Sella class destroyer

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Destroyer Crispi in the Aegean Sea

Sella class destroyers were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1920s. Two of these ships fought in World War II and both were sunk after the Italian capitulation to the Allies. Two more ships were sold to the Swedish navy in 1940 and were scrapped in the late 1940s.

These ships formed the basis for most subsequent destroyers built by the Italians, but were disappointing in service with unreliable machinery.

They were based in the Dodecanese and were used in the Italian retaking of Kastelorizo (Operation Abstention for the British), on 27 February 1941, and as mother ships for the attack by explosive motor boats on HMS York on March 25.

[edit] General characteristics

• Displacement: 970 tons standard, 1,480 tons full load
• Length: 89.4 m
• Beam: 8.6 m
• Draught: 2.7 m
• Machinery: 2 shaft Parsons type geared turbines, 3 boilers, 36,000hp
• Speed: 35 knots
• Range: 1,800 nm at 14 knots
• Armament:
  • 4 120 mm guns (2x2)
  • 2 40 mm pom pom anti-aircraft guns
  • 2 13.2 mm machine guns
  • 4 533 mm torpedo tubes (2x2)
  • 32 mines
• Crew: 153

[edit] Ships

All four ships were built by Pattison, Naples

• Francesco Crispi - Named after Francesco Crispi, completed 29 April 1927, seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice in September 1943, served as the TA15, sunk by air attack on 8 March 1944 in the Aegean Sea
• Quintino Sella - Named after Quintino Sella, completed 25 March 1926, sunk by German E-Boats on 11 September 1943.
• Bettino Ricasoli - Named after Bettino Ricasoli, commissioned 11 December 1926. Sold to the Swedish Navy as the Puke.
• Giovanni Nicotera - Named after Giovanni Nicotera, commissioned 8 January 1927. Sold to the Swedish Navy as the Psilander.

[edit] References

• Whitley, M.H. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Cassell Publishing. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.