Nickname(s) Ursus atlanticus Allegiance Kingdom of Italy | Rank Capitano di corvetta Service/branch Regia Marina | |
 | ||
Born August 30, 1912
Milan ( 1912-08-30 ) Battles/wars World War II
Battle of the Mediterranean
Battle of the Atlantic Awards Medaglia d'oro al valor militare (23 May 1943)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (26 May 1943) Name Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia Died May 23, 1943, Atlantic Ocean Commands held Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci Battles and wars Battle of the Mediterranean, Battle of the Atlantic, World War II | ||
Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia (30 August 1912 – 23 May 1943) was an officer in the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina), and was the highest-scoring Italian submarine captain of World War II.
Contents
World War II
During the war, Gazzana-Priaroggia served on several submarines, most famously on the Enrico Tazzoli (as second-in-command of the fellow submarine ace Carlo Fecia di Cossato); then he was appointed commander of the Archimede and finally of the Leonardo da Vinci. He was responsible for sinking 120,243 GRT (Bruttoregistertonnen, or BRT). With a higher score than Britain's Malcolm David Wanklyn in HMS Upholder, or America's Richard O'Kane in USS Tang (both later sunk), Gazzana-Priaroggia and Leonardo da Vinci were the most successful non-German submariner and submarine in the conflict.
On 23 May 1943, Gazzana-Priaroggia, returning from his last successful patrol (for which he had earned a battlefield promotion to the rank of Capitano di corvetta), died alongside his crew when the Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by the destroyer HMS Active and the frigate HMS Ness west of Cape Finisterre. He was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'oro al valor militare and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Legacy
The Sauro class submarine S525 "Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia" of the Italian navy's Navy (Marina Militare) was named after Gazzana-Priaroggia. The S525 was completed in 1993.