The ''Ciclone'' class were a group of torpedo boats or

destroyer escorts Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

built for the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

which fought in the Second World War. They were modified, slightly heavier, versions of the previous Orsa class, with improved stability and heavier anti-submarine armament. These ships were built as part of the Italian war mobilization programme and completed in 1942–43.

Armament

All units were fitted with a

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

, and also

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

launchers were present in the same quantity and placement for all units of the class. However, there were three different gun configurations in the class: * ''Ghibli'', ''Impavido'', ''Impetuoso'', ''Indomito'' were fitted with 3 single 100mm/47 guns, plus 4 dual 20mm/65 machine guns. * ''Aliseo'', ''Ardente'', ''Ciclone'', ''Fortunale'', ''Groppo'', ''Monsone'', ''Tifone'', ''Uragano'' with 2 single 100mm/47 guns and 8 × 20mm/65 machine guns. * ''Animoso'', ''Ardito'', ''Ardimentoso'', ''Intrepido'' with 2 single 100mm/47 guns, while the central mounting was fitted with a quadruple 20mm/65 mounting, for a total of 12 AA machine guns.

Ships

History

Units of this class were heavily engaged in escort duties between Italy and Northern Africa, or in anti-submarine patrols. Some units were still incomplete when Italy signed the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

, and were sabotaged by the Italians, or captured by the Germans, completed and reclassified as "

Torpedoboot Ausland The ''Torpedoboot Ausland'' ("foreign torpedo boats") were small destroyers or large torpedo boats captured by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Kriegsmarine. They were assigned a number beginning with TA. Ex-French ships *Former French s, ...

" (Foreign Torpedo-boat). ''Aliseo'', with

Carlo Fecia di Cossato Carlo Fecia di Cossato (25 September 1908 – 27 August 1944) was an officer in the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy), in command of submarines and torpedo boats during World War II. He was credited with the confirmed sinking of 23 enemy ships (16 ...

in command, destroyed eight German auxiliary vessels near the port of Bastia, Corsica.The Italian Regia Marina and the Armistice of 8 September 1943
/ref>Axis History Forum • View topic - korsika bastia 1943
/ref> For this success, di Cossato was given the highest Italian military decoration, the Gold Medal of Military Valor. Five units survived the war, to be transferred to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

as reparation for war damages. None was left in service with Italian Navy''.Italian navy website

References

External links

Historical Ships
Marina Militare website {{WWII Italian ships Torpedo boat classes World War II torpedo boats of Italy Ships built in Italy Torpedo boats of the Regia Marina