The ''Curtatone'' class were a group of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s built for the

Royal Italian Navy The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' (" ...

. They were the first destroyers to be built in Italy after the end of World War I, and were the first ships of this type to use twin rather than single mountings. The ships were originally ordered at the same time as the ''Palestro''-class destroyers, but were postponed due to steel shortages. The opportunity was taken to modify the design to incorporate experience and lengthen the ships by . The ships were later modernized for escort duties with the twin guns being replaced by singles and the triple

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s replaced by twin torpedo tubes. Extra light anti-aircraft guns were also fitted and the /40 caliber guns removed.

Ships

All four ships were built by Orlando yard in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Curtatone
Marina Militare website {{WWII Italian ships Destroyer classes Destroyers of the Regia Marina