Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosto

Da Mosto during World War II
History
 Regia MarinaKingdom of Italy
Name: Alvise Da Mosto
Namesake: Alvise Cadamosto
Builder: Cantieri Riuniti del Quarnaro, Fiume
Laid down: 22 August 1928
Launched: 1 July 1929
Completed: 15 March 1931
Fate: Sunk in battle, 1 December 1941
General characteristics
Class and type: Navigatori-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • 1,900 long tons (1,930 t) standard
  • 2,650 long tons (2,693 t) full load
Length: 107 m (351 ft 1 in)
Beam: 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draught: 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:
  • 2 shaft geared turbines
  • 4 boilers
  • 50,000 hp (37,300 kW)
  • 630 tons fuel oil
Speed: 38 knots (43.7 mph; 70.4 km/h)
Complement: 224
Armament:
Service record
Part of: Destroyer Division 15
Operations: Battle of the Mediterranean

Alvise Da Mosto was one of twelve Navigatori-class destroyers, built for the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) between the late 1920s and the early 1930s. During World War II, she participated in several minelaying missions in the Sicilian Channel and escorted convoys between Italy and Libya until her sinking by the British Force K.

Construction and career

Alvise Da Mosto, built at the Cantieri Riuniti del Quarnaro in Fiume, was laid down on 22 August 1928, launched on 1 July 1929 and completed on 15 March 1931. During the sea trials she reached a top speed of 42.7 knots, 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.[1]

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 for an official visit together with sistership Emanuele Pessagno. Between 1936 and 1937 she participated in Italian naval operations linked to the Spanish Civil War, escorting ships that carried troops and supplies for Francisco Franco's forces from Italy to Spain.[1]

Originally classified as an esploratore (flotilla leader/scout cruiser), Da Mosto was re-rated as a destroyer in 1938.[1]

World War II

When Italy entered World War II, on 10 June 1940, Da Mosto was undergoing modification work to her bow in the La Spezia Naval Arsenal, and she only re-entered service in August 1940, assigned to the 15th Destroyer Division with sisterships Antonio Pigafetta, Giovanni Da Verrazzano, Lanzerotto Malocello and Nicolò Zeno.[1]

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".[1]

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 minefields in the Sicilian Channel and off the coast of Tripolitania.[2][3][4] In the same period, she also escorted some supply convoys to Libya.[5] In November 1941 she was equipped with a German S-Gerat sonar.[1]

On 30 November 1941, Da Mosto sailed from Trapani to escort to Tripoli the tanker Iridio Mantovani, carrying, 8,600 tons of fuel for the Axis forces in North Africa. On 1 December, just before sunset, Mantovani was crippled by Bristol Blenheim bombers of the Royal Air Force; 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 Force K, 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 Tripoli. 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 Generale Marcello Prestinari.[6][1] Da Mosto's commanding officer, Commander Francesco Dell'Anno, was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his attempt to defend Mantovani against overwhelming forces.[7]

References

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