The Italian destroyer ''Audace'' was originally ordered by Japan from

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also op ...

in Scotland under the name of ''Kawakaze'', but was transferred to Italy in 1916 while still under construction. She served as the command ship for the radio-controlled

target ship A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...

in 1937–1940 and then was rearmed for

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort and patrolling duties when World War II began. ''Audace'' was captured by the Germans in 1943 and used by them as a

minelayer 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 control ...

and escort ship in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

until she was sunk by a pair of British destroyers in late 1944.

Design and description

''Audace'' had a

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

of and 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 i ...

of . She had a beam of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . The ship displaced at normal load, and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. Her complement was 5 officers and 113 enlisted men.Fraccaroli 1970, p. 72 The ship was powered by two Brown-Curtis steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by 3

Yarrow boiler Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships. The Yarrow boiler design is characteristic ...

s. Designed for a maximum output of and a speed of , ''Audace'' handily exceeded this, reaching a speed of during her

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. Her intended German-built diesel cruising engines were not delivered because of the war. She had a cruising range of at a speed of and at a speed of .Fraccaroli 1985, p. 269 Only two quick-firing (QF) 39- caliber two-pounder anti-aircraft guns had been installed before the ship was transferred to Italy in 1916. The gun fired its , ,

high-explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

shells at a muzzle velocity of . The ship's main armament consisted of seven QF

Cannon 76/40 Model 1916 The Cannon 76/40 Model 1916 was a widely used naval gun on ships of the Royal Italian Navy during World War I and World War II. A very versatile weapon it was used as primary, secondary and tertiary armament on a number of ship classes. After be ...

guns in single mounts. This gun fired a projectile at a muzzle velocity of . ''Audace'' was also equipped with four

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 twin mounts, one on each broadside.

Construction and career

The

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

ordered a pair of s from the British

in 1913, and ''Kawakaze'' (as the ship was originally named) 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 1 October 1913 at their Scotstoun shipyard. Construction was delayed by a backlog of previous orders and then by the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. The Italians, desperately short of destroyers, began negotiations with the Japanese to acquire ''Kawakaze'' and succeeded on 3 July 1916 when they agreed to transfer the ship. The ''Regia Marina'' named their new acquisition ''Intrepido'' two days later, but renamed her ''Audace'' on 25 September. She was launched on 27 September and completed on 1 March 1917.Fraccaroli 1970, p. 74 She saw action in the Adriatic Sea during World War I, and was the first Italian ship to enter

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

at the end of the war, celebrating the final union of the city with Italy (the pier where she moored was renamed ''Molo Audace'', "Audace Pier", and her anchor became part of the Victory Lighthouse). ''Audace'' was reclassified as a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

on 1 September 1929 and was modified to serve as the command ship of the radio-controlled target ship ''San Marco'' from 1937–1940. She was rearmed in 1940 for escort duties with her main armament reduced to three 102-millimeter guns. In 1943 one 102-millimeter gun and the two 2-pounder AA guns were replaced by five /65

Breda Model 35 The Breda 20/65 mod.35 (''"Breda 20 mm L/65 model 1935"''), also simply known as 20 mm Breda or Breda Model 35, among other variations, was an Italian anti-aircraft gun produced by the Società Italiana Ernesto Breda of Brescia company ...

autocannon in single mounts.Brescia, pp. 136–37 Between 1940 and 1943 she was mostly used as an escort in the Adriatic Sea. The ship left Trieste on 9 September 1943, following the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

and the beginning of

Operation Achse Operation Achse (german: Fall Achse, lit=Case Axis), originally called Operation Alaric (), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. ...

, intending to reach an Italian or Allied-controlled port in southern Italy; but engine problems forced her to make for

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, where she was captured on 12 September when the Germans occupied the city. She was then commissioned into the Kriegsmarine and renamed ''TA20''. The Germans augmented her anti-aircraft armament to 20 Breda guns in 10 twin mounts and assigned her to escort and minelaying work in the Adriatic Sea. On 15 March 1944, she laid a minefield south of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

and others east of San Giorgio on the night of 17/18 and 29 March. The British destroyers and ambushed and sank ''TA20'' and two accompanying corvettes on 1 November south of Lussino in the Adriatic.Rohwer, pp. 312, 370

References

Bibliography

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External links

Audace (1916)
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Audace (1916) 1916 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Destroyers of the Regia Marina World War I naval ships of Italy World War II destroyers of Italy World War II torpedo boats of Germany Naval ships of Italy captured by Germany during World War II Maritime incidents in November 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks in the Adriatic Sea