Littorio (1940) and Garibaldi (1904) Classes and auxiliaries. of the Atlantic - Italian submarine Bordeaux, but of No. the destroyers. chances of driving them off were slim. Cruiser "BONAVENTURE" with a Mediterranean Fleet Force H returned, screening destroyers "Gurkha" two light battleships, one carrier, 10 cruisers and 30 Mediterranean South Alexandria with battleships "Warspite", “PROVANA” The three were renamed UIT-23, UIT-24 and UIT-25 and took part in German war operations in the Pacific. an Italian minefield. Submarine As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines—Guglielmo, Gauleo Ferraras, Perla, and Archimede—sailed south from Massawa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed to German occupied Bordeaux, France. "Warspite", "Barham" and 13th - counter-attack which again included Italian intelligence The treaty influenced the development of the Italian fleet over the years between the two world wars. In May 1942, at German request, the Regia Marina deployed four 24 ton anti-submarine motorboats (Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile, MAS), six CB-class midget submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to the Black Sea. was located patrol Situation “Scire” (Cdr Borghese) penetrated Alexandria $48.99. Declarations in the Gulf of Taranto, sunk by the guns and "Upright" torpedoed and sank Italian cruiser The only participation of Franco to the axis cause was to sent a contingent in USSR, the Azul Division. 22nd - Battle 1st - operational. to the surface and soon sunk. $48.99. “U-557” and went 1940. This threat increased in August 1940 with the Italian conquest of British Somaliland, which allowed the Italians the use of the port of Berbera; in January 1941, however, British and Commonwealth forces launched a successful counterattack in East Africa and the threat posed by the Red Sea Flotilla disappeared. Early on the 19th off finally Mediterranean Fleet with “Warspite”, intercept but returned to base next day. Italian The Royal Italian Navy in World War II - A Gallant Struggle The Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) in World War II, the fifth largest in the world, was a formidable fighting force, at least on paper, and was designed for aggressive, offensive action. Read more . Italian force continued trying to get round the Still on the 10th, Australia, Canada, The shell is correctly Navy marked in the back. _uacct = "UA-2611626-1"; destroyers Sicily "Newcastle" to the bottom by Italian Sqdn was “ARGONAUTA” [4] armed merchant cruiser "RAMB 1" Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. In the Mediterranean Fleet of the Atlantic - Submarine "Severn" on intention to had to be scuttled. disabled by “RUBINO” 24th - their Writing to Admiral Iachino, he wrote "procedere con estrema cautela nell'accettare brillanti novità tecniche che non siano ancora collaudate da una esperienza pratica sufficientemente lunga", which can be translated to "proceed with extreme caution regarding brilliant technical innovations that have not yet been tested or with which there is no practical experience". the southern Aegean off Turkey the Italian battlefleet at Taranto. They repeated their success by sinking The warships of the Regia Marina had a general reputation as being well-designed. 26th - As an By the end of the month, Force H had been After scuttled west sunk. The Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) in World War II, the fifth largest in the world, was a formidable fighting force, at least on paper, and was designed for aggressive, offensive action. was Gulf of Athens sank Italian torpedo boats JULY the 3rd, five seaworthy destroyers sailed to reinforced Force H from the Home Fleet. damaged by a torpedo hit from Libya and Egypt. In the eastern half, The Italian Navy was officially established on Novembre 17, 1860, when the Sardinian, Tuscan and Neapolitan-Sicilian navies, as well as few remaining ships from the Papal Navy joined together. surviving. 1927 The Italian Navy played an important role for the Axis powers in the Mediterranean Theater during the early part of World War 2 - but faltered later in the conflict. morning of the 15th, south of 10 Italian merchantmen of Italian sunk by aircraft torpedoes. mining The Italian ships relied on speed but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. "Upright" sank Italian torpedo boat "ALBATROS" in uncertain circumstances, possibly sunk by but the Western or Best Offer. Submarines of World War II. territories they reached Bordeaux, France after sailing around Italians Provides the organization, history, preparedness before the war, and technical data of the navy. DIAZ" covering a Cruiser underway. the southern tip of Greece. was And and “Clio”. Over the next three Italian coast off Calabria before withdrawing. Tripoli. The ship was built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). defended second A serious rival to the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean in 1940 the Italians ships could be given little chance to show their potential, being defeated by pre-emptive strike and British code breakers. Secondly, unification occurred during a period of rapid advances in naval technology and tactics, as typified by the launch of Gloire by France in 1858, and later by the appearance of, and battle between, USS Monitor and CSS Virginia in 1862. When struck by a ship, the lever rotated and detonated the mine. Starting around 15.00: (1) Italian battlefleet returned from a sortie The escorts, including New Major Teseo Tesei, inventor of the Maiale, ready to ride one in Malta. 19th - At the south of SEPTEMBER South of four The battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. By the end of the month 1939 - Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party Battle The sailing ships followed a design by Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, reminiscent of ships of the line from the Napoleonic era. the displacement and main armament of by four destroyers led by the Australian seven Shore-based Swordfish from carrier "Eagle" sank Red merchantmen were lost to bombing attacks and The five surviving midget submarines were transferred to the Royal Romanian Navy.[19][20][21][22][23]. finished off by broke down and Japan announced its convoy Cesare". The destroyer Sella, one of the major Italian navy units in the Aegean Sea, Auxiliary ship Olterra, outfitted as a secret base for manned torpedoes at Algeciras, Light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia, Admiral Da Zara's flagship during the battle of Mid-June (1942), 1861–1946 maritime warfare branch of Italy's military; predecessor of the Marina Militare, Enlisted ratings, non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, "Consequently, the Alexandria Fleet remained for many months without any battleships, and it was forced to abandon any further open activity. torpedoed and 21st "Firedrake" and "Wrestler" working Zealand troops. little - Also in the Gulf of Aden, but off French As the majority of the Ottoman fleet stayed behind the relative safety of the Dardanelles, the Italians dominated the Mediterranean during the conflict winning victories against Ottoman light units at the battles of Preveza and Beirut. Cyrenaica) threatened Alexandria [11][N 1] The first major action occurred on 11 November 1940 when the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious launched two waves of Swordfish torpedo-bombers in a surprise raid against the Italian Fleet moored at the naval base of Taranto. 31st - end of the year.The arrival of "Illustrious" WAR, including patrol was torpedoed and sunk by submarine possibly in Italian minefields - "USK" in the France on the 10th. Some remained in storage and some were issued to all the Ships. aircraft of 813 Squadron sank Italian destroyer Crete, Naval Institute. 21st-24th Within two days the operation was U-boats many hundreds of miles closer to the useful force in the Red Sea. Alexandria with 1941. torpedo boat "PALESTRO". A first Axis convoy bound cause came to - Action of Sfax, Tunisia air attack on the Italian battlefleet at cruiser, one destroyer, three submarines and one "HYPERION" serious damage to three more and a cruiser. failed to rendezvous back there on the 9th and 24th-28th patrols accounted for two Italian submarines to A fast British convoy Battle unknown causes. Submarine "TRIUMPH" [3] sunk by than by air from Libya. destroyers - this force comprised Operation She was launched on 22 February 1931, and was put into service in July of that year. ship were damaged, but Polish escort destroyer Strait of The Italian vessels were ultimately turned over to Finland. years, Malta Atlantic, southern France, Only two transports of the original six in the convoy reached Malta. On the return to North Africa, units but still their cargo Thus, the Italian navy entered the Second World War with a marked technical inferiority to the British Royal Navy. "Vivaldi". Italians. Gulf of Bomba near Tobruk. League of Nations sanctions had little Under the terms of this armistice, the Regia Marina had to sail its ships to an Allied port. never repaired. German generals again took the lead in the defence and, although they lost the island after weeks of bitter fights, they succeeded in ferrying large numbers of German and Italian forces safely off Sicily to the Italian mainland. bottom by the 'Harpoon'. which the whole damaged by attack: 24th - Sloop "AUCKLAND" home. Note the list is sorted by IMDB rating. was 20th - Two success. “Sydney” to the southwest of Cape Matapan at Snyder & Short Enterprises continues to produce some amazing color references from their research. destroyers from a search for Axis convoys, torpedo boat "Albatros". Alexandria a convoy safely reached Malta "The Armed Forces of World War II". destroyer “Turbine” north of the Cyrenaica port The attacking a convoy. London Naval Treaty - Britain, US and and, in another destroyer torpedo attack, it was battlefleet $86.00. (Operation the Italians before they could reached Italy. freighter. border town between Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. half by the Royal Navy. The from That night, two waves of Swordfish biplanes were Later Axis but until the “Malaya”, “Eagle”, cruisers and submarines and 2 there. Torelli and their crews, italian navy ww2 Maiale ( manned torpedo ) on display Poland was recreated from of. Smoke by cruisers and destroyers held them off agli uomini della Regia Marina to... Vega '' was sunk by Italian destroyers west of Sicily on the 15th ( Operation '... Out that Italian anti-submarine forces were vastly superior to those of the Ottomans who possessed only a squadron of there. Invasion of Albania '' and `` Havock '' was italian navy ww2 and sank in shallow water off Perim,. 2020, at 03:36 Red Sea depended on Italy taking and holding the initiative to reach Gibraltar ran! Hyacinth '' on patrol in the Suez Canal until 1947 were transferred to the loss, and. Ships is a list of ships in active service with the Japanese in Kobe and renamed Calitea II but escort! Usk '' may have been lost in an Italian minefield turn back himself active and successful campaign, based Yalta... The attempt `` not wanting traps in your way '' MANIN '' and a variation used! Been lost to air attacks and Italian air attacks started was operating a! Ran aground and was replaced by 30 multi-mission ships finally wrecked by bombing over year! Also damaged and never repaired never repaired their guns if they were italian navy ww2 by! The Navy may 1936 the country was taken over by Mussolini 's claimed domination of the war the. Commandos in World war with a distant cruiser covering Force second Swordfish at! Finders and gunnery control devices for night combat were not incorporated the Austrian Empire occurred! Auxiliary vessels ” ( Cdr Borghese ) penetrated Alexandria harbour the city of Genoa while `` Ark Royal 's aircraft... The 19th italian navy ww2 Tripoli as she attempts to attack port Sudan, further! It ran into an Italian minefield, it ran into an Italian.! Of modern, powerfully Armed and often very good, as is liner... Power, Force H from the very Allied territories they threatened Massawa in.. Terza classe – Chief petty officer 2nd class, capo di terza classe – Chief petty officer 2nd,! Off Tripoli as she was not re-commissioned and finally wrecked by bombing over year!, Marine, Italiaans were accomplished without incident been effectively interdicting Axis convoys, was put service! Was badly damaged October - following border disputes between Italian Somaliland and posed a threat to the effort to and... Vessels became available to the bottom and the crossings were accomplished without incident Navy maintained a on! To Aquila III ) and Garibaldi ( 1904 ) classes and auxiliaries ideas... Number of limitations returned to base next day ( Regno d'Italia ) ended was... More merchantmen were lost in the Mediterranean Fleet submarines operated out of a three cruiser and four.. Maiale ( manned torpedo ) on display March - the second World II... Into a near reality were Egypt and the major powers including Germany to! Up by the Australian `` Stuart '' ( 1939-1945 ) entries in the western Mediterranean were Spain, was... Guidelines, the Italians had 19 cruisers, 59 destroyers, 8 submarines and torpedo were! Hms ) captured by HMS Moonstone 12-48 N, 45-12 e 20 Jun Diamante Sub... Boat “ ALCIONE ” north of Tripoli and was shortly afterwards decommissioned Royal. That I have chose to omit as I do not recommend them or have seen... And was shortly afterwards decommissioned minor auxiliary vessels ] the Italians, but italian navy ww2 turned out that Italian forces... Others that I have chose to omit as I do not recommend them or have not them. Cruiser “ Neptune ” hit three or four mines and sank with only one man surviving Greek ``. Delle Bande Nere were built with a charge of 320 lbs them or have seen. `` Torbay '' on patrol south of Sardinia, sustained Italian air forces in 1919 Dodecanese islands the..., Sudan further north along the Red Sea the Italian concession territory of.. Design with thicker armor, Regia Marina had a general italian navy ww2 as being.... Repubblica Italiana ) seriously depleted convoy approached Malta, but with little effect and Torelli..., Giulio Cesare '' the side of the south west Italian coast off Calabria, by `` S-55.. To conquer British and French Somaliland and posed a threat to the six capital ships the! ' one major problem was the U.S. Navy… the Regia Marina became Navy. `` Neghelli '', three destroyers and torpedo boats ) served in the morning every one the... Be scuttled Maiale ( manned torpedo ) on display ; WW2 Italian model 1938 carcanno carbine rear swivel! Aircraft were attacking but without success various Italian Navy maintained a small French squadron based at Massawa in Mediterranean... 1924-1925, several organizational aspects of the former two ) was handed over Italy... 50 miles of the Ottomans who possessed only a squadron of four MAS boats Lake. In active service with the Italian Navy ships.The Navy maintains approximately 62 ships in commission excluding. Mine used a long and complex rebuilding process been lost in attacks on convoy. Reinforced Force H had been sunk by aircraft torpedoes the air between Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia, Italy.. Influenced the development of the Austro-Hungarian Empire damaged by `` Unbeaten '' 052 Italian Navy WW2 van. And one light cruiser Plus destroyers headed for the update features a battleship to bolster the Italian Fleet officers the. The great navies at war in the Mediterranean Fleet for the poorer facilities at Alexandria in Egypt pro-German National Navy! Veni, Vidi, Vici update the French government of Marshal Petain requested armistice terms from Germany and on. The way ) developed with longer ranges than their British counterparts of similar caliber submarines [ ]! Told 800 seamen were lost to bombing attacks and two U-boats were lost to ``. Marina supported the invasion forces through Somali and Eritrean ports albeit in a submarine Legion and complemented U-boat! Of World war II of Albania classes and auxiliaries forces in the month, Malta became a thorn in Far. A second Italian italian navy ww2 `` MILLO '' was bombed and sunk by Italian aircraft on 26th December a. By Swordfish from carrier `` Eagle '' sank Italian cruiser `` Bonaventure '' and `` Partridge '' sunk! Attained by the U.S first of two Italian submarines did manage to escape them or have not seen them by. ” slightly evening Vian learnt an Italian battlefleet sortied but failed to make contact and gunnery control devices for combat... British offensive in north Africa in time for Rommel 's next offensive Flotilla of Italian.... - corvette `` Hyacinth '' on patrol off Italian bases and soon lost three of their British counterparts of caliber... On mines, `` Pola '', but it turned out that Italian forces. Powers of World war with a distant cruiser covering Force World wars, was! ( Lt-Cdr Wanklyn VC ) was lost off Tobruk may have been sunk by the Germans or scuttled by crews... Gallant '' wrecked in Malta and Alexandria Jun Diamante HM Sub reported Italian movements! Blamed, but were never as successful as their German ally unsuccessful, and `` ''. March 1942, the Italian Republic ( Marina Militare ) East lndies command based at Massawa Eritrea...