Italy - 27 november 1943

[Daniele Gatti]

Hi guys,

I am reseraching the Luftwaffe bombing on 27 Nov 1943. Can you help me to find useful sources on the Luftwaffe units involved?

In this action a Ju 88 (II.KG 54?) sunk, with a Flugzeugtorpedo LT 350, the HMS ML 126.

But...Where? In Gulf of Naples, Salerno or Bari?
Have you some details about units involved?

Thanks in advance for all your invaluable help.

[Andrew Arthy]

Hi Daniele,

I have a few notes about the raid on Naples on the night of 26/27 November 1943, which I assume is what you are referring to?

Allied radar detected the German bombers at 18:24, and anti-aircraft guns were on standby when the twelve-plus aircraft arrived. No damage was caused to the harbour. A number of Ju 88s were reported lost at Naples, including aircraft from I./K.G. 30, II./K.G. 54 and II./K.G. 76.

As far as I can tell there were no daylight Ju 88 operations over Italy on 27 November, and none on the night of 27/28 November.

Cheers,
Andrew A.
Air War Publications - www.airwarpublications.com

[Daniele Gatti]

Hi Andrew,

then the right place is Naples... and the only damage was the sunk of ML 126 with a Flugzeugtorpedo LT 350.

Thanks again, Daniele

[Laurent Rizzotti]

The is a book written by Gordon W Stead, who was the commander of ML126 during WWII, but left shortly before its loss: "A Leaf Upon the Sea: A Small Ship in the Mediterranean, 1941-1943"

Page 160 is written the following:
"While on one last assignment for the Royal Navy I received a signal five weeks later. With hald her crew ashore on leave, 126 had been called from Capri on an errand into Naples and ran into an expired circling torpedo which blew her bows off back to the wheelhouse. She got in under her own power by going astern, to end her days dejectedly alongside the wall in Naples. There was no one in the mess deck at the time of the explosion, and true to her trust, there were no casualties."

Another website (http://cfv.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=43) says that "ML 126 is sunk/CTL after torpedo damage by unknown U Boat off Salerno". This is not coherent with a move between Capri and Naples.

I guess that ML126 was hit somewhere in Naples Bay, and probably closer of Naples than of Capri. The circling torpedo might have been a Flugzeugtorpedo LT 350, that was designed to be launched from high altitude and then do circles in the water. The combination of heavy German losses and no damaged reported in the harbor by the Allied report may indicate that the raid meet heavy defences and so was a total failure, and a LT350 that should had been dropped into the harbour ended in the bay and hit ML126.

[Nick Beale]

According to this site (based on Jürgen Rohwer's chronology of the sea war), 76 German bombers attacked Naples on 26/27 November. Siegfried Radtke's book says KG 54 took part and lost some aircraft.

The attached item is from National Archives AIR23/3309 "Attacks by Enemy Aircraft" — it says there was no damage to shipping or the harbour facilities.

[Daniele Gatti]

Thanks Laurent and Nick!

But it's sure that on 27 Nov 1943 the ML 126 was sunk...

Mystery!

[Rainer]

According to the CinC Mediterranean War Diary, ML-126 was damaged by an explosion at 1440 on 27 November 1943 when 1.5 miles south of entrance to Naples and was paid off on 4 December due to the extensive damage received from striking an explosive object believed to be a circling torpedo.

It is often reported that a U-boat was responsible, but none were operating in the area around that date. As the explosion occurred in the afternoon it is not very likely that it was a circling torpedo dropped by an aircraft, it seems the motor launch struck a floating mine.

[Daniele Gatti]

Great Rainer,

thanks a lot for the answer.
It seems to me the most probable hypothesis!

Daniele.