A British hunting group built around the sloop HMS Shoreham and the destroyers Kandahar, Khartoum, and Kingston forced Evangelista Torricelli into a surface fight. The submarine concentrated fire on Shoreham, a specialist anti-submarine vessel, despite being badly outgunned by the four ships. The Italian crew continued fighting after surfacing rather than immediately surrendering. After damage opened the after torpedo section, a sailor used his body to block the breach, enabling 31 crewmates to survive long enough to abandon ship.
Notable Point · 25:27-28:46
Evangelista Torricelli's crew fought a desperate surface action
Forced to surface against a sloop and destroyers, Torricelli fought on while a crewman's sacrifice helped 31 sailors escape the sinking boat.