 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of Italy | |
| Name | Nembo |
| Builder | Cantieri del Tirreno,Riva Trigoso |
| Laid down | 21 January 1925 |
| Launched | 27 January 1927 |
| Commissioned | 24 October 1927 |
| Fate | Sunk, 20 July 1940 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Turbine-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 93.2 m (305 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 gearedsteam turbines |
| Speed | 33knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
| Range | 3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 179 |
| Armament |
|
Nembo was one of eightTurbine-class destroyer built for theRegia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during the 1920s. Her name meansnimbus. The ship played a minor role in theSpanish Civil War of 1936–1937, supporting theNationalists.
TheTurbine-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the precedingSauro class. They had anoverall length of 93.2 meters (306 ft), a beam of 9.2 meters (30 ft 2 in) and a meandraft of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in).[1] They displaced 1,090metric tons (1,070long tons) atstandard load, and 1,700 metric tons (1,670 long tons) atdeep load. Their complement was 12 officers and 167 enlisted men.[2]
TheTurbines were powered by twoParsons gearedsteam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by threeThornycroft boilers. The turbines were rated at 40,000shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) for a speed of 33knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) in service,[3] althoughNembo reached a speed of 38.4 knots (71.1 km/h; 44.2 mph) during hersea trials while lightly loaded.[4] They carried enoughfuel oil to give them a range of 3,200nautical miles (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1]
Theirmain battery consisted of four120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure.[2]Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for theTurbine-class ships was provided by a pair of40-millimeter (1.6 in)AA guns in single mountsamidships and a twin-gun mount for13.2-millimeter (0.52 in) machine guns. They were equipped with six 533-millimeter (21 in)torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships.[3] TheTurbines could carry 52mines.[2]
Nembo waslaid down byCantieri Navali del Tirreno at theirRiva Trigososhipyard on 21 January 1925,launched on 27 January 1927 and completed on 14 October.[1] Upon entry into the service withRegia MarinaNembo together withTurbine,Aquilone andEuro was assigned to the 2nd Squadron of the I Destroyer Flotilla based atLa Spezia.[5] Between 1929 and 1932 the 2nd Destroyer Division conducted training cruises in theMediterranean Sea.[5][6]In 1931Nembo together withEuro,Espero andZeffiro as well as old cruiserAncona were part of II Naval Division.[7]
In 1932,Nembo was among the first ships in the Italian Navy to receive a Galileo-Bergaminifire control system, designed by then-CaptainCarlo Bergamini, commander of the 1st Destroyer Squadron (consisting ofNembo,Turbine,Euro andAquilone), of whichNembo was theflagship at the time. Testing of fire control system on the 1st Squadron vessels was successful and led to the adoption of this system on a number of other Regia Marina ships.[8][9]
In 1934 after another reorganizationNembo as well asAquilone,Turbine andEuro were again reunited, now forming the 8th Destroyer Squadron, part of II Naval Division.[10] In 1934 together withTurbine she was temporarily deployed to Red Sea to conduct training in tropical climate.[6]
Between 1936 and 1938,Nembo participated in theSpanish Civil War, interdicting the delivery of supplies for the Spanish Republican forces by sea .[6]
At the time ofItaly entry intoWorld War IINembo together withEuro,Turbine andAquilone formed 1st Destroyer Squadron based inTobruk. Initially, she was assigned escort and anti-submarine duties.
On June 6, 1940, in preparation for hostilities, the ships of 1st Destroyer Squadron together with minelayerBartletta laid fourteen minefields (540 mines) aroundTobruk.[11]
After an air reconnaissance revealed large number of ships present in Tobruk harbor, including several destroyers, British command ordered an air attack onTobruk on June 12. The air strike was carried out byBlenheims from45,55,113 and211 Squadrons in the early morning hours of June 12. British bombers were intercepted byCR.32s from 92nd, 93rd and 94th Squadriglias, forcing some bombers to turn away, or drop their bombs prematurely. Several bombers managed to get through and bombed the harbor between 04:52 and 05:02 causing only negligible damage.[12]
In response the Italian command ordered a bombardment ofSollum. The raid was carried out both byRegia Aeronautica andRegia Marina, with twelveSM.79 bombers dropping bombs in the early morning of June 15, while destroyersNembo,Turbine andAquilone shelled the town from 03:49 to 04:05, firing 220 shells of their main caliber, but dealing negligible damage to the installations due to thick fog present at the time of attack.[13][14][15] Another bombardment ofSollum was performed between 05:35 and 06:18 on June 26 by the same destroyer group "with considerable effectiveness" expending 541 shells in the process.[14][16]
On July 5, 1940 there were sevenTurbine-class destroyers berthed in Tobruk harbor, includingNembo, together with four torpedo boats, six freighters and several auxiliary vessels.[17] Between 10:00 to 11:15 aShort Sunderland reconnaissance plane overflew the harbor at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters and despite the anti-aircraft fire opened against it, confirmed the presence of numerous ships in the harbor. In the late afternoon a group of nineFairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of813 Naval Air Squadron took off from the airfield inSidi Barrani and headed towards Tobruk.[18] The air alarm was sounded at 20:06 but the Italians failed to detect the Allied aircraft until they were already over the harbor at 20:20.[17] Destroyers had most of their personnel on board steamersLiguria andSabbia with exception of dedicated air defense crews.[19] The attack commenced a few minutes later, and lasted only seven minutes and resulted in five Italian ships being sunk or damaged.[17] Not encountering any aerial opposition, British torpedo bombers attacked from low altitude (around 100 feet), and released their torpedoes from 400–500 meters away, almost point-blank.[19]Zeffiro was attacked first by a plane piloted by Nicholas Kennedy, whose torpedo hit the destroyer in the bow, around the ammunition depot, between the bridge and a 120 mm cannon.[19] The explosion broke the ship into two and sank it half an hour later. FreighterManzoni was also hit, capsized and sank, whileEuro and steamerSerenitas were hit, and had to be beached, and the ocean linerLiguria was hit and damaged. Two planes also attacked other destroyers, includingNembo, but failed to launch their torpedoes due to intense anti-aircraft fire.[18] The air alarm was canceled at 21:31, and by that time all nine British planes were far away.
On 19 July 1940 British command, believing that the light cruiserGiovanni delle Bande Nere, damaged during theBattle of Cape Spada, had taken refuge in Tobruk, decided to launch a new bomber attack against the base.[20]Nembo along withAquilone andOstro were berthed at the same location as during the July 5 raid. Most personnel was on board steamersLiguria andSabbia with exception of dedicated air defense crews. Around 17:00 twelveBristol Blenheim bombers from55 Squadron and211 Squadron RAF bombed the northern part of the harbor, slightly damaging an anti-aircraft battery and the port's facilities, and losing one aircraft.[21][20] At 18:56 a seaplane from the700 Naval Air Squadron launched by the British battleshipWarspite appeared to investigate results of the bombing. The seaplane was immediately targeted by anti-aircraft batteries, and shot down.[21][20] At 21:54 Tobruk was put on alert again after receiving reports from the Bardia and Sidi Belafarid advanced listening stations. Around 22:30 sixFairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the824 Naval Air SquadronFAA appeared in the skies above Tobruk harbor and were met with strong anti-aircraft fire. This forced the planes to make several passes over the area trying to avoid the fire, and also to acquire the targets, the situation exacerbated by a fairly cloudy night.[21] The British finally managed to sort out their objectives by about 01:30 on July 20 and assumed attack formation at low altitude. At 01:32 steamerSereno was struck in the stern by a torpedo, launched from a plane, piloted by squadron commander F.S. Quarry, causing her to slowly sink.[21] At 01:34Ostro was hit in her stern ammunition depot by a torpedo launched from another plane, causing the ship to go ablaze and sink ten minutes later.[21]Nembo was hit by a torpedo at 01:37 and sank 8 minutes later with 25 of her crew being killed and four wounded.[21] The British lost one plane in the attack which crash-landed on the way back in the Italian controlled territory.[20]
The guns from bothNembo andOstro were later removed and used by Italians to reinforce defenses ofBardia.
 Regia Marina | |
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 Kriegsmarine |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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