After clandestine missions delayed her first Mediterranean combat patrol until 24 November 1942, Seraph resumed carrying British and American commandos on reconnaissance work. She torpedoed and damaged the Italian merchant ship Puccini on 2 December before reporting that she rammed a submarine on 23 December and suffered enough damage to require repair in Britain. Two Italian submarines were nearby, yet neither recorded a collision, while Monsoon described a torpedo attack rather than ramming. The possibility of an unrecorded German boat or another unidentified vessel cannot be excluded. A collision with a vessel remains plausible because hitting a rock could have inflicted much worse damage on Seraph, but the target's nationality, identity, and fate remain unresolved.
Notable Point · 1:08:22-1:12:03
Seraph's first Mediterranean patrol and unresolved ramming claim
Seraph mixed commando reconnaissance with an attack on the Italian merchant ship Puccini before reporting a collision whose target remains unidentified.