Mirabello-class destroyer
{{Short description|Royal Italian Navy cruiser/destroyer class}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Rct Mirabello.jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name= |Operators={{navy|Kingdom of Italy|name=Regia Marina}} |Class before={{sclass|Aquila|destroyer|4}} |Class after={{sclass|La Masa|destroyer|4}} |Cost= |Built range=1914–1917 |In service range= |In commission range=1917–1945 |Total ships planned=3 |Total ships completed=3 |Total ships lost=2 |Total ships scrapped=1 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption=(Carlo Mirabello as built) |Ship type=Destroyer |Ship displacement=*{{cvt|1784|t|LT|lk=on}} (normal)
|Ship length= {{convert|103.75|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|9.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= {{convert|3.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines |Ship power=*4 Yarrow boilers
|Ship speed= {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= {{convert|2300|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn}} |Ship complement=8 officers and 161 enlisted men |Ship armament=*8 × single Cannon 102/35 Model 1914 guns
|Ship notes= }} |
The Mirabello-class were a group of three destroyers (originally scout cruisers) built for the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Italian Navy) during World War I. {{ship|Italian destroyer|Carlo Alberto Racchia||2}} was sunk by a mine in the Black Sea during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1920. The remaining two ships, obsolescent by 1938, were re-rated as destroyers and participated in World War II. {{ship|Italian destroyer|Carlo Mirabello||2}} was also lost to a mine while escorting a convoy in 1941. The last surviving ship, {{ship|Italian destroyer|Augusto Riboty||2}}, was reconfigured as a convoy escort in 1942–1943. The torpedo tubes were removed and depth charges and Breda Model 35 anti-aircraft guns added. She survived the war and was supposed to be transferred to the Soviet Union as war reparations in 1946, but she was obsolescent so money was accepted instead, and she remained in the italian navy until the early 1950s. The ship was scrapped five years later.
Design and description
The ships were designed as scout cruisers (esploratori), essentially enlarged versions of contemporary destroyers.Whitley, p. 158 They had an overall length of {{convert|103.75|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|9.74|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a mean draft of {{convert|3.3|m|ftin|sp=us}}.Gray, p. 265 They displaced {{convert|1784|t|LT|lk=on}} at standard load, and {{convert|2040|t|LT}} at deep load. Their complement was 8 officers and 161 enlisted men.Fraccaroli 1970, p. 51
The Mirabellos were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by four Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at {{convert|44000|shp|lk=on}} for a speed of {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of {{convert|2300|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|12|kn}}.
Their main battery consisted of eight 35-caliber Cannon 102/35 Model 1914 in single mounts protected by gun shields, one each fore and aft of the superstructure on the centerline and the remaining guns positioned on the broadside amidships.McMurtrie, p. 283 Carlo Mirabello was the only ship completed to this configuration as her sister ships exchanged a 40-caliber QF 6-inch naval gun#Italian naval service for the forward 102 mm gun; Carlo Mirabello received hers in 1917. The gun proved to be too heavy for the ships and its rate of fire was too slow. Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Mirabello-class ships was provided by a pair of 40-caliber Cannon 76/40 Model 1916 AA guns in single mounts. They were equipped with four {{convert|450|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us|1}} torpedo tubes in two twin mounts, one on each broadside. Augusto Riboty could carry 120 mines, although her sisters could only handle 100.
=Modifications=
In 1919 the ships were rearmed with eight 45-caliber Cannone da 102/45 S, A Modello 1917 guns arranged as per Carol Mirabello{{'}}s original configuration. The 76 mm guns were replaced by a pair of 39-caliber QF 2 pounder naval gun AA guns in single mounts in 1920–1922.
Ships
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data |
| scope="col" | Ship
! scope="col" | Laid down ! scope="col" | Launched |
|---|
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Carlo Mirabello||2}}
| 21 November 1914 | 21 December 1915 | 24 August 1916 |Sunk by mines, 21 May 1941 |
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Carlo Alberto Racchia||2}}
| 10 December 1914 | 2 June 1916 | 21 December 1916 |Sunk by mines, 21 June 1920 |
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Augusto Riboty||2}}
| 27 February 1915 | 24 September 1916 | 5 May 1917 | Served in the italian navy until she was scrapped in 1951 |
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Brescia|first=Maurizio|title=Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45|year=2012|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-59114-544-8}}
- {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=John|title =Naval Weapons of World War Two |publisher =Naval Institute Press|date =1985 |location =Annapolis, Maryland |isbn =0-87021-459-4}}
- {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|title=Italian Warships of World War 1|year=1970 |publisher=Ian Allan|location=London|isbn=0-7110-0105-7}}
- {{cite book |last1=Fraccaroli |first1=Aldo |title=Italian Warships of World War II |date=1968 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton, UK |isbn=0-7110-0002-6}}
- {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory|publisher= Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7 |authorlink=Norman Friedman}}
- {{cite book|last=Gray|first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5}}
- {{cite book |editor1-last=McMurtrie |editor1-first=Francis E. |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1937 |date=1937 |publisher=Sampson Low |location=London |oclc=927896922}}
- {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-8317-0303-2 |chapter=Italy |last1=Roberts |first1=John|pages=280–317}}
- {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=2005 |edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|authorlink=Jürgen Rohwer}}
- {{cite book|first=M. J.|last=Whitley|title=Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia |year=1988|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-85409-521-8 |authorlink=Michael J. Whitley}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last1=Cernuschi |first1=Enrico |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=John |title=Warship 2022 |date=2022 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford|pages=147–160 |isbn=978-1-4728-4781-2 |chapter=Esploratori of the Regia Marina, 1906—1939}}
External links
- [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/LMNO/mirabello.aspx Carlo Mirabello] Marina Militare website
{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}
{{Mirabello class destroyer}}
{{WWI Italian ships}}
{{WWII Italian ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirabello-class destroyer}}
Category:Destroyers of the Regia Marina
Category:World War I destroyers of Italy