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Action of 14 February 1944
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
HMS Tally Ho , 1 May 1943
Date 14 February 1944 Location Off Penang , Indian Ocean Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Leslie Bennington	Werner Striegler
Strength
Submarine Tally-Ho	Submarine UIT-23
Casualties and losses
None	UIT-23 sunk 26 killed

The action of 14 February 1944 refers to the sinking of a German U-boat off the Strait of Malacca during World War II by a British submarine . It was one of the few naval engagements of the Asian and Pacific theater involving German and Italian forces. ^[1]

Action [ edit ]

Following Italy's surrender to the Allies , a group of Italian submarines ? including the Reginaldo Giuliani ? were interned at Singapore by the occupying Japanese military on 10 September 1943. ^{[1] [2]} The Japanese turned the vessels over to the Kriegsmarine which operated several bases in southeast Asia . Reginaldo Giuliani had been converted to cargo service after being found unsatisfactory in an offensive role. The Kriegsmarine renamed her UIT-23 , and she sailed for France on 15 February 1944 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Werner Striegler with a cargo of tin , quinine and other goods. Aboard UIT-23 were several Italian submariners who made up part of the boat's crew. ^[1]

The submarine was cruising on the surface about 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) south of Penang , Malaysia just off the western mouth of the Strait of Malacca when it was discovered by the British submarine HMS  Tally-Ho , under the command of Lieutenant Commander Leslie Bennington of the 4th Submarine Flotilla . Tally-Ho was campaigning in the strait, where she sank several axis vessels. Bennington was also cruising on the surface, patrolling for Japanese shipping, when she sighted UIT-23 in the daytime. Tally-Ho attacked at full speed. Tally-Ho and UIT-23 were headed straight for one another when they both fired a spread of torpedoes. ^[1]

Only Tally-Ho made hits, and UIT-23 quickly sank at position 4°27′N 100°11′E  /  4.450°N 100.183°E  / 4.450; 100.183 with a loss of 26 men. Fourteen men went into the water where they remained for some time before being rescued by Japanese seaplanes and taken to Penang. ^[3] The survivors were forced to strap themselves to the floats of the planes where they rode out the eighty miles back to base. ^[1]

See also [ edit ]

• Submarine warfare

References [ edit ]

• Khoo, N. Salma (2006). More than merchants: a history of the German-speaking community in Penang, 1800s?1940s . Areca Books. ISBN   9834283415 .