Giovanni Galati was an Italian admiral during World War II. During the war, he commanded the Ugolino Vivaldi and participated in the Battle of Calabria. He became Chief of Staff of the Naval High CommandLibya and was then, again, given command of the 14th Destroyer Squadron and then the Light Cruisers Group. He refused to surrender his ship when the armistice was agreed and was brought up on charges but eventually released and reinstated to active duty. He finished his service as Vice Adminral in 1947 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Italy.
Upon Italy's entry into World War II, on June 10, 1940, Galati was in command of the 14th Destroyer Squadron, with flag on the destroyerUgolino Vivaldi. In command of Vivaldi, he participated in the Battle of Calabria and on 1 August 1940 he rammed and sank the British submarineOswald. For a year and a half, from June 1940 to December 1941, Galati carried out dozens of missions as escort leader of supply convoys sailing between Italy and North Africa, gaining a reputation for "never losing a ship". This was credited to the fact that he often disregarded orders coming from Supermarina, instead basing his decisions on his own assessment and experience; like other officers at the time, he was convinced that traitors hiding in the high ranks were informing the Allies about the convoys sailing for Africa, and that disregarding the instructions would reduce the risk of being intercepted. He left command of Vivaldi on January 7, 1942, when he became Chief of Staff of the Naval High Command Libya; on June 24, 1942 he became commander of the Tobruknaval base, immediately after the city was recaptured by Axis forces in the Battle of Gazala. After a brief assignment in the command of the Naval Battle Force, he was given again command of the 14th Destroyer Squadron from February 1 to August 11, 1943. On July 25, 1943, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, and on August 12 he was given command of the Light Cruisers Group, composed ofLuigi Cadorna, Pompeo Magno and Scipione Africano. After the armistice of Cassibile was announced, Galati refused to surrender and declared that he would never hand over his ship to British in Malta, declaring that he would rather sail to the North, or look for one last battle, or to scuttle his ships. Admiral Bruto Brivonesi, his superior, vainly tried to convince him to obey the orders of the King, then put him under arrest in the Taranto fortress. He was sent to Brindisi and brought before the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Raffaele de Courten; on orders from King Victor Emanuel III, Galati was released and reinstated to active duty, with no consequences for his career. Shortly thereafter, he learned of the struggle by the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" against the Germans on the island of Kefalonia; with the tacit approval of De Courten, Galati took the initiative to load ammunitions, medicines and other supplies on the torpedo boats Sirio and Clio and sailed towards Kefalonia to supply the Italian garrison, taking direct command of the expedition. When the Allied command learned of the unauthorized departure, however, fearing that the ships would escape to a neutral port or defect to the Germans, they ordered them to abort the mission and go back to port. No further attempts were made to help the "Acqui" Division; a few days later the Kefalonia garrison was forced to surrender and massacred by the Germans. Galati was later assigned to Naval Command Naples for a short time and then transferred to the Ministry of the Navy, where he held special assignments. A staunch monarchist, he left active duty on June 16, 1946, following the proclamation of the Republic. He was promoted Vice Admiral in 1947 and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Italy, finally being discharged on August 8, 1955.
