Nembo-class destroyer

The Nembo class was a class of destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy). Six destroyers were built by the Pattison shipyard of Naples between 1899 and 1905, to a design based on the contemporary destroyers of the British shipyard Thornycroft. They were active in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War, where three were lost.

Design
In 1899, work began at the Pattison shipyard of Naples on the first ships of a new class of destroyers, the Nembo class. The Nembo class were based on a design by the British shipbuilders Thornycroft, and were similar to the Thirty-knotter destroyers that Thornycroft were building for the British Royal Navy (such as HMS Stag (1899)).

The ships were 64.0 m long overall and 63.39 m between perpendiculars, with a beam of 5.94 m and a draught of 2.29 m. Displacement was 325 LT normal and 380 LT full load. Three Thornycroft boilers fed steam to two triple expansion steam engines rated at 5000 ihp and driving two propeller shafts, giving a design speed of 30 kn. The ships featured a raised turtleback forecastle and two funnels. Crew was between 51 and 58 officers and men.

The first two ships of the class, ITALIAN DESTROYER Nembo and ITALIAN DESTROYER Turbine were armed with one 76 mm (3 in)/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, with two 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes, while the remaining four ships had a reduced gun armament of five 57 mm/43 guns, allowing an increased torpedo armament of four 356 mm torpedo tubes to be carried.

The six ships of the class were completed between 1902 and 1905, reaching speeds of up to 30.2 kn during sea trials (corresponding to a realistic sea speed of 27 kn).

Nembo and Turbine were rearmed in 1905 to match the other four ships. From 1908, all ships of the class were fitted with new oil-fired boilers, with a resulting change in the ships' profile, with three funnels being fitted rather than two. Sufficient oil was carried to give a range of 330 nmi at 25 kn or 2200 nmi at 9 kn. The ships' armament was changed at the same time, to four 76 mm/40 guns and two 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes.

Service
The ships of the class were active during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912. They were fitted for minelaying, with a capacity of 10–16 mines during the First World War, during which three destroyers were lost. Following the end of the war, the remaining three ships had a boiler removed, with the consequent loss of a funnel, together with a 76 mm gun, and were reclassified as torpedo boats.