BETASOM
Encyclopedia
BETASOM
BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of Bordeaux Sommergibile. was a submarine base
established at Bordeaux
by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana
during World War II
.
From this base, Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from 1940 to 1943 as part of the Axis anti-shipping campaign against the Allies
.
in June 1939 with meetings in Friedrichshafen
, Germany
, and an agreement to exchange technical information. After the Italian entry into the war
and the Fall of France, the Italian Navy established a submarine base at Bordeaux, which was within the German occupation zone. The Italians were allocated a sector of the Atlantic
south of Lisbon
to patrol. The base was opened in August 1940 and in 1941 the captured French passenger ship De Grasse was used a depot ship
before being returned to the Vichy French Government
in June 1942. Admiral
Angelo Parona commanded the submarines at BETASOM under the control of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral
) Karl Doenitz. Doenitz was the "Commander of the Submarines" (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote) for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
). About 1,600 men were based at BETASOM.
The base could house up to thirty submarines and it had dry dock
s and two basins connected by locks
. Shore barracks
accommodated a security guard of 250 men of the San Marco Regiment
.
A second base was established at La Pallice in La Rochelle
, France
. This second base allowed submerged training which was not possible at Bordeaux.
and Madeira
, followed by three more off the Azores
. When these patrols were completed, the six boats returned to their new base at Bordeaux. Their initial patrol area was the Northwestern Approaches
and at the start they out-numbered their German allies' submarines. Doenitz was pragmatic about the Italians, seeing them as inexperienced but useful for reconnaissance and likely to gain expertise.
Doenitz was disappointed. The Italian submarines sighted convoys but lost contact and failed to make effective reports. Even when assigned to weather reporting - critical for the war effort on both sides - they failed to do this competently. Fearing that German operations would be prejudiced, Doenitz reassigned the Italians to the southern area where they could act independently. In this way, about thirty Italian boats achieved some success, without much impact on the critical areas of the campaign.
German assessments were scathing. Doenitz described the Italians as "inadequately disciplined" and "unable to remain calm in the face of the enemy". When the British tanker British Fame was attacked by the Malaspina, "the officer of the watch and lookouts were on the bridge and the captain was dozing in a deckchair below". It took five torpedoes to sink the tanker and, at one point, the tanker's gunfire forced the Malaspina to submerge to safety. The Italians towed the lifeboats to safety, an act worthy of praise, but one against Doenitz's orders and leaving the submarine open to attack for 24 hours.
While the BETASOM submarines did have some value, it is clear why they did not meet the expectations of Doenitz. By 30 November 1940, Italian submaries in the Atlantic each sank an average of 200 gross tons per day. By comparison, German U-boat
submarines each averaged 1,115 gross tons per day during the same time period.
Seven BETASOM submarines were adapted to carry critical matériel
from the Far East
(Bagnolin, Barbarigo, Cappellini, Finzi, Giuliani, Tazzoli, and Torelli) of which two were sunk by the allies, two were captured in the Far East by the Germans after the September 1943 Italian Surrender and used by them and a fifth was captured in Bordeaux by the Germans, but not used.
in Bordeaux. Construction began in September 1941. Constructed of re-inforced concrete, 245m wide, 162m long and 19 m high with a roof above the pens 5.6m thick and 3.6m thick above the rear servicing area.
On 15 October 1942, the 12th U-boat Flotilla was formed at Bordeaux by the German Kriegsmarine
under the command of Korvettenkapitän Klaus Scholtz
.
The first U-boat to use the bunker was U-178
on January 17, 1943.
After the Italian Armistice in September 1943 the base was seized by the Germans. Some of the Italian personnel joined the Germans independently of the Italian Social Republic
. During this period the Italian postage stamps on hand were overprinted to show loyalty to Mussolini's rump state.
The last two remaining U-boats
left Bordeaux in August 1944, three days before the allies occupied the base on 25 August. The last remaining German naval personnel attempted to march back to Germany but were captured by US forces on 11 September, 1944.
and transit the Straits of Gibraltar to reach the Atlantic Ocean
. All twenty-eight did this successfully without incident.
In 1941, another four Italian submarines based in Italian East Africa
(Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI) reached the base after the fall of that colony during the East African Campaign
. All four had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope
to get to BETASOM.
Transferred from the Mediterranean in 1940
Transferred from the Red Sea Flotilla
during the summer of 1941
In 1941, it was decided to return some of the boats to the Mediterranean. The Perla, the Guglielmotti, the Brin, the Argo, the Velella, the Dandolo, the Emo, the Otaria, the Mocenigo, and the Veniero Glauco made the passage but the Glauco was sunk by the British Royal Navy
.
The Cagni was transferred in 1942
In 2010, after conversion several years previously, approximately 12,000 m2 of the 42,000 m2 building are open to the public as a cultural centre for the performing arts, exhibitions and evening events.
BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of Bordeaux Sommergibile. was a submarine base
Submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue , Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Submarine Base New London, and Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base .The Israeli navy bases its growing submarine...
established at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
by the Italian Regia Marina Italiana
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
From this base, Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from 1940 to 1943 as part of the Axis anti-shipping campaign against the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
.
Establishment
Axis naval co-operation started after signing the Pact of SteelPact of Steel
The Pact of Steel , known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the foreign ministers of each country and witnessed by Count Galeazzo Ciano for Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop...
in June 1939 with meetings in Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen
This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and an agreement to exchange technical information. After the Italian entry into the war
Italian invasion of France
The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small-scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice, and to win the colonies in North Africa...
and the Fall of France, the Italian Navy established a submarine base at Bordeaux, which was within the German occupation zone. The Italians were allocated a sector of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
south of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
to patrol. The base was opened in August 1940 and in 1941 the captured French passenger ship De Grasse was used a depot ship
Depot ship
A depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...
before being returned to the Vichy French Government
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
in June 1942. Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Angelo Parona commanded the submarines at BETASOM under the control of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
) Karl Doenitz. Doenitz was the "Commander of the Submarines" (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote) for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
). About 1,600 men were based at BETASOM.
The base could house up to thirty submarines and it had dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
s and two basins connected by locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
. Shore barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
accommodated a security guard of 250 men of the San Marco Regiment
San Marco Regiment
The San Marco Regiment , located in Brindisi, are the marines of the Italian Navy. Until the middle of the 1990s the unit was known as the “San Marco Battalion” , until it was expanded beyond battalion size because of the new geopolitical situation after the end of the Cold War and an increasing...
.
A second base was established at La Pallice in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This second base allowed submerged training which was not possible at Bordeaux.
Operational detail
From June 1940, three Italian submarines patrolled off the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, followed by three more off the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. When these patrols were completed, the six boats returned to their new base at Bordeaux. Their initial patrol area was the Northwestern Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
and at the start they out-numbered their German allies' submarines. Doenitz was pragmatic about the Italians, seeing them as inexperienced but useful for reconnaissance and likely to gain expertise.
Doenitz was disappointed. The Italian submarines sighted convoys but lost contact and failed to make effective reports. Even when assigned to weather reporting - critical for the war effort on both sides - they failed to do this competently. Fearing that German operations would be prejudiced, Doenitz reassigned the Italians to the southern area where they could act independently. In this way, about thirty Italian boats achieved some success, without much impact on the critical areas of the campaign.
German assessments were scathing. Doenitz described the Italians as "inadequately disciplined" and "unable to remain calm in the face of the enemy". When the British tanker British Fame was attacked by the Malaspina, "the officer of the watch and lookouts were on the bridge and the captain was dozing in a deckchair below". It took five torpedoes to sink the tanker and, at one point, the tanker's gunfire forced the Malaspina to submerge to safety. The Italians towed the lifeboats to safety, an act worthy of praise, but one against Doenitz's orders and leaving the submarine open to attack for 24 hours.
While the BETASOM submarines did have some value, it is clear why they did not meet the expectations of Doenitz. By 30 November 1940, Italian submaries in the Atlantic each sank an average of 200 gross tons per day. By comparison, German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
submarines each averaged 1,115 gross tons per day during the same time period.
Seven BETASOM submarines were adapted to carry critical matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
from the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
(Bagnolin, Barbarigo, Cappellini, Finzi, Giuliani, Tazzoli, and Torelli) of which two were sunk by the allies, two were captured in the Far East by the Germans after the September 1943 Italian Surrender and used by them and a fifth was captured in Bordeaux by the Germans, but not used.
German U-boat activities
Admiral Dönitz decided during the summer of 1941 to build protective U-boat pensSubmarine pen
A submarine pen is a bunker which is designed to protect submarines from air attack.The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and the occupied countries which were also known as U-boat pens .-Background:Amongst the first...
in Bordeaux. Construction began in September 1941. Constructed of re-inforced concrete, 245m wide, 162m long and 19 m high with a roof above the pens 5.6m thick and 3.6m thick above the rear servicing area.
On 15 October 1942, the 12th U-boat Flotilla was formed at Bordeaux by the German Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
under the command of Korvettenkapitän Klaus Scholtz
Klaus Scholtz
Klaus Scholtz was a Kapitänleutnant with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the Type IXB U-boat , sinking twenty-five ships on eight patrols, for a total of of Allied shipping, to become the eighteenth highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II. He was also a recipient of the...
.
The first U-boat to use the bunker was U-178
German submarine U-178
German submarine U-178 was a Type IXD2 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.Ordered on 28 May 1940, the U-boat was laid down on 24 December 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen, was launched on 25 October 1941, and commissioned on 14 February 1942, under the...
on January 17, 1943.
End of Operations
The base was bombed by the British on several occasionsAfter the Italian Armistice in September 1943 the base was seized by the Germans. Some of the Italian personnel joined the Germans independently of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
. During this period the Italian postage stamps on hand were overprinted to show loyalty to Mussolini's rump state.
The last two remaining U-boats
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
left Bordeaux in August 1944, three days before the allies occupied the base on 25 August. The last remaining German naval personnel attempted to march back to Germany but were captured by US forces on 11 September, 1944.
List of submarines operating from BETASOM
In 1940, all twenty-eight Italian submarines which were to be based at BETASOM initially had to sail from bases on the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and transit the Straits of Gibraltar to reach the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. All twenty-eight did this successfully without incident.
In 1941, another four Italian submarines based in Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
(Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI) reached the base after the fall of that colony during the East African Campaign
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
. All four had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to get to BETASOM.
Transferred from the Mediterranean in 1940
- Malaspina
- Tazzoli
- Calvi
- Finzi
- Bagnoli
- Giuliani (this boat was transferred for a time to GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
to train Italian submariners in German Navy techniques) - Tarantini
- Marconi
- Leonardo Da VinciItalian submarine Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci was a of the Italian navy during World War II. The unit operated in the Atlantic from September 1940 until its loss in May 1943, and became the top scoring non-German submarine of the all war.-Construction:...
(the best performer non-German submarine in all the Second World War) - Torelli
- Baracca
- MarcelloMarcello class submarineThe Marcello-class was a class of eleven submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines were built from 1938 to 1939, and all eleven served in the Mediterranean at the start of the Second World War. After s 1940 sinking, the remaining boats were transferred to the...
- Dandolo
- Mocenigo
- Veniero
- BarbarigoItalian submarine BarbarigoBarbarigo was a World War II Italian built for the Italian Royal Navy . The submarine was converted into a transport to carry materiel between Germany and Japan in 1943, but disappeared on her first mission in that capacity, sometime after 16 June 1943....
- NaniMarcello class submarineThe Marcello-class was a class of eleven submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines were built from 1938 to 1939, and all eleven served in the Mediterranean at the start of the Second World War. After s 1940 sinking, the remaining boats were transferred to the...
- MorosiniMarcello class submarineThe Marcello-class was a class of eleven submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines were built from 1938 to 1939, and all eleven served in the Mediterranean at the start of the Second World War. After s 1940 sinking, the remaining boats were transferred to the...
- Emo
- Faà di BrunoMarcello class submarineThe Marcello-class was a class of eleven submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines were built from 1938 to 1939, and all eleven served in the Mediterranean at the start of the Second World War. After s 1940 sinking, the remaining boats were transferred to the...
- CappelliniItalian submarine CappelliniComandante Cappellini or Cappellini was a World War II Italian built for the Italian Royal Navy .Operating under the BETASOM command, Comandante Cappellini made war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean sinking or damaging 31,000 tons of enemy shipping. She participated in the rescue of the survivors of...
- BianchiMarconi class submarineThe Marconi-class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines were all launched between 1939 and 1940, and all but one, , were lost in the Atlantic during the Second World War....
- Brin
- GlaucoGlauco class submarineThe Glauco-class was a class of two submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines had initially been ordered by the Portuguese government in 1931, but were finished for the Regia Marina when Portugal cancelled the order. Both boats were launched and commissioned in...
- OtariaGlauco class submarineThe Glauco-class was a class of two submarines built by CRDA in Trieste for the Royal Italian Navy . The submarines had initially been ordered by the Portuguese government in 1931, but were finished for the Regia Marina when Portugal cancelled the order. Both boats were launched and commissioned in...
- Argo
- Velella
Transferred from the Red Sea Flotilla
Red Sea Flotilla
The Red Sea Flotilla was a unit of the Italian Royal Navy based in Massawa, Eritrea, when Massawa was part of Italian East Africa...
during the summer of 1941
- Archimede
- Perla
- Guglielmotti
- Ferraris
In 1941, it was decided to return some of the boats to the Mediterranean. The Perla, the Guglielmotti, the Brin, the Argo, the Velella, the Dandolo, the Emo, the Otaria, the Mocenigo, and the Veniero Glauco made the passage but the Glauco was sunk by the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
The Cagni was transferred in 1942
Post WW II
The submarine pens have proved to be impossible to demolish due to the massive reinforced construction designed to withstand aerial bombardment.In 2010, after conversion several years previously, approximately 12,000 m2 of the 42,000 m2 building are open to the public as a cultural centre for the performing arts, exhibitions and evening events.