Italian aviso Diana

History
Kingdom of Italy
Name	Diana
Builder	Cantieri Navali del Quarnaro, Fiume
Laid down	31 May 1939
Launched	20 May 1940
Completed	12 November 1940
Fate	Sunk by HMS Thrasher, 29 June 1942
General characteristics
Type	Fast aviso
Displacement	1,764 t (1,736 long tons) standard; 2,591 t (2,550 long tons) full load;
Length	113.9 m (373 ft 8 in) o.a.; 108.75 m (356 ft 9 in) p.p.;
Beam	11.70 m (38 ft 5 in)
Draught	3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)
Installed power	4 × three-drum boilers, 2 × geared turbines; 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts
Speed	32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
Armament	2 × 102 mm (4.0 in) 102/35 guns; 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Breda 20/65 mod. 35 AA guns;

Diana was a fast aviso (Template:Lang-it)^[3] or sloop of the Italian Regia Marina which served during the Second World War. Originally designed as a yacht and despatch vessel for the Italian Head of Government, she was converted for military use.^[1]^[2]

Diana was laid down on 31 May 1939 at the Cantieri Navali del Quarnaro in Fiume, launched on 20 May 1940 and completed on 12 November 1940.^[1] The planned main armament consisted of two 90/50 guns, modern anti-aircraft weapons used on the latest Italian battleships, but eventually a pair of old 102/35 4-inch guns was fitted in their place.^[1] Six 20 mm Breda 20/65 mod. 35 guns completed the anti-aircraft defence.

During the war Diana was used as fast transport for valued cargo. On 29 June 1942 she was sunk by two torpedoes launched by the British submarine HMS Thrasher,^[1] with a loss of 336 lives.^[4]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Fraccaroli 1968.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.
^ "Diana—Avviso veloce". Almanacco Storico Navale on marina.difesa.it. Marina Militare. Retrieved 25 August 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
^ Cernuschi, Enrico; Brescia, Maurizio; Bagnasco, Erminio. Le navi ospedale italiane 1935–1945. p. 44.

Bibliography

Chesnau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968). Italian warships of World War 2. London: Ian Allan. p. 95.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

[FOOTNOTEFraccaroli1968-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Fraccaroli 1968.

[FOOTNOTEAll_the_World's_Fighting_Ships_1922–1946-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.

[3] "Diana—Avviso veloce". Almanacco Storico Navale on marina.difesa.it. Marina Militare. Retrieved 25 August 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)

[4] Cernuschi, Enrico; Brescia, Maurizio; Bagnasco, Erminio. Le navi ospedale italiane 1935–1945. p. 44.

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