View source for Italian destroyer Giuseppe La Farina

{{short description|Italian ''La Masa''-class destroyer}}
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|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Italy]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Italy|naval}}
|Ship name=''Giuseppe La Farina''
|Ship namesake=[[Giuseppe La Farina]] (1815–1863), Italian patriot, essayist, and politician
|Ship owner=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=''[[Cantieri navali Odero]]'', {{nowrap|[[Sestri Ponente]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]}}
|Ship laid down=29 December 1917
|Ship launched=12 March 1919
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed=18 March 1919
|Ship commissioned=19 March 1919
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]] LF
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship reclassified=[[Torpedo boat]] 1929
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
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|Ship fate=Sunk 4&nbsp;May&nbsp;1941
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header =
|Header caption =(as built)
|Ship type = [[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement =*{{convert|785|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (standard)
*{{convert|851|LT|t|0|lk=on}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length = {{convert|72.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[Waterline length|waterline]])
|Ship beam = {{convert|7.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught = {{convert|2.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power =*{{convert|15,500|shp|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}
*maximum {{convert|17,000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion =*2 × [[Franco Tosi Meccanica|Tosi]] steam turbines
*4 × [[Three-drum boiler#Thornycroft boiler|Thornycroft boilers]]
|Ship speed = {{convert|33.6|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range = *{{convert|2,230|nmi|sigfig=3|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12.5|kn}} 
*{{convert|410|nmi|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} at {{convert|28.5|kn}}
|Ship complement = 4 [[Commissioned officer|officers]], 74 [[non-commissioned officer]]s and sailors
|Ship crew =
|Ship sensors =
|Ship EW =
|Ship armament =*4 × [[Cannon 102/45|{{Convert|102|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}/45]] guns
*2 × [[Cannon 76/40 Model 1916|{{Convert|76.2|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}/40]] AA
*4 × {{Convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*10 [[Naval mine|mine]]s
|Ship armour =
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'''''Giuseppe La Farina''''' was an Italian {{sclass|La Masa|destroyer}}. [[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]] into service in the Italian {{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} ("Royal Navy") in 1919, she participated in operations related to the [[Corfu incident]] in 1923. Reclassified as a [[torpedo boat]] in 1929, she took part in the [[Battle of the Mediterranean|Mediterranean campaign]] of [[World War II]] until she was sunk in 1941.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Giuseppe La Farina'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] at the {{lang|it|[[Cantieri navali Odero]]}} ({{langx|en|Odero [[Shipyard]]}}) in [[Sestri Ponente]], [[Italy]], on 29&nbsp;December&nbsp;1917. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 12&nbsp;March&nbsp;1919 and completed on 18&nbsp;March&nbsp;1919.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|1985|pp=252, 290}} She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 19&nbsp;March&nbsp;1919.

==Service history==
===1919–1940===

During the [[Corfu incident]] between Italy and the [[Kingdom of Greece]], a force composed of ''Giuseppe La Farina'', the [[battleship]]s {{ship|Italian battleship|Conte di Cavour||2}} and {{ship|Italian battleship|Giulio Cesare||2}}, the [[armored cruiser]]s {{ship|Italian cruiser|San Giorgio||2}} and {{ship|Italian cruiser|San Marco||2}}, the destroyers {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Generale Antonio Cascino||2}}}}, {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Generale Carlo Montanari||2}}}}, {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Giacinto Carini||2}},}} and {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Giacomo Medici||2}},}} the torpedo boat {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Premuda||2}}, the coastal torpedo boats {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian torpedo boat|50 OS||2}}}} and {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian torpedo boat|53 AS||2}},}} the [[motor torpedo boat]]s ''[[MAS (motorboat)|MAS]]&nbsp;401'', ''MAS&nbsp;404'', ''MAS&nbsp;406'', and ''MAS&nbsp;408'', and the [[submarine]]s {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian submarine|Agostino Barbarigo||2}}}} and {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian submarine|Andrea Provana|1915|2}}}} departed [[Taranto]], Italy, on the evening of 30&nbsp;August&nbsp;1923 bound for [[Corfu]] with orders to occupy the island. The Italian ships arrived off Corfu on 31&nbsp;August and communicated to the Greek governor of the island the conditions of surrender, which required lowering of the [[Flag of Greece|Greek flag]] and raising the [[Flag of Italy|Italian flag]] over the island, disarming all Greek soldiers and ''[[gendarme]]s'', ceasing all communications, and ceding control of all activities on the island to Italian authorities. Not receiving a satisfactory answer to these damands, the Italian ships opened fire at 16:00, bombarding the Old Fortress and the New Fortress for 15 minutes. Refugees had taken shelter there, and the Italian bombardment killed 10 of them and injured several others. The Greek governor then surrendered and the Italian expeditionary force — made up of sailors from the Italian ships, the Italian [[Royal Italian Army|Royal Army']]s 48th Infantry [[Regiment]] "Ferrara" (equipped with a [[Artillery battery|battery]] of eight 75 mm guns), and an infantry [[brigade]] of 5,000 men — landed on Corfu. Most of the ships then returned to Taranto, but ''Giuseppe La Farina'' and the other four destroyers as well as one of the armored cruisers, the submarines, and the MAS boats remained at Corfu. Once Italy and Greece resolved their disagreement, the rest of the Italian ships and the expeditionary force on the island left Corfu between 24&nbsp;and 29&nbsp;September&nbsp;1923.<ref>[http://www.danieleranocchia.it/naval_history/storia19_38.htm Il Periodo tra le Due Guerre Mondiali<!-- Title generated automatically -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311153046/http://www.danieleranocchia.it/naval_history/storia19_38.htm |date=11 March 2012 }} (in Italian).</ref>

In 1929, ''Giuseppe La Farina'' and her [[sister ship]]s {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Angelo Bassini||2}},}} {{nowrap|''Giacinto Carini''}},  and {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Nicola Fabrizi||2}}}} formed the 5th [[Destroyer squadron|Destroyer Squadron]], which together with the five-ship 6th Destroyer Squadron and the scout cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Carlo Mirabello||2}} constituted the 3rd [[Flotilla]] of the 2nd Torpedo Boat [[Division (naval)|Division]], a component of the 2nd [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]], based at Taranto.<ref>[http://www.collezione-online.it/domenica_corriere_21_1922_conegna%20bandiere.htm Collezione Online - La Domenica del Corriere] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831202324/http://www.collezione-online.it/domenica_corriere_21_1922_conegna%20bandiere.htm |data=31 August 2011 |language=it}}</ref> ''Giuseppe&nbsp;La&nbsp;Farina'' was reclassified as a torpedo boat in 1929.<ref name="Marina Militare">[http://www.marina.difesa.it/storiacultura/storia/almanacco/Pagine/LMNO/lafarina.aspx Marina Militare<!-- Title generated automatically -->] (in Italian).</ref>

===World War II===
[[World War II]] broke out in September 1939 with [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[invasion of Poland]]. [[Fascist Italy]] joined the war on the side of the [[Axis powers]] with its [[Italian invasion of France|invasion of France]] on 10&nbsp;June&nbsp;1940. At the time, ''Giuseppe&nbsp;La&nbsp;Farina'' was part of the 5th Torpedo Boat Squadron, along with the torpedo boats {{ship|Italian submarine chaser|Albatros||2}}, {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Giuseppe Cesare Abba||2}},}} ''[[Italian destroyer Pilade Bronzetti|Giuseppe&nbsp;Dezza]]'',  and {{nowrap|{{ship|Italian destroyer|Simone Schiaffino||2}}.}} During the war, she mainly served as an escort on the shipping routes between Italy and [[Italian Libya|Libya]].<ref name="trentoincina">[http://www.trentoincina.it/dbunita2.php?short_name=La%20Farina Trentoincina<!-- Title generated automatically -->] (in Italian).</ref> On 2&nbsp;November&nbsp;1940 she got underway from [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], Libya, escorting the [[Steamship|steamers]] {{SS|Pallade||2}} and {{SS|Snia Amba||2}}. During the voyage, the British [[submarine]] {{HMS|Tetrarch|N77|6}} [[torpedo]]ed and damaged ''Snia Amba'' off [[Benghazi]], Libya, on 4&nbsp;November&nbsp;1940.<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4011-24NOV01.htm FAA Attack on Taranto, November 1940<!-- Title generated automatically -->].</ref> 

Between late 1940 and early 1941 ''Giuseppe La Farina'' underwent a revision of her armament which saw the removal of two {{convert|102|mm|0|adj=on}} guns and two [[torpedo tube]]s and the replacement of her {{convert|76|mm|0|adj=on}} guns with six 20-millimetre [[autocannon]]s.<ref name="Marina Militare"/> On 18&nbsp;April&nbsp;1941 she departed [[Palermo]], [[Sicily]], with the torpedo boats {{ship|Italian destroyer|Antonio Mosto||2}} and {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Calliope|1938|2}} to escort a [[convoy]] initially composed of the steamers {{SS|Isarco||2}}, {{SS|Maddalena Odero||2}}, and {{SS|Nicolò Odero||2}} to Tripoli. During the voyage, the [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]] {{SS|Alberto Fassio||2}} and {{SS|Luisiano||2}} and torpedo boats {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Climene|1936|2}} and {{ship|Italian torpedo boat|Orione|1937|2}} joined the convoy, which reached Tripoli on 21&nbsp;April&nbsp;1941.<ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4104-31APR02.htm Battle for Greece, Action off Sfax, April 1941<!-- Title generated automatically -->]</ref>

On 3&nbsp;May&nbsp;1941, ''Giuseppe La Farina'' got underway from Tripoli to escort ''Luisiano'' to [[Trapani]], Sicily. At 05:30 on 4&nbsp;May she struck a [[Naval mine|mine]] off [[French Tunisia|Tunisia]] near the [[Kerkennah Islands|Kerkennah]] shallows.<ref name="trentoincina"/><ref>[http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY01.htm Capture of U.110 and German Enigma, May 1941<!-- Title generated automatically -->]</ref> The explosion broke her in two at her central [[Funnel (ship)|funnel]], and she sank in less than two minutes at {{coord|34|35|N|011|50|E|name=''Giuseppe La Farina''}} with the loss of 61 of her 128 crew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4105-32MAY01.htm |title=Naval Events, May 1941, Part 1 of 2, Thursday 1st – Wednesday 14th |publisher=Naval History |access-date=10 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://conlapelleappesaaunchiodo.blogspot.com/2014/02/cronologia-delle-perdite_14.html |title=Chronicle of Italian losses |publisher=conlapelleappesaaunchiodo.blogspot.co|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://conlapelleappesaaunchiodo.blogspot.com/2014/01/giuseppe-la-farina.html |title=Giuseppe la Farina |publisher=conlapelleappesaaunchiodo.blogspot.co|access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref> In all, she had conducted 35 escort missions and 12 [[Antisubmarine warfare|antisubmarine]] patrols during the war.

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|title=Italian Warships of World War 1|year=1970|publisher=Ian Allan|location=London|isbn=0-7110-0105-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|chapter=Italy|pages=252–290|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-0-87021-907-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M.J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |year=2000|publisher=Cassell & Co|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8}}
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==External links==-->

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{{La Masa class destroyer}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Giuseppe La Farina}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Italian destroyer ''Giuseppe La Farina''}}
[[Category:La Masa-class destroyers| ]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Cantieri navali Odero]]
[[Category:Destroyers of the Regia Marina]]
[[Category:World War II torpedo boats of Italy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1941]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]