Curtatone-class destroyer

{{Short description|Italian naval ship class (1924–1951)}} {{more footnotes needed|date=January 2013}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=File:RCT Castelfidardo1 (cropped).jpg |image_caption=''Castelfidardo'' off Fiume in 1942 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview |name= |builders=Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando, Livorno |operators=*{{navy|Kingdom of Italy|name=''Regia Marina''}} *{{navy|Nazi Germany|name=''Kriegsmarine''}} |class_before={{sclass2|Generali|destroyer|4}} |class_after={{sclass|Spica|torpedo boat|4||Italy}} |subclasses= |cost= |built_range=1920–1924 |in_service_range= |in_commission_range=1924–1951 |total_ships_building= |total_ships_planned= |total_ships_completed=4 |total_ships_canceled= |total_ships_active= |total_ships_laid_up= |total_ships_lost=3 |total_ships_retired=1 |total_ships_preserved= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=Destroyer |displacement=*{{convert|876|LT|t}} standard *{{convert|890|LT|t}} full load |length= {{convert|84.72|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |beam= {{convert|8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |height= |draught= {{convert|2.46|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |depth= |propulsion=*2 shaft Zoelly steam turbines *4 Thornycroft type boilers *{{convert|22000|hp|kW|-2|abbr=on}} |speed= {{convert|32|kn|lk=in}} |range= {{convert|1800|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |endurance= |boats= |complement=117 |sensors= |EW= |armament=*4 × 102 mm guns (2 × 2) *2 × 76 mm AA guns (2 × 2) *6 × 13.2 mm machine guns *6 × {{convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (2 × 3) *16 mines |armour= |notes= }} }}

The '''''Curtatone''-class''' was a series of four destroyers built for the ''Regia Marina.'' Ordered during World War I as ''Palestro''-class destroyers, construction was delayed due to supply shortages. The last ''Palestro''-class vessels were lengthened in an attempt to improve speed, which were developed into the ''Curtatone''-class. The destroyers were the first in the world to be equipped with twin guns and first in the Italian fleet to feature smaller design changes.

In 1938, the vessels were old and redesignated as torpedo boats. The ships primarily operated as convoy escorts during World War II. ''Curtatone'' struck a mine and sank in 1941, while ''Calatafimi'' and ''Castelfidardo'' were captured by German officials and pressed into the ''Kriegsmarine'' in 1943. The vessels were renamed, and were both sunk in 1944. ''Monzambano'' remained under Italian control and survived the war before she was scrapped in 1951.

== Development and design == During the First World War, the ''Regia Marina'' required additional surface escorts to guard against attacks by the Austro-Hungarian Navy and German U-boats in the Mediterranean. Of the 32 destroyers ordered as part of the effort, 20 of them were not laid down during the war due to supply shortages. Included were the ''Palestro''-class destroyers,<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Fraccaroli |first=Aldo |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85177-245-5 |editor1-last=Gardiner |editor1-first=Robert |location=Annapolis |pages=253 |chapter=Italy |ref={{sfnref|Fraccaroli}} |editor2-last=Gray |editor2-first=Randal |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> which were launched in 1919 and 1920. The four ships of the ''Palestro''-class were based on the earlier ''Audace''-class destroyer<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Fraccaroli |first=Aldo |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85177-245-5 |editor1-last=Gardiner |editor1-first=Robert |location=Annapolis |pages=270 |chapter=Italy |ref={{sfnref|Fraccaroli}} |editor2-last=Gray |editor2-first=Randal |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> and was intended to comprise eight destroyers. However, experience with ''Palestro'' saw the design for the last four ships lengthened by {{Convert|4.51|m|ft}} in an attempt to achieve higher speeds. The lengthened ships were given a new armament and became known as the ''Curtatone''-class.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Fraccaroli |first=Aldo |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85177-245-5 |editor1-last=Gardiner |editor1-first=Robert |location=Annapolis |pages=272 |chapter=Italy |ref={{sfnref|Fraccaroli}} |editor2-last=Gray |editor2-first=Randal |url-access=registration |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

The ships that became the ''Curtatone''-class was ordered on 31 December 1915 as part of the ''Palestro''-class.<ref name=":3" /> They were {{cvt|84.72|m|ftin}} long at the waterline and {{cvt|84.6|m|ftin}} long overall, with a beam of {{cvt|8|m|ftin}} and a mean draft of {{cvt|2.46|m|ftin}}. They displaced {{cvt|876|LT|lk=on}} standard and up to {{cvt|1,210|LT}} at full load<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Whitley |first=M. J. |url=http://archive.org/details/destroyersofworl00unse |title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |date= |publisher=Naval Institute Press |others=Better World Books |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-87021-326-7 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |pages=180 |url-access=registration}}</ref> with a crew of 6 to 7 officers and about 110 enlisted men.<ref name=":3" /> The ships were powered by two Zoelly steam turbines, with steam provided by four Thornycroft boilers. The engines were rated to produce {{convert|22000|shp|lk=on}} for a top speed of {{convert|32|kn|lk=in}} with a bunkerage of {{cvt|200|LT|lk=on}} of coal.<ref name=":0" /> The ships could cruise for {{convert|2,200|nmi|lk=in}} at an economical speed of {{convert|15|kn}} or {{convert|460|kn}} at {{convert|28|kn}}.<ref name=":3" /> The Italian government paid shipyards a bonus if their warships exceeded the speed requirement. As a result, the shipyards ran sea trials on new ships without armament and other equipment to achieve an unrealistically high speed.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Italian Destroyers of World War II |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Paul Wright |isbn=978-1-4728-4055-4 |series=New Vanguard |location=London |chapter=RM Destroyer Design and Development}}</ref> The top speed of each ship in the class was between {{convert|33.3-33.6|kn}}.<ref name=":3" />

Italian naval doctrine emphasized rangefinders and powerful guns to destroy the enemy at long range, compared to other nations which focused on a destroyer's torpedoes and escort ability.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Italian Destroyers of World War II |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Paul Wright |isbn=978-1-4728-4055-4 |series=New Vanguard |location=London |chapter=Introduction}}</ref> The class's main armament was two {{cvt|4|in|cm}} M1919 guns mounted in twin turrets on the centerline fore and aft. They were the first destroyers in the world to be fitted with twin guns as a predecessor to the mass adoption of twin {{cvt|4.7|in|cm}} guns throughout the Italian destroyer fleet. In addition, the ships were equipped with two {{cvt|17.7|in|cm}} triple torpedo tubes, two {{cvt|3|in|cm}} anti-aircraft guns, and 16 mines.<ref name=":0" /> Almost all Italian destroyers of the era were equipped for minelaying and used to create defensive minefields around the country.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Stille |first=Mark |title=Italian Destroyers of World War II |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Paul Wright |isbn=978-1-4728-4055-4 |series=New Vanguard |location=London |chapter=Debacle at Matapan}}</ref>

== Service history == thumb|Line drawing of ''Curtatone'' in her 1942 arrangement All four destroyers were built by Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando at the company's shipyard in Livorno. They were laid down between 1920 and 1921, and commissioned between 1923 and 1924.<ref name=":0" /> Like the ''Palestro''-class, the ships were named after battles during the Italian Wars of Independence and Italian Unification. On 1 October 1938, the two classes were redesignated as torpedo boats. The ''Regia Marina'' believed that the destroyers were too old to be effective in combat or operate with a fleet, and thus reused World War I-era destroyers as convoy escorts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brescia |first=Maurizio |title=Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regia Marina 1930-1945 |last2=Zaio |first2=Paola |date=2012 |publisher=Seaforth |isbn=978-1-84832-115-1 |location=Barnsley |chapter=Older Torpedo Boats}}</ref>

At the start of World War II, the ships formed the 16th Torpedo boat Division and were tasked with defending La Spezia. Between late 1940 and 1943, the ships were reassigned to protect convoys operating between Albania and Italy in the Adriatic, alongside other tasks in the Aegean.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whitley |first=M. J. |url=http://archive.org/details/destroyersofworl00unse |title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |date= |publisher=Naval Institute Press |others=Better World Books |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-87021-326-7 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |pages=181 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The ships were later modernized for escort duties with the twin guns being replaced by singles and the triple {{convert|450|mm|in|adj=on}} torpedo tubes replaced by twin {{cvt|533|mm}} torpedo tubes. Extra light anti-aircraft guns were also fitted and the {{cvt|76|mm}}/40 caliber guns removed.

==Ships in class==

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Data |- ! scope="col" | Name !Laid down<ref name=":0" /> ! scope="col" | Launched<ref name=":0" /> ! scope="col" | Commissioned<ref name=":0" /> ! scope="col" | Service/{{wbr}}Fate |- ! scope="row" | ''Calatafimi'' |1 December 1920 | 17 March 1923 | 24 May 1924 |Captured by the Germans at Piraeus on 9 September 1943 - served as TA19, sunk by Greek submarine ''Pipinos'' 19 August 1944 in the Aegean Sea. |- ! scope="row" | ''Castelfidardo'' |20 July 1920 | 4 June 1922 | 7 March 1924 |Captured by the Germans at Piraeus on 9 September 1943 - served as ''TA16'', sunk by Allied aircraft 2 June 1944 in the Aegean. |- ! scope="row" | ''Curtatone'' |3 January 1920 |17 March 1922 |21 June 1923 |Sunk by a mine near Athens on 20 May 1941. |- ! scope="row" | ''Monzambano'' |20 January 1921 |6 August 1923 |4 June 1924 |Survived the war. It was decommissioned in April 1951. |}

== Further reading ==

* {{Cite book |last=Filippo |first=Lupinacci Pier |title=La difesa del traffico con l'Albania, la Grecia e l'Egeo |last2=Emanuele |first2=Tognelli Vittorio |publisher=Historical Office of the Navy |year=1965 |isbn=9788885318618 |series=The Italian Navy in the Second World War |location=Rome |language=IT |trans-title=The Defense of Traffic with Albania, Greece, and the Aegean}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Curtatone-class destroyers Category:Destroyer classes