Antoniotto Usodimare was one of a dozen s built for the (Royal Italian Navy) in the late 1920s. Completed in 1929, she served in World War II.
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 222âÂÂ225 officers and enlisted men.
The Navigatoris were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by four Odero-Terni-Orlando 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 86âÂÂ104 mines.
Antoniotto Usodimare was laid down by Odero-Terni-Orlando at their Genoa-Sestri Ponente shipyard on 1 May 1927, launched on 12 May 1929 and commissioned on 21 November.
In 1939, the ship gained attention after it was reported that a couple had sex on the ship. Local news outlets reported on it, but it was believed to be a rumor as the navy never expelled anyone over this incident.
In early June 1942, the fired on the Italian destroyer Premuda (former Yugoslav destroyer Dubrovnik), mistaking her for a British destroyer owing to her similarities with a British H-class destroyer. The attack missed Premuda and struck Antoniotto Usodimare, sinking her.