The cruiser Calypso (torpedoed and sunk by the submarine Alpino Bagnolini)

(To Francesco Sisto)
17/04/23

The light cruiser Calypso, the seventh British warship of this name, belonged to the type C class Caledon.

I Caledon constituted an "progress" of the class Caroline (units set between 1913-14) e were presented as: "naval vessels well managed and fast, but a little sea was enough for the high-speed waves to invade the castle, making the bow section unfit for use".

Il Calypso was laid down in the shipyard Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Newcastle on 17 February 1916, launched on 24 January 1917 and entered active service on 21 June 1917. Inserted in the 6th Light Cruiser Division, he took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland (17 November 1917) in the North Sea.

The outcome of the battle was inconclusive for both the British and the Germans. However, the light cruiser Calypso was hit by a 150 mm shell, launched from the battleship SMS Empress, which resulted in the death of the commander (Herbert L. Edwards) and all personnel on the bridge.

After the First World War ended Calypso and the twin Caradoc they were employed in the Baltic Sea, between 1918-19, to support Estonia against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. During that time Royal Navy cruisers managed to capture two Bolshevik destroyers; later delivered to the Estonian Navy.

From 1919 to 1928, she was employed in the Mediterranean Sea (as a unit of the 3rd Light Cruiser Division). In 1932 the cruiser went into reserve at Chatham (UK).

Il Calypso was rearmed between 1938-39, and in December 1939 was posted to the 3rd cruiser squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet based in Malta and - following Italy's entry into the war on 10 June 1940 - in Alexandria in Egypt.

On 12 June 1940 (two days after Italy's entry into the war) the light cruiser Calypso, while underway to intercept and counter the Italian ships bound for Libya, was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Alpino Bagnolini (photo) about 50 miles south of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean. The dead were 39 (including an officer); the cruiser's commander – vessel captain Henry Aubrey Rowley – and most of the crew managed to save themselves.

The commander of the submarine was Lieutenant Franco Tosoni Pittoni, and for that action he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor. It should be noted that it was an important success for the Regia Marina.

Admiral Andrew Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of Mediterranean FleetHe commented on the event thus: “…It was a good deed for the submarine…”

It must be remembered that the period between 1940 and 1943 in the Mediterranean - i.e. when Italy was at war against the Allies and tried to obtain strategic control of the Mare Nostrum and supply lines to North Africa – it was very complicated for the British. In this regard, I would like to highlight an aspect (in my opinion) of particular relevance: the underwater warfare caused considerable losses on both sides (United Kingdom and Italy), both among surface and underwater units; the shallow depth and crystal clear waters of many areas led to the sighting of submerged submarines and their destruction.

It should be noted that more than half of the Royal Navy vessels lost during the conflict sank in the Mare Nostrum (well 45). The most risky operations were those of attack on convoys sailing between Italy and North Africa and the return to the ports of Malta, Gibraltar and Alexandria in Egypt1.

In general it can be safely said that the Regia Marina distinguished itself in that period, and it was essentially Law to interdict the bulk of the Royal Navy forces for thirty-nine long months in the Mare Nostrum.

   

The light cruiser Calypso had a displacement of 4120 tons. The dimensions of her were 140 x 13,1 x 4,4 m. The power plant consisted of 2 sets of Brown-Curtis geared turbines fed by 6 Yarrow boilers. Power was 40000 HP (maximum around 43312 HP) and speed was around 29 knots.

The armament consisted of 5 152/50 mm guns, 2 76 mm guns, 4 47/50 mm guns, 1 machine gun and 8 533 mm torpedo tubes. The belt armor plate was 76mm and on the upper deck it was 25mm.

The ship could count on a crew of 344 men.

Of the war in the Mediterranean (1940-43) there would be so much to write and tell ... with this article I have tried to remember: a beautiful action by the Regia Marina and the commander Franco Tosoni Pittoni.

1 See JP Delgado, History of submarines. Underwater warfare from its origins to the present day, LEG, Gorizia, 2014, p.225