of the imminent explosion, in order to allow the British to evacuate the ship, but continued to refuse to disclose where the mine had been placed. The two frogmen were immediately sent back to their confinement place. Few minutes later, the mine exploded. Although hurt by the explosion, the frogmen reached the deck of Valiant just in time to see the other mines explode under Queen Elizabeth, Sagona and Jervis. Although both ships settled on the sea bed, their decks were still clear of the waterline. As all six frogmen were eventually captured and both vessels appeared to be operational, the success of the attack in neutralising the British ships became known by the Italian Navy only after some days. For this action, de la Penne was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour, the Italian highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" (equivalent to the Victoria Cross). In May 1945, at the end of the war, the by-now Admiral Charles Morgan – who had been Valiants captain at the time of the attack in Alexandria – asked if he could himself confer the medal on de la Penne in a ceremony in Taranto; and he did so. With the Allies in La Spezia After the 8 September 1943 Armistice, de la Penne was offered the opportunity to be released from prison and fight for the Allies. He accepted and returned to duty as a frogman. On 22 June 1944, he participated in a joint Italian/British operation against the Germans. A team formed of British and Italian divers was transported by the Italian destroyer in an attack on La Spezia harbour, at the time in German hands. They sank the cruisers and before they could be used to block the harbour entrance. Post-war career After the war, Durand de la Penne stayed in the Marina Militare. He was promoted to Capitano di Fregata (Commander) in 1950 and Capitano di Vascello (Captain) in 1954. In 1956 he was appointed as naval attaché in Brazil. He was also Deputy of the Parliament of Italy for the second through the sixth legislatures as an independent candidate. He retired with the rank of Ammiraglio di Squadra (Vice-Admiral). In the 1962 film The Valiant he was played by Ettore Manni. In his honour, the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) named its new series of destroyers of 1993 as the . Two