Having been repatriated in 1940, Lombardi was promoted to vice admiral when Italy had already entered World War II. For about a year he headed the intelligence service of Regia Marina ("Servizio Informazioni Segrete", SIS); he was then placed in command of the 8th Naval Division, participating in several combat missions in the Mediterranean. In November 1941, his flagship, the light cruiser "Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi", was torpedoed and badly damaged by British torpedo bombers during an escort mission to Libya.