Italian Auxiliary Ship Olterra - Aftermath

Aftermath

Italy submitted to Allied terms on 8 September 1943. The war was over, this time for good, for the Olterra. Until then, the British in Gibraltar had no proof to link the presence of the tanker at Algeciras with the raids on their ships. In Leon Goldsworthy's words:

We never found any proof of the part played by the Olterra in this affair. From British Naval Headquarters on Gibraltar we could see, with the naked eye, the Olterra’s superstructure above the exterior mole at Algeciras. The possibility that the Olterra might be associated in some way with the attacks of human torpedoes did not escape us, but there was never the least visible evidence to suggest the actual nature of her participation.

The Spanish authorities tried to hide the evidence, but when Crabb’s diving team boarded the Olterra after the Italian armistice, they found spare parts from three different torpedoes. This allowed them to reassemble a full manned torpedo, named Emily. The craft was lost after six trials at open seas. Crabb met some of his former enemies after the war, including the last commander of the Ursa Major, Lieutenant Notari.