In the pre-winter of 1969 I was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve

WW2 Weapons Documentary In the pre-winter of 1969 I was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve and the long-serving guide of the primary, all-British atomic submarine, HMS Valiant (SSN 02) around then on a kindness visit and berthed in the inward bowl of La Spezia Harbor on Italy's west drift. HMS Valiant was the second atomic vessel in the Royal Navy, the first being the submarine HMS Dreadnought (SSN01) which had an American S5N reactor. Because of some misconception with Vice-Admiral Herman Rickover, America declined further to supply submarine pressurized water reactors to Britain thus we needed to assemble our own. HMS Valiant was in this manner all British and was given an extremely progressed and noiseless 80 megawatt reactor and turbine impetus unit, components of the configuration of which were, incomprehensibly, later replicated by the US Navy for their submarines.

Following three weeks of strenuous activities with NATO warships in the Mediterranean, all quick to increase important and uncommon involvement in following an atomic submarine, we docked in the inward bowl of the port of La Spezia. Similar to the custom amid politeness visits, the neighborhood dignitaries and senior Italian maritime officers were welcome to an official wardroom party. That night I was doing 'meet and welcome' obligation on the packaging of the submarine for the gathering being held in the control room. A to some degree grizzled Italian Vice Admiral came up the forehead, saluted the quarterdeck and drew closer me as I remained in my best uniform (with sword) alongside the trapdoor down to the gathering.

"Great night sir," I welcomed him, saluting, "welcome to HMS Valiant."

"I sank the last HMS Valiant!" he snarled, giving back my salute.

"Well sir, make an effort not to sink this one please," was whatever I could consider in answer; for it was Vice Admiral de la Penne. He highly delighted in the ensuing party, took me out to a major lunch nearby the following day and let me know, in his own words, how he sank the past HMS Valiant in 1941. This is his story.

On December nineteenth 1941 when he was a Lieutenant-Commander in the Italian Regia Marina, he drove three groups of two Italian frogmen into Alexandra Harbor riding on two-man chariots. On December third 1941 the Italian submarine Scire left La Spezia with three torpedo chariots secured to her upper packaging and in transit, set out Commander de la Penne with his five prepared frogmen from the Island of Leros in the Aegean Sea.

The Serce continued to a position a little more than a mile off the passageway to Alexandra harbor, came up to periscope profundity and discharged the chariots. The three chariots continued into the harbor when the blast securing the passage was opened to give three British destroyers a chance to out. The greater part of the British Mediterranean armada was at stay inside including the WW1 ships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant. De la Penne's friend, Lieutenant Emilio Bianchi lost his Oxygen supply and needed to surface for a couple of minutes. De la Penne continued towards HMS Valiant alone. When he was a couple of yards short, the chariot's engine stopped to capacity and he needed to push it under the war vessel which had around four feet freedom from the level, sandy base of the harbor.

Subsequent to putting their charge both de la Penne and Bianchi needed to surface close to the stern of HMS Valiant and were caught. Bianchi had broken his arm and was taken to the wiped out narrows, treated, and afterward, in the wake of addressing which inspired close to name, rank and serial number from each of them, they were secured a lower deck compartment, incidentally just barely over the charge that they had set under the ship. With fifteen minutes to the proposed time of the blast, de la Penne cautioned HMS Valiant's skipper Charles Morgan in time for all the boat's staff to be cleared from the lower decks. Both de la Penne and Bianchi were somewhat harmed when their charge went off yet were emptied to the upper deck so as to witness the charges put by the other two maiales going off under HMS Queen Elizabeth, the British Destroyer HMS Jervis and the Norwegian tanker Sagona. After all the charges exploded, both war vessels sank onto the sand and stayed stationary for a few months until makeshift repairs could be finished and the boats refloated. Full stylized hues, dusk with cornet calls, parades on the upper decks and weapon drills were done meanwhile while the war vessels were laying on the base of the harbor, so it showed up from the shore that they were still above water and completely operational, if fairly vigorously loaded.

Result

Italy concurred a peace negotiation with the Allies on September eighth 1943 and de la Penne was discharged from his wartime captive repression. He consented to help the Royal Navy with their submerged weapons and frogman program.

He was included in the arranging and execution of the attack by Royal Naval frogman on the German fortresses at La Spezia when a blended group of Italian and British frogmen sank the cruisers Gorizia and Bolzano in the harbor.

Chief of naval operations Charles Morgan, who had been the Captain of HMS Valiant when Luigi Durand de la Penne sank her in 1941, always remembered de la Penne's valor in notice him of the threat to the British work force in the lower decks of HMS Valiant and consequently sparing numerous lives when those decks were emptied. He had attempted to get de la Penne a British decoration, yet fizzled as Italy was not formally partnered to Great Britain. In March 1945 Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, with Admiral Sir Charles Morgan, now directing the British Naval strengths in the Adriatic, was examining the Italian maritime military quarters at Taranto and recompensing decorations to staff for boldness in administration. Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, who knew of Admiral Morgan's endeavors to get a British decoration for de la Penne, requesting that he give de la Penne Italy's most noteworthy award for valor, the 'Valor Militare' on the Prince's benefit.