 "Foscari" served as a transport ship for the "Regia Marina" from 18 to 25 August 1940, and in 1941 was converted into an auxiliary cruiser to act as convoy escort.On 18 December 1942, while travelling from Naples to Civitavecchia, she was damaged by the torpedoes of the British minelaying submarine .After the Armistice with Italy of 9 September 1943, while en route from Genoa to escort the merchant ship "Valverde", she was shelled by coastal artillery and attacked by three German patrol boats and the minelayers "Pommern" and "Brandenburg".