Italian destroyer Dardo (1900)
dressed overall
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History | |
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Name | Dardo |
Namesake | Dart |
Builder | Elbing, Germany |
Laid down | 17 August 1899 |
Launched | 7 February 1900 |
Completed | 16 March 1901 |
Commissioned | March 1901 |
Stricken | January or March 1920 (see text) |
Fate |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam | 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in) |
Draught | 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
Range |
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Complement | 59 |
Armament |
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Dardo ("Dart") was an Italian Lampo-class destroyer. Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in 1901, she served in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I. She was stricken in 1920.
Construction and commissioning
Dardo was
Dardo and her five sister ships formed the first class of destroyers built for the Regia Marina,[2] their only predecessor, Fulmine, having been a one-off. Designed by the German Schichau-Werke shipyard, they were seaworthy, robust, fast, and reliable,[3] although they were afflicted by serious problems with seakeeping.[4]
Service history
Italo-Turkish War
Dardo participated actively in the
1913–1914
On 29 January 1913, amid high political tension between Italy and the Ottoman Empire, Dardo escorted the battleships of the 1st Division (Regina Elena, Roma, and Vittorio Emanuele) from La Spezia to Augusta, Sicily.[11] On 1 February 1913, she escorted the three battleships from Augusta to Syracuse, Sicily.[12]
In August 1914, with the Principality of Albania shaken by revolts and inter-ethnic conflicts, Italy, which aimed to occupy strategic points on the Albanian coast, sent Dardo, under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Bernotti,[13] and the torpedo cruiser Agordat to the Albanian port of Vlorë (known to the Italians as Valona), where they "showed the flag" and contributed to the protection of Albanian refugees from riots that broke out in the city.[14] On 31 October 1914, Dardo brought Contrammiraglio (Counter Admiral) Patris to the Albanian island of Sazan (known to the Italians as Saseno), and Patris took possession of the island on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy.[15]
World War I
World War I broke out in 1914, and the Kingdom of Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies with its declaration of war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915. At the time, Dardo, still under Bernotti's command, Euro, and the destroyers Lampo, Ostro, and Strale made up the 4th Destroyer Squadron, under the command of Capitano di fregata (Frigate Captain) F. Gambardella.[16] Dardo was based at Vlorë.[16] By 1915, the Lampo-class destroyers were of antiquated design and had only limited military usefulness, but during World War I, they were modified, having equipment installed to carry and lay 12 mines, drop depth charges, and tow explosive paravanes.[3] The Lampo-class ships spent the war on escort duty.[3]
At the end of 1915, Dardo collided with the Italian
Dardo continued her World War I service without taking part in any significant actions. By late October 1918, Austria-Hungary had effectively disintegrated, and the Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed on 3 November 1918, went into effect on 4 November 1918 and brought hostilities between Austria-Hungary and the Allies to an end. World War I ended a week later with an armistice between the Allies and the German Empire on 11 November 1918.
Post-World War I
Dardo was stricken from the
or March 1924. She was discarded on 18 March 1920 and subsequently was scrapped.References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Citations
- ^ "Indomito Class Destroyer (1912)". dreadnoughtproject.org/. The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ Ships (F) Archived 2011-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Marina Militare (in Italian).
- ^ Lampo destroyers (1900 - 1902) - Regia Marina (Italy)
- ^ Beehler, p. 10..
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ Beehler, p. 47..
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ La Stampa - archive (in Italian).
- ^ a b "Forum Eerste Wereldoorlog :: Bekijk onderwerp - Regia Marina Italiana, 1914-1915" (in Nepali). Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2011. (in Dutch)
- ^ Untitled Document
- ^ [http://www.betasom.it/forum/index.php?s=726a5728314dbf6e949760e2d274497f&showtopic=23309&pid=313356&st=0#entry313356 Classe Medusa (1910) - Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici (in Italian).
- ^ "Dardo (1901 - 1920)". Warships of World War II (in Czech and English). Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
Bibliography
- Beehler, W. H. (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War, September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912 (PDF). Annapolis, Maryland: William H. Beehler. (reprinted from Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute with additions)