Page 324 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

310 JOZEF W. DYSKANT

Force V protected che group of 5 escort aircraft-carriers che aircraft of which sup-
ported the troops landing in the Bay of Salerno (5-12 September); and, next, che
Krakowiak returned to convoy service, and the Slazak carne back to the bay of Sa-
lerno with a group of 5 British destroyers ( 16 September) as part of anti-aircraft
defence of HMS Valiant and HMS \Varspite operating therein. Therefrom, she escorted
to Malta HMS W arspite damaged with a German guided aeri al bo mb type FX 1400
(17-19 September). In turn, the transport ships Batory, Sobieski, Narwik, Bialystok,
and Lewant carried the troops of the Allies and supplies from the bases in Norch
Africa. lt should be noted that the Sohieski, which sailed from Tripolis to che Bay
of Salerno, shot down an attacking German aircraft.
At the same time, the submarine Sokol passed to the Adriatic Sea patrolling
the area of Bari an d Brindisi w h ere between 8 an d 15 September, she an d British
vessels received the surrender party of a group of Italian ships; whereas, the sub-
marine Dzik, after her return from the Adria tic Sea, from 15 September, patrolled
the Liguryan Sea where she achieved a spectacular success near Bastia (Corsica).
During the German evacuation of the port, between 21 and 22 September, she
torpedoed the transport ship Nicolaus (6793 GRT); and by applying the method
of launching with surface adjustment (own method invented by the submarine's
Commanding Officer Lt. N. Boleslaw Romanowski), she torpedoer 3 medium lan-
ding craft and 4 cargo-scows, and she damaged a tanker (the former French ship
Champagne- 9946 GRT). The next patrol of the Sokol in the Adriatic Sea (the area
of !stria - Premuda) was also a success. O n 4 October, she launched 2 torpedoes
aiming at a large transport ship in the area of the Bay of Quarnaro (the sinking
was not confirmed), and the following 3 torpedoes she sent near Pula on 7 Octo-
ber, the result being the sinking of the former ltalian transport ship Eridania (7095
GRT). The waters of che Adriatic Sea were also patrolled by the destroyer Piorun
together with HMS Quail (Strait of Otranto, Corfu, and Preveza). Between 28 Sep-
tember and 10 October, the desrroyer provided escort of honour of the light crui-
ser Scipione Africano onboard which His Majesty Emmapuel King of Italy accompanied
by His Excellency Marshal Badoglio - Prime Minister of Italy - proceeded from
Brindisi to Malta.
In the autumn of 1943, combat actions were concentrateci on Greek, Turkish,
and Levantine waters. Faced with the dissolution of the 10th Submarine Flotilla,
the Polish Navy submarines Sokol and Dzik, now, had to operate from che base
in Beirut (Lebanon); as part of the ist Submarine Flotilla the fought against Ger-
man shipping in the Aegean and the Candean Sea. The targets were, first of ali,
small schooners and cutters (caiques) seized from the Greeks (therefore, no losses
were claimed by the enemy). Generally, the targets were destroyed with 76mm gun-
fire. Ali in ali, according to the reports coming from boch submarines, 12 vessels
were sunk in the peri od between 11 October an d l 7 December, of which only che
sinking of the schooner Argentina (64 GRT) by the Sokol near the island of Amurgos
on 11 November and the damage of the ship Balkan in the sea-area ofDodecannese