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561:'s crew, 190 survived and were rescued by personnel of the Harmil battery, while 12 perished in combat and two (Lieutenant Commander Borsini and his orderly Ciaravolo) voluntarily sank with the ship. The Italian Royal Navy, fearing that such attitude would cause the loss of too many experienced commanders (two more Italian navy commanders -
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lost all power. Borsini gave the order to abandon ship and steered the ship towards Harmil, attempting to run it aground. He decided to sink with his ship. Borsini and his orderly
Ciaravolo, who decided to die with him, were awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor by the Italian Navy.
575:- had already done so in the few months of war since Italy declared war to the Allies in June 1940), emitted on the next week an informal 'instruction' discouraging such actions (to little avail, as such episodes happened again several times during the war).
426:'s rudder jammed for several minutes, and the two ships lost contact with each other. Borsini, chased by the incoming British warships, decided to approach the Italian batteries on Harmil island, hoping that they could hit the attacking enemy vessels.
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aircraft employed against shipping) and in 1935 he received his patent; he subsequently served for one year as member of the 153rd
Seaplane Squadron.
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Vincenzo
Ciaravolo, went back on board the sinking ship to reach his commander, and both went down with the ship. Both posthumously were awarded the
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550:'s power was restored, and the ship managed to get out of range of the Harmil battery before losing power again and later be towed to safety in
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started to sink, Borsini ordered the crew to save themselves, and decided to go down with his ship while at his command post. His orderly,
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was seriously damaged, and
Borsini brought his ship toward an Italian coastal battery so that its guns could hit
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around the same time, but
Borsini assumed that the approaching destroyer was sistership
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fired at the shore battery while the crew frantically repaired the damage. Finally,
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Borsini was born in Milan in 1906. He was a top student at the Naval
Academy of
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manoeuvred so as to attack again the convoy before following the destroyer
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was hit by the
Italian batteries and remained in repair until spring 1941.
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in two. The Harmil battery then found the range and landed a shell on
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from March 15, 1922, to
November 15, 1926. There he graduated as an
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After the first minutes of combat against the
British convoy BN 7,
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Tragedia alle Dahlak! L'affondamento del 'Francesco Nullo'
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returned fire four minutes later, and at 06:15 the four
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and later served in succession on the hydrographic ship
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In
January 1940 he was embarked on the colonial ship
294:. At his return to Italy he attended the course in
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687:http://www.ilcornodafrica.it/st-melecatragedia.pdf
298:as "Aircraft Observer" (naval officer attached to
290:In 1933 he joined the Italian Naval Detachment in
542:'s engine room, causing the ship to lose power.
519:, one each in the forward and aft engine rooms.
719:Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor
744:Regia Marina personnel killed in World War II
341:, and in May of that year he was promoted to
221:for his actions in command of the destroyer
8:
592:Italian Navy web page on Costantino Borsini)
253:. He was then transferred to the battleship
645:Italian Navy web page on Vincenzo Ciaravolo
354:On October 21, following the unsuccessful
319:, after which he was given command of the
209:(April 7, 1906 – October 21, 1940) was an
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18:
676:L'epopea del Cacciatorpediniere "Nullo"
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534:. The second of these, at 06:35, tore
345:and was given command of the destroyer
337:, stationed in the Eritrean Red Sea at
678:, Editoriale di propaganda. Roma, 1942
461:joined the pursuit at 0300. At 0305
358:, Borsini fought a fierce battle off
247:, before embarking on the battleship
7:
734:Captains who went down with the ship
508:on Harmil Island joined the action.
453:withdrew toward Harmil island and
392:. The attacking British destroyer
309:branch until 1937, when he became
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16:Italian naval officer (1906–1940)
279:on 1 January 1929) and again on
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569:and Lorenzo Bezzi of submarine
496:opened fire at 05:53, catching
429:At 02:20 British light cruiser
305:He was then transferred to the
441:scored several hits, damaging
1:
739:Military personnel from Milan
627:Battle of Harmil (in Italian)
465:turned back for the convoy.
390:Gold Medal of Military Valor
351:, operating in the Red Sea.
219:Gold Medal of Military Valor
196:Gold Medal of Military Valor
515:was hit by two shells from
760:
604:"History of the destroyer
476:when her lookouts spotted
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468:At 05:40 on 21 October,
400:Action off Harmil Island
530:fired two torpedoes at
449:and gunnery director.
632:March 4, 2016, at the
557:Of the 204 members of
272:Giovanni Da Verrazzano
704:Attack on Convoy BN 7
406:Attack on convoy BN 7
356:attack on convoy BN 7
229:Attack on Convoy BN 7
213:naval officer during
180:Attack on convoy BN 7
112:Years of service
457:pursued. Destroyer
343:lieutenant commander
283:, being promoted to
275:(after promotion to
128:Lieutenant Commander
124:Capitano di Corvetta
681:Vincenzo Meleca, "
674:Giuseppe Vingiano.
506:Italian 120 mm guns
261:Ammiraglio Magnaghi
217:. He received the
207:Costantino Borsini
23:Costantino Borsini
369:. In the battle,
313:on the destroyer
311:executive officer
300:Regia Aeronautica
231:in October 1940.
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511:At around 06:25
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292:Tianjin (China)
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224:Francesco Nullo
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154:Francesco Nullo
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61:21 October 1940
51:Milan, Lombardy
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500:by surprise.
404:Main article:
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287:in July 1932.
277:sub-lieutenant
266:Augusto Riboty
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611:. Retrieved
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256:Andrea Doria
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215:World War II
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198:(posthumous)
174:World War II
168:Battles/wars
153:
147:torpedo boat
141:
123:
106:Regia Marina
63:(1940-10-21)
48:7 April 1906
729:1940 deaths
724:1906 births
656:History of
447:gyrocompass
713:Categories
613:2014-11-16
552:Port Sudan
285:lieutenant
74:Allegiance
44:1906-04-07
548:Kimberley
544:Kimberley
540:Kimberley
528:Kimberley
517:Kimberley
494:Kimberley
486:Kimberley
470:Kimberley
459:Kimberley
394:Kimberley
375:Kimberley
366:Kimberley
307:submarine
235:Biography
159:destroyer
115:1922–1940
693:See also
630:Archived
484:spotted
472:was off
433:spotted
135:Commands
92:Service/
463:Leander
455:Leander
439:Leander
431:Leander
420:Massawa
418:toward
416:Pantera
339:Massawa
334:Eritrea
296:Taranto
241:Livorno
227:in the
211:Italian
68:Red Sea
53:, Italy
572:Liuzzi
567:Espero
422:, but
386:seaman
360:Harmil
245:ensign
190:Awards
103:
94:branch
83:
579:Notes
559:Nullo
536:Nullo
532:Nullo
521:Nullo
513:Nullo
502:Nullo
498:Nullo
490:Sauro
482:Nullo
478:Nullo
451:Nullo
443:Nullo
435:Nullo
424:Nullo
382:Nullo
380:When
371:Nullo
316:Nembo
364:HMS
325:Clio
142:Clio
120:Rank
58:Died
38:Born
492:.
480:.
445:'s
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685:,
554:.
377:.
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616:.
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42:(
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