On 11 May 1943, the Regio Sommetgibile Cappellini was the first italian submarine to leave from Bordeaux to the Far East, under command of Capitano di Corvetta Walter Auconi, carrying 95 tons of special steel, aluminum, ammunition and spare parts. Due to bad weather and unexpected fuel consumption, the journey was rather difficult and it was necessary to transit near the African coast (increasing the risk of being attacked) to limit the consumption of fuel oil; however the submarine, after 57 days of navigation, arrived in Sabang (Indonesia) and then moved from there to Singapore, from where it should have left, for the return journey, with 110 tons of rubber.
The boats barely had time to disembark their cargo in the port of Singapore, and had not yet stowed all the quantities of rubber, tin and rare metals destined for the Italian-German war industry that at the news of the armistice of 8 September the their crews were taken prisoner by the Japanese. After a few weeks of harsh segregation, disobeying the instructions of the officers, almost all of the crew of the three boats decided to continue fighting alongside the former German and Japanese allies, effectively joining the Repubblica Sociale Italiana.
Incorporated into the Kriegsmarine with an Italian-German crew, the Cappellini was renamed U. IT. 24, but it was essentially never used.
With the surrender of Germany, which occurred on May 8, 1945, the submarine was captured by the Japanese, incorporated into the Japanese Imperial Navy and renamed I. 503.
With a mixed Italian-Japanese crew he continued to fight in the Pacific and with the 13.2mm Breda machine guns he managed to shoot down, on 22 August 1945, a B-25 in Kobe.
That was the last plane lost by U.S.A.A.F. in WWII.
U.IT.24 (ex Cappellini) near Seto-Naikai (Japan), 1944.
Raffaello Sanzio
The boats barely had time to disembark their cargo in the port of Singapore, and had not yet stowed all the quantities of rubber, tin and rare metals destined for the Italian-German war industry that at the news of the armistice of 8 September the their crews were taken prisoner by the Japanese. After a few weeks of harsh segregation, disobeying the instructions of the officers, almost all of the crew of the three boats decided to continue fighting alongside the former German and Japanese allies, effectively joining the Repubblica Sociale Italiana.
Incorporated into the Kriegsmarine with an Italian-German crew, the Cappellini was renamed U. IT. 24, but it was essentially never used.
With the surrender of Germany, which occurred on May 8, 1945, the submarine was captured by the Japanese, incorporated into the Japanese Imperial Navy and renamed I. 503.
With a mixed Italian-Japanese crew he continued to fight in the Pacific and with the 13.2mm Breda machine guns he managed to shoot down, on 22 August 1945, a B-25 in Kobe.
That was the last plane lost by U.S.A.A.F. in WWII.
U.IT.24 (ex Cappellini) near Seto-Naikai (Japan), 1944.
Raffaello Sanzio