Angelo Parona

Angelo Parona
Angelo Parona (right) with Karl Dönitz.
Born	(1889-04-23)23 April 1889 Novara, Piedmont, Italy
Died	14 May 1977(1977-05-14) (aged 88) Rome, Latium, Italy
Allegiance	Kingdom of Italy
Service/branch	Regia Marina
Years of service	1906–1951
Rank	Ammiraglio di Divisione (Vice Admiral)
Commands held	F 17 (submarine) Trieste (heavy cruiser) BETASOM 3rd Naval Division
Battles/wars	Italo-Turkish War World War I Battles of the Isonzo Adriatic Campaign World War II Battle of the Atlantic Battle of the Mediterranean First Battle of Sirte Second Battle of Sirte Operation Vigorous Operation Pedestal
Awards	Silver Medal of Military Valor Bronze Medal of Military Valor War Cross for Military Valor War Merit Cross (three times) Iron Cross First Class Iron Cross Second Class

Angelo Parona (April 23, 1889 – May 14, 1977) was an Italian admiral during World War II.

Parona was born in Novara, Piedmont, in April 23, 1889, son of Emilio Parona and Elena Tarella. He entered the Naval Academy in Livorno in 1906 and graduated in 1910 with the rank of Ensign. He participated in the Italo-Turkish war on board the armored cruiser Varese; when Italy entered World War I, Parona, by then a lieutenant, was assigned to the battleship Sardegna.

During World War I, Parona initially took part in ground fighting on the Isonzo front with the Naval Brigade; he was awarded a Silver Medal of Military Valor for an action near Monfalcone in May 1916. Later in the war, he was given command of the submarine F 17, distinguishing himself and receiving a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for an action against a convoy in the Adriatic Sea in July 1918.

He remained in the submarine branch even after World War I; he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1922 and to Commander in 1927. After attending the Naval Warfare Institute, he was assigned for three years to the office of the Chief of Staff of the Navy. In 1932 Parona, together with Captain Vladimiro Pini, translated in Italian Hermann Bauer’s Das Unterseeboot: Seine and Bedeutg als Teil. fleets; Seine Stellg im Völkerrecht; Seine Kriegsverwendg; Seine Zukunft, a treatise on the design and the tactical use of the U-Boot. Promoted to captain in 1937, for the next two years Parona held the office of naval attaché at the Embassy of Italy in Paris.