She was built 1911–1913 at the navy yard at Venice and was sunk in 1915 by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-5 under the command of Georg Ritter von Trapp.

After Italy's entry into World War I, the country's armed forces occupied the island of Pelagosa in the central Adriatic.

[3] When U-5 surfaced just offshore, Nereide's commanding officer, Capitano di Corvetta Carlo del Greco, cast off the lines and maneuvered to get a shot at von Trapp's boat.

U-5 lined up a shot and launched a single torpedo at the slowly submerging target, striking her, and sending her to the bottom with all hands.

[5][Note 2] Carlo del Greco received the Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Militare for his actions.