Although de la Penne almost lost hi life on behalf of English sailors while being kept prisoner, he later was recognized for his heroism by Winston Churchill himself.

The plan couldn't have been better executed. De la Penne also showed a humanitarian trait reminiscent of the same action taken by his compatriot frogman, Luigi Rizzo in World War I, wherein the entire crew of another battleship had been similarly evacuated.

(In fact, it was Luigi Rizzo who, in the sinking of the battleship Wien, alerted the Austrian Captain, who ordered the evacuation of the battleship before it blew. For this humanitarian gesture, Rizzo was assigned a monetary award by the Austrian government. Gratefully, Rizzo turned the money into a fund on behalf of Austria wives who lost their sailor husbands at sea.)