Turbine-class destroyer

The Turbine class destroyer was a group of eight destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) 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.

The Turbine class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding In an effort to improve their speed, they were lengthened and given more powerful propulsion machinery than the earlier ships. This provided more space for fuel oil which increased their endurance as well. They displaced at standard load, and at deep load. Their complement was 12 officers and 167 enlisted men. although the ships reached speeds in excess of during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried of fuel oil which gave them a range of at a speed of Anti aircraft (AA) defense for the Turbine class ships was provided by a pair of AA guns in single mounts amidships and a twin gun mount for machine guns. They were equipped with six torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. while Turbine sank the Soviet cargo ship Timiryazev by the same means on 30 August, both of them off the coast of French Algeria. At the beginning of World War II, when Italy declared war against Britain and France, all eight ships of the Turbine class were based in Tobruk, Libya. They were tasked with mine laying duties and running supplies between Tobruk and Taranto. On 16 June 1940, Turbine sank the British submarine just off Tobruk. Turbine, Aquilone and Nembo took part in the shelling of the Egyptian port of Sollum on 14 June 1940. They repeated this action on 26 June. On 28 June 1940, Espero, Ostro and Zeffiro were in convoy, heavily loaded down with cargo, when they were intercepted by a British task force of five ships. In the ensuing battle, sank Espero as it lagged behind to allow the other two destroyers to reach Benghasi and later Tobruk safely. On 5 July 1940, British aircraft carrier launched an attack on Tobruk harbor. Its Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers sank Zeffiro, and severely damaged Euro. Later that month, on 20 July, during another attack on Tobruk harbour, other Swordfish from HMS Eagle sank with torpedoes both Nembo and Ostro. On 17 September of the same year, Swordfish from attacked Benghazi harbor where Aquilone and Borea were berthed, and both were sunk. Euro was part of the escort of the ill fated Duisburg convoy, when her commander lost the opportunity of torpedoing the cruiser due to an error of identification. On 3 July 1942, while escorting three freighters from Taranto to Benghazi along with the Da Verrazzano, Euro and Turbine shot down two Beaufort bombers. After Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, Euro participated in the Battle of Leros where she was sunk by German Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive bombers during an air raid on 3 October 1943. Turbine was seized by the Kriegsmarine and put into service in the Aegean Sea as a torpedo boat. On 19 June 1944, at Porto Lago, she was badly damaged by an explosion, which was thought to have been sabotage. She set in to the port of Salamis for repairs, but a US air strike on the port on 16 September sank her before they could be entirely completed.