940, during which she stopped the Greek freighter Aghios Nicolaus in heavy seas on 1 Oct 1940 in the Atlantic Ocean, forcing all crew members to take to lifeboats before sinking her by gunfire, destroying a cargo of zinc and wood originally destined for Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. She ended her first war patrol at Bordeaux, France. Her second war patrol saw her sinking the British freighter Lilian Moller in the North Atlantic on 18 Nov 1940. Her subsequent four war patrols were unsuccessful. On her sixth and final war patrol, she was spotted on the surface by British destroyer HMS Croome, escorting Allied convoy OG 75, in the northern Atlantic Ocean on 8 Sep 1941. She dove, but the subsequent depth charge attacks forced her to surface astern of the destroyer, and the two ships engaged in a gun battle until British machine gun crews killed the Italian deck gun crew members. While the Italians were in the process of abandoning the submarine, HMS Croome rammed Maggiore Baracca, causing her to take on flood water and sink very quickly. She exploded underwater. 34 men (commanding officer Tenente di Vascello Giorgio Viani, five officers, and 28 ratings) of Maggiore Baracca survived the sinking; 28 ratings were killed.

ww2dbaseSources:
uboat.net
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Mar 2023

Submarine Maggiore Baracca Interactive Map

Photographs

Submarine Maggiore Baracca, Italy, Jul 1940

Maggiore Baracca Operational Timeline

1 Mar 1939	The keel of Maggiore Baracca was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando in Muggiano, Liguria, Italy.
21 Apr 1940	Maggiore Baracca was launched.
10 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca was commissioned into service with Capitano di Corvetta Enrico Bertarelli in command.
20 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0915 hours for trials, returning at 1615 hours.
25 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0624 hours for trials, returning at 1820 hours.
28 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0752 hours for trials, returning at 1820 hours.
29 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0805 hours for trials, returning at 1646 hours.
31 Jul 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0725 hours for trials, returning at 1641 hours.
5 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0854 hours for tests, returning at 1540 hours.
6 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0820 hours for exercises, returning at 1805 hours.
7 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0805 hours for exercises, returning at 1310 hours.
8 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0804 hours for exercises, returning at 1740 hours.
13 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0805 hours for exercises, returning at 1730 hours.
14 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0708 hours for exercises, returning at 1335 hours.
16 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0845 hours for exercises, returning at 1335 hours.
24 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 1002 hours for exercises, returning at 1930 hours.
27 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0733 hours for exercises, returning at 1245 hours.
29 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0845 hours for exercises, returning at 1325 hours.
31 Aug 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed La Spezia, Italy at 0130 hours, starting her first war patrol.
7 Sep 1940	Maggiore Baracca transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
30 Sep 1940	Maggiore Baracca set course for Bordeaux, France.
1 Oct 1940	Maggiore Baracca spotted Greek freighter Aghios Nicolaus, carrying 2,200 tons of zinc and 3,982 tons of wood sailing for Belfast in Northern Ireland of the United Kingdom, in the Atlantic Ocean at about 1615 hours. She gave chase in heavy seas, stopped the freighter with warning shots from a machine gun, and forced all 26 crew members to take to lifeboats. Once the freighter was fully abandoned, she sank her with 40 shells from the deck gun at 1955 hours.
5 Oct 1940	British submarine HMS Tigris spotted a group of Axis warships (Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca, Italian submarine Reginaldo Giuliani, German minesweeper M-9, German minesweeper M-13, and German auxiliary Cap Hadid) and fired four torpedoes at the distance of about 2,500 yards, about 20 miles west of the French coast at 0815 hours. All torpedoes missed the targets, but two of the torpedoes were detonated some distance after missing the targets. British commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Howard Bone had originally mistaken one of the German ships as a third submarine, thus even though all four torpedoes missed, having seeing only two submarines after the detonations Bone thought he had destroyed one enemy submarine. Maggiore Baracca arrived at Pauillac, France in the evening, ending her first war patrol.
6 Oct 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed Pauillac, France in the morning and arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1132 hours.
24 Oct 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France, starting her second war patrol.
27 Oct 1940	Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca encountered German auxiliary cruiser Widder in the Atlantic Ocean at 1505 hours.
28 Oct 1940	Maggiore Baracca took on 5 tons of water through the conning tower hatch in heavy seas in the Atlantic Ocean.
31 Oct 1940	Maggiore Baracca spotted a freighter in the northern Atlantic Ocean at about 1935 hours. At 2109, she fired a torpedo, which missed. The freighter turned to ram the submarine, but Maggiore Baracca was able to avoid being struck by going full astern. The Italian submarine would continue to give chase through the end of this day.
1 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca abandoned the pursuit of a freighter in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 0020 hours; she had been pursuing the unidentified target freighter since the previous date. At 1820 hours, she sighted a convoy of three to five ships at the distance of 6,000 meters, she gave pursuit.
2 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca abandoned the pursuit of a convoy in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1705 hours; she had been pursuing the convoy since the previous date.
9 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca sighted a tanker in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 0945 hours. She attempted an attack while submerged, failed to get in a good attack position. She lost contact with the target and gave up the pursuit at 1645 hours.
10 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca sighted two destroyers at the distance of 5,000 meters in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1117 hours. She dove and approached, hearing three depth charges, but she was not able to get in a good attack position. Meanwhile, British destroyers HMS Jaguar, HMS Jackal, and HMS Jupiter reported an attack on an enemy destroyer in the general area at approximately 1100 hours. It was unclear whether Italian report and the British report were of the same event. Later on the same day, she was informed of an Allied convoy near her in the northern Atlantic Ocean and set sail in that direction.
17 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca spotted a German aircraft in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1200 hours.
18 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca set course for Bordeaux, France in the northern Atlantic Ocean at 1130 hours. At about 1735 hours, she spotted smoke, but an accidental fire in the starboard diesel engine caused her to slow her approach. Nevertheless, she caught up with British freighter Lilian Moller of Allied convoy SLS 53D, carrying pig iron from Calcutta in India for the United Kingdom, at 2147 hours. She fired a torpedo from a bow tube, which missed. At 2303 hours, she fired another torpedo from a bow tube, hitting the freighter in the stern. Lilian Moller sank at 2347 hours. One lifeboat with survivors was observed, but it would never been seen again, thus all 49 aboard the freighter were lost as the result of the sinking. 42 of those lost were Chinese sailors.
24 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1145 hours, ending her second war patrol.
26 Nov 1940	Maggiore Baracca departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France and arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1735 hours.
18 Jan 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France at 0950, starting her third war patrol. She was escorted by German minesweeper M-9.
19 Jan 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a German aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1105 hours.
29 Jan 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a destroyer in the Atlantic Ocean at 0909 hours. She successfully dove before being noticed.
30 Jan 1941	Italian submarines Maggiore Baracca and Francesco Morosini sighted each other in the Atlantic Ocean at 1112 hours and exchanged recognition signals.
2 Feb 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted smoke on the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean at 1316 hours. At 1540 hours, a destroyer was sighted, and she turned away. At 1910 hours, the ship originally sighted at 1316 hours was identified as a 600-ton armed escort ship. Commanding officer Capitano di Corvetta Enrico Bertarelli decided not to attack her and turned the submarine away.
4 Feb 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted an armed escort vessel in the Atlantic Ocean at 1000 hours, and dove to avoid being detected. At 1100 hours, she surfaced; still sighting the vessel, she dove again. This time she was detected, though the subsequent depth charge attack failed to cause any damage.
5 Feb 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a German submarine in the Atlantic Ocean at 1115 hours.
18 Feb 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at Pauillac, France at 1303 hours, ending her third war patrol. She was escorted into port by German minesweepers M6, M9, and M21 and German auxiliary cruiser Sperrbrecher 16.
19 Feb 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Pauillac, France at 0945 hours and arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1305 hours.
7 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France at 1500 hours and arrived at Pauillac, France at 1813 hours.
9 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Pauillac, France at 1303 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 2029 hours.
10 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1500 hours, starting her fourth war patrol.
14 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca was unexpectedly attacked by depth charges in the Atlantic Ocean between 1240 and 2300 hours.
17 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 0833 hours and dove to maneuver into an attack position. At the distance of 600 meters, she identified the ship as Spanish, and broke off the attack.
22 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a light in the Atlantic Ocean at 2300 hours, and the crew determined it to be from an anti-submarine vessel.
23 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a light in the Atlantic Ocean at 0430 hours, and the crew determined it to be from an anti-submarine vessel.
24 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a vessel at a great distance in the Atlantic Ocean at 1150 hours. Commanding officer Capitano di Corvetta Enrico Bertarelli decided not to pursue the target for it might be flying a neutral flag, and that a surface run was too dangerous.
25 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca was informed that Allied convoy HG 60 had set sail from Gibraltar. She moved to intercept, but would ultimately fail to locate it.
26 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca heared distant explosions in the Atlantic Ocean at 1900 hours, but could not find the source.
28 Apr 1941	Maggiore Baracca ceased her search for Allied convoy HG 60 in the Atlantic Ocean.
4 May 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at Bordeaux, France, ending her fourth war patrol.
12 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France at 0904 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France mid-day; she then returned to Bordeaux at 1947 hours.
14 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France at 0943 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France mid-day; she then returned to Bordeaux at 1800 hours.
18 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France at 1226 hours and arrived at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1835 hours; she then sailed out of Le Verdon-sur-Mer to conduct gyrocompass tests at 1844 hours, returning at 1922 hours. At 2047 hours, she set sail for her fifth war patrol.
20 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted two minesweepers in the Atlantic Ocean at 2030 hours. She turned away to avoid detection.
23 Jun 1941	German supply ship Alstertor was scuttled by her crew in the Atlantic Ocean at 1635 hours to avoid being captured by the British; her entire crew as well as the 79 prisoners aboard were picked up by British destroyers Faulknor, Fearless, and Fury. Not knowing that all survivors were already picked up by the British, at 2100 hours, Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca was ordered to search for survivors, and she would find none when she arrived to the area about 3 hours later.
25 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca was informed at 0102 hours that an Allied convoy had departed Gibraltar. She moved to intercept in the Atlantic Ocean, but would fail to make contact.
26 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean at 1000 hours. She pursued the target for two hours but would fail to catch up.
27 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca was attacked with depth charges from an Allied destroyer for a number of hours in the Atlantic Ocean, but would escape undamaged.
28 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a Spanish ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
29 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a Portuguese ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 1229 hours.
30 Jun 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at her assigned patrol position in the Atlantic Ocean at 0630 hours. At 1045 hours, orders for new patrol areas were sent to Italian submarines Luigi Torelli, Morosini, Comandante Cappellini, Leonardo Da Vinci, Maggiore Baracca, and Alessandro Malaspina. Maggiore Baracca was ordered to arrive by her new location by 3 Jul 1941. At 2115 hours, Alessandro Malaspina sighted Morosini and exchanged recognition signals.
2 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at her assigned patrol position in the Atlantic Ocean at 1700 hours.
5 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a Spanish tanker and then a Portuguese passenger ship in the Atlantic Ocean at 1620 hours.
7 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca observed an Allied destroyer and a gunboat attacking Italian submarine Alessandro Malaspina with gunfire in the Atlantic Ocean at 1320 hours, and attempted to maneuver into an attack position; she would not be able to to do. At 1613 hours, the two submarines exchanged signals. At 1715 hours, Maggiore Baracca and Alessandro Malaspina were informed of an Allied convoy nearby.
9 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca sighted a German aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 2123 hours.
10 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca searched for a reported Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean.
11 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca searched for a reported Allied convoy in the Atlantic Ocean.
12 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca set sail for Bordeaux, France at 0200 hours.
17 Jul 1941	Maggiore Baracca arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1320 hours, ending her fifth war patrol.
31 Jul 1941	Tenente di Vascello Giorgio Viani was made the commanding officer of Maggiore Baracca, relieving Capitano di Corvetta Enrico Bertarelli.
31 Aug 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed Bordeaux, France and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France later on the same day.
2 Sep 1941	Maggiore Baracca departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France for her sixth war patrol.
6 Sep 1941	Maggiore Baracca was ordered to patrol waters northeast of the Azores.
8 Sep 1941	HMS Croome, escorting Allied convoy OG 75, spotted Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca on the surface in the northern Atlantic Ocean at about 0730 hours. Maggiore Baracca dove, but depth charges launched by HMS Croome forced her to surface astern of the destroyer. The two ships exchanged gunfire until the Italian deck gun crew members were killed by British machine gun fire. HMS Croomed proceeded to ram Maggiore Baracca, causing her to sink quickly at about 0730 hours. The British destroyer was slightly damaged at the bow from the ramming and took on some flooding; she would sail at the speed of 8 knots toward Gibraltar to receive repairs. 28 Italians were killed in this sinking; 34 survived.
9 Sep 1941	Comandante Cappellini sighted fellow Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca in the Atlantic Ocean at 0610 hours; the officers aboard the Italian submarine chose not to open communications as they were closed to the Azores and did not wish to reveal their presence in the region.

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