Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia
Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia was an officer in the Italian Royal Navy, and was the highest-scoring Italian submarine captain of World War II.During the war, Gazzana-Priaroggia served on several submarines, most famously on the Enrico Tazzoli ; then he was appointed commander of the Archimede and finally of. He was responsible for sinking 120,243 GRT. With a higher score than Britain's Malcolm David Wanklyn in, or America's Richard O'Kane in , Gazzana-Priaroggia and Leonardo da Vinci were the most successful non-German submariner and submarine in the conflict.
On 23 May 1943, Gazzana-Priaroggia, returning from his last successful patrol, died alongside his crew when the Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by the destroyer and the frigate west of Cape Finisterre. He was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'oro al valor militare and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.Legacy
Two submarines have been named after him. The USS Pickerel which was transferred from the US Navy in 1972 and a Sauro-class submarine.Citations
