Mario Arillo

Mario Arillo (25 March 1912 – 27 September 2000) was an Italian naval officer during World War II.

Biography

Arillo was born in La Spezia on 25 March 1912, the son of Gaetano, a non-commissioned officer in the Italian Navy, and Silvia Piran. In October 1927 he entered the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno, attending a course of five years. The cruiser sank very quickly in position 33°20' N, 26°35' E, after being hit by two torpedoes on the starboard side, with the loss of 148 crewmen, while the 310 survivors were rescued by the destroyer Hereward.

In July 1941, after the failed attack on the port of Valletta by the Decima Flottiglia MAS, Arillo met Lieutenant Commander Junio Valerio Borghese and decided to join the flotilla, which had suffered heavy losses in the attack on Malta. The boat was formally handed over to the Italian Navy on 31 July, and Arillo was its commander until the proclamation of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943. The Germans, who had been aware of the armistice already for a few hours, immediately summoned Arillo to the local Kriegsmarine command, demanding the delivery of the submarines, but obtained a refusal. He was appointed head of the Tyrrhenian Command, with headquarters in Genoa and jurisdiction from San Remo to the southern front.

In April 1945, a few hours before the end of the war in Italy, Arillo had a significant role in saving the port of Genoa, which the retreating Germans planned to blow up.

Immediately after the war, he participated in the operations of mine clearing of the Italian ports, but he was subjected to an 'epuration' process and had to leave the military, demoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was subsequently reinstated in his former rank following a decision of a commission chaired by Admiral Vladimiro Pini.

After leaving the Navy, Arillo graduated in engineering, but remained in the Naval Reserve, where he was promoted to the rank of commander and later captain. He died in La Spezia on 27 September 2000.