Italian destroyer Ascaro

Last updated
Ascaro1.jpg
Flag of the Qing Dynasty (1889-1912).svg Chinese Empire
NameTsing Po (or Ching Po)
Ordered1910
Builder Gio. Ansaldo & C., Genoa, Kingdom of Italy
Laid down1911
FateSold to Kingdom of Italy 1912
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Italy
NameAscaro
NamesakeAscaro, the Italian singular for an askari, an African colonial soldier
Acquired1912
Launched6 December 1912
Completed21 July 1913
CommissionedJuly 1913
Reclassified Torpedo boat 1 July 1921
Identification Pennant number AS, AO
Stricken31 May 1930
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class and type Soldato-class destroyer
Displacement395–415 long tons (401–422 t)
Length
  • 65 m (213 ft 3 in) wl
  • 65.0 m (213 ft 3 in) oa
Beam6.1 m (20 ft 0 in)
Draught2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Propulsion
Speed28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph)
Range1,500  nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement55
Armament

Ascaro ("Askari") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy"). Commissioned in 1913, she served during World War I . Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1921, she was stricken in 1930.

Contents

Design, construction, and commissioning

Ascaro in December 1912, just before her launch. Ascaro2.jpg
Ascaro in December 1912, just before her launch.

Ascaro originated as Tsing Po (or Ching Po), a destroyer based on the Italian Soldato class that the Chinese Empire ordered in 1910 for the Imperial Chinese Navy. Tsing Po differed from the other destroyers of her class in having a unique mixed-fuel propulsion system, with one coal-fired boiler and two oil-fired ones. Her armament also differed: While the other Soldato-class ships had four 76-millimetre (3 in)/40 calibre guns, Tsing Po was to have a mixed armament of two 76-millimetre (3 in)/40 calibre and four 47 mm (1.9) guns in addition to three 450-millimetre (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. [1]

The eleventh and last Soldato-class ship to be constructed, Tsing Po was laid down in 1911 at the Gio. Ansaldo & C. shipyard in Genoa, Italy, a year after the completion of all the other units of the class. While she was on the building ways, the Kingdom of Italy purchased her in 1912 for service in the Italian Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") Renamed Ascaro, she was launched on 6 December 1912 and completed on 21 July 1913. [2] She was commissioned in July 1913. [1] [3] [4] [5]

As completed, Ascaro was powered by two sets of triple expansion steam engines fed by three Thornycroft water-tube boilers, producing an estimated 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,474  kW ) and driving two propeller shafts. She could reach a maximum speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph). Uniquely among the Soldato-class ships, she retained her mixed-fuel propulsion system, which gave her a range comparable to that of the other ships of her class, 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The Italians abandoned the gun armament the Chinese envisioned for her, and instead fitted her with the same armament as the rest of the Soldato class, i.e., four 76-millimetre (3 in)/40 calibre guns and three 450-millimetre (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. [1] [2] [6]

Service history

World War I broke out in 1914, and Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies with its declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915. At the time, Ascaro, under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Baistrocchi, was part of the 4th Destroyer Squadron, based at Brindisi, which also included her sister ships Alpino, Carabiniere, Fuciliere, and Pontiere and the destroyer Zeffiro. [7]

In October 1916 Ascaro, the destroyers Borea, Garibaldino, and Nembo and four torpedo boats provided protection and support to a landing force consisting of the armored cruiser Francesco Ferruccio and the steamers Ausonia , Bulgaria, Choising, and Polcevera sent to occupy Sarandë (known to the Italians as Santi Quaranta), in the Principality of Albania. At 05:15 on 2 October 1916, four platoons of sailors, a unit of miners, and a unit of personnel from Francesco Ferruccio landed on the beach and quickly occupied the area, the 32 members of the Greek garrison at Sarandë having no option other than to retreat after protesting the Italian operation. After disembarking an infantry battalion and a cavalry squadron, the steamers departed at 16:00 on 2 October for Vlorë, where they embarked more troops. On 3 October, Ausonia and Polcevera landed a pack artillery battery and a second cavalry squadron, and on 4 October the operation was completed when Bulgaria and Choising put another infantry battalion and a third cavalry squadron ashore. [7]

Ascaro continued her war service but did not participate in any other significant operations during the war. By late October 1918, Austria-Hungary had effectively disintegrated, and the Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed on 3 November 1918, went into effect on 4 November 1918 and brought hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Allies to an end. World War I ended a week later with an armistice between the Allies and the German Empire on 11 November 1918.

Post-World War I

Ascaro was reclassified as a torpedo boat on 1 July 1921. [1] She was stricken from the naval register on 31 May 1930. [1] [6] [8] She subsequently was scrapped.

Related Research Articles

Soldati-class destroyer

The Soldati class were a group of destroyers built for the Regia Marina during World War II. The ships were named after military professions. There were two batches; twelve ships were built in 1938–1939, and a second batch of seven ships were ordered in 1940, although only five were completed.

The Italian destroyers of World War II comprised a mix of old warship designs dating from World War I and some of the most modern of their type in the world. These destroyers also varied in size from enlarged torpedo-boats to esploratori.

Italian cruiser <i>Giovanni Bausan</i> Protected cruiser of the Italian Royal Navy

Giovanni Bausan was a protected cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina that was designed and built by Sir W G Armstrong Mitchell & Co.'s Elswick Works in England in the mid-1880s. The finished ship entered service in May 1885. She was the first ship of this type to be built for the Italian fleet, and she provided the basis for subsequent designs built in Italy, including the Etna class. Giovanni Bausan was intended to serve as a "battleship destroyer", and was armed with a main battery of two 10-inch (254 mm) guns to give her the ability to defeat heavy armor, but design flaws rendered her unfit for this role.

Generali-class destroyer

The Generali-class destroyer was a class of Italian destroyers, built as a development of the Rosolino Pilo-class destroyer. They were the last ships of the Regia Marina, fitted with three stacks. In 1929, being obsolete, the units were reclassified as torpedo boats, and in this role served during Second World War.

Soldato-class destroyer Italian Regia Marina class of destroyers

The Soldato class was a class of destroyers of the Italian Regia Marina built by Ansaldo of Genoa prior to the First World War. Ten were built for the Regia Marina between 1905 and 1910, while an eleventh ship was built for China but purchased by Italy before completion. They served during the First World War, where one was lost, with the remaining ships sold for scrap in the 1920s and early 1930s.

<i>Lampo</i>-class destroyer Italian destroyer class

The Lampo class was a class of six destroyers of the Italian Regia Marina built by the German Schichau shipyard from 1899–1901. They served in the Italo-Turkish War and the surviving ships in the First World War, before being disposed of between 1920 and 1924.

<i>Nembo</i>-class destroyer Italian destroyer class

The Nembo class was a class of destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Six destroyers were built by the Pattison shipyard of Naples between 1899 and 1905, to a design based on the contemporary destroyers of the British shipyard Thornycroft. They were active in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War, where three were lost.

Italian destroyer <i>Carabiniere</i> (1909) Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Carabinere ("Carabinier") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1921, she was stricken in 1925.

Simone Schiaffino was an Italian Rosolino Pilo-class destroyer. Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina in 1915, she served in World War I, participating in the Adriatic campaign, including the Battle of the Strait of Otranto. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929, she took part in the Mediterranean campaign of World War II until she was sunk in 1941.

Italian destroyer <i>Borea</i> (1902) Italian Nembo-class destroyer

Borea ("Boreas") was an Italian Nembo-class destroyer. Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina in 1903, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I, playing an active role in the Adriatic campaign until she was sunk in 1917 during the Battle of the Strait of Otranto.

Italian destroyer <i>Nembo</i> (1901) Italian Nembo-class destroyer

Nembo ("Nimbus") was the lead ship of the Italian Nembo-class destroyers. Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina in 1902, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was sunk during the latter conflict in October 1916.

Italian destroyer <i>Alpino</i> (1909) Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Alpino was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served actively in the Italo-Turkish War, operating in the Ionian, Aegean, and Red Seas. During World War I she initially operated in the upper Adriatic Sea, conducting reconnaissance and minelaying operations and supporting actions by motor torpedo boats and aircraft. She subsequently operated in the southern Adriatic and the Ionian Sea, where she was assigned to escort operations and patrolling the Otranto Barrage in the Strait of Otranto. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1921, she was stricken in 1928.

Fuciliere ("Fusilier") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served during World War I. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1921, she was stricken in 1932.

Pontiere ("Bridgeman") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served in World War I. Reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1921, she was stricken in 1929.

Italian destroyer <i>Garibaldino</i> Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Garibaldino was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. During the latter conflict she sank after a collision in 1918.

Italian destroyer <i>Artigliere</i> (1907) Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Artigliere was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1907, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1923.

Corazziere ("Cuirassier") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1910, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1928.

Italian destroyer <i>Bersagliere</i> (1906) Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Bersagliere was the lead ship of the Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyers of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1907, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1923.

Lanciere ("Lancer") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1907, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1923.

Italian destroyer <i>Granatiere</i> (1906) Italian Soldato-class destroyer

Granatiere ("Grenadier") was a Soldato-class ("Soldier"-class) destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina. Commissioned in 1907, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1927.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Fraccaroli 1985, p. 268.
  2. 1 2 Fraccaroli, Aldo (1970). Italian Warships of World War I. Ian Allan. p. 67. ISBN   0711001057.
  3. ↑ Navi da guerra — R. N. Ascaro 1912 — cacciatorpediniere — Regia Marina Italiana (in Italian).
  4. ↑ Il Cacciatorpediniere " Arno " - Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian).
  5. ↑ Marina Militare (in Italian).
  6. 1 2 Soldati type 1st group destroyers (Artigliere, 1907 - 1910) - Regia Marina (Italy).
  7. 1 2 Favre, pp. 98, 155..
  8. ↑ "Italian Ascaro - Warships 1900-1950". Warships of World War II (in Czech and English). Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2020.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.