''Alvise Da Mosto'' was one of twelve s, built for the (Royal Italian Navy) between the late 1920s and the early 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she participated in several

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

missions in the

Sicilian Channel The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

and escorted convoys between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

until her sinking by the British

Force K Force K was the name given to three British Royal Navy groups of ships during the Second World War. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939, to intercept commerce raiders. The second Force K was formed in October 1941 at Malta, to op ...

Design and description

The Navigatori-class destroyers were designed to counter the large French destroyers of the and es. They had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads in ...

of , a beam of and a mean draft of .Whitley, p. 162 They displaced at standard load, and at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 222–225 officers and enlisted men. The ''Navigatori''s were powered by two Belluzzo geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by four Yarrow boilers. The turbines were designed to produce and a speed of in service, although the ships reached speeds of during their

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s while lightly loaded.Roberts, p. 299 They carried enough

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

to give them a range of at a speed of .Ando, p. 16 Their main battery consisted of six guns in three twin-

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s, one each fore and aft of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

and the third

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

.Fraccaroli, p. 49 Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Navigatori-class ships was provided by a pair of AA guns in single mounts abreast the forward funnel and a pair of twin-gun mounts for machine guns. They were equipped with six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in two triple mounts amidships. The Navigatoris could carry 86–104 mines.

Construction and career

''Alvise Da Mosto'', built at the Cantieri Riuniti del Quarnaro in

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 22 August 1928, launched on 1 July 1929 and completed on 15 March 1931. During the sea trials she reached a top

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

of , the fastest ship in her class. As the destroyer was the next-to-last of her class to enter service, she had already received the modifications that her sisterships needed after completion in order to improve stability and seaworthiness. During the 1930s, ''Da Mosto'' operated with the Italian fleet for most of the time, taking part in naval exercises. She also sailed to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

for an official visit together with

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

''Emanuele Pessagno''. Between 1936 and 1937 she participated in Italian naval operations linked to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, escorting ships that carried troops and supplies for

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

's forces from Italy to Spain. Originally classified as an '' esploratore'' (flotilla leader/scout cruiser), ''Da Mosto'' was re-rated as a destroyer in 1938.

World War II

When Italy entered

, on 10 June 1940, ''Da Mosto'' was undergoing modification work to her bow in the

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Naval Arsenal, and she only re-entered service in August 1940, and was assigned to the 15th Destroyer Division. On 1–2 September 1940 ''Da Mosto'' was part of the Italian force that sortied to counter British Operation "Hats", and at the end of the same month she participated in the contrast to British operation "MB 5". Between April and August 1941 ''Da Mosto'', together with some of her sisterships and the light cruisers of the 7th Cruiser Division, took part in the laying of several

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

s in the

and off the coast of

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

. In the same period, she also escorted some supply convoys to

. In November 1941 she was equipped with a German S-Gerat sonar. On 30 November 1941, ''Da Mosto'' sailed from

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

to escort to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

the tanker ''Iridio Mantovani'', carrying, 8,600 tons of fuel for the Axis forces in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. On 1 December, just before sunset, ''Mantovani'' was crippled by Bristol Blenheim bombers of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

; ''Da Mosto'' tried to take her in tow, but another air strike set the tanker on fire, and she had to be abandoned by her crew. Shortly thereafter, ''Da Mosto'' was attacked by the British

, consisting of the cruisers ''Aurora'' and ''Penelope'' and the destroyer ''Lively''. ''Da Mosto'' engaged the British ships in a last attempt to save as many survivors as possible from the sinking tanker, but was hit multiple times, including in one of her magazines, and quickly sank at 18:15 in 33°53' N, 12°28' E, about 75 miles northwest of

. ''Mantovani'''s blazing wreck was also finished off by Force K. 138 members of ''Da Mosto'''s crew were killed, while 125 survivors were later rescued by the Italian torpedo boat . ''Da Mosto'''s

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Francesco Dell'Anno, was awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

for his attempt to defend ''Mantovani'' against overwhelming forces.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Alvise da Mosto
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvise Da Mosto Navigatori-class destroyers Ships built in Italy 1929 ships World War II destroyers of Italy Maritime incidents in December 1941