RN Gabbiano (C 11), was the first corvette of the Gabbiano class of the same name, completed and entered into service on 3 October 1942, it would see a long operational history from World War II until the post-war period, after several exercises and crew training, held in La Spezia, assigned to the 1st Squadriglia Corvette, based in Trapani
It was relocated to the Sicilian port, beginning immediately on 5 January 1943, her wartime activity, escorting several Italian and German convoys on the Trapani-Tunis route, was only the beginning of her long operational history of these missions, during the convoy escorts she was often attacked by enemy aircraft, one of the most serious damages caused by the bombing in Palermo on 1 March 1943, rendered the RN Gabbiano (C 11) incapacitated and put under repair in Messina from 5 March until 13 April.
Before the armistice, the RN Gabbiano (C 11) carried out 102 missions of which 18 were anti-submarine hunts and 22 escorts to convoys or isolated merchantmen, she was also the corvette that travelled the most miles in the war, that is 14384 miles, and did the most hours of motion, that is 1548, used the anti-submarine armament on two occasions in 1943, on 17 February 1943 escorting a convoy departing from Trapani, without a controlled outcome, while during the escort of 24 April 1943 near Milazzo I led to the sinking of the British submarine HMS Sahib.
HMS Sahib had already sunk with a torpedo the steamer RN Galiola, which was being escorted by the corvette RN Gabbiano (C 11) and the torpedo boats RN Climene, RN Angelo Bassini and RN Euterpe, again the British submarine tried to destroy the RN Gabbiano (C 11) but failed the feat and was destroyed by depth charges that made HMS Sahib go to the surface and then be shot down by the gun of the RN Gabbiano (C 11), Also in 1943 she helped the allied ships, doing salvage, escort and rescue missions in different parts of Italy until the armistice where from September 1943 until April 1945, the RN Gabbiano (C 11) escorted convoys and allied steamships in Mediterranean waters, going to the ports of free Italy, Malta, Bizerte and Algiers.
After the war - Gabbiano (F-571)
After the cessation of hostilities on 8 May 1945, the corvette Gabbiano was in the port of Naples, immediately after the war she carried out transports of people and materials between the South and the North of Italy to make up for the lack of land communications, she spent much time in the Taranto Arsenal in 1947 for major maintenance, the corvette now renamed Gabbiano F-571 was part of the 1st Group of units assigned to the Command School in 1948, after Italy entered into NATO she participated, as Head of the Flotilla School, in some combined exercises of the Atlantic Alliance.
He was a member of the 4th Squadriglia Corvette dependent on the 3rd Naval Division; then, from September 1950, of the 1st Squadriglia Corvette and, from October 1950, of the 3rd Squadron; subsequently transferred to the 1st Naval Division, he was taken over as Squadron Leader of the 2nd, 1st and 4th Squadrons of the Command School Flotilla, then in October 1961 returned to the 3rd Naval Division, again as Squadron Leader of the Command School Flotilla.
Destiny
In 1951 at the Arsenal of La Spezia from 1 January until December and in the same year from 1 December 1954 to 26 May 1955.
When the first units of the Albatros-class entered service in 1955, and then in 1966, with the assignment to the school of the first corvette of the De Cristofaro-class, units that were more modern, faster and with much superior equipment than the corvettes of old, and the old corvettes were progressively replaced, the corvette Gabbiano F-571 went into reserve and was then later dismasted on 1 November 1971, by Decree of the President of the Republic of 14 January 1972.
