Alberto Da Zara
| Alberto Da Zara | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 April 1889 Padua |
| Died |
4 June 1951 (aged 62) Foggia |
| Allegiance |
_crowned.svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Italy |
| Service/branch |
Regia Marina |
| Years of service | 1907-1946 |
| Rank | Ammiraglio di squadra |
Alberto Da Zara' (8 April 1889 – 4 June 1951) was an Italian admiral of the Regia Marina.
Biography
Born at Padua, he joined it in 1907 and fought aboard battleships in the Italo-Turkish War and the First World War. In the inter-war years he alternated between commanding torpedo boats and cruisers and acting as a naval commander in the Aegean Sea and the Far East. He became an admiral in 1939 and after some minor commands early in World War II he led 7th Naval Division, playing a major part in the Battle of Pantelleria. After the Italian armistice with the Allies, he was interned on Malta.
He died at Foggia in 1951.
Family
Alberto's father was a former cavalry officer and his brother Guido died fighting in Croatia as a cavalry officer on 16 February 1943 while commanding the Cavalleggeri di Alessandria regiment.[1] Da Zara never married, but he won the nickname latin lover by his conduct in high society in Italy and the Far East - during his time in China, his conquests seem to have included Wallis Simpson,[2] future wife of King Edward VIII.
Ranks
Guardiamarina (1911), Sottotenente di Vascello (1913), Tenente di Vascello (1915), Capitano di Corvetta (1923), Capitano di Fregata (1927), Capitano di Vascello (1933), Contrammiraglio (1939), Ammiraglio di Divisione (1941), Ammiraglio di Squadra (1944).
Honours
- Military Order of Italy - Commander
- War Merit Cross
- Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Turkish War 1911-1912
- Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915-1918 (4 campaign-year stars)
- Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy
- Allied Victory Medal
- Order of Aviz - awarded by Portugal
References
Sources
- Franco Bargoni, "L'intervento navale italiano nella guerra civile spagnola", Rivista Italiana Difesa, 1985, 3, pp. 78–86;
- Marc'Antonio Bragadin, Il dramma della Marina italiana 1940-45. Milan, Mondadori, 1968;
- Dino Buzzati, "Il testamento dell'Ammiraglio", Milan, Corriere della Sera, 6 June 1951, 3;
- Enrico Cernuschi, "La squadra dimenticata", Storia Militare, 2001, 91, pp. 18–31;
- Giuliano Da Frè. "Il marinaio combattente". Rivista Marittima, n. 2 - febbraio 2002, pp. 101–114
- Alberto Da Zara, Pelle d'Ammiraglio, Verona, Mondadori, 1949;
- Ernesto Di Marino, "Incrociatori italiani 1920-1943 (III)", Aviazione e Marina, 1970, 67, pp. 22–24;
- Franco Gay, Incrociatori classe Di Giussano. Part II, Rome, Edizioni Bizzarri, 1979;
- Giorgio Giorgerini, La guerra italiana sul mare. La Marina tra vittoria e sconfitta, 1940-1943, Milan, Mondadori, 2001;
- Marco Mattioli, "La carica di Poloj", Storia Militare, 2006, 157, pp. 18–25;
- Guido Minchilli, "Alberto Da Zara", Rivista Marittima, 1976, 3, pp. 45–51;
- Nicola Morabito, La Marina Italiana in guerra. 1915–1918, Milan, Marangoni Editore, 1933;
- Riccardo Nassigh, "La crisi italo-etiopica e la mobilitazione navale britannica (1935–1936)", Rivista Italiana Difesa, 1985, 1, pp. 80–87;
- Gianni Rocca, Fucilate gli ammiragli. La tragedia della marina italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale, Milan, Mondadori, 1987.