She was present during the Battle of Taranto, and suffered a direct bomb hit, however it passed through her hull without exploding. She was also present at the disastrous Battle of the Duisburg Convoy, though survived only to be torpedoed the next day by HMS Upholder when she returned to the scene to search for survivors, she was taken in tow but soon sank.
Design and description
The Maestrale-class destroyers were a completely new design intended to rectify the stability problems of the preceding Folgoreclass.[1] They had a length between perpendiculars of 101.6 meters (333ft 4in) and an overall length of 106.7 meters (350ft 1in). The ships had a beam of 10.15 meters (33ft 4in) and a mean draft of 3.31 meters (10ft 10in)[2] and 4.3 meters (14ft 1in) at deep load.[1] They displaced 1,640 metric tons (1,610 long tons) at standard load, and 2,243 metric tons (2,208 long tons) at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 190 officers and enlisted men.[3]
The Maestrales were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by a trio of three-drum boilers.[3] The turbines were designed to produce 44,000 shaft horsepower (33,000kW) and a speed of 32–33 knots (59–61km/h; 37–38mph) in service,[1] but Libeccio briefly reached a speed of 41.3 knots (76.5km/h; 47.5mph) during her sea trials while lightly loaded.[3] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 2,600–2,800 nautical miles (4,800–5,200km; 3,000–3,200mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33km/h; 21mph) and 690nmi (1,280km; 790mi) at a speed of 33 knots (61km/h; 38mph).[1]
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.
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.
Thomas P. Lowry, John Wellham (1995). Attack on Taranto. Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN0-8117-2661-4
Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-85409-521-8.
The Maestrale class were a group of destroyers built for the Regia Marina and served in World War II. They formed the basis for subsequent Italian destroyer designs; the Oriani and Soldati classes.
The Sella-class destroyers were a group of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1920s. Two of these ships fought in World War II and both were sunk after the Italian capitulation to the Allies. The two other ships were sold to the Swedish Navy in 1940 and were scrapped in the late 1940s.
Alpino was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in early 1939, she was one of the last of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
Artigliere was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in 1938, she was one of the last of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
Bersagliere was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in early 1939, she was one of the last of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
Corazziere 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.
Geniere was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in 1938, she was one of the first of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
Lanciere was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in early 1939, she was one of the last of the first batch of a dozen ships to enter service.
Velite was one of nineteen Soldati-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Completed in mid-1942, she was the last of the second batch of seven ships to be finished.
Vittorio Alfieri was one of four Oriani-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the mid-1930s. Completed in 1937, she served in World War II. She was sunk at the battle of Matapan on 28 March 1941 with the loss of 211 of her 246 crew including her commanding officer, Captain Salvatore Toscano.
Giosuè Carducci was one of four Oriani-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the mid-1930s and early 1940s. Completed in 1937, she served in World War II.
Vincenzo Gioberti was one of four Oriani-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the mid-1930s and early 1940s. Completed in 1937, she served in World War II.
Scirocco was one of four Maestrale-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1934, she served in World War II.
Grecale was one of four Maestrale-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1934, she served in World War II. She survived the war and continued her service with Marina Militare until 1964.
Nicolò Zeno was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1920s. Completed in 1930, she served in World War II.
Antoniotto Usodimare was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1920s. Completed in 1929, she served in World War II.
Antonio Pigafetta was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the late 1920s. Completed in 1931, she served in World War II.
Francesco Nullo was one of four Sauro-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1920s. Completed in 1927, she served in World War II.
Francesco Crispi was one of four Sella-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the 1920s. Completed in 1927, she served in World War II.
Maestrale was the lead ship of her class of four destroyers built for the Regia Marina in the early 1930s. Completed in 1934, she served in World War II.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Kingdom of Italy 
