Italian destroyer Leone Pancaldo
Leone Pancaldo was one of twelve s built for the (Royal Italian Navy) between the late 1920s. Shortly after Italy's entry into World War II in June 1940, she was sunk by British torpedo bombers in Augusta, Sicily, but was later refloated and repaired. She was briefly used in fast troop transport missions to Tunisia until her second and final sinking by Allied aircraft in April 1943. Design and description. The Navigatori-class destroyers were designed to counter the large French destroyers of the and es. They had an overall length of , a beam of  and a mean draft of . They displaced at standard load, and at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 222–225 officers and enlisted men. The "Navigatori"s were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by four Odero water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce and a speed of in service, although the ships reached speeds of during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at a speed of . Their main battery consisted of six guns in three twin-gun turrets , one each fore and aft of the superstructure and the third amidships. Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Navigatori-class ships was provided by a pair of AA guns in single mounts abreast the forward funnel and a pair of twin-gun mounts for machine guns. They were equipped with six torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. The Navigatoris could carry 86–104 mines. Construction and career. "Leone Pancaldo" was laid down by Cantieri Navali Riuniti at their shipyard in Riva Trigoso on 7 July 1927, launched on 5 February 1929 and completed on 30 November 1929. Between May and  September 1930 she underwent modification work aimed at improving stability and seaworthiness. During the 1930s, "Pancaldo" largely operated with the Italian fleet, participating in exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. Between December 1930 and January 1931 she and seven sisterships were deployed in the Atlantic Ocean in support of Italo Balbo's transatlantic flight from Italy to Brazil. Between 1936 and 1938, "Pancaldo" also participated in the Spanish Civil War, that saw heavy Italian naval involvement in support of Francisco Franco's forces. Originally classified as an "esploratore" (flotilla leader/scout cruiser), "Pancaldo" was re-rated as a destroyer in 1938 . After being briefly used for training in Pola, between 1939 and January 1940 she underwent further modification work to her bow in the Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia. World War II. When Italy entered World War II, on 10 June 1940, "Pancaldo" was part of the 14th Destroyer Division, together with sisterships , and . On 9 July 1940 "Pancaldo", together with "Vivaldi" and "da Noli" (the latter was however forced to go back before the start of the battle by an engine breakdown), took part in the Battle of Calabria. After the battle was over, "Pancaldo" and most of the fleet  reached Augusta, Sicily, where they refuelled; they were spotted there by a British reconnaissance plane, and on the following day Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier "Eagle" attacked Augusta with the aim of striking the Italian fleet during its stop there. Radio intercepts, however, had alerted the Italian commands of the danger, and most of the fleet was transferred to other bases; only "Pancaldo" and "Vivaldi", that had not yet completed refuelling, were left in the harbour when the Swordfish attacked. Both destroyers opened fire with their anti-aircraft guns, but one of the torpedoes dropped by the  planes hit "Pancaldo", causing her to sink in a few minutes on a 30-meter bottom, with the loss of sixteen men. Inspection of the wreck by divers revealed that the hull was not irreparably damaged, and a decision was made to raise the ship and repair her. To lighten the ship before the salvage, many parts were removed, including her artillery and torpedo tubes; on 26 July 1941, a year after her sinking, "Pancaldo" was brought to the surface, and on 1 August she entered drydock. After provisional repairs that enabled her to withstand a voyage at sea, on  27 October 1941 "Pancaldo" left Augusta heading for Genoa, where she underwent extensive reconstruction work in the Ansaldo shipyard, lasting till 17 November 1942. She was also fitted with a Gufo radar, and re-entered service on 12 December 1942, nearly two and a half years after her sinking. "Pancaldo" was assigned to the 15th Destroyer Division, based in Trapani, but she only became fully operational in March 1943. For a month she was used in fast troop transport missions to Tunisia, in company with other destroyers. On 29 April 1943 "Pancaldo" sailed from Pozzuoli for one such mission, together  with German destroyer "ZG3 Hermes"; the two ships were carrying 247 and 215 German soldiers, respectively. During the trip, the destroyers were repeatedly attacked by Allied aircraft; after fending off the first two attacks, "Pancaldo" succumbed at about 12:30 to another attack by 50 USAAF Curtiss P-40s, and sank off Cape Bon. Of the 527 troops and crew aboard, 199 perished, mostly Italian crew members. Her commanding officer, Commander Tommaso Ferreri Caputi, was seriously wounded but survived. "Hermes" was seriously damaged in the same attack, but managed to reach Tunis.