Carlo Fecia di Cossato
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Carlo Fecia di Cossato 1908 - 1944 was an officer in the Regia Marina (Italian Navy). He commanded submarines and ships during World War II. He was credited with the confirmed sinkings of 16 enemy ships.[1]
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[edit] Life before World War II
Fecia di Cossato was born in Rome, Italy, on 25 September 1908. He graduated from the Naval Academy of Livorno in 1928 and assumed his duties as officer at the Italian naval delegation in China. In the early 1930s, he was an officer on two submarines and his service included their participation in the Spanish Civil War.[2]
[edit] World War II
At the beginning of the war he was the commander of submarine Ciro Menotti based in Messina, Italy. Whilst serving on the Ciro Menotti, it took part in attacks against Royal Navy ships.[2]
In December, he was named as the commander of the submarine Tazzoli. This submarine operated in the Atlantic Ocean, sinking 18 ships with a total tonnage of 96,553 tons and damaged another ship of 5,000 tons.[2]
In February 1943, at the end of the mission near Brazil he was transferred to Italy, where he was named the commander of a squadron of torpedo boats.[2]
After the Allies' Armistice with Italy, he fought with bravery against German shipping near Bastia.[1]
He was displeased with the events of late 1943 and early 1944 with the result that he committed suicide in Naples on 27 August 1944.In his last letter to his mother he wrote referring to the armistice with the allied forces and the surrend of Regia Marina
We have been unworthly betrayed and we discovered to have commited an ignominius act without any result
He received the highest decoration of the Italian Armed Forces a gold medal for military bravery and two silver medals for military bravery.[1][2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c (Italian) Giorgio Giorgerini, Uomini sul fondo. Storia del sommergibilismo italiano dalle origini a oggi, Mondadori, EAN 9788804505372.
- ^ a b c d e (Italian) Italian navy website.
- Kurowski, Franz. Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
