MS-15
| This page is about the Italian motor torpedo boat MS-15. For other versions, see CRDA60t (Family). |
Contents
Description
The MS-15 is a CRDA 60t class torpedo boat, a particular class developed from the German S-Boot designs. These CRDA 60t class torpedo boats are used for various roles including torpedo boat, patrol boat, escort, anti-submarine combat. The MS-15 was launched on 2 February 1942 and with its completion and commissioning on 2 June 1942, it became part of the Regia Marina, specifically the 1st Squadron. The MS-15 was deployed for operations at military bases in North Africa in July 1942. One of the most important missions carried out by this unit was the transport of troops of the San Marco Regiment in enemy waters, as well as participating in anti-ship ambush operations. Later in 1943, MS-15 was in Monfalcone to work on the boat. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, MS-15 participated in the operations of Co-Belligerent Italy against the Germans, in fact it was sent to defend the port of Lero, but on 25 October 1943 it was bombarded by an enemy air attack while standing at the dock, the MS-15 first caught fire and later exploded.
The MS-15 was introduced with the Italian naval tech tree in Update "Starfighters". It is a torpedo boat with average performance, nothing too strong and nothing too weak, and the armament consisting of two 20 mm cannons can cause enough damage to enemy ships. The MS-15's speed and manoeuvrability is not too bad, with a maximum speed of 61 km/h that allows the MS-15 to flank enemies and ambush them with torpedoes and depth charges. Survival is somewhat good for a ship of its type.
General info
Survivability and armour
The MS-15's armour consists of 40 mm of wood in the hull and the structure is 15 mm of wood. This ship can be easily destroyed by HE belts. For the survivability, the MS-15 has a crew of 19 people, which can easily be decimated by other ships. Don't engage enemies in a head-on.
Mobility
The MS-15 is powered by three Isotta Fraschini "ASSO" engines that provides 52 km/h of speed (Upgraded 61 km/h). The turning speed and manoeuvrability are good for its BR, which helps eavade shots.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 86 | 33 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 61 | 23 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
As main armament, the MS-15 uses two 20 mm 20/65 Breda cannons, seen previously on the VAS 201 and other ships. These cannons cause little damage and is divided into magazines, every 12 shots the cannon will reload. This is a bad thing in rough seas as it will be difficult to hit the targets with the available shots before having to reload.
- Universal: API-T · HEFI-T*
- HE belt: HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · API-T
- AP belt: API-T · API-T · API-T · HEFI-T*
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEFI-T* | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| API-T | 38 | 36 | 27 | 19 | 14 | 10 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEFI-T* | 830 | 0.14 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| API-T | 832 | 0.14 | 0.001 | 1 | 1.7 | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
Additional armament
The MS-15 can at best carry the following additional armament:
- Two Torpedoes S.I.270
- Two Torpedoes W.200/450X5,75
- Twelve B TG'
The Torpedoes S.I.270 have a maximum speed of 93 km/h (81 km/h with torpedo mode), 270kg of explosive and a range of 4 Km (8 Km with torpedo mode).
The depth charges B TG have 50 Kg of Explosive, they can be used very well when you are against a better-armoured but much slower opponent.
Remember to use your torpedoes in a good time because you have only 2 and they don't have a very long range.
Usage in battles
The MS-15 is a normal fighting motor boat. Its biggest disadvantages are the small magazines for the main armament and no protection whatsoever.
It is a good rapid ship for its battle rating, the best advice is to not attack frontally or go into the mouth of the enemy. Go around them and shoot them from the side. Bring two different belts for dealing with different scenarios, one AP belt for fighting tough, armoured targets, and the on HE belt for fighting more thin-skinned ships. For dealing with larger vessels, use the torpedoes for a quick way to destroy them, although use the torpedoes only when certain they will hit or reach the target as the torpedoes have a rather limited range.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good speed (61 km/h)
- Good rotation time
- Good torpedoes
Cons:
- No armour
- The 20 mm cannons have small magazines and a slow rate of fire
- Terrible survivability (compared to other ships)
- No anti-aircraft
History
The Italian Motosiluranti (MS) are medium-sized ships, with good manoeuvrability, speed and with the property of carrying torpedoes to destroy ships, particularly large ones.
The Italian designers and admirals tried to obtain the design plans of the Lürseen motor torpedo boats, that is S-38, S-38b and S-100. They did not succeed and therefore decide to reverse-engineer the vehicles, adapting the new hulls to tested construction techniques and using three Isotta Fraschini "ASSO" engines that guaranteed a speed of not more than 32.5 knots.
In 1941, the 1st Group was created with 18 units of 62 Tons boats ordered from CRDA of Monfalcone. These boats were armed with two torpedo launchers of 533 mm, two 20 mm cannons and depth charges. The boats were numbered MS-11 in groups of 6 and every 6 units was a squadron of torpedo motorboats delivered in 1942.
In the unit formed by MS-16 and MS-22, they are well known for sinking the British light cruiser HMS Manchester during the battle in mid-August 1942
In 1942-1943, the 2nd Group was created with 18 new units, starting from MS-51 onwards. These boats were larger, armed with 2 x 533 mm and 2 x 450 mm torpedo launchers, with more depth charges and 2 x 20 mm guns.
After WW2, the surviving MSs in the years 1960-1962 were refitted with new armaments such as 40 mm Bofors and other armaments. These upgraded versions were designated the MS-472, MS-473 and others.
They were retired from service in 1975 and eventually disbarred in 1979.
History of the MS-15
MS 15 launched on 2 February 1942, finalised on 2 June 1942, entered service after construction in the Regia Marina's 1st Squadron, and arrived at operational bases in North Africa in July 1942; the following month it carried out, with MS 11, a mission to transport saboteurs of the San Marco Regiment in enemy waters, participated in anti-ship ambush operations, escorting coastal convoys and anti-submarine surveillance.
In January 1943, he carried out a period of work in Monfalcone, returning to the Dodecanese; when the Armistice of 8 September 1943 took place, he was on Rhodes and was part of the Co-Belligerent forces; later the island was captured by the Germans, on the 11th, the MS 15 was transferred to Leros where she took up the defence against the Germans; on 25 October 1943, the MS 15 was at berth in the port of Leros, she was hit by bombs during a German air attack, the MS 15 was set ablaze and sank soon after due to the explosion of the petrol depots
MS 15 was only to be struck off the official documents of the Italian Navy on 18 October 1946.
Devblog
In the early years of WWII, the Italian Navy realized the drawbacks of the MAS series of torpedo boats. Namely, the vessels of this type boasted excellent speeds, but had less than ideal seaworthiness. As a result, the Regia Marina began looking into procuring a vessel that would address this problem in the early 1940s.
The answer quickly came with the fall of Yugoslavia and the subsequent seizure of their limited naval force by the Italians. Having found older German-built Schnellboots of the Lürssen type, the Italians soon came to the conclusion that these vessels ideally fitted the current needs of the navy. As such, the captured examples were taken back to Italy and a nigh identical design was derived from them by the shipbuilder CRDA. The design, designated CRDA 60t, only differed in the powerplant choice as well as featuring Italian weaponry, while the rest remained virtually identical to the original.
The first of the CRDA 60t torpedo boats were completed by April of 1942, of which a total of 36 would be built. The CRDA 60t torpedo boats first saw action during WW2 in summer of the same year. One of the most notable successes of their early service career was the fatal injuring of the British light cruiser HMS Manchester, followed by sinking by British ships, caused by MS 16 and MS 22 in August of 1942, also marking the largest target to be destroyed by any motor torpedo boat during WWII.
Some vessels of the type also served with the Kriegsmarine, particularly those which were captured by the Germans following the signing of the armistice in September of 1943. Of the 36 CRDA 60t torpedo boats, 16 were lost in action during the war. Many surviving units continued serving with the Italian Navy postwar and well into the Cold War, thanks to modernization programs. A handful of the surviving units were also handed over to the French and Soviet Navies respectively under the armistice treaty conditions. The last of the highly modernized CRDA 60t torpedo boats was decommissioned as late as 1979, marking the end of a 37-year service career.
Media
- Skins
- Images
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (C.R.D.A) | |
|---|---|
| Motor Torpedo/Gun Boats | |
| Motosilurante CRDA 60 t Type I | MS-15 · MV-611* |
| Motosilurante CRDA 60 t Type II | MS-53 |
| Motosilurante CRDA 60 t Convertibile | MS-472 · MS-473 |
| Folgore-class | MC-490 |
| Freccia-class | Saetta P-494 |
| Light Cruisers | |
| Etna-class | RN Etna |
| *MS-11 converted to a motovedette (patrol boat) | |
| Italy boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | MC-490 · Freccia P-493 · MAS 555 · MAS 561 · MAS 569 |
| MS-15 · MS-53 · MS-472 · Stefano Turr · VAS 201 · GIS 811 · MC 485 | |
| Motor gun boats | MAS 441 · MS-473 · MV-611 · Alano · Sparviero |
| Motor torpedo gun boats | Saetta P-494 |
| Gunboats | Albatros · Alcione |
