Fasana (ship, 1924)
The Fasana was a mine-layer and landing ship of the Italian Navy ( Regia Marina ) , which was used by the German Navy as a mine ship in the Adriatic from 1944 .
Construction and technical data
The Fasana was the lead ship of a class of four ships that were put into service in 1925-27. She was built at the Navalmeccanica shipyard (Cantieri di Castellammare di Stabia) in Castellammare di Stabia , as were her slightly larger sister ships, Buccari , Durazzo and Pelagosa . The Fasana ran on 24 September 1924 by the stack and was found in March 1925 in service. The ship was 66.3 m long (58.6 m in the waterline ) and 9.75 m wide and had a maximum draft of 2.0 m . The water displacement was 531 tons (standard) and 705 tons (maximum). Two marine diesel engines of Fiat with 700 together PS and two screws allowed a maximum speed of 10 knots . The bunker stock was 20 tons and allowed a range of 700 nautical miles . The ship was armed with a 7.6 cm L / 40 cannon from Ansaldo and could carry up to 54 mines . In 1935, the armament of two 20 mm was Fla -Zwillinge L / 65 reinforced and 1940, two 20-mm came again Flak added in individual carriages. The crew numbered 66-71 men.
career
Italian Navy
On June 10, 1940, the day Italy entered the war, the ship was in La Spezia . It was used in the following four weeks, together with the miner Crotone and the auxiliary miners Orlando and Sgarallino , to lay extensive mine barriers in the Ligurian Sea , in front of Monte Argentario and near Elba . After that it was temporarily used as a transporter. From July to December 1942, the Fasana , together with the auxiliary miners San Giorgio and Laurana , was used in the Adriatic off Split (Dalmatia) and Budva (Montenegro). In June 1943 it put a mine barrier between Rovigno and Pola , and in August another in the Faresina Canal ( Cres ).
German Navy
On September 10, 1943, the Fasana was confiscated by the German Navy in the port of Trieste and, after being repaired, put into service as a mine ship on April 20, 1944, while retaining its previous name. It was initially used for security purposes, but then mostly for throwing mine barriers in the upper Adriatic, the latter often together with the mine ship Kiebitz .
On May 2, 1945, in view of the advancing Allied forces , the Fasana was beached by its crew in the Tagliamento estuary and set on fire, together with the remaining R-boats of the 6th clearing boat flotilla . The crews came into British captivity.
Whereabouts
The ship was recovered from the Marina Militare at the end of the war and served until September 1, 1950, when it was scrapped.
Sister ships
The three sister ships were slightly larger with a displacement of 755 t.
- The Buccari , 1925 been launched, entered service in 1927, used the war as a transporter, in La Spezia on September 9, 1943 scuttled and raised and scrapped 1947th
- The Durazzo , built in 1926, was also put into service in 1927 and used as a transporter during the war; she was sunk on July 22, 1943 east of Corsica by the British submarine HMS Safari .
- The Pelagosa , built in 1927, was sunk by German coastal artillery about 10 nautical miles from Genoa on September 9, 1943 while attempting to escape into an Allied port .
Notes and individual references
- ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/40-06.htm
- ^ Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare (ed.): La Guerra di Mina. Roma 1966, p. 32
- ^ Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare (ed.): La Guerra di Mina. Roma 1966, pp. 197-198 and pp. 402-405
- ↑ The mine capacity was increased to 90 mines.
- ↑ The claim that can be found in some places that the ship was renamed Kiebitz is incorrect and is based on confusion with the former escort ship RAMB III , which was also confiscated and which was put into service as the Kiebitz mine ship .
- ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/44-08.htm ; Archived copy ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/44-11.htm
