The Gabbiano class corvettes were a group of 59 vessels built for the Regia Marina

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 for service during the Second World War. They were built to a war-time design and intended for anti-submarine and escort duties.

Design

The Gabbiano's were designed to be built quickly and in large numbers and began to enter service in May 1942.
These ships were equipped with electric 'creep' motors with an endurance of 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) at 6 knots (11.8 km/h) for silent running

Silent running (submarine)

Silent running is a stealth mode of operation for naval submarines. The aim is to evade discovery by passive sonar by eliminating superfluous noise: nonessential systems are shut down, the crew is urged to rest and refrain from making any unnecessary sound, and speed is greatly reduced to minimize...

 while engaged in anti-submarine searches,
but the Regia Marina did not consider removing features such as torpedo tubes from its escort ships to reduce topweight or allow more anti-submarine weapon

Anti-submarine weapon

An anti-submarine weapon is any one of a range of devices that are intended to act against a submarine, and its crew, to destroy the vessel or to destroy or reduce its capability as a weapon of war...

s to be carried.

Overall they were successful in their role, with good qualities for operation in the Mediterranean. The ships were fitted with sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 and hydrophone

Hydrophone

A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change...

s.

Service

Sixty vessels were ordered and twenty nine completed by September 1943. Many of these vessels were seized by the Germans

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 after the Italian surrender in 1943, and operated under new names until the end of the war. The Germans completed twenty ships under construction. Fourteen ships survived the war and were operated by the postwar Marina Militare

Marina Militare

The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...

 as patrol vessels until 1972.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Launched	Operational History
Alce	OTO, Livorno Livorno Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...	27 May 1942	Completed as Uj6084
Antilope	OTO, Livorno	9 May 1942	German Uj6082
Ape	Navalmeccanica	22 November 1942
Ardea	Ansaldo Gio. Ansaldo & C. Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:... , Genoa Genoa Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....	-	Uj2225 not completed
Artimede	CRDA Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico was an Italian manufacturer in the sea and air industry which was active from 1930 to 1966. This shipyard is now owned by Fincantieri.... , Monfalcone Monfalcone Monfalcone is a town and comune of the province of Gorizia , located on the coast of the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means "Mount of Falcon" in Italian....	9 August 1942	German Uj2226
Baionetta Italian corvette Baionetta (F578) Baionetta was a Gabbiano-class corvette of the Regia Marina. She served during World War II.On 9 September 1943, a day after the Italian armistice, Baionetta transported King Victor Emmanuel III and General Pietro Badoglio, together with their respective entourages and general staff officers, from...	Breda	5 October 1942
Berenice	CRDA, Monfalcone	20 May 1943	Sunk, 9 Sept 1943
Bombarda	Breda	31 August 1942	Completed as Uj206
Calabrone	Navalmeccanica	27 June 1943	German not re-named
Camoscio	OTO, Livorno	9 May 1942	German Uj6081
Capriolo	OTO, Livorno	5 December 1942	Completed as Uj6083
Carabina	Breda	31 August 1943	Completed as Uj207
Cavalletta	Navalmeccanica	3 December 1942	German broken up
Cervo	OTO, Livorno	-	Uj6086 not completed
Chimera	CRDA Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico was an Italian manufacturer in the sea and air industry which was active from 1930 to 1966. This shipyard is now owned by Fincantieri.... , Trieste Trieste Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...	30 January 1943
Cicala	Navalmeccanica	27 June 1943	German not re-named
Clava	Breda	-	German broken up
Cicogna	Ansaldo, Genoa	12 October 1942	Bombed 24 July 1943 scuttled
Cocciniglia	Navalmeccanica	-
Columbrina	Breda	7 December 1942	Completed as Uj205
Cormorano	Cerusa	20 September 1942
Crisalide	Navalmeccanica		>-	Danaide	CRDA, Trieste	21 October 1942
Daino	OTO, Livorno	-	Uj6087 not completed
Driade	CRDA, Trieste	7 October 1942
Egeria	CRDA, Monfalcone	-	Scuttled Sept 1943
Euridice	CRDA, Monfalcone		Uj204 not completed
Euterpe	CRDA, Monfalcone	22 October 1942	Scuttled Sept 1943
Farfalla	Navalmeccanica
Fenice	CRDA, Trieste	1 March 1943
Flora	CRDA, Trieste	1 December 1942
Folaga	Ansaldo, Genoa	14 November 1942
Gabbiano	Cerusa	23 June 1942
Gazzella	OTO, Livorno	9 May 1942
Grillo	Navalmeccanica	21 March 1943	German not re-named
Gru	Ansaldo, Genoa	23 December 1942
Ibis	Ansaldo, Genoa	12 December 1942
Libellula	Navalmeccanica	-	German broken up
Lucciola	Navalmeccanica	21 March 1943
Marangone	Ansaldo, Genoa	16 September 1943	Completed as Uj2223
Maggiolino	Navalmeccanica	-
Melpomene	CRDA, Monfalcone	29 August 1943	Completed as Uj202
Minerva	CRDA, Monfalcone	5 November 1942
Persephone	CRDA, Monfalcone	21 September 1942	Scuttled Sept 1943
Pomona	CRDA, Trieste	18 November 1942
Procellaria	Cerusa	4 September 1942
Renna	OTO, Livorno	5 December 1942	Completed as Uj6085
Scure	Breda	-	Uj209 not completed
Scimitarra	Breda	16 September 1942
Sfinge	CRDA, Trieste	9 January 1943
Sibilla	CRDA, Trieste	10 March 1943
Spingarda	Breda	22 March 1943	Completed as Uj208
Stambecco	OTO, Livorno	-	Uj6088 not completed
Strolaga	Ansaldo, Genoa	-	Uj2224 not completed
Tuffetto	Ansaldo, Genoa	25 August 1943	Completed as Uj2222
Tersicore	CRDA, Monfalcone		Uj203 not completed
Urania	CRDA, Monfalcone	21 April 1943
Vespa	Navalmeccanica	22 Nov 1942	German Uj2221
Zagaglia	Breda	-