8. Italian submarines joined the Germans in France in August 1940
Admiral Karl Doenitz commanded the German submarine fleet from the start of the war, taking a personal role in planning specific missions. It was he who planned the wolfpack tactics. In mid-summer, a squadron of Italian submarines arrived at a base established for their use in Bordeaux. The Italians maintained a separate command chain under Admiral Angelo Parona. Parona took his orders from Doenitz. Italian submarines were delegated to patrol the approaches to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic south of Spain. Doenitz was not pleased with the Italian operation and treated them with considerable disdain.
The German Admiral considered his Italian ally unreliable, unsteady in the face of the enemy, and lacking in discipline. He also considered their submarines to be ill-suited for the wolfpack tactics he favored. The Italians operated longer patrols into the areas assigned to them, taking advantage of the superior range and endurance of their submarines. They proved an effective ally in the Battle of the Atlantic, despite Doenitz’s low opinion of them. Before the Italian surrender, 109 ships were lost to their submarines in the Atlantic, accounting for over 500,000 tons lost by the Allies during the campaign.
