Oriani-class destroyer

The Oriani class (also known as the Poeti class), were a group of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the mid-1930s. They were improved versions of the Maestrale-class destroyers and had increased machinery power and a different anti-aircraft armament. The increase in power, however, disappointed in that there was only a marginal speed improvement. The obsolete 40 mm/39 pom-pom anti-aircraft guns were finally discontinued, being replaced by extra 13.2 mm machine guns; otherwise armament was unchanged.

Modifications
Significant upgrades were made to the weapons systems of the two ships that survived Matapan, similar to those made to the Maestrales. One torpedo tube mounting was replaced by two 37 mm/54 guns; 20 mm cannon, a 120 mm star-shell gun and depth charge throwers were also installed. Before the end of the war, one ship, Oriani had a German Seetakt radar and an additional 20 mm cannon.

Ships
All four ships were built by O.T.O. Livorno and named after poets: