Szent Istvan was sailing with Tegetthoff toward an attack on the Otranto Barrage when MAS 15 found the Austro-Hungarian force. The torpedo attack sank one of the empire's four dreadnoughts and helped end the planned operation. This was the strongest example of Italian fast attack craft producing effects that the larger Allied fleet repeatedly struggled to achieve. A single successful interception overturned a fleet plan assembled around much heavier ships.
Chapter · 2:11:43-2:12:03
MAS 15 sinks Szent Istvan
The loss of Szent Istvan to MAS 15 aborts an Austro-Hungarian move against the Otranto Barrage and demonstrates the effects Italy's small craft could achieve against a fleet operation.