The Italian destroyers of World War II comprised a mix of old warship designs dating from World War I and some of the most modern of their type in the world. These destroyers (Italian: cacciatorpediniere) also varied in size from enlarged torpedo-boats to esploratori (an Italian designation for large destroyers approaching light cruiser size).
During the war, Italian destroyers were responsible for the safe flow of convoys to supply the Axis armies in North Africa and for the suppression of British submarines.
71 Italian destroyers served during World War II (including those captured from Yugoslavia and France). 43 of these were sunk during the war against the Allies. After Italy surrendered to the Allies, a further 15 destroyers were sunk by the Germans or scuttled to prevent capture. 13 destroyers survived the war, most of which were ceded to France and the Soviet Union. 5 were retained by the postwar Marina Militare.
Design evolution
The operational areas for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) were expected to be enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This was reflected in the design and construction of its warships, which did not need to withstand open ocean conditions. In 1941, the appropriately named Scirocco foundered in a storm off Cape Spartivento.
Italian destroyer designs followed differing design paths. At one end, a torpedo boat design was developed into a series of destroyer classes (Sella, Sauro and Turbine) that were comparable with their British contemporaries. There were also large destroyers of the older Mirabello and Leone classes, which were reserved for less-dangerous tasks. The large destroyer concept had been revived in the mid-1920s, in response to new French designs.
At the end of the 1920s, a design emerged (Freccia class) that was the basis for improvement and standardisation. Subsequent classes showed incremental changes that improved reliability and the Maestrales were the template for the following twenty-three ships.
The original anti-aircraft weaponry, consisting of mixtures of obsolete 40-millimetre Vickers cannon (designed in 1917) and 13.2 mm machine guns was clearly inadequate when Italy entered World War II. The chosen answer was 20-millimetre cannon and, in some individual ships, 37-millimetre guns replaced torpedo tubes.
The maximum speeds of Italian warships of this period should be viewed with caution, since Italian practice was to run the trials with ships as light as possible, often without armament. This enabled impressive speeds which were unobtainable under operational conditions.
Esploratori
The designation esploratori, meaning "scouts", was originally given to a class of Italian warship that was between the then-current destroyers and cruisers, in terms of size and firepower. Of the Italian destroyers that saw action in World War II, the ships belonging to the Navigatori, Mirabello and Leone classes were originally rated as esploratori. They were reclassified as destroyers by 1940. The Regia Marina initially classified yet another group of ships (Capitani Romani class) as esploratori oceanici—ocean scouts—but they were later reclassified as light cruisers.
Active service during World War II
Italian destroyers were usually organised into Squadriglie (Destroyer Squadrons or Divisions) of four ships of one class. When Italy entered World War II, on 10 June 1940, the Regia Marina had sixteen Squadriglie Cacciatorpediniere. Destroyer Divisions 1 and 2 were each composed of four Turbine-class destroyers, Destroyer Division 3 (stationed in the Red Sea) consisted of the four Sauro-class destroyers, Destroyer Division 4 consisted of the two remaining Sella-class destroyers, Destroyer Division 5 (stationed in the Red Sea) was made of the three Leone-class destroyers, Destroyer Division 6 consisted of the two Mirabello-class destroyers, Destroyer Divisions 7, 8, 9 and 10 consisted of four ships each from the Freccia (Division 7), Folgore (Division 8), Oriani (Division 9) and Maestrale (Division 10) classes, respectively; Destroyer Divisions 11, 12 and 13 were composed of four Soldati-class destroyers each, and Destroyer Divisions 14, 15 and 16 were made of four Navigatori-class destroyers each.