Lampo-class destroyer

The Lampo class was a class of six destroyers of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built by the German Schichau shipyard from 1899–1901. They served in the Italo-Turkish War (where one was lost) and the surviving ships in the First World War, before being disposed of between 1920 and 1924.

Design
In 1899, the Italian Navy ordered six destroyers from the German shipyard Schichau-Werke of Elbing, Prussia (now Elbląg in Poland). The design was typical for Schichau-designed destroyers of the period, with a raised turtleback forecastle, a ram bow and two funnels.

The ships were 60.00 m long between perpendiculars and 62.05 m overall, with a beam of 6.50 m and a draught of 2.60 m. Displacement was 315 LT normal and 348 LT full load. They were powered by two triple expansion steam engines fed by four Thornycroft water-tube boilers which were rated at 6000 ihp driving two shafts to give a design speed of 30 kn. Sufficient coal was carried to give an endurance of 2000 nmi at 12 kn or 290 nmi at 26 kn.

Gun armament varied between ships. ITALIAN DESTROYER Lampo, ITALIAN DESTROYER Freccia, ITALIAN DESTROYER Dardo and ITALIAN DESTROYER Euro carried a single 76 mm/40 calibre gun (capable of firing a 5.9 kg shell to a range of 9,850 m at a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per gun ) and five 57 mm/43 guns, while ITALIAN DESTROYER Strale and ITALIAN DESTROYER Ostro carried six 57 mm guns. Torpedo armament consisted of two 356 mm torpedo tubes. The ships' crew consisted of 59 officers and men.

The six ships were laid down between 1899 and 1900 and completed between 1900 and 1902. While the ships were fast, reaching speeds of over 31 kn during sea trials (corresponding to a realistic sea speed of 25 kn), seaworthiness was poor.

Service
The ships of the class were active during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. One ship, Freccia ran aground in a storm off Tripoli, Libya, on 12 October 1911, a few days after the city was captured by the Italians. Other ships in the class took part in operations along the coast of Libya, and in the Dodecanese.

In 1914, the remaining ships of the class formed part of the 6th Destroyer Division, based in Libya. During the First World War, the ships of the class were modified for minelaying, being fitted to carry at least 12 mines. The ships were used as escorts in North African waters and in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and as such carried depth charges and anti-submarine sweeps.

The ships of the class were disposed of during the early 1920s, with the last one stricken in November 1924.