Francesco Crispi (ship, 1925)
 The Crispi in 1941 in the Aegean Sea
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The destroyer Francesco Crispi was a Quintino Sella class ship of the Royal Italian Navy ( Regia Marina ).
In 1943, when the Italians surrendered, the ship fell into the hands of the Germans. They put the Crispi into service in October 1943 as the TA 15 torpedo boat in the Aegean Sea . On March 8, 1944, British TA 15 fighter bombers sank off Heraklion .
History of the destroyer
Like all four Sella class destroyers for the Italian Navy, Francesco Crispi was built at the Pattison shipyard in Naples . These ships were 85.3 meters long, had a maximum hull width of 8.6 m and a normal draft of 2.8 m. The forward, raised forecastle reached almost to the middle of the ship's length, the stern had a low freeboard . In front of the two chimneys was a relatively high superstructure with the wheelhouse and the navigating bridge. Three tube boilers of the Thornycroft type supplied two simple geared turbine sets of the Parsons type . This system developed up to 38,000 hp in normal operation and allowed a top speed of 35 knots (kn).
The Sella- class destroyers had been the Regia Marina's smallest destroyers since 1938, as older models were reclassified as torpedo boats. When commissioned, the Crispi had three 120 mm cannons, one of which was set up individually on the foredeck and the other two were in a double carriage aft on a deckhouse. For air defense destroyer had two 40-mm automatic cannons that an Italian replica of the British pom-pom were and two 13.2-mm machine guns of the type Breda . Then there were two twin torpedo tube sets for 457 mm torpedoes and rails for possible use as mine layers .
The ship was launched on September 12, 1925 and was delivered to the Regia Marina on April 29, 1927 as the fourth ship of the class. It bears the name of the former Italian Prime Minister Francesco Crispi (1819–1901). The ship was modernized as early as 1929. The 120 mm cannons were replaced by a further development and a twin cannon was also installed on the forecastle. After that, the ships of the Sella class also carried the standard main armament of Italian destroyers. In 1939 the destroyer and its sister ships formed the 4th destroyer squadron in Leros and Rhodes . In March 1940, before Italy joined the war, two of the sister ships were sold to Swedes, who came into service there as Puke and Psilander .
War mission at the Regia Marina
Like other units, the Crispi and its sister ship Quintinio Sella were involved in laying defensive mine barriers shortly before Italy entered the war. With the auxiliary ship Lero and the T-boats Lira , Libra and Lince , 800 mines were laid in 28 locks in the Dodecanese .
At the beginning of 1941, the conversion of the two destroyers into mother ships for the use of explosive vessels began . Cushions for six explosive vessels were attached to the destroyers and a small electric crane was built to launch the boats. A first attempt at attack by the destroyer against the Sudabucht used by the Royal Navy on Crete in January 1941 was canceled because the British ships had left the port. A second attempt in February was also canceled because the ships anchored in the bay were not viewed as worthwhile targets.
On February 25, 1941, Crispy , Sella and the torpedo boats Lupo and Lince landed 240 men on the small island of Kastelorizo , part of the (Italian) Dodecanese , which had recently been occupied by the British commandos ( Operation Abstenation ). When the British withdrew their troops, the Crispi tried to torpedo the British destroyer Jaguar , which was covering the withdrawal . The two torpedoes missed the Jaguar , which then opened fire. Succeeded Crispi the spotlight of Jaguar to meet what the Jaguar the skirmish broke off and followed the units used for evacuation.
For another mission against Suda, Crispi and Sella moved to Astypalea (it. Stampalia) , the westernmost island of the Dodecanese. On the evening of March 25, 1941, the two destroyers left their advanced base and marched to a point six miles from the Akrotiri peninsula . In a few minutes, shortly before midnight, the destroyers deployed six explosive vessels and began their march back. The explosive boats hit the heavy cruiser York and the Norwegian tanker Pericles (8324 BRT, 1936 Gothenburg) in the Sudabucht , both of which went aground but still protruded from the water.
On May 27, Crispi accompanied a mixture of very different vehicles with the torpedo boats Lince , Libra and Lira , which an Italian contingent brought from Leros to Crete. The 2,400 soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 50 members of the Navy, thirteen light tanks, four motor vehicles and 350 mules went ashore in the Bay of Sitia . Crispi did not have to give artillery support to the landing forces, as they found no resistance.
The situation of the previously isolated Italian units in the Dodecanese changed after the occupation of Greece by the Axis powers , as the supply and exchange of units was now possible. The number of units of the Regia Marina in the Aegean Sea was increased in order to fulfill the many escort duties to the many garrisons. Allied attacks mostly came from the air. The anti-aircraft armament of the deployed units was reinforced. Crispi gave up the two 40 mm guns and received four 20 mm L / 65 machine guns of the Scotti-Isotta Fraschini type , an Italian licensed manufacturer from Oerlikon . Attacked several times from the air, the Crispi was hit by a bomb on November 27, 1942 and fell out for a time.
In autumn 1943 the Crispi in Piraeus was surprised by the Italian surrender and occupied by the Germans.
Use by the Navy
When Italy capitulated in September 1943, the Germans occupied the old Italian destroyer in Piraeus. Originally the Crispi was to be given the name TA 17 . However, when it entered service in October, it became TA 15 .
At the same time, the destroyer Turbine (German TA 14) as well as the torpedo boats San Martino (German TA 17) and Calatafimi (German TA 19) could be occupied. In the Sudabucht, the Germans were able to capture the torpedo boats Castelfidardo 8 (German TA 16) and Solferino (German TA 18).
The six boats were assigned to the 9th torpedo boat flotilla set up in Piraeus on October 4, 1943 . The first task from November 5th was to secure the transporters of the Combat Group Müller , formed from parts of the 22nd Infantry Division , under Lieutenant General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller , which was supposed to prevent the Allied attempt to conquer the Dodecanese . Until November 10, 1943, the German units moved to Kos and Kalymnos . During the day, the unit marched eastwards over Naxos , Amorgos , Levitha and Stampalia under hunting protection . In addition to the 9th T-Flotilla with TA 15 , TA 14 , TA 17 and TA 19 and the S-Boat S 55 , the 21st U-Hunting Flotilla and the 12th R-Flotilla secured the transporters, which on 10 November reached the "departure ports" Kos and Kalymnos.
On November 12th The German reconquest of the Dodecanese on Leros began with the Leopard company . Transport of the combat group was carried out with steamers, coastal vehicles and ferry boats, which were secured by the aforementioned units. The X. Air Corps deployed 206 aircraft on the first day to support the landing . TA 14 , TA 15 and TA 16 ran back to Piraeus and brought more combat troops from there to Kalymnos. On the afternoon of the 16th the British commander surrendered on Leros. The next day, TA 15 arrived in Leros with supplies, followed by TA 14 , TA 19 and again TA 15 on the 19th . While the larger British ships left the Aegean for lack of a base, light German units occupied the islands of Lipsi, Italian Lisso , Patmos , Furni and Ikera on the 18th . On the night of November 20, 600 British and Greek soldiers were evacuated from Samos in small vehicles . After an attack by Ju 87 Stukas II./StG.3 on the city of Tigani, the remaining Italian crew of Samos also surrendered on the 22nd. The following day, TA 15 and TA 19 entered Vathi Bay with boats of the 21st UJ flotilla and deployed German troops. The reconquest of the Dodecanese was thus complete.
In the period that followed, active escort activities began to supply the German island garrisons and to exchange the combat troops for occupation troops. The continued frequent air strikes by the Allies led to further reinforcements of the anti-aircraft armament with 40-mm Bofors and 37-mm Breda flak guns.
Final fate
During a march with TA 19 from Heraklion to Piraeus, TA 15 was sunk by British fighter bombers on March 8, 1944 north of Crete with rockets and bombs. The TA 15 , sunk off Crete , was lifted by the Germans and towed to Piraeus.
The non-roadworthy former Francesco Crispi was sunk on October 12, 1944 by the withdrawing Germans.
The units of the Sella class
All four ships of the class named after Italian politicians were built by the Pattison shipyard in Naples. In March 1940, Italy, which had not yet joined the World War, sold the old destroyers Bettino Ricasoli and Giovanni Nicotera to neutral Sweden.
The type ship Quintino Sella was stationed together with the Crispi in the Dodecanese during the World War . During the Battle of Crete , the destroyer was mistakenly attacked and damaged by German dive bombers . Similar to Crispi , the Sella’s AA armament has also been improved. After further damage from air raids, the ship was relocated home at the end of 1942 and used in the Adriatic. After the Italian surrender, the Quitino Sella left Venice to go to Malta according to the surrender conditions. The commander had probably taken over 200 civilians on board who wanted to escape from the part of Italy controlled by the Germans. A little south of the destroyer on September 11, 1943 encountered the S 54 , which had escaped from southern Italy and torpedoed the destroyer Quintino Sella at a short distance. The sella broke and probably over 200 people died.
| Surname | Identifier | Keel laying | Launch | in service | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quintino Sella | SE | 10/12/1922 | 04/25/1925 | 03/25/1926 | sunk in the Adriatic by a German speedboat on September 11, 1943 |
| Bettino Ricasoli | RC | .1923 | 01/29/1926 | October 4, 1926 | Sold to Sweden in March 1940, renamed Puke , scrapped in 1949 |
| Giovanni Nicotera | NC | 10/9/1924 | 06/24/1926 | January 8, 1927 | Sold to Sweden in March 1940, renamed Psilander , scrapped in 1949 |
| Francesco Crispi | CP, CR | 02/21/1923 | 09/12/1925 | 04/29/1927 | Occupied by the Germans on September 9, 1943, used as TA 15 , sunk by air raid on March 8, 1944, lifted, repair not completed |
Web links
- QUINTINO SELLA destroyers (1926–1927)
- Little Boats at SudaBay
- TA15 torpedo boat (1927/1943)
- Jürgen Rohwer, Gerhard Hümmelchen: Chronicle of the Naval War 1939–1945 , published by the Library for Contemporary History, Württemberg State Library, Stuttgart 2007–2017
Footnotes
- ^ Motor ship Lero
- ↑ Rohwer: naval warfare , 6.6.- 07.10.1940 Mediterranean / Red Sea
- ↑ Rohwer: naval warfare , 25.- 02.28.1941 Mediterranean.
- ^ M / T Pericles
- ↑ Rohwer: naval warfare , 26/03/1941 Mediterranean.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War , 8–11 September 1943 Italy / Mediterranean.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War , 5.-10. and November 10–24, 1943 Aegean Sea, German reconquest of the Dodecanese.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War , March 1–31, 1944 Mediterranean.
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War , October 5–30, 1944 Mediterranean / Aegean.