Luigi Biancheri

Luigi Biancheri (31 January 1891 – 12 December 1950) was an Italian admiral during World War II.

Early life and career

Biancheri was born in Genoa in 1891 and entered the Royal Naval Academy in Livorno in 1907, graduating as an ensign on 1 April 1911. He participated in the Italo-Turkish War as part of the crew of the armoured cruiser Amalfi, and then served on board smaller ships during the earlier part of World War I. In May 1941, Italian ships under the direction of Biancheri took part in the Battle of Crete, escorting convoys with German reinforcements On 1 December 1941, two Italian MAS boats engaged and forced to ran aground on the Turkish coast the Soviet icebreaker Anastas Mykoyan off Kastelorizo, while on route from the Dardanelles to Suez. In spite that the Soviet vessel was refloated and reached Haifa for repairs the next day, the action compelled the Turkish government to intern eight Soviet ships set to repeat the same journey. Biancheri left command of the Italian naval forces in the Aegean in May 1942. Still reluctant to surrender the ships to the former enemies, and uncertain whether the attack had been carried out by German or Allied planes, Biancheri proposed Oliva to turn back to La Spezia, but Oliva refused and invited him to abide by the orders received. After the sinking of Roma, the Italian fleet headed for Malta; when the ships were already near the island, on 11 September, Biancheri broadcast a message to Oliva (which was received by all ships in the fleet) proposing to scuttle the fleet as soon as they entered the island's anchorages, but Oliva again rejected the suggestion after about an hour of reflection, and again invited Biancheri to comply with the orders, which he did. On the same day, the 8th Division anchored in St. Paul's Bay, Malta.

Biancheri retained his command of the 8th Division during the Italian co-belligerence with the Allies; between the end of 1943 and 15 February 1944 his ships were tasked with escort and patrol duties on Allied routes in the Atlantic.

After the end of the war, Biancheri first commanded Marisicilia (Naval Command Sicily, with seat in Messina) and then held various tasks at the Ministry of the Navy in Rome. He presided over a commission tasked with determining which former members of the Marina Nazionale Repubblicana and Decima Flottiglia MAS of the Italian Social Republic could be released from custody, and which ones needed to stay in prison. He was also a member of the Commission of the Italian Chess Federation. Biancheri died in Rome on 12 December 1950.