The ''Palestro''-class were four
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 of the Italian ''
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
'' that saw service from the mid-1920s to World War II.
The ships were designed in 1915 and based on the ''Audace''-class destroyer. Eight ships were ordered, but because of wartime shortages of materials only four were eventually completed. These four ships were laid down in 1917 at the Orlando shipyard 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 ...
, but were not finally completed until 1921–1923. In 1938 they were re-rated as
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s.
The design was subsequently enlarged into the s, a design that was developed into a series of medium-sized Italian destroyer classes.
Ships
* ''Palestro'' (PT) was laid down in April 1917, launched on 23 March 1919 and completed in January 1921. She was sunk by the British submarine off
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
, Albania, on 22 September 1940.
* ''Confienza'' (CF) was laid down in May 1917, launched on 18 December 1920 and completed in April 1923. She sank after a collision with auxiliary cruiser ''Capitano A. Cecchi'' off
Brindisi
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
on 20 November 1940.
* ''San Martino'' (SM) was laid down in April 1917, launched on 8 September 1920 and completed in October 1922. She was captured by the Germans at
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
, Greece, on 9 September 1943, and was commissioned into the ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' on 28 October 1943 as ''TA17''. She was mined on 18 June 1944, and bombed on 18 September 1944 while under repair. She was finally scuttled at
Salamis on 12 October 1944.
* ''Solferino'' (SL) was laid down in April 1917, launched on 28 April 1920 and completed in October 1921. She was captured by the Germans at
Souda
Souda ( el, Σούδα) is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...
, Crete, on 9 September 1943, and was commissioned into the ''Kriegsmarine'' on 25 July 1944 as ''TA18''. She was badly damaged by gunfire during an encounter with the British destroyers and off
Skiathos
Skiathos ( el, Σκιάθος, , ; grc, Σκίαθος, ; and ) is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland, ...
, in the Aegean Sea, then ran aground near
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
, and was destroyed by her crew.
See also
*
List of Italian destroyers
This is a list of destroyers of the Regia Marina and Marina Militare, sorted by era and Ship class, class.
Regia Marina
World War I
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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, ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
Classe PalestroMarina Militare website
Destroyers of the Regia Marina
Destroyer classes
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