Gabbiano class


Technical specifications
Ship type :	corvette
Displacement :	670 ts standard 740 ts maximum
Length:	64.4 m
Width:	8.7 m
Draft :	2.8 m maximum
Drive :	2 Fiat M 407 diesel engines (3,500 kW ) 2 electric motors
Fuel supply:	70 t maximum
Speed :	18.5 kn maximum
Range :	3,450 nm at 10 kn
Crew :	110-112
Armament:	1 x 100 mm gun 7 × 20-mm anti-aircraft - guns 2 × 450 mm torpedo tubes 10 Water bomb thrower

The Gabbiano class (Eng. "Seagull class") was a corvette class of the Italian Navy . A total of 60 of these ships were commissioned during the Second World War . Their main task was escort and submarine hunting .

history

From 1940 the Regia Marina used various types of ships to protect escorts from Italy to North Africa, including destroyers and torpedo boats from the First World War. In 1941 it was decided to procure a large number of relatively easy and therefore quick to build corvettes. The well-armed Gabbiano-class corvettes, displacing around 700 tons, had a diesel engine, an electric motor and a sonar for submarine hunting.

The ships were built in five series or sub-classes by different Italian shipyards . Of the 60 planned units, 29 ships were put into service from 1942. By the armistice on September 8, 1943, three corvettes were lost. After that, the German Navy took over seven ships, and a further 21 were completed at the shipyards under German direction. Six more corvettes under construction could not be completed by the end of the war. The procurement of two units was canceled due to the war, two ships were only launched after the war. A total of 22 Gabbiano-class corvettes were taken over by the Marina Militare of the Republic of Italy after 1946 . 16 units were initially modified to take on mine clearance tasks. Major renovations and modernization work were carried out in the 1950s. Eleven ships then took on mainly anti -submarine tasks, the other eleven units specialized in air defense . In this form, they remained in service until the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were replaced by the Albatros and De Cristofaro class corvettes .

Subclasses

There was a deviation from the standard for the ship identifiers during the war. Italian destroyers, torpedo boats and other types of ships were identified by two large letters on the hull, which served as an abbreviation of the ship's name. In the case of the Gabbiano class, this system was dispensed with right from the start, which would have become too confusing given the many planned units. Instead, an alphanumeric code was used. The letter C for Corvetta was used , followed by numbers from 11 to 70. After the war, the abbreviation of the ship's name with two letters was used again due to the lower number of available ships. From 1953 the standardized NATO identification system was introduced, whereby the Gabbiano-class ships were given the letter F (for frigates and corvettes), followed by a number in the 500 range (reserved for Italy). In the list below, all three ship IDs used are given under the section "ID". If designations of the UJ 2222 model appear in the “whereabouts” section, they refer to the use as submarines by the German navy. The first two numbers refer to the respective naval association (here: 22nd U-Hunting Flotilla).

Gabbiano series

The twelve ships in this subclass were named after sea birds. The first four corvettes ( Gabbiano, Procellaria, Cormorano, Pellicano ) were built at the Cerusa shipyard in Voltri ( Genoa ), the remaining eight by Ansaldo in Genoa.

Surname	Identifiers	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Notes, whereabouts
Gabbiano	C 11, GB, F 571	January 14, 1942	June 23, 1942	October 3, 1942	1951, 1954/55 conversions, 1971 out of service
Procellaria	C 12	January 14, 1942	September 4, 1942	November 29, 1942	Sunk by mine on January 31, 1943 off Cap Bon
Cormorano	C 13, CO, F 575	January 14, 1942	November 17, 1942	March 6, 1943	Modifications in 1952 and 1954, out of service in 1971
Pellicano	C 14, PE, F 574	September 15, 1942	February 20, 1943	April 15, 1943	Conversions between 1952 and 1962, out of service in 1969
Cicogna	C 15	June 15, 1942	October 12, 1942	January 11, 1943	destroyed in Messina on July 24, 1943
Folaga	C 16, FO, F 576	June 15, 1942	November 13, 1942	February 16, 1943	Modifications in 1950 and 1953, out of service on August 1, 1965
Ibis	C 17, IB, F 561	June 18, 1942	December 12, 1942	April 3, 1943	4 conversions between 1950 and 1955, out of service in 1971
Gru	C 18, GU, F 566	July 6, 1942	December 23, 1942	April 29, 1943	3 conversions between 1951 and 1953, out of service in 1971
Tuffetto	C 51	March 15, 1943	August 25, 1943	February 22, 1944	UJ 2222, sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Marangone	C 52	March 15, 1943	September 16, 1943	March 18, 1944	UJ 2223, sunk near Elba on May 24, 1944
Strolaga	C 53	March 15, 1943	October 30, 1943	April 18, 1944	UJ 2224, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Ardea	C 54	March 15, 1943	January 8, 1944	1944	UJ 2225, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945

The corvette Cicogna sank the British submarine HMS Thunderbolt on March 14, 1943 off San Vito lo Capo . Gabbiano was involved in the sinking of the submarine HMS Sahib on April 24, 1943 . Ibis shot down a British de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito on August 25, 1943 .

Series antelope

This series of nine corvettes was named after mammals ( horn-bearers ). They were built by OTO in Livorno .

Surname	Identifiers	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Notes, whereabouts
antelope	C 19	January 20, 1942	May 9, 1942	November 11, 1942	UJ 6082, sunk by USS Somers on August 15, 1944
Gazzella	C 20	January 20, 1942	May 9, 1942	February 6, 1943	ran into mine on August 5, 1943 off Asinara, sank
Camoscio	C 21	January 20, 1942	May 9, 1942	April 18, 1943	UJ 6081, sunk by USS Endicott off Toulon on August 17, 1944
Capriolo	C 22	June 3, 1942	December 5, 1942	-	UJ 6083, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Alce	C 23	May 27, 1942	December 5, 1942	-	UJ 6084, sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Renna	C 24	May 31, 1942	December 5, 1942	1943	UJ 6085, destroyed in Genoa on September 4, 1944
Daino	C 55	March 1, 1943	1944	1944	UJ 6087, self-sunk in Livorno on July 11, 1944
Cervo	C 56	March 25, 1943	1944	1944	UJ 6086, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Stambecco	C 57	March 4, 1943	-	-	UJ 6088, destroyed by air raid in Livorno in 1944

Ape series

These twelve units were named after insects . They were built by Navalmeccanica in Castellammare di Stabia near Naples.

Surname	Identifiers	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Notes, whereabouts
Ape	C 25, AP, F 567, A 5328	May 4, 1942	November 22, 1942	May 15, 1943	6 conversions between 1951 and 1965, out of service in 1979
Vespa	C 26	May 4, 1942	November 22, 1942	September 2, 1943	UJ 2221, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Lucciola	C 27	June 22, 1942	March 21, 1943	-	self-sunk in September 1943
Grillo	C 28	June 22, 1942	March 21, 1943	-	self-sunk in September 1943
Cicala	C 29	September 30, 1942	June 27, 1943	-	self-sunk in September 1943
Calabrone	C 30	October 1, 1942	June 27, 1943	-	self-sunk in September 1943
Cavalletta	C 31	December 3, 1942	-	-	Construction canceled
Libellula	C 32	December 3, 1942	-	-	Construction canceled
Crisalide	C 58, CR, F 547	April 22, 1943	December 8, 1947	September 25, 1952	Reconstruction from 1959 to 1960, out of service in 1972
Farfalla	C 59, F 548	April 21, 1943	January 4, 1948	February 10, 1953	1971 out of service
Maggiolino	C 60	-	-	-	Construction canceled
Cocciniglia	C 61	-	-	-	Construction canceled

Scimitarra series

The nine ships in this subclass were named after weapons. They were built by Breda in Marghera near Venice.

Surname	Identifiers	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Notes, whereabouts
Scimitarra	C 33, SC, F 564	February 24, 1942	September 16, 1942	May 10, 1943	5 conversions between 1949 and 1957, out of service in 1971
Baionetta	C 34, BA, F 578	February 24, 1942	October 5, 1942	July 28, 1943	1971 out of service
Colubrina	C 35	March 14, 1942	December 7, 1942	January 14, 1944	UJ 205, sunk in Šibenik on March 28, 1944
Spingarda	C 36	March 14, 1942	May 22, 1943	May 6, 1944	UJ 208, on November 1, 1944 against Zadar with UJ 202 (ex Melpomene ) and TA 20 sunk
Carabina	C 37	March 14, 1942	May 22, 1943	-	UJ 207, destroyed in an air raid in February 1944
Bombarda	C 38, BD, F 549	August 21, 1943	February 10, 1944	October 30, 1944	UJ 206, self-sunk on April 25, 1945, lifted, in service from 1951 to 1975
Scure	C 62	October 20, 1942	-	-	UJ 209, canceled
Clava	C 63	October 20, 1942	-	-	UJ 210, canceled
Zagaglia	C 64	February 1, 1943	-	-	UJ 211, canceled

Artemide series

The total of 18 corvettes of the Artemis subclass were named after female deities of antiquity. The first ten ships were built by CRDA in Monfalcone , the remaining eight in Trieste

Surname	Identifiers	Keel laying	Launch	Commissioning	Notes, whereabouts
Artemide	C 39	March 9, 1942	August 10, 1942	October 10, 1942	UJ 2226, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Persefone	C 40	March 9, 1942	September 21, 1942	November 28, 1942	UJ 2227, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Euterpe	C 41	April 2, 1942	October 22, 1942	January 20, 1943	UJ 2228, self-sunk in Genoa on April 24, 1945
Minerva	C 42, MI, F 562	April 3, 1942	November 6, 1942	February 25, 1943	1969 out of service
Urania	C 65, UR, F 570	October 1, 1942	April 21, 1943	August 7, 1943	6 conversions between 1946 and 1961, out of service in 1971
Berenice	C 66	October 1, 1942	May 20, 1943	September 1, 1943	Sunk off Trieste on September 9, 1943
Egeria	C 67	February 15, 1943	July 3, 1943	January 28, 1944	UJ 201, sunk on February 29, 1944
Melpomene	C 68	March 25, 1943	August 29, 1943	April 24, 1944	UJ 202 on November 11, 1944 against Zadar with UJ 208 (ex Spingarda ) and TA 20 sunk
Tersicore	C 69	April 15, 1943	October 16, 1943	1944	UJ 203, destroyed on April 20, 1944 in Monfalcone
Euridice	C 70	July 1, 1943	March 12, 1944	1944	UJ 204, destroyed in Monfalcone on May 25, 1944
Driad	C 43, DR, F 568	May 9, 1942	October 7, 1942	January 14, 1943	1966 out of service
Danaide	C 44, DA, F 563	May 9, 1942	October 21, 1942	February 27, 1943	4 conversions between 1952 and 1958, out of service in 1967
Pomona	C 45, PO, F 573	May 16, 1942	November 18, 1942	April 4, 1943	Reconstruction 1955/56, out of service 1964
flora	C 46, FL, F 572	May 16, 1942	December 1, 1942	April 25, 1943	1969 out of service
Sfinge	C 47, SF, F 579	June 20, 1942	January 9, 1943	May 12, 1943	1975 out of service
Chimera	C 48, CB, F 569	June 20, 1942	January 30, 1943	May 26, 1943	1975 out of service
Sibilla	C 49, SB, F 565	June 26, 1942	March 10, 1943	June 5, 1943	1971 out of service
Fenice	C 50, FE, F 577	June 27, 1942	March 10, 1943	June 15, 1943	1964 out of service

Euterpe was involved in the sinking of the British submarine HMS Sahib on April 24, 1943 . Together with the corvette Minerva, Euterpe sank the submarine HMS Saracen near Bastia on August 14, 1943 .

literature

Erich Gröner, Dieter Jung, Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945, Vol. 8 / 1-2, river vehicles, Ujäger, outpost boats, auxiliary minesweepers, coastal protection associations, small combat units, dinghies, Bernard & Graefe, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-7637- 4808-3
Zvonimir Freivogel: The Gabbiano-class corvettes, Simon Frey publishing house, Düsseldorf 2009, ISBN 3-938494-08-5