Italian destroyer Augusto Riboty
| Company type | Scout cruiser, later reclassified as destroyer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Naval military vessel |
| Founded | May 5, 1917 (commissioned) |
| Founder | Gio. Ansaldo & C. (builder) |
| Defunct | 1951 |
| Fate | Dismantled |
| Headquarters | Sestri Ponente , Kingdom of Italy |
Area served | Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea |
Key people | Contrammiraglio Guido Biscaretti di Ruffia (commander in WWI), Capitano di navio Giuseppe Cantù, Capitano di navio Umberto Bucci |
| Products | Naval warship (scout cruiser/destroyer) |
| Owner | Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) |
Number of employees | 8 officers and 161 enlisted personnel (crew) |
| Hide header= | Header caption=(original configuration) | Ship class=Mirabello-class destroyer | Ship displacement=*1,784 t (1,756 long tons) (standard)
|
Ship length= 103.75 m (340 ft 5 in) | Ship beam= 9.74 m (31 ft 11 in) | Ship draught= 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) | Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines | Ship power=*4 Yarrow boilers | Ship speed= 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) | Ship range= 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at [convert: invalid number] | Ship complement=8 officers and 161 enlisted personnel | Ship armament=*1 × single mined at 152 mm/40 Modello 1891 gun
|
Augusto Riboty was one of a trio of Mirabello-class scout cruiser vessels constructed for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) during the First World War. Commissioned in 1917, she remained active until 1950, engaging in the Adriatic Campaign of World War I. In the postwar period, she was stationed at Split during local disturbances between 1918 and 1920. In 1938, she was reclassified as a destroyer. Throughout the Second World War, Augusto Riboty was Italy’s most operational destroyer, serving first with the Axis powers from 1940 until Italy’s armistice in 1943, then joining the Allied forces as part of the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy until 1945. The ship was dismantled in 1951.
Design and description
Conceived as enlarged destroyers, these vessels were classified as scout cruisers (esploratori). Their overall length measured 103.75 meters (340 ft 5 in), with a beam spanning 9.74 meters (31 ft 11 in), and an average draft of 3.3 meters (10 ft 10 in). At standard displacement, they weighed 1,784 tonnes (1,756 long tons), increasing to 2,040 tonnes (2,010 long tons) when fully loaded. The crew complement consisted of eight officers and 161 enlisted sailors.
Propulsion was provided by two geared steam turbines manufactured by Parsons, each connected to a single propeller shaft and powered by steam from four Yarrow boilers. These turbines delivered a combined output of 44,000 shaft horsepower (33,000 kW), enabling a top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph); during trials, Augusto Riboty recorded a peak speed of 35.03 knots (64.88 km/h; 40.31 mph) powered by 38,962 shp (29,054 kW). Fuel capacity allowed for a range of approximately 2,300 nautical miles (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) cruising at [convert: invalid number].
The main artillery armament featured one forward-mounted Cannone da 152 mm/40 Modello 1891 gun positioned ahead of the superstructure. Supplementary firepower included seven Cannone da 102 mm/35 S Modello 1914 guns installed singly with protective shields—one located aft of the superstructure and six arranged along the midships broadside. For anti-aircraft defense, two single-mounted Cannone da 76 mm/40 Modello 1916 guns were installed. Offensive capabilities were further enhanced by four torpedo tubes arranged in two twin mounts placed on each broadside. Unlike her sister ships which carried up to one hundred mines, Augusto Riboty had the capacity to deploy up to one hundred twenty naval mines.
Alterations
The original gun was deemed excessively heavy for the vessels and suffered from a slow rate of fire, leading to its replacement during the ships' rearmament. They were equipped with eight Cannone da 102/45 S, A Modello 1917 guns, arranged as single mounts positioned both fore and aft of the superstructure, with additional guns on each broadside. Between 1920 and 1922, the 76 mm artillery pieces were substituted by two Cannone da 40 mm (1.6 in)/39 anti-aircraft guns, each installed in single mounts.
Construction and commissioning
Augusto Riboty was constructed by Gio. Ansaldo & C. at their Sestri Ponente shipyard in the Kingdom of Italy, with her keel laid on 27 February 1915. The vessel was launched on 24 September 1916 and subsequently completed and commissioned as a scout cruiser on 5 May 1917.
World War I
Based at Brindisi, Italy, Augusto Riboty conducted operations within the Adriatic Sea throughout World War I, actively participating in the Adriatic campaign. On 16 July 1917, she departed alongside her sister ship Carlo Alberto Racchia to provide distant cover for an aerial bombing raid targeting Durrës (referred to by Italians as Durazzo) along the coast of the Principality of Albania. The assault involved eighteen aircraft launched from Brindisi and Vlorë (known to Italians as Valona) in Albania.
On 10 March 1918, the destroyer Antonio Mosto, towing the motor torpedo boat MAS 100, and the destroyer Ippolito Nievo, towing MAS 99, set out for a raid against Portorož (known as Portorose by Italians) on the coast of Austria-Hungary. This mission was supported by Augusto Riboty, which served as flagship for the operation's commander, Contrammiraglio (Counter Admiral) Guido Biscaretti di Ruffia. Additional support came from her sister ship Carlo Mirabello, scout cruisers Alessandro Poerio and Cesare Rossarol, destroyers Giacinto Carini and Pilade Bronzetti, along with a French Navy destroyer squadron led by Casque. Although Antonio Mosto, Ippolito Nievo, MAS 99, and MAS 100 reached the vicinity of Portorož, unfavorable weather conditions forced postponement of the operation. Attempts to proceed on both 16 March and again on 8 April were similarly halted due to bad weather or reconnaissance revealing an empty port.
At 18:10 on 12 May 1918, Pilade Bronzetti, towing MAS 99, and Ippolito Nievo, towing MAS 100, departed Brindisi alongside Augusto Riboty and Carlo Mirabello for an assault on the roadstead at Durrës. By 23:00, both motor torpedo boats released their tow lines approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) from Durrës before entering the harbor. At around 02:30 on 13 May, MAS 99 launched a torpedo attack against the steamer Bregenz, which sank shortly thereafter with a loss of 234 lives. This attack provoked a strong Austro-Hungarian response; nevertheless, all Italian vessels returned safely to Brindisi.
By late October 1918, Austria-Hungary had effectively collapsed. The Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed on 3 November and effective from 4 November, ended hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Allies of World War I. On that same day, departing Brindisi, Augusto Riboty arrived at the island of Lastovo (referred to by Italians as Lagosta) at 14:00 to formally take possession on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy. The war concluded a week later with the armistice signed between the Allies and the German Empire on 11 November. Throughout her wartime service, Augusto Riboty participated in a total of fifty-two operations.
Interwar period
On 27 December 1918, Augusto Riboty was deployed to Split (referred to as Spalato by Italians) along the Dalmatian coastline, where clashes had erupted between Italians and Slavs during the period of unrest. While stationed in Split, she received directives from the Italian military governor of Dalmatia, Ammiraglio (Admiral) Enrico Millo, to distribute food and aid freely to the local population—particularly focusing on supporting and safeguarding the Italian community—and to record the prevailing ethnic tensions and violence between Italians and Slavs in central Dalmatia. Her arrival provoked displeasure among officials of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), who demonstrated in protest as she docked at the pier. Throughout her deployment in Split, tensions remained high as Italian forces gradually occupied areas in Dalmatia promised to Italy by the Treaty of London, with the border near Split, although the city itself was not included in the treaty's provisions. Italian consul Marcello Roddolo, aboard Augusto Riboty, noted that "Our forces, advancing towards the post-armistice borders promised to Italy and thus nearing Split, lead the Yugoslavs to believe that an occupation of that city is imminent—a move that Serbian units would likely resist militarily." Following relief by the protected cruiser Puglia, Augusto Riboty departed Split on 12 January 1919, thereby avoiding the peak of violence which persisted until 1920.
During the 1920s, Augusto Riboty underwent armament upgrades, including replacing her original 152/40 mm gun with a 102/35 Mod. 1914 piece. Additionally, she was equipped with two Vickers-Armstrong QF 2-pounder 40 mm automatic cannons, new hydrophones, and depth charge apparatus. Between 17 May and 2 November 1923, command was held by Capitano di navio (Ship-of-the-Line Captain) Giuseppe Cantù, who would later become an ammiraglio di squadra (squadron admiral). Subsequently, from 4 November 1923 until 21 February 1925, command passed to Capitano di navio Umberto Bucci.
In 1938, Augusto Riboty was reclassified as a destroyer. Due to increasing obsolescence—her top speed had diminished to approximately 27 knots and she lacked a modern fire-control system—the Regia Marina planned for her decommissioning by 1940.
Fascist Italy (1940–1943)
The conflict of World War II commenced in September 1939 following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Fascist Italy entered the war aligned with the Axis powers by launching its invasion of France on 10 June 1940. During this period, Augusto Riboty was stationed at Brindisi alongside Carlo Mirabello within the destroyer division assigned there. The outbreak of hostilities led the Regia Marina to maintain Augusto Riboty in active service. Throughout the Adriatic campaign and the extensive Battle of the Mediterranean, she primarily fulfilled escort missions along maritime routes in the southern Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, safeguarding convoys traveling between Italy, the Italian protectorate of Albania, and the Kingdom of Greece. Additionally, operations extended into the Strait of Sicily within the central Mediterranean Sea.
While moored at Brindisi under wartime blackout conditions on 27 September 1940, Augusto Riboty collided with the destroyer Nicolò Zeno.
On 5 October 1940, departing from Durrës, Augusto Riboty escorted the steamers SS Carnia and SS Olimpia. During this mission, the British submarine HMS Triton launched a torpedo attack on Olimpia in the Adriatic Sea at coordinates Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found., inflicting damage on the vessel.
Later that month, both Augusto Riboty and Carlo Mirabello were temporarily assigned to the Forza Navale Speciale (Special Naval Force), which was responsible for occupying Corfu. Commanded by Ammiraglio di squadra (Squadron Admiral) Vittorio Tur, this force included light cruisers Bari (Tur's flagship) and Taranto, torpedo boats such as Altair, Andromeda, Angelo Bassini, Antares, Aretusa, Giacomo Medici, and Nicola Fabrizi, accompanied by tankers Garigliano, Sesia, and Tirso. The plan entailed landing elements of the Royal Army's 47th Infantry Division "Bari" along with a battalion from the Regia Marina′s Regiment "San Marco" on Corfu on 28 October 1940—the same day Italy initiated its invasion of Greece, marking the start of the Greco–Italian War. However, adverse weather conditions postponed this amphibious landing multiple times—from 30 October to 31 October and then to 2 November—before ultimately being cancelled due to Italy's unsatisfactory military performance on the Greek front. Consequently, the 47th Infantry Division "Bari" was redeployed to operations in Epirus, while merchant vessels proceeded to disembark troops at Vlorë (referred to as Valona by Italians) in Albania.
On 18 December 1940, amid ongoing hostilities in the Greco-Italian War, Augusto Riboty, alongside light cruisers Eugenio di Savoia and Raimondo Montecuccoli, as well as destroyers Antonio Pigafetta, Emanuele Pessagno, and Nicoloso da Recco, conducted bombardments targeting Greek positions near Corfu. Subsequently, on 1 March 1941, she and Andromeda engaged in further shelling of Greek coastal defenses.
Throughout convoy escort missions in 1941, Augusto Riboty encountered enemy submarines on three separate occasions: 18 July in the Adriatic Sea, 5 August near Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea, and 25 October off Patras.
In 1942, a modernization program saw two of her 102 millimetres (4.0 in) guns removed and replaced with a 40-millimetre automatic cannon. A subsequent refit in 1943 further altered her armament: reducing her 102 millimetres (4.0 in) guns to four, substituting three 40-millimetre automatic cannons with six 20-millimetre ones, and enhancing her depth-charge storage capacity.
While escorting the fuel-laden tanker Utilitas from Taranto to Palermo on 5 February 1943, she witnessed its sinking after a torpedo strike by British submarine HMS Turbulent around 07:00 near Capo Zafferano off Palermo.
At 11:20 on 15 February 1943, under command of Tenente di vascello (Ship-of-the-line lieutenant) Nicola Ferrone, Augusto Riboty departed Palermo escorting steamers SS Alcamo, SS Chieti to Bizerta, and SS Frosinone along with torpedo boats Monsone and Sirio plus corvettes Antilope and Gabbiano. However, engine troubles forced her to turn back toward Trapani after eight hours. Despite an assault by Allied motor torpedo boats during this operation, the remainder of the convoy reached its destination without harm.
On 3 April 1943 while performing escort duties in the Gulf of Taranto, an Allied submarine launched torpedoes against her group. Although one torpedo narrowly missed Augusto Riboty, it struck and damaged the tanker Regina.
Following the Kingdom of Italy's announcement of an armistice with the Allied forces on 8 September 1943, the nation shifted allegiance in the conflict. This development triggered Nazi Germany to initiate Operation Achse, aimed at forcibly disarming Italian military units and occupying regions of Italy still outside Allied control. On the morning of 12 September 1943, the destroyer Augusto Riboty departed from Taranto alongside submarines Atropo, Jalea, and Fratelli Bandiera, setting course for Malta. Arriving on 13 September, Augusto Riboty berthed at St. Paul's Bay in the afternoon and surrendered to Allied forces in line with the armistice stipulations. Subsequently, she relocated to Marsa Scirocco, Malta, where she remained moored. On 6 October 1943, she departed Malta together with torpedo boats Ariete and Orione, accompanied by six submarines and two smaller craft, heading back to Italy.
Afterward, Augusto Riboty operated under the Italian Co-belligerent Navy banner on the Allied side until the conclusion of World War II in Europe in May 1945. Her duties included escorting convoys for the U.S. Navy and facilitating the transfer of personnel and supplies to the battleships Italia and Vittorio Veneto, which were interned in the Great Bitter Lake within the Suez Canal in Egypt.
Recognized for involvement in 365 missions and having logged 70,350 nautical miles (130,288 km; 80,957 mi), Augusto Riboty earned distinction as the most actively deployed Italian destroyer throughout World War II. In recognition of her contributions during both World War I and World War II, she was awarded the Bronze Medal of Military Valor.
Post-World War II
In 1946, the Kingdom of Italy was succeeded by the Italian Republic, leading to a renaming of its naval forces from Regia Marina (Royal Navy) to Marina Militare (or "Military Navy"). According to the provisions set forth in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on 10 February 1947, Augusto Riboty was slated for transfer to the Soviet Union. However, due to her advanced age and deteriorated condition, she was declined by the Soviet Navy. Consequently, she remained with the Marina Militare, which repurposed her as a pontoon stationed at Taranto. The vessel was officially decommissioned in February 1950, removed from naval records on 1 May 1950, and ultimately dismantled in 1951.
Distinctions and Recognitions
File:Valor militare bronze medal BAR.svg Bronze Medal of Military Valor
References
Sources
- Brescia, Maurizio. Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2012. ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
- Dodson, Aidan, and Serena Cant. Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after Two World Wars. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, 2020. ISBN 978-1-5267-4198-1.
- Favre, Franco. La Marina nella Grande Guerra. Le operazioni navali, aeree, subacquee e terrestri in Adriatico. (Italian language).
- Fraccaroli, Aldo. Italian Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan, 1970. ISBN 0-7110-0105-7.
- Fraccaroli, Aldo. Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan, 1968. ISBN 0-7110-0002-6.
- Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
- Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books, 1980. Chapter on Italy by John Roberts, pp. 280–317. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
- Rohwer, Jürgen. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Third Revised Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J.. Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
External resources
- Augusto Riboty – Official page on the Marina Militare website
- Photograph of Augusto Riboty from 1942 at Italian Wikipedia
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