Sella-class destroyer
{{Short description | 1920s Italian destroyers in World War II}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Sella at anchor.jpg |Ship caption=Sella at anchor }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name= |Builders=Pattison, Naples |Operators=*{{navy|Kingdom of Italy|name=Regia Marina}}
|Class before= |Class after= |Cost= |Built range=1923–1927 |In service range= |In commission range=1926–1940s |Total ships completed=4 |Total ships lost=2 |Total ships scrapped=2 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption=(as built) |Ship type=Destroyer |Ship displacement=*{{cvt|970|t|LT|lk=on}} (standard)
|Ship length= {{convert|84.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|8.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= {{convert|2.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship power=*3 Thornycroft boilers
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines |Ship speed={{convert|33|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= {{convert|3600|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|14|kn}} |Ship complement=152–153 |Ship armament=* 1 × twin, 1 × single 120 mm Italian naval gun#45-calibre OTO 1926
|Ship notes= }} |
The Sella-class destroyers were a group of four destroyers built for the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Italian Navy) in the 1920s. Two of these ships fought in World War II and both were sunk after the Italian capitulation to the Allies. The two other ships were sold to the Swedish Navy in 1940 and were scrapped in the late 1940s.
These ships formed the basis for most subsequent destroyers built by the Italians, but were disappointing in service with unreliable machinery.
Design and description
The Sella-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding {{sclass|Palestro|destroyer|5}} and {{sclass|Curtatone|destroyer|4}}. They had an overall length of {{convert|84.9|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a beam of {{convert|8.6|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a draft of {{convert|2.7|m|ftin|sp=us}}. They displaced {{convert|970|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} at standard load, and {{convert|1480|t|LT|sp=us|-1}} at deep load. Their complement was 8–9 officers and 144 enlisted men.
The Sellas were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at {{convert|36000|shp|lk=on}} for a speed of {{convert|33|kn|lk=in}} in service,Roberts, p. 298 although the ships reached speeds in excess of {{convert|37|kn}} during their sea trials while lightly loaded.McMurtrie, p. 281 They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of {{convert|3600|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|14|kn}}.Whitley, p. 159
Their main battery consisted of three 120 mm Italian naval gun#50-calibre Ansaldo 1926 guns in one twin-gun turret aft of the superstructure and one single-gun turret forward of it.Fraccaroli, p. 43 Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Sella-class ships was provided by a pair of QF 2 pounder naval gun AA guns in single mounts amidships and a pair of Breda Model 1931 Machine Gun. They were equipped with four {{convert|533|mm|in|adj=on|sp=us|0}} torpedo tubes in two twin mounts amidships. The Sellas could also carry 32 mines.
Ships
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data |
| scope="col" | Ship name
! scope="col" | Namesake ! scope="col" | Builder ! scope="col" | Completed ! scope="col" | Fate |
|---|
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Francesco Crispi||2}}
| Pattison | 29 April 1927 | Seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice, September 1943; served as TA15, sunk by air attack in the Aegean Sea, 8 March 1944 |
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Quintino Sella||2}}
| Pattison | 25 March 1926 | Sunk by German E-boats in the Adriatic Sea, 11 September 1943 |
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Bettino Ricasoli||2}}
| Pattison | 11 December 1926 | Sold to the Swedish Navy as {{HSwMS|Puke|19|6}} |
| scope="row" | {{ship|Italian destroyer|Giovanni Nicotera||2}}
| Pattison | 8 January 1927 | Sold to the Swedish Navy as the {{HSwMS|Psilander|18|6}} |
Service history
During the war, the destroyers were based at the island of Leros, in the Dodecanese. They took part in the Italian retaking of Kastelorizo (named Operation Abstention by the British) on 27 February 1941, and were used as mother ships for the successful attack by explosive motor boats on {{HMS|York|90|6}} on 25 March. Crispi led the landing of an Italian division on Sitia, Crete, on 28 May 1941, in the course of the battle of Crete.
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite journal|last1=Birchfield |first1=B. |last2=Borgenstam |first2=Carl |last3=Caruana |first3=Joseph |last4=Frampton |first4=Viktor|year=1988|title=Question 3/87|journal=Warship International|volume=XXV|issue=2|pages=205–210|issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
- {{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 |url=https://archive.org/details/navalweaponsworl00camp |url-access=limited |publisher =Naval Institute Press |date =1985 |location =Annapolis, Maryland |page =[https://archive.org/details/navalweaponsworl00camp/page/n347 336] |isbn =0-87021-459-4}}
- {{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|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|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
- {{cite book|editor1-last=Chumbley|editor1-first=Stephen|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 |year=1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-55750-132-7 |chapter=Italy |last1=Smigielski |first1=Adam |pages=195–218}}
- {{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|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}
External links
- [http://army1914-1945.org.pl/wlochy2/bitwy-kampanie-dowodcy-italia/107-tragedia-kontrtorpedowca-quintino-sella-cacciatorpediniere-11-wrzesnia-1943-r Tragedy destroyer Quintino Sella 11 września 1943 r. (PL) ]
- [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/sella.aspx Quintino Sella] Marina Militare website
{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}
{{Sella class destroyers}}
{{WWII Italian ships}}
{{WWII Swedish ships}}
{{Authority control}}