By Vincenzo Giacomo Toccafondi

I recently acquired in my collection a nice picture of the destroyer Francesco Crispi. The ship took part in some successful war actions .. I will try to tell her story.

The Sella class, of which Crispi was a part, was the first group of destroyers designed after the First World War and built in the twenties. Sella, Crispi, Nicotera and Ricasoli were decent destroyers even if they complained of some engine and stability problems. Nicotera and Ricasoli were sold to the Royal Swedish Navy; Ricasoli was renamed Puke and Nicotera Psilander.

At the outbreak of the Second World War the two remaining destroyers had an intense activity behind them in the interwar years and were sent to Aegean Sea, in Rhodes, forming the IV Destroyer Squadron.

The destroyers were employed in escorting convoys and anti-submarine missions. In 1941 both ships underwent works to be able to transport the assault crafts of the X Squadriglia MAS raiders, the so-called barchini.

Up to 6 assault craft could be placed amidships with special electric cranes to be lowered into the sea. The barchini were very special boats built in the famous Baglietto shipyards of Varazze. With a tapered hull and a powerful Alfa Romeo engine the craft were able to carry 300 kilograms of high explosive set up to explode after impact at a depth of 4 meters. The pilots who led the assault craft, having reached the target, fixed the rudder and left the boat after having released the seat that served as a float to avoid the powerful underwater shock wave.

The two destroyers had been chosen for the final approach of the barchini to Souda bay in Crete, a well-equipped British base and target of the X MAS raiders. A couple of times the mission was postponed as aerial reconnaissance had not sighted enough targets.

On 25 February 1941 the British troops carried out the Operation Abstention: the occupation of Kastelorizo (Castelrosso)*, the Italian garrison before surrendering managed to send a radio alarm message. Two destroyers the Sella (Capitano di Corvetta Arturo Redaelli) and the Crispi (Capitano di Fregata Ugo Ferruta) and two torpedo boats the Lince (Capitano di Corvetta Giorgio Giobbe) and the Lupo (Capitano di Fregata Francesco Mimbelli) were sent to Rhodes to embark troops to take back Kastelorizo. After the landing, which took place in adverse weather conditions, the Italians managed to drive away the British commandos.

After the Kastelorizo mission, the destroyers Sella and Crispi were once again assigned to X MAS operations against Souda Bay. Ships carrying 8 barchini were moved to Stampalia. On March 25, 1941, the attack mission took off. From Stampalia the small boats were transported near the Acrotiri peninsula and there they were lowered into the sea. The barchini had to travel independently about ten miles before they could reach the bay. The assault flotilla was commanded by Lieutenant Luigi Faggioni, the other raiders were: Sottotenente di Vascello Angelo Cabrini, Capo Meccanico di Seconda Classe Alessio De Vito, Capo Meccanico di Terza Classe Tullio Tedeschi, Secondo Capo Meccanico Lino Beccati and Sergente Cannoniere Emilio Barberi

The barchini reached the external line of the obstructions which they overcame also thanks to a constructive peculiarity of the small boats: the propeller shaft could be tilted laterally allowing the hull to slide over the nets without getting caught.

At dawn, after successfully passing the second and third net and boom barrier, Commander Faggioni examined the situation and divided the targets among the raiders. Cabrini and Tedeschi attacked the heavy cruiser HMS York, hitting it and knocking it out.

Barbieri launched on the 8000 ton tanker Pericles which was hit, later the ship will sink, but the British will be able to recover part of its precious cargo. Captain Faggioni, who had targeted another tanker, saw the cruiser HMS Coventry heading towards the exit of the bay and headed against it. The target was not hit as it was moving fast. All the raiders survived the attack and were captured. The X MAS mission had been a success: the cruiser HMS York was beached and later abandoned. The British Mediterranean Fleet had suffered a major blow.

On May 27, the destroyer Crispi was employed in the escort of a heterogeneous group of boats that had to transport 2500 soldiers to Crete in support of the German invasion of the island. The landing party consisted of two battalions of the Infantry Division Regina strengthen by a company of Camice Nere, one of Carabinieri and a company of Marine Infantry of the San Marco Regiment. The landing units, under the command of Colonel Ettore Caffaro, were supported by 13 L3 light tanks and a light artillery and mortars group. In addition to the Crispi, the escort was ensured by a group of torpedo boats Lince, Libra and Lira and six MAS (Motor Torpedo Boats).

The destroyer supported the landing in the bay of Sitia which took place without major incidents despite the inadequacy of the vessels employed and the poor training of the soldiers.

The Crispi carried out escort activities and was attacked several times by enemy aircraft, therefore its anti-aircraft armament was enhanced with the efficient 20 mm Breda machine guns.

On the date of the Armistice, the destroyer Crispi was in port at Piraeus and was captured by the Kriegsmarine. Her anti-aircraft armament was reinforced with Bofors and Breda guns, was renamed  TA 15 and was attached to the 9th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. On 8 March 1944 the ship was sunken by rocket bombs near Heraklion. Brought back to the surface it was towed to Piraeus where on 12 October 1944 it was definitively sunk in the Greek port.

The performance of Regia Marina during Second World War was not up to the Regime’s propaganda but the actions of the X MAS raiders still arouse admiration.

 ^* Castelrosso island was the location of the Oscar winning movie Mediterraneo directed by Gabriele Salvatore. The film is about a group of Italian soldiers who end up on an idyllic Greek island.

Bibliography

1966. Fioravanzo – Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare: Cacciatorpediniere Italiani 1900 – 1966. Roma, 1966

Valerio Borghese – X Flottiglia Mas Dalle Origini All’armistizio – Garzanti

Luigi Romersa – All’ultimo quarto di luna: Le imprese dei mezzi d’assalto Copertina flessibile – Mursia

Erminio Bagnasco – I Mezzi d’Assalto Italiani 1940-1945 – Storia Militare Dossier

 

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my son Gianluca for proofreading my articles, for his valuable advice and his encouragement to publish in English.

 

Photos

1 The Regia Nave Francesco Crispi entering the port of Taranto ( Author’s collection)

2 The Destroyer Quintino Sella Crispi’s sister ship ( Author’s collection)

3 The Torpedo Boat Lince ( Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command )

4 The assault motor boat called barchino ( Courtesy Museo Barca Lariana International Museum of Vintage Boat)

5 The Torpedo Boat Libra ( Author’s collection)