Italian destroyer Antonio Pigafetta
{{short description|Destroyer of the Regia Marina}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Pigafetta 00 V.jpg | Ship caption = Antonio Pigafetta }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = Kingdom of Italy | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Italy|naval}} | Ship name = Antonio Pigafetta | Ship namesake = Antonio Pigafetta | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Cantieri navali del Quarnaro, Fiume | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 29 December 1928 | Ship launched = 10 November 1929 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = 1 May 1931 | Ship renamed = | Ship struck = | Ship fate = Captured by the Germans, 9 September 1943 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = title | Ship country = Nazi Germany | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}} | Ship name = TA44 | Ship acquired = September 1943 | Ship fate = Sunk by Allied aircraft, 17 February 1945 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = (as built) | Ship class = {{sclass2|Navigatori|destroyer}} | Ship displacement = * {{cvt|1900|LT|t|lk=on|0}} (standard)
| Ship length = {{convert|107.3|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} | Ship beam = {{convert|10.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship draught = {{convert|3.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship propulsion = 2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines | Ship speed = {{convert|32|kn|lk=in|1}} | Ship range = {{cvt|3800|nmi|lk=on}} at {{convert|18|kn}} (designed) | Ship power = * 4 Yarrow boilers
| Ship complement = 222–225 (wartime) | Ship armament = *3 × twin 120 mm Italian naval gun#50-calibre Ansaldo 1926 guns
}} |
Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian destroyer, and one of a dozen {{sclass2|Navigatori|destroyer|2}}s built for the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Italian Navy) in the late 1920s. Completed in 1931, she served in World War II. She was captured by German forces, but was later sunk by Allied aircraft in 1945.
Design and description
The Navigatori-class destroyers were designed to counter the large French destroyers of the {{sclass|Jaguar|destroyer|5}} and {{sclass|Guépard|destroyer|4}}es.Ando, p. 15 They had an overall length of {{convert|107.3|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|10.2|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a mean draft of {{convert|3.5|m|ftin|sp=us}}.Whitley, p. 162 They displaced {{convert|1900|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at standard load, and {{convert|2580|t|LT|sp=us}} at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 222–225 officers and enlisted men.
The Navigatoris were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by four Odero-Terni-Orlando water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce {{convert|55000|shp|lk=on}} and a speed of {{convert|32|kn|lk=in}} in service, although the ships reached speeds of {{convert|38|-|41|kn}} during their sea trials while lightly loaded.Roberts, p. 299 They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of {{convert|3800|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|18|kn}}.Ando, p. 16
Their main battery consisted of six 120 mm Italian naval gun#50-calibre Ansaldo 1926 guns in three twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and the third amidships.Fraccaroli, p. 49 Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Navigatori-class ships was provided by a pair of QF 2 pounder naval gun AA guns in single mounts abreast the forward funnel and a pair of twin-gun mounts for Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun. They were equipped with six {{convert|533|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us|0}} torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. The Navigatoris could carry 86–104 mines.
Construction and career
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Antonio Pigafetta was laid down by Cantieri navali del Quarnaro at their Fiume shipyard on 29 December 1928, launched on 10 November 1929 and commissioned on 1 May 1931. On 10 September 1943, the Italian destroyer Antonio Pigafetta was seized by German forces in Fiume. Following repairs, it was recommissioned as TA-44 on 14 October 1944, and became part of the 9th Torpedoboot Flotilla. The ship was sunk in the port of Trieste on 17 February 1945, after being hit by an allied aircraft bomb. The ship was likely sunk by the 461st Operations Group (Heavy), a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization, which typically flew the B-24 Liberator.
Citations
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Ando |first=Elio |editor-last=Preston |editor-first=Antony |editor-link=Antony Preston |title=Super Destroyers |chapter=The Italian Navigatori Class, 1928 |series=Warship Special |volume=2 |year=1978 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-131-9}}
- {{cite book|last=Brescia|first=Maurizio|title=Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45|year=2012|publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=978-1-59114-544-8}}
- {{cite book |last=Fraccaroli |first=Aldo |title=Italian Warships of World War II |date=1968 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton |isbn=0-7110-0002-6}}
- {{cite book |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |chapter=Italy |last1=Roberts |first1=John |pages=280–317 |editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books |location=New York |year=1980 |isbn=0-8317-0303-2}}
- {{cite book |last=Rohwer |first=Jürgen|authorlink=Jürgen Rohwer |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |year=2005 |edition=3rd rev. |isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Italian Destroyers of World War II |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-4728-4053-0}}
- {{cite book |first=M. J. |last=Whitley |authorlink=Michael J. Whitley |title=Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia |year=1988 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=1-85409-521-8}}
- "February 1945 Missions". 461st.org. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
External links
- [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/pigafetta.aspx Antonio Pigafetta] Marina Militare website
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{{Navigatori class destroyer}}
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Category:Navigatori-class destroyers
Category:World War II destroyers of Italy
Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944
Category:Naval ships of Italy captured by Germany during World War II
Category:Destroyers of the Kriegsmarine
Category:World War II destroyers of Germany