Folgore-class destroyer

The Folgore class were a group of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the 1930s. None of the ships survived World War II.

Design and description
The Folgore-class destroyers were extremely similar to the preceding Freccia-class destroyer, although their beam was reduced in an unsuccessful attempt to improve their speed over that achieved by the earlier ships. The Folgores had an overall length of 96.05 m, a beam of 9.2 m and a mean draft of 3.3 m and 4.3 m at deep load. They displaced 1238 t at standard load, and 2090 t at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 185 officers and enlisted men.

The Folgores were powered by two Belluzzo geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Thornycroft boilers. The turbines were designed to produce 44000 shp and a speed of 30 kn in service, although the ships reached speeds of 38 - 39 kn during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3600 nmi at a speed of 12 kn.

Their main battery consisted of four 50-caliber Cannone da 120 mm/50 A Modello 1926 guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Folgore-class ships was provided by a pair of 39-caliber Cannone da 40 mm/39 AA guns in single mounts amidships and a pair of twin-gun mounts for Breda 13.2 mm Modello 1931 machine guns. They were equipped with six 533 mm torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. Although the ships were not provided with a sonar system for anti-submarine work, they were fitted with a pair of depth charge throwers. The Folgores could carry 52 mines.

Ships

 * ITALIAN DESTROYER Baleno
 * Built by CNQ Fiume, completed 15 June 1932.
 * On 14 June 1940 she sank the submarine HMS Odin (N84) in the Gulf of Taranto.
 * She was disabled on 16 April 1941 by British destroyers HMS Jervis (F00), HMS Nubian (F36), HMS Mohawk (F31) and HMS Janus (F53) during the Battle of the Tarigo Convoy, ran aground and sank on the following morning. Only 37 of her crew survived, among the killed there was the commanding officer, Lt. Cdr. Giuseppe Arnaud.


 * ITALIAN DESTROYER Folgore
 * Built by OC Partenopei, Naples, completed 1 July 1932.
 * She was sunk on 2 December 1942 by British cruisers of Force Q during the Battle of Skerki Bank, while trying to protect the convoy she was escorting. 124 men, including the commanding officer Lt. Cdr. Ener Bettica, went down with the ship.


 * ITALIAN DESTROYER Fulmine
 * Built by CNQ Fiume, completed 14 September 1932.
 * She was sunk on 9 November 1941 by British surface ships of Force K during the Battle of the Duisburg Convoy. 141 men were lost, among them the CO Lt. Cdr. Mario Milano.


 * ITALIAN DESTROYER Lampo
 * Built by OC Partenopei, Naples, completed 13 August 1932.
 * Disabled by British destroyers on 16 April 1941 during the Battle of the Tarigo Convoy, she ran aground with 141 of her 205 crew killed in action, but she was later salvaged and put back into service. She was sunk by bombers on 30 April 1943 off Cape Bon, while carrying ammunition to Tunisia, with the loss of 60 out of 213 crewmen.

Turkish Ships
Four similar ships were built in Italy for the Turkish Navy:
 * The Tinaztepe-class destroyers were similar to the Italian ships but fitted with two funnels. These ships were built by Cantiere navale di Riva Trigoso.
 * The Adatepe-class destroyers were altered to have four single guns rather than two twin guns and were lengthened to compensate. These ships were built by Ansaldo in Genoa.