The ''Lampo'' class was a class of six destroyers 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 birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

'' (Royal Navy) built by the German Schichau shipyard from 1899–1901. They served in the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

(where one was lost) and the surviving ships in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, before being disposed of between 1920 and 1924.

Design

In 1899, the Italian Navy ordered six destroyers from the German shipyard

Schichau-Werke The Schichau-Werke (F. Schichau, Maschinen- und Lokomotivfabrik, Schiffswerft und Eisengießerei GmbH) was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, Germany (now Elbląg, Poland) on the Frisches Haff (Vistula Lagoon) of then- Eas ...

of Elbing,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

(now Elbląg in Poland). The design was typical for Schichau-designed destroyers of the period, with a raised turtleback

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

, a ram bow and two funnels.''Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare'', p. 1616. The ships were long

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

and

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, with a beam of and a draught of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was normal and full load. They were powered by two triple expansion steam engines fed by four

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gen ...

s which were rated at driving two shafts to give a design speed of . Sufficient coal was carried to give an endurance of at or at . Gun armament varied between ships. , , and carried a single /40 calibre gun (capable of firing a shell to a range of at a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per gunFraccaroli 1970, pp. 281–282.) and five 57 mm/43 guns, while and carried six 57 mm guns. Torpedo armament consisted of two

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. The ships' crew consisted of 59 officers and men. The six ships were laid down between 1899 and 1900 and completed between 1900 and 1902. While the ships were fast, reaching speeds of over during

sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...

(corresponding to a realistic sea speed of ), seaworthiness was poor.Fraccaroli 1970, p. 56.

Service

The ships of the class were active during the

of 1911–1912. One ship, ''Freccia'' ran aground in a storm off

Tripoli, Libya Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwe ...

, on 12 October 1911, a few days after the city was captured by the Italians.Beehler 1913, pp. 20–21. Other ships in the class took part in operations along the coast of Libya,Beehler 1913, pp. 35, 47. and in the Dodecanese.Beehler 1913, pp. 69, 74. In 1914, the remaining ships of the class formed part of the 6th Destroyer Division, based in Libya. During the

, the ships of the class were modified for minelaying, being fitted to carry at least 12 mines. The ships were used as escorts in North African waters and in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

,Fraccaroli 1970, pp. 59, 265–266, 268–269, 272. and as such carried depth charges and anti-submarine sweeps. The ships of the class were disposed on during the early 1920s, with the last one stricken in November 1924.

Ships

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

Classe Lampo
Marina Militare website {{WWI Italian ships Destroyer classes World War I destroyers of Italy Destroyers of Germany