Sirio-class torpedo boat

Class overview
Builders: Schichau-Werke, Elbing
Operators:  Regia Marina
Preceded by: Italian torpedo boat Pellicano
Succeeded by: Pegaso-class torpedo boat
Built: 1904–1906
In commission: 1905–1923
Completed: 6
Lost: 3
Retired: 3
General characteristics
Type: High-Seas Torpedo boat
Displacement: 210 t (210 long tons)
Length:
  • 51.00 m (167 ft 4 in) pp
  • 51.07 m (167 ft 7 in) oa
Beam: 6.0 m (19 ft 8 in)
Draught: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:
Speed: 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 500 nmi (580 mi; 930 km) at full speed
Complement: 3 officer + 35 men
Armament:
  • 3× 47 mm/40 guns
  • 3× 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

The Sirio-class (also known as the Saffo-class[lower-alpha 1]) was a class of six sea-going steam-powered torpedo boats of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built by the German shipyard Schichau-Werke from 1904–1906. They served in the Italo-Turkish War and the First World War.

Design

In 1904, work began at the German shipyard of Schichau-Werke, Elbing (now Elbląg, Poland) on a class of six torpedo-boats for the Italian Navy.[3][lower-alpha 2] They were 50.00 metres (164 ft 1 in) long between perpendiculars and 51.07 metres (167 ft 7 in) overall, with a beam of 6.00 metres (19 ft 8 in) and a draught of 1.60 metres (5 ft 3 in).[1] Two Coal-fired Schultz-Thornycroft boilers fed Vertical triple-expansion steam engines rated at 3,000–3,100 indicated horsepower (2,200–2,300 kW), giving a rated speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph),[1][4] which corresponded to an in-service sea speed of about 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).[3][lower-alpha 3] Displacement was 210 tonnes (207 long tons).[3]

Three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes were fitted, with a gun armament of three 47 mm guns. The ships had a crew of 38 officers and men.[1]

Service

On delivery, the ships of the class equipped the 1st Squadron of High Seas Torpedo Boats, based first at La Spezia and then at Messina.[2] The ships of the class were active during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912,[2] with Spica leading four Pegaso-class torpedo boats on a reconnaissance of the Dardanelles on the night of 18/19 July 1912, penetrating under fire about 18 kilometres (11 mi) before being stopped by a boom across the straits, and then escaping with little damage and no casualties.[6] Two ships, Scorpione and Serpente, were lost following collisions during the First World War, with the remaining ships being rearmed, with two 76 mm anti-aircraft guns replacing the 47 mm guns.[3] A third ship, Saffo was lost after running aground off Turkey on 2 April 1920.[3] The surviving ships were disposed of in 1923.[3]

Ships

Ship Laid down[3] Launched[3] Completed[3] Operational History
Sirio 27 December 1904 13 May 1905 29 September 1905 Discarded 4 March 1923[3]
Sagittario 20 December 1904 31 May 1905 3 November 1905 Discarded 4 January 1923[3]
Spica 14 January 1905 15 July 1905 22 November 1905 Discarded 4 March 1923[3]
Scorpione 17 January 1905 14 September 1905 13 December 1905 Sank following collision with French gunboat Surveillente 15 May 1917[1][4][lower-alpha 4]
Serpente 1905 30 October 1905 12 February 1906 Sank after collision with Italian merchant ship Citta di Bari 28 June 1916[1][4]
Saffo 1905 30 November 1905 1 March 1906 Lost after running aground Scalanova Bay, Turkey, 2 April 1920[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Chesneau and Kolesnik[1] and the current Italian Navy[2] refer to the class as the Sirio-class, while Fraccaroli[3] and Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare[4] refer to the Saffo-class.
  2. ↑ Work also begun in at the Pattison shipyard of Naples on four torpedo boats of similar size to a design by the British torpedo-craft specialist Thornycroft, the initial members of the Pegaso-class torpedo boat.[5]
  3. ↑ Speeds of up to 25.7 knots (47.6 km/h; 29.6 mph) were reached during sea trials.[3]
  4. ↑ Fraccaroli swaps the dates and circumstances of the loss of Scorpione and Serpente.[3]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 359.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sezione Torpediniere: Sottosezione Torpediniere da costa: Classe Sirio". Marina Militare. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Fraccaroli 1970, p. 78.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare, p. 2138.
  5. ↑ Fraccaroli 1970, p. 80.
  6. ↑ Beehler 1913, pp. 87–90.

References

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