HMS Hereward, named after Hereward the Wake, was an H-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before and the ship spent four months during the Spanish Civil War in mid-1937 in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. When the Second World War began in September 1939, the ship was in the Mediterranean, but was shortly transferred to the South Atlantic to hunt for German commerce raiders and blockade runners, capturing one of the latter in November. Hereward was transferred to the Home Fleet in May 1940 and rescued Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands after the Germans had invaded.
The Spica class were a class of torpedo boats of the Regia Marina during World War II. These ships were built as a result of a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stated that ships with a tonnage of less than 600 could be built in unlimited numbers. Thirty-two ships were built between 1934 and 1937, thirty of which entered service with Italy and two which were sold to the Swedish Navy in 1940. The two units in Swedish service were classed as destroyers until 1953, then re-classified as corvettes. Although commonly referred to as torpedo boats due to their smaller displacement, the Spica class armaments were similar in design to destroyers, and were intended for anti-submarine duties, although they often had to fight aircraft and surface forces as well. Twenty-three vessels were lost during World War II.
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.
Motoscafo armato silurante, commonly abbreviated as MAS, was a class of fast torpedo-armed vessels used by the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II. Originally, "MAS" referred to motobarca armata SVAN (armed motorboat SVAN, Società Veneziana Automobili Navali.
The Ciclone class were a group of torpedo boats or destroyer escorts built for the Italian Navy which fought in the Second World War. They were slightly enlarged versions of the previous Orsa class, with improved stability and heavier anti-submarine armament. These ships were built as part of the Italian war mobilization programme and completed in 1942–43.
The Brin-class submarine was a group of five long-range submarines built for the Royal Italian Navy during the 1930s.
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.
The Royal Navy, commonly the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was brought into existence in 1921, and initially consisted of a few former Austro-Hungarian Navy vessels surrendered at the conclusion of World War I and transferred to the new nation state under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The only modern sea-going warships transferred to the new state were twelve steam-powered torpedo boats, although it did receive four capable river monitors for use on the Danube and other large rivers. Significant new acquisitions began in 1926 with a former German light cruiser, followed by the commissioning of two motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and a small submarine flotilla over the next few years. When the name of the state was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929, the name of its navy was changed to reflect this. In the late 1920s, several of the original vessels were discarded.
Nicoloso da Recco was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in 1930. Named after the Italian Renaissance seaman Nicoloso da Recco, she served during World War II in which she was the sole survivor of her destroyer class. She shot down three Beaufort bombers while escorting a two-freighter convoy on 21 June 1942 off Tunisia. On 2 December 1942 Nicoloso Da Recco took part of the Battle of Skerki Bank, where an Italo-German convoy carrying troops and supplies to Libya was obliterated by Allied naval forces. Nicoloso Da Recco was the only vessel of her class to survive the war, and was eventually scrapped in July 1954.
Albatros was a submarine chaser of the Regia Marina built in 1930s which served during World War II. Later she was reclassified as a torpedo boat, most likely purely for administrative purposes.
The Liuzzi class was a class of four submarines built by Tosi in Taranto for the Royal Italian Navy. The submarines were built in 1939 and began their Second World War service in the Mediterranean Sea, where Liuzzi was sunk. The three surviving boats were transferred to the BETASOM Atlantic submarine base at Bordeaux in 1940. After Tarantini was sunk, Bagnolini and Giuliani were selected for conversion to "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. Cargo capacity of 160 tons reduced reserve buoyancy from between 20 and 25% to between 3.5 and 6%; and armament was reduced to defensive machine guns. They submarines saw action in the Second World War during which they collectively sunk 5 freighters and 1 light cruiser and were eventually either sunk or captured.
Delfino was one of four Squalo-class submarines built for the Regia Marina during the late 1920s. The boat served in World War II and was sunk in 1943 after a collision with another Italian ship.
The Pegaso class was a class of 18 Italian sea-going steam-powered torpedo boats built between 1904 and 1909. They served in the Italo-Turkish War and the First World War, when one was sunk, and continued in use until the 1920s.
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.
The Motosilurante CRDA 60 t was a type of motor torpedo boat built for the Regia Marina during World War II. It was designed on the pattern of German S-boats — some early examples of which were captured by the Italians from Yugoslav Navy — to complement the faster but less seaworthy MAS boats.
The Galeb class were minelayers originally built as minesweepers for the Imperial German Navy between 1918 and 1919, and they were also known as the Orao class. In July 1921, the six unarmed vessels were purchased as "tugs" for the navy of the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Re-armed with two Škoda 90 mm (3.5 in) guns and two anti-aircraft machine guns, they could also carry 24 or 30 naval mines. Initially classified as mining tenders or mine carriers, they were mainly used for training and "show the flag" cruises along the Adriatic coast and islands, introducing the navy to the populace. In 1931 their guns were re-lined to 83.5 mm (3.29 in) or replaced with guns of that calibre. In 1935 three ships of the class visited the Greek island of Corfu as part of a "show the flag" cruise, and the following year all ships of the class were re-designated as minelayers. In the lead-up to the April 1941 Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, several ships of the class laid minefields off the Yugoslav coast, which probably resulted in the sinking of two Yugoslav merchant ships. All six were captured by the Italy during the invasion.
Turbine was the lead ship of her class of eight destroyers built for the Regia Marina during the 1920s. Her name means whirlwind.
The German torpedo boat TA37 was an Ariete-class torpedo boat operated by the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. The ship was built for the Italian Navy by the shipbuilder CRDA at their Trieste shipyard with the name Gladio in 1943, but was incomplete when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, and was seized by Nazi Germany. The ship entered service as TA37 in 1944, serving in the Adriatic and Aegean seas and was sunk by British destroyers on 7 October 1944.
The German torpedo boat TA24 was an Ariete-class torpedo boat operated by the German Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. The ship was built for the Italian Navy by the shipbuilder Ansaldo at their Genoa shipyard with the name Arturo in 1943, but was incomplete when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, and was seized by Nazi Germany. The ship entered service as TA24 in October 1943, serving in the Tyrrhenian Sea and was sunk by British destroyers on 18 March 1945.
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.
