__NOTOC__ Enzo Grossi (

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, 20 April 1908 -

Corato Corato (Bari dialect, Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy. It is located in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Founded by the Italo-Normans, Normans, it became subject to Alfonso V of Aragon, Alfonso V, king of A ...

, 11 August 1960); was an officer in the

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

(Italian Navy) during

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 ...

Life and the ''Barbarigo'' affair

During

he commanded the submarines ''Medusa'' and '' Barbarigo''. While commanding the latter, Grossi claimed that on May 20, 1942, he attacked and sank a ''Maryland''-class battleship. He also claimed that he had likewise torpedoed and sank a ''Mississippi''-class battleship on October 6, 1942. These attacks, widely publicized in Italy, gained him two Gold Medals of Military Valour and two promotions, respectively to ''Capitano di Fregata'' and to ''Capitano di Vascello'', despite the doubts of his immediate superior, BETASOM commander Romolo Polacchini. On 29 December 1942, Grossi replaced Polacchini as commander of the Italian submarines in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. After the

Armistice of Cassibile 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 joined the Repubblica Sociale Italiana, remaining to command the Atlantic base.

Postwar enquiries

After the war, Grossi fled abroad. A first enquiry in 1949 summarily concluded that Grossi and his crew had imagined everything, and stripped him of the promotions and medals he had received for the actions. Subsequently, in 1962 a new enquiry (motivated by imprecisions of the first one, also accused of being motivated by political reasons) concluded that the crew of the ''Barbarigo'' might have been under the belief of a successful attack, but criticized Grossi for his certainty about his sinkings, and did not restore his promotions and awards. It was established that in the first attack, Grossi had unsuccessfully attacked the cruiser , while on the second instance he had fired torpedoes at the corvette , which likewise missed.Giorgerini, p. 539 and 541

Awards

* Italian ** Silver Medal for Military Valor (24 September 1940) ** Bronze Medal for Military Valor (June 1941) ** Bronze Medal for Military Valor (June 1942) ** War Cross for Military Valor (1942) * German ** Iron Cross, 2nd Class ** Iron Cross, 1st Class (11 September 1942) **

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

(7 October 1942)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Regia Marina personnel of World War II Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1908 births 1960 deaths Submarine commanders People stripped of awards {{Italy-mil-bio-stub