Torpedo boat Lince | |
History | |
---|---|
Italy | |
Name | Lince |
Builder | CNQ, Fiume |
Laid down | 7 December 1936 |
Launched | 15 January 1938 |
Commissioned | 1 April 1938 |
Identification | LC |
Fate | Sunk on 28 August 1943 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Spica-class torpedo boat |
Displacement |
|
Length | 82 m (269 ft 0 in) |
Beam | 7.92 m (26 ft 0 in) |
Draught | 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Complement | 110 |
Armament |
|
The Italian torpedo boat Lince was a Spica-class torpedo boat built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s. During the Second World War, Lince was involved in several naval actions before she was sunk in August 1943 by a British submarine.
Lince was built in the late inter-war period by CNQ, Fiume, one of the Alcione sub-group of the numerous Spica class of torpedo boats. She was laid down on 7 December 1936, launched on 15 January 1938, and commissioned on 1 April 1938. Lince was armed with three 100-millimetre (3.9 in) guns in single mounts, and four 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes; she also had two depth charge throwers and equipment for laying mines. [2]
The Spica-class ships all bore astronomical names; Lince was named for the constellation Lynx, after the big cat of that name.
At the entrance of Italy into the Second World War Lince was stationed at Rhodes with the VIII Torpedo Boat squadron, together with sister ships Lupo, Libra and Lira. There she was involved in escort duties and actions in the war against Greece.
In January 1941 Lince, in company with Lupo, attacked British convoy AN14, en route to Piraeus. Despite the escort of three destroyers Lince was able to distract them while Lupo torpedoed the tanker Desmoulea, which was disabled for the rest of the war. [3] Italian official sources, however, reported that the ship that assisted Lupo in the attack was actually the torpedo boat Libra. [4]
In February, Lince, again with Lupo, (and joined later by the destroyers Sella and Crispi) took part in the re-conquest of the island of Kastellorizo, which had been seized by British commandos. [5] In April Lince, in company with Libra and Crispi, encountered the Allied convoy GA 15 engaged in evacuating troops from Greece. Despite the strong escort Lince and her companions made a spirited attack, claiming several hits, though the Allied commander later reported no losses. [6]
In February 1942 went to the aid of the tanker Lucania, which had been torpedoed, and, with Circe, took part in an anti-submarine hunt which resulted in the sinking of the British submarine Tempest. In August Lince was assisting the freighter Iseo, which had been attacked by the British submarine Porpoise. Lince counter-attacked, resulting in damage to Porpoise which was forced to return to base. In November Lince was badly damaged in an air attack off Tripoli, suffering the loss of her commander and many of the crew. She was able to dock in Tripoli for repairs, but with the retreat of the Afrika Korps towards the city her master received orders in January 1943 to scuttle the ship to avoid a capture. However, her crew endeavoured to bring her home, arriving at Trapani despite Allied attacks at the end of the month. In July Lince returned to escort duty, but was lost in August after she ran aground.
On 4 August 1943, en route from Taranto, Lince ran aground at Punta Alice, near Ciro Marina, Calabria. Despite efforts to re-float her, Lince was discovered on 28 August by the British submarine Ultor, and hit with two torpedoes. The ship was destroyed, though casualties were light as her crew had been evacuated, leaving only damage control parties.
Giovanni delle Bande Nere was an Italian light cruiser of the Giussano class, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after the eponymous 16th-century condottiero and member of the Medici family. Her keel was laid down in 1928 at Cantieri Navali di Castellammare di Stabia, Castellammare di Stabia; she was launched on 27 April 1930, and her construction was completed in 1931. Unlike her three sisters, the finish and workmanship on the vessel were not rated highly. She was sunk on 1 April 1942 by the British submarine HMS Urge.
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.
Trento was the first of two Trento-class cruisers; they were the first heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina. The ship was laid down in February 1925, launched in October 1927, and was commissioned in April 1929. Trento was very lightly armored, with only a 70 mm (2.8 in) thick armored belt, though she possessed a high speed and heavy main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) guns. Though nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers significantly exceeded the displacement limits imposed by the treaty.
The Torpedoboot Ausland were small destroyers or large torpedo boats captured by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Kriegsmarine. They were assigned a number beginning with TA.
The Leone class were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy in the early 1920s. Five ships were planned and three completed. All three ships were based at Massawa, Eritrea, during World War II and were sunk during the East African Campaign.
HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1942, Saracen conducted a patrol in the North Sea where she sank a German U-boat. She was then assigned to the 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, from where she made three patrols; on her second, she sank an Italian submarine. Saracen was then reassigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers, French North Africa.
HMS Porpoise (N14) was one of the six-ship class of Grampus-class mine-laying submarines of the Royal Navy. She was built at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched 30 August 1932. She served in World War II in most of the naval theatres of the war, in home waters, the Mediterranean and the Far East. She was sunk with all hands by Japanese aircraft on 19 January 1945, and was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost to enemy action.
The Battle of Skerki Bank was an engagement during the Second World War which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of 2 December 1942. Force Q, a flotilla of Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers, attacked Convoy H, an Italian convoy and its Regia Marina escort of destroyers and torpedo boats.
Operation Abstention was a code name given to a British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo (Castellorizo) off the Turkish Aegean coast, during the Second World War, in late February 1941. The goal was to establish a motor torpedo-boat base to challenge Italian naval and air supremacy on the Greek Dodecanese islands. The British landings were challenged by Italian land, air and naval forces, which forced the British troops to re-embark amidst some confusion and led to recriminations between the British commanders for underestimating the Italians.
The Adriatic campaign of World War II was a minor naval campaign fought during World War II between the Greek, Yugoslavian and Italian navies, the Kriegsmarine, and the Mediterranean squadrons of the United Kingdom, France, and the Yugoslav Partisan naval forces. Considered a somewhat insignificant part of the naval warfare in World War II, it nonetheless saw interesting developments, given the specificity of the Dalmatian coastline.
The Italian torpedo boat Lupo was a Spica-class torpedo boat built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s. During the Second World War, Lupo was involved in several naval actions, including that of the eponymous "Lupo convoy", for which she was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour. Lupo was sunk in action on 2 December 1942.
Luigi Biancheri was an Italian admiral during World War II.
The Attack on Convoy AN 14 was a naval engagement during the Second World War between a British naval force defending a convoy of merchant ships, sailing from Port Said and Alexandria to Piraeus in Greece and two Italian torpedo boats which intercepted them north of the island of Crete on 31 January 1941. The Italian vessels, Lupo and Libra launched two torpedoes each. The torpedoes fired by Libra missed their target but one from Lupo hit the 8,120 GRT British tanker Desmoulea which had to be towed to Suda Bay in Crete and beached; the ship was disabled for the rest of the war. One other merchant ship turned back; the other eight vessels reached Piraeus.
The Galeb class, also known as the Orao class, were minelayers originally built as minesweepers for the Imperial German Navy between 1918 and 1919.
Turbine was the lead ship of her class of eight destroyers built for the Regia Marina during the 1920s. Her name means whirlwind.
Freccia was the lead ship of her class of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1931, she served in World War II and previous conflicts.
Pegaso was a torpedo boat and an escort aviso of the Italian Regia Marina. She was one of the most successful Axis anti-submarine warships of World War II.
The Italian torpedo boat Sagittario was a Spica-class torpedo boat built for the Regia Marina in 1936. During the Battle of the Mediterranean, in the Second World War, Sagittario was involved in several convoy missions, the most notable that known as the "Sagittario convoy", in the course of the Battle of Crete, for which her commander, Giuseppe Cigala Fulgosi, was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour. Sagittario survived the war. Re-classified as corvette in 1949, she was scrapped in 1964.
Barletta was an Italian cargo liner built during the 1930s and later became an auxiliary cruiser of the Regia Marina during World War II.
The Quarta Flottiglia MAS was an Italian flotilla of the Regia Marina created during the Fascist regime.