Turbine class destroyer
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Turbine class destroyer was a class of destroyers built for the Italian Regia Marina in the late 1920s. They were essentially larger versions of the earlier Sella class destroyers.
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[edit] General characteristics
- Displacement: 1,070 tons standard, 1,670 tons full load
- Length of 93.2 meters.
- Beam: 9.2 meters
- Draught: 3 meters
- Machinery: 2 shaft Parsons type geared turbines, 3 boilers 40,000 hp
- Speed: 36 knots in paractice (39.5 knots achieved on Trials)
- Range:3,200 nm at 14 knots
- Armament
- 4 - 120mm guns (2x2)
- 2 - 40mm pom pom anti aircraft guns
- 2 - 13.2 mm machine guns
- 6 - 533mm torpedo tubes (3x2)
- 52 mines
- Crew: 179
[edit] Turbine class ships
- Aquilone - Built by Odero, Sestri Ponente, Completed 3 December 1927, Sunk by aircraft from HMS Illustrious in Benghazi harbor on September 17, 1940.
- Borea - Built by Ansaldo, Genoa, Completed 14 November 1927, Sunk by aircraft from HMS Illustrious in Benghazi harbor on September 17, 1940.
- Espero - Built by Ansaldo, Genoa, Completed 30 April 1928, Sunk by HMAS Sydney off Tobruk on June 28, 1940
- Euro - Built by CT Riva Trigoso, Launched July 7, 1927,Completed 22 December 1927 - Sunk off by German aircraft off Leros Island, Greece on October 1, 1943.
- Nembo - Built by CT Riva Trigoso, Completed 14 November 1927, Sunk by aircraft from HMS Eagle in the Gulf of Bomba on July 20, 1940.
- Ostro - Built by Ansaldo, Genoa, Completed 9 June 1928, Sunk by aircraft from HMS Eagle in the Gulf of Bomba on July 20, 1940.
- Turbine - Built by Odero, Sestri Ponente, Completed 27 August 1927, Seized by the Germans during the Italian Armistice, Served in the Kriegsmarine as the TA14 Sunk by USAAF aircraft in Salamis on September 16, 1944.
- Zeffiro - Built by Ansaldo, Genoa, Completed 15 May 1928, Sunk by aircraft from HMS Eagle in Tubruk on July 5, 1940.
[edit] History
At the beginning of World War II, when Italy declared war against Britain and France, all eight ships of the Turbine class were based in Tobruk, Libya. They were tasked with mine laying duties and running supplies between Tobruk and Taranto. On June 16, 1940, Turbine sank the British submarine HMS Orpheus just off Tobruk.
On June 28, 1940, Espero, Ostro and Zeffiro were in convoy, heavily loaded down with cargo, when they were intercepted by a British taskforce of five ships. In the battle, the HMAS Sydney sank the Espero as it lagged behind to allow the other two destroyers to escape.
On July 5, 1940, British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle launched an attack on Tubruk harbor. Its Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers sank the Zeffiro, and severely damaged the Euro. Later that month, on July 20, another Swordfish from the HMS Eagle spotted the Nembo and Ostro in the Gulf of Bomba and sank them both with torpeodos. In September 17 of the same year, the HMS Illustrious attacked Benghazi harbor where Aquilone and Borea were berthed, and both were sunk.
After the Italian armistice in September of 1943, Euro was assigned to the allied fleet and was later sunk by German Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers off of Leros Island, Greece. Turbine was seized by the German Navy and put into service in the Aegean Sea as a torpedo boat. On June 19 1944, at Porto Lago, she was badly damaged by an explosion, which was thought to have been sabotage. She set in to the port of Salamis for repairs, but an air strike on the port on September 16 sunk her before they could be entirely completed.
