Destroyers of the "Soldati" type are destroyers of the Italian fleet of the Second World War . They were a further development of destroyers of the " Oriani " type. The most successful and numerous type of Italian destroyers. The ships were named after various military specialties (Artigliere - gunner , Granatiere - grenadier and so on). They were built in two series: twelve ships were built in 1938-39, seven more were ordered in 1940, but until September 1943 only five were put into operation. The hulls of two unfinished destroyers were used as a source of spare parts for the repair of damaged ships of this type.
| Soldier-class destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Cacciatorpediniere classe soldati | |
 Destroyer Artigliere | |
| Project | |
| A country |
|
| Preceding type | Oriani |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | Standard: 1715-1830 t , total: 2290-2459 t |
| Length | 101.6 m / 106.7 m |
| Width | 10.2 m |
| Draft | 3.58 m |
| Engines | 2 TEL Belluzzo or Parsons , 3 pcs Jarrow |
| Power | 48 000 l. with. (35 800 kW ) |
| Mover | 2 screws |
| Speed | 38 knots (70 km / h ) |
| Sailing range | 2,200 nautical miles at 20 knots (37 km / h ) |
| Crew | 13-15 officers, 204 sailors |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 4 (2 × 2) - 120 mm / 50 |
| Flak | 12 - 13.2 mm machine gun (4 × 2) (4 × 1) |
| Anti-submarine weapons | 4 BMB , 34 depth charges |
| Mine torpedo armament | two three-pipe 533 mm torpedo tubes , 48 min |
During the war, ten destroyers of this class were lost, after the war, three destroyers were handed over to France , two to the Soviet Union . Two destroyers were included in the fleet of post-war Italy .
Content
Design and Modifications
In 1936, the Italian fleet ordered the first 12 units as a repetition of destroyers of the Oriani type. During the construction, a number of changes were made to the project: they switched to 120-mm / 50 guns of the 1936 model, changed the EI , making it more economical and reliable with constant power. In addition to the new main-caliber guns, the armament of the destroyers was supplemented by a 120-mm / 15 howitzer , located on an elevation between torpedo tubes and designed for firing lighting shells. Anti-aircraft weapons were strengthened by increasing the number of 13.2 mm machine guns to 12. After all these changes, the load was about 200 tons (from 1620 to 1830 tons), but despite this, the Soldiers were the fastest among the Italian destroyers - in real conditions, their speed reached 34-35 knots .
On destroyers of the “Soldati” type of the 2nd series (on all except Velite ), instead of a howitzer for lighting projectiles, a single-barrel 120 mm / 50 installation of the 1940 model was placed
In 1941-1942, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons were strengthened on ships of the 1st series, replacing 13.2-mm machine guns with 20-mm / 65 units (4 × 2), the number of infantry fighting vehicles was increased to 4. At the same time, on destroyers 1 Series Carabiniere , Ascari , Camicia Nera , Geniere and Lanciere "lighting" howitzer was replaced with a fifth 120-mm / 50 gun.
In 1943, the Sarabiniere , Granatiere , Legionaro , Fuciliere and Velite destroyers were removed from the destroyers by installing 37 mm / 54 automatic machines (2 × 1) in their place. On the Fuciliere and Velite dismantled the "lighting" howitzer, and on the Velite was placed the third 37-mm / 54 machine gun instead. In the same year, the number of 20 mm machine guns on surviving destroyers was increased to 12-13.
Ship List
1st series
| Destroyer [1] | Airborne designation | Shipyard [2] | Launched | Service start | End of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpino ( Italian: Alpino ) | AP | CNR A | 9/18/1938 | 04/20/1939 | sunk 19.4.43 in shallow water in La Spezia by Allied aircraft |
| Artillery ( Italian: Artiglieri ) | AR | OTO L | 12/12/1937 | 11/14/1938 | sunk 12.10.40 east of Malta, artillery and torpedoes of the British cruisers York , Ajax and destroyers |
| Askari ( Italian: Ascari ) | AI | OTO L | 7/7/1938 | 6.5.1939 | blown up a mine north of Cape Bon |
| Aviere ( Italian: Aviere ) | AV | OTO L | 9/19/1937 | 8/8/1938 | sunk 17.12.42 north of Bizerte with two torpedoes of the submarine Splendid |
| Bersagliere ( Italian: Bersagliere ) | BG | CNR P | 3/7/1938 | 1.4.1939 | sunk 7.1.43 in Palermo harbor by American aircraft |
| Camicia Nera ( Italian: Camicia Nera ) | CN | OTO L | 8/8/1937 | 6/6/1938 | Renamed 30.7.43 in Artillera . In 1949, it was handed over to the USSR for reparations, renamed to Dexterous , and later used as the target ship TsL-58 and the airborne surveillance ship KVN-11 . Decommissioned in 1960. [3] |
| Carabiniere ( Italian: Carabiniere ) | CB | Cdt rt | 07/23/1938 | 12/20/1938 | interned in the Balearic Islands after the surrender of Italy. 10.4.57 reclassified to frigate . Written off 18.1.65 |
| Corazziere ( Italian: Corazziere ) | Cz | OTO L | 5/25/1938 | 4.3.1939 | flooded in Genoa 9.9.43. Raised by the Germans, sunk by Allied aircraft in Genoa 4.9.44 |
| Fuciliere ( Italian: Fuciliere ) | FC | CNR A | 7/7/1938 | 4.3.1939 | In 1950, it was transferred to the USSR for reparations, renamed Easy , later used as the target ship TsL-57 , decommissioned in 1960 [4] |
| Geniere ( Italian Geniere ) | GE | OTO L | 2/27/1938 | 12/14/1938 | sunk in the harbor of Palermo by US aviation 1.3.43 |
| Granatiere ( Italian: Granatiere ) | GN | CNR P | 4/24/1938 | 1.2.1939 | reclassified to frigate 10.4.57. Written off 1.7.58 |
| Lanciere ( Italian: Lanciere ) | Ln | Cdt rt | 12/18/1938 | 3/3/1939 | sank in a storm 23.3.42 southeast of Malta |
2nd series
| Destroyer | Airborne designation | Shipyard | Launched | Service start | End of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardiere ( Italian: Bombardiere ) | BR | CNR A | 6/13/1938 | 9/19/1938 | sunk 17.1.43 west of Sicily by the English submarine United |
| Carrista ( Italian: Carrista ) | CR | OTO L | - | - | captured by the Germans on the slipway, renamed to TA34 . Later disassembled for metal |
| Corsaro ( Italian: Corsaro ) | CA | OTO L | 11/16/1941 | 05/16/1942 | blown up on mines northeast of Bizerte 9.1 43 |
| Legionaro ( Italian: Legionario ) | LG | OTO L | 04/16/1941 | 1.3.1942 | Transferred to France by reparations on 15.8.48, renamed Duchaffol ( fr. Duchaffault ). Decommissioned in 1954. |
| Mitragliere ( Italian: Mitragliere ) | MT | CNR A | 9/9/1941 | 1.2.1941 | Interned in the Balearic Islands after the surrender of Italy. It was handed over to France for reparations, renamed to Jurien de la Gravière ( fr. Jurien de la Gravière ). Decommissioned in 1954. |
| Squadrista ( Italian: Squadrista ) | SQ | OTO L | 09/12/1942 | - | renamed Corsaro 31.7.43. Captured by the Germans in Livorno 9.9.43, named TA-33, towed to Genoa. Sunk by 9.4.44 allied aircraft |
| Velite ( ital. Velite ) | CB | Cdt rt | 8/8/1941 | 08/31/1942 | Transferred to France by reparations on 24.7.48, renamed Duperre ( fr. Duperré ). Decommissioned in 1961. |
Notes
- ↑ Bragadin M.A. The Battle of the Mediterranean Sea. The look of the vanquished. - M .: AST, 2001 .-- S. 552–554.
- ↑ OTO L - Odero-Terni-Orlando, Livorno; CNR A - Cantiere-Navale-Riuniti, Ancona ; CNR P - Cantieri Navale Riuniti, Palermo; CdT RT - Cantieri dell Tirreno, Riva Trigoso
- ↑ Archive of photos of ships of the Russian and Soviet Navy
- ↑ Archive of photos of ships of the Russian and Soviet Navy
Literature
- Bragadin M.A. The Battle of the Mediterranean. The look of the vanquished. - M .: AST, 2001. - 624 p. - 8000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-002636-6 .
- Dashyan A.V., Patyanin S.V., Mityukov N.V., Drum M.S. Fleets of the Second World War. - M .: “Yauza”, “Collection”, “Eksmo”, 2009. - 608 p. - 2500 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-33872-6 .
- Patyanin S.V. Destroyer destroyers of the types "Maestrale", "Oriani" and "Soldati" (Russian) // Naval Campaign: Journal. - 2015. - No. 2 (51) .
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soldier-class destroyers