Carlo Bergamini (24 October 1888 – 9 September 1943) was an Italian admiral.
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Early life

Born in San Felice sul Panaro, Bergamini became a Guardiamarina (ensign) in 1908. He participated in the Italian-Turkish war as an officer on the armoured cruiser ''

Vettor Pisani Vettor Pisani (132413 August 1380) was a Venetian admiral. Career He was in command of the Venetian fleet in 1378 during the war against the Genoese, whom he defeated off Capo d'Anzio; subsequently he recaptured Cattaro, Sebenico and Arbe ...

''. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was the chief of artillery on the cruiser . In 1918 he received a silver medal for his bravery during an operation off the coast of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. His first command was that of the destroyer . In the time between

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he rose to the rank of Ammiraglio di Divisione, and made a notable contribution to the design of the

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...

adopted on the major Italian warships.

World War II

While Italy remained neutral, Bergamini commanded the 4th and then the 9th Naval Division. He then became the Chief of Staff of the 1st Squadra Navale. He participated in the

Battle of Cape Spartivento The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, fought between naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Italian '' Regia Marina'' o ...

(known in Italy as the Battle of Cape Teulada) on board the battleship ''

Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto is a city and ''comune'' situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the Cardinal direction, northeast of Italy, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers, borders with the following municipalities: Alpa ...

''. After a brief time at the Italian high command he was again named commander of 9 Naval Division (flagship ''Vittorio Veneto'') and then of 5th Naval Division (flagship '' Duilio''). On 5 March 1943, he took command of Squadra Navale (the whole Italian fleet), replacing Admiral Angelo Iachino. In the early hours of 8 September 1943, the fleet was poised to oppose the Allied landing at

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

; later that evening, he was told of the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

. He was ordered to reach Allied-controlled

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and his fleet left

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

, for the Italian controlled naval base at

La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', ) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most be ...

Affondamento corazzata Roma 1943-9-9 mappa

On 9 September 1943, Bergamini received news that La Maddalena had fallen to the Germans. The fleet then headed for

. Later that afternoon, Bergamini's fleet was attacked by a wing of German bombers near

Porto Torres Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...

. Bergamini's flagship ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

'' did not open fire immediately, following orders from

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino ( , ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regim ...

; when the ships opened fire it was clear that the German planes were staying out of range of the Italian anti-aircraft guns. Subsequently, ''Roma'' was hit by a

Fritz X Fritz X was a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Developed alongside the Henschel Hs 293, ''Fritz X'' was one of the first precision guided weapons deployed in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname used both by Allied an ...

guided bomb, a weapon unknown to the Italians at the time. Bergamini, the ship's captain and 1,350 other crew members were killed when the ship exploded and sank.

Legacy

Bergamini was posthumously promoted to the rank of ''Ammiraglio d'Armata'' (

Full admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of th ...

). The Italian frigate ''Carlo Bergamini'', launched 1960, was named for him. The first of the Italian

Marina Militare The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the '' Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active pe ...

FREMM multipurpose frigate The European multi-purpose frigate or FREMM (; ) is a Franco-Italian family of warships designed by Naval Group and Fincantieri. This surface combatant is known in France as the ''Aquitaine'' class (17 units planned, of which 9 were later cance ...

s, commissioned in 2013, has also been named in his honor.

Notes

External links

Carlo BergaminiCarlo Bergamini by Pier Paolo Bergamini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergamini, Carlo 1888 births 1943 deaths Captains who went down with the ship People from the Province of Modena Italian military personnel of World War I Italian admirals Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Regia Marina personnel killed in World War II Deaths by German airstrikes during World War II

Early life

World War II

Legacy

See also

Notes

External links