 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of Italy | |
| Name | Insidioso |
| Namesake | "Insidious" |
| Builder | Cantiere Pattison,Naples, Kingdom of Italy |
| Laid down | 1912 |
| Launched | 30 September 1913 |
| Commissioned | 1914 |
| Reclassified | Torpedo boat 1929 |
| Identification | Pennant number IS |
| Stricken | 1938 |
| Reinstated | 1941 |
| Fate | Captured byNazi Germany 10 September 1943 |
| History | |
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | TA21 |
| Acquired | 10 September 1943 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement | 672–770 metric tons (741–849 short tons) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draft | 7 ft 11 in (2.41 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Endurance |
|
| Complement | 4–5officers, 65–74enlisted men |
| Armament | As built:
After refit:
|
Insidioso (English:"Insidious") was an ItalianIndomito-classdestroyer.Commissioned into service in the ItalianRegia Marina (Royal Navy) in 1914, she served inWorld War I, playing an active role in theAdriatic campaign and seeing action in theBattle of the Strait of Otranto in 1917. Reclassified as atorpedo boat in 1929, she was stricken in 1938. Reinstated in 1941, she was captured byNazi German forces in 1943 duringWorld War II. She then served in the GermanKriegsmarine asTA21 until she was sunk in 1944.
Insidioso waslaid down at theCantiere Pattison (English:PattisonShipyard) inNaples,Italy, in 1912. She waslaunched on 30 September 1913 andcommissioned in 1914.
World War I broke out in 1914, and theKingdom of Italy entered the war on the side of theAllies with itsdeclaration of war onAustria-Hungary on 23 May 1915. At the time,Insidioso, under the command ofCapitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) U. Bucci, and the destroyersImpavido,Impetuoso,Indomito,Intrepido, andIrrequieto made up the 2ndDestroyer Squadron. Thesquadron,under the command ofCapitano de fregata (Frigate Captain) P. Orsini, was based atTaranto, although eitherImpetuoso orIndomito or both were visitingLa Spezia that day.[2] On 9 June 1915,Insidioso,Indomito,Intrepido,Impetuoso,Irrequieto, theprotected cruiserQuarto, and the destroyersAnimoso,Ardente,Ardito, andAudace escorted thearmored cruisersGiuseppe Garibaldi andVettor Pisani as they participated in the bombardment of thelighthouses at theCape of Rodon andShëngjin (known to the Italians as San Giovanni di Medua) on the coast of thePrincipality of Albania.[3]
On 3 December 1915Insidioso,Impetuoso,Indomito,Intrepido, andIrrequieto got underway fromBrindisi to escort one of the first supplyconvoys for Italian troops inAlbania. As the convoy — composed of the troop transportsRe Umberto andValparaiso, carrying a total of 1,800 men and 150draft animals — approachedShëngjin (known to the Italians as San Giovanni di Medua) on the coast of Albania,Re Umberto, with 765 men on board, hit amine laid by theImperial German NavysubmarineUC-14, broke in two, and sank in 15 minutes. Rescuers saved 712 men.[3][4][5]
On 8 December 1915,Insidioso andImpetuoso escorted thesteamshipPalermo, carrying over 700 men and 43 draft animals, from Taranto toVlorë (known to the Italians as Valona) in Albania. On the night of11–12 December 1915Insidioso, now under the command ofCapitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Bucci, andImpetuoso escortedValparaiso, loaded with troops, from Taranto to Vlorë.[5]
On 23 February 1916Insidioso andImpetuoso bombarded Austro-Hungarianartillery positions on the mountainSasso Bianco in theDolomites during the evacuation ofDurrës (known to the Italians as Durazzo) in Albania. On 24 FebruaryInsidioso bombarded Austro-Hungarian positions atRrashbull, Albania.[4]
At 19:00 on 8 June 1916Insidoso departed Vlorë withImpavido, the protected cruiserLibia, and the destroyersEspero andPontiere to escort thearmed merchant cruiserPrincipe Umberto and thetroopshipRomagna, which together had embarked the 2,605 men of the ItalianRoyal Army′s (Regio Esercito′s) 55thInfantry Regiment for transportation to Italy. Theconvoy had traveled only a short distance when the Austro-Hungarian submarineU-5 hitPrincipe Umberto in thestern with two torpedoes.Principe Umberto sank in a few minutes about 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) southwest ofCape Linguetta with the loss of 1,926 of the 2,821 men on board, the worst naval disaster of World War I in terms of lives lost. The escortingwarships rescued the survivors but could not locate and counterattackU-5.[4]
On 25 June 1916Insidioso,Impavido,Irrequieto,Audace, and the protected cruiserMarsala operated in distant support of an attack by themotor torpedo boatsMAS 5 andMAS 7 against Durrës. The attack resulted in serious damage to the 1,111-gross register tonsteamshipSarajevo.[4]
On 10 July 1916,Insidioso andImpetuoso were patrolling theOtranto Barrage in theStrait of Otranto when the Austro-Hungarian submarineU-17 attacked them. Hit by a torpedo,Impetuoso sank quickly with the loss of 37 of the 88 men aboard.[4]
On the night of14–15 May 1917, theBattle of the Strait of Otranto began when the Austro-Hungarian Navy staged a two-pronged attack against theOtranto Barrage in theStrait of Otranto aimed both at destroyingnaval drifters — armedfishing boats that patrolled theanti-submarine barrier thebarrage formed — and, as a diversionary action, at destroying an Italian convoy bound fromGreece to Albania. At 04:10 on 15 May, after receiving news of the attack,Insidioso,Impavido,Indomito,Marsala, the scout cruisersAquila andCarlo Alberto Racchia, and the BritishRoyal Navylight cruiserHMS Liverpool made ready for sea at Brindisi. At 05:30 the formation left Brindisi together with the British light cruiserHMS Dartmouth and two other destroyers, and at 07:45 the Allied force sighted the Austro-Hungarian destroyersBalaton andCsepel.Aquila and the Italian destroyers steered to attack the two Austro-Hungarian ships at 08:10 and opened fire on them at 08:15. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire,Balaton suffered damage andAquila was hit and immobilized immediately afterwards. The two Austro-Hungarian destroyers ultimately took shelter under the cover of Austro-Hungariancoastalartillery batteries, forcing the Italian ships to give up the pursuit. Following a clash in which other Italian and Austro-Hungarian ships also participated, the battle ended with some ships damaged on both sides, but none sunk.[4]
On 11 June 1917Insidioso,Irrequieto, and thetorpedo boatsAirone andArdea provided distant support to 10 Italianseaplanes sent to bomb Durrës.[4] On 16 July 1917Insidioso,Impavido,Indomito,Carlo Alberto Racchia, and the scout cruiserAugusto Riboty operated in distant support of an Italian air attack against Durrës carried out by 18 aircraft flying from Brindisi and Vlorë and supported byArdea and the torpedo boatPegaso.
An Austro-Hungarian Navy force consisting of the scout cruiserHelgoland and the destroyersBalaton,Csepel,Lika,Orjen,Tátra, andTriglav leftCattaro on 18 October 1917 to attack Italian convoys. The Austro-Hungarians found no convoys, soHelgoland andLika moved within sight of Brindisi to entice Italian ships into chasing them and lure the Italians into an ambush by the Austro-Hungarian submarinesU-32 andU-40. At 06:30 on 19 October 1917,Insidioso, the scout cruisersAlessandro Poerio andGuglielmo Pepe, and the destroyersPilade Bronzetti andSimone Schiaffino got underway from Brindisi to pursue the Austro-Hungarians, and the destroyersIppolito Nievo andRosolino Pilo and the British light cruiserHMS Weymouth diverted from a voyage from Vlorë to Brindisi to join the pursuit. After a long chase which also saw some Italian air attacks on the Austro-Hungarian ships, the Austro-Hungarians escaped and all the Italian ships returned to port without damage.[4]
By late October 1918, Austria-Hungary had effectively disintegrated, and theArmistice of Villa Giusti, signed on 3 November 1918, went into effect on 4 November 1918 and brought hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Allies to an end. World War I ended a week later with thearmistice between the Allies and theGerman Empire on 11 November 1918.
After the end of World War I,Insidioso′s armament was revised, giving her five 102 mm (4 in)/35-caliber guns, a single 40 mm (1.6 in)/35-caliber gun, and four 450-millimetre (17.7 in)torpedo tubes.[6] She was reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929[6] and stricken from thenaval register in 1938.[6]
World War II broke out in September 1939 withNazi Germany'sinvasion of Poland. Italy joined the war on the side of theAxis powers with itsinvasion of France in June 1940. In 1941,Insidioso was reinstated and resumed service. The oldest Italian torpedo boat in service, she had only limited military usefulness.
After the British submarineHMS Thorn sank the Italian submarineMedusa on 30 January 1942,Insidioso took part in unsuccessful efforts at the end of January to rescueMedusa crewmen trapped within the submarine′s submerged wreck.[7]
Italy announced anarmistice with theAllies on 8 September 1943 andswitched sides in the war, prompting Germany to forcibly occupy Italy and seize Italian military assets. On 10 September 1943, the Germans capturedInsidioso atPola. RenamedTA21, the ship entered service in the GermanKriegsmarine on 8 November 1943.[8]
British aircraft attacked and seriously damagedTA21 offIstria on 9 August 1944. An Americantorpedo bomber sank her in port atFiume on 5 November 1944. Her wreck was refloated and scrapped in 1947.[8]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link){{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) Regia Marina | |
|---|---|
 Kriegsmarine |
|
| |
