The Freccia-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Turbine class.[1] They had an overall length of 96.15 meters (315ft 5in), a beam of 9.75 meters (32ft 0in) and a mean draft of 3.15 meters (10ft 4in).[2] They displaced 1,225 metric tons (1,206 long tons) at standard load, and 2,150 metric tons (2,120 long tons) at deep load.[3] Their complement during wartime was 185 officers and enlisted men.[4]
The Freccias were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Thornycroft boilers.[4] The turbines were designed to produce 44,000 shaft horsepower (33,000kW) and a speed of 30 knots (56km/h; 35mph) in service, although the ships reached speeds of 38–39 knots (70–72km/h; 44–45mph) during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 4,600 nautical miles (8,500km; 5,300mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22km/h; 14mph).[1]
In August 1937, the Italian Fascist government decided the intervention of the Italian navy in the Nationalist blockade of the Spanish Republic in the context of the Spanish Civil War. Freccia was part of a large naval force deployed to the Sicilian Channel. The operation began on 9 August 1937.[7]
The Italian tug Hercules and the British tanker British Commodore assisting the badly damaged George W. McKnight off Bizerte
On 14 August 1937, the Italian destroyer shadowed a Panamanian-flagged tanker, supported by the torpedo boat Cigno and the Spanish Nationalist auxiliary cruisers Puchol and Mallorca. Freccia's commander was under the impression that they were chasing the Republican tanker Campeador, unaware that the latter had been torpedoed and sunk by her sister ship Saetta on 11 August. The tanker was actually the George W. McKnight, owned by the American Panama Transport Company and chartered by the German chapter of the Esso. The captain was American and the rest of the complement German. At 21:15, Freccia launched five torpedoes; only one of them struck home, hitting George W. McKnight's abreast the stern. The destroyer also fired 53 rounds from her 120mm guns (29 armour-piercing and 24 high-explosive). Badly damaged, the tanker was abandoned by her crew and later assisted by the tanker British Commodore and the Italian tug Centauro. After transferring her cargo to the British tanker off Bizerte, the captain of the George W. McKnight ceded the ownership of the oiler to the Italian company Tripcovich, which towed the ship to Trieste to be repaired and, after several months of work, sold it to a British company under the name of Esso Edinburgh.[8]
As part of the 4th Naval Group, Freccia supported the Italian landings at Santi Quaranta on 7 April 1939. The destroyer, together with Baleno, landed 150 marines from the San Marco Battalion. The weak Albanian resistance ashore was routed with the assistance of the ships' main guns.[9]
Freccia was involved in several convoy actions in the course of the war.[10] On 21 February 1941, Freccia led the escort of a three Axis merchant ships on their way back from Tripoli, Libya. In the afternoon, the British submarne HMS Regent torpedoed the German freighter Menes, which was hit amidships. Regent endured an intense depth charge attack by the destroyers Turbine and Freccia and received some damage. Menes was eventually towed to safety by the third destroyer of the escort, Freccia's sister ship Saetta.[14][15] On 11 December 1941, Freccia was escorting the transport Calitea when the Italian motor vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS Talisman.Freccia counter-attacked Talisman with depth charges and rescued 230 survivors.[16] On 28 July 1942, nine Beauforts torpedo bombers from the 39 Sqn departing from Malta launched a sortie against the Italian motor vessel Monviso, escorted by Freccia and the torpedo boat Calliope in a small convoy to Benghasi. The warships and the Axis fighter escort shot down two bombers, but Monviso was badly hit. Freccia towed the merchant ship to Navarino, where she was repaired, only to sink on a minefield some weeks later.[17] On 6 September 1942, while escorting the motor vessels Luciano Manara and Ravello from Taranto to Benghasi along with the destroyers Bombardiere, Fuciliere, Geniere, Corsaro,Camicia Nera and the torpedo boat Pallade the convoy came under torpedo attack from Malta's Beauforts from the 39 Sqn. The Italian ships shot down two Beauforts and two supporting Beaufighters, not before one of the aerial torpedoes struck Luciano Manara's stern. Freccia took the motor vessel in tow, and beached her in Arillas bay, Corfu. Luciano Manara was eventually salvaged and survived the war.[18] On 29 December 1942, Freccia, fitted by then with the radar warning system Metox,[5] was lightly damaged when an aerial torpedo hit and blew up the ship she was escorting to Tunis, the transport Iseo, loaded with ammunition. After rescuing survivors, the destroyer was detached to reinforce the escort of a two-German merchant convoy.[19] While undergoing modernisation works at Genoa, Freccia was bombed and sunk at dock by RAF Lancaster bombers during an areaair raid on the city on 8 August 1943. Her hull was eventually refloated and scrapped in 1949.[20]
↑ Sorini, Fabio (2008). Dai fanti da mar alla forza di proiezione dal mare: la fanteria di marina e le truppe anfibie italiane dal 1500 ai giorni nostri, Volume 1 (in Italian). R. Chiaramonte. p.163.
↑ "La Difesa del Traffico con L'Africa Settentrionale". La Marina Italiana Nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale (in Italian). Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. 7: 384. 1962.
Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-544-8.
Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968). Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0002-6.
Giorgerini, Giorgio (2002). La guerra italiana sul mare: la marina tra vittoria e sconfitta, 1940-1943. (In Italian) Mondadori. ISBN978-88-04-50150-3.
Matessini, Francesco (2020) La battaglia di Capo Teulada (27-28 novembre 1940). (In Italian) Ufficio storico della Marina Militare.
Matessini, Francesco (2000) La Guerra Civile Spagnola e la Regia Marina Italiana. (in Italian). Soldiershop Publishing. ISBN8893276143.
Roberts, John (1980). "Italy". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp.280–317. ISBN0-8317-0303-2.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Reviseded.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-85409-521-8.
Giulio Cesare was one of three Conte di Cavour-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Italian Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1914, she was little used and saw no combat during the First World War. The ship supported operations during the Corfu Incident in 1923 and spent much of the rest of the decade in reserve. She was rebuilt between 1933 and 1937 with more powerful guns, additional armor and considerably more speed than before.
Conte di Cavour was the name ship of the three Conte di Cavour-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Italian Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1915 she served during World War I, although she was little used and saw no combat. The ship supported operations during the Corfu Incident in 1923 and spent much of the rest of the decade in reserve. She was rebuilt between 1933 and 1937 with more powerful guns, additional armor and considerably more speed than before.
The Freccia-class destroyer was a class of destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1930s. Four modified ships were built and delivered in 1933 for Greece.
The Turbine-class destroyer was a group of eight destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1920s. The ships played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1937, supporting the Nationalists. All the ships of the class were lost during World War II.
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The Folgore class were a group of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1930s. None of the ships survived World War II.
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The Leone class were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy in the early 1920s. Five ships were planned and three completed. All three ships were based at Massawa, Eritrea during World War II and were sunk during the East African Campaign.
The Mirabello class were a group of three destroyers built for the Regia Marina during World War I. Carlo Alberto Racchia was sunk by a mine in the Black Sea during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1920. The remaining two ships, obsolescent by 1938, were re-rated as destroyers and participated in World War II. Carlo Mirabello was also lost to a mine while escorting a convoy in 1941. The last surviving ship, Augusto Riboty, was reconfigured as a convoy escort in 1942–1943. The torpedo tubes were removed and depth charges and 20 mm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns added. She survived the war and was transferred to the Soviet Union as war reparations in 1946. The ship was scrapped five years later.
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Strale was one of four Freccia-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1932, she played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists and served in World War II.
Aviere ("Airman") was one of seventeen Soldati-class destroyers, built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Ascari was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in mid-1939, she was the last of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
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Turbine was the lead ship of her class of eight destroyers built for the Regia Marina during the 1920s. Her name means whirlwind.
Alfredo Oriani was the lead ship of her class of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the mid-1930s. Completed in 1937, she served in World War II. Alfredo Oriani took part of the battle of Matapan and the attack on Harpoon convoy.
Saetta was one of four Freccia-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1932, she served in World War II. She played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, supporting the Nationalists.
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