Nembo-class destroyer

The Nembo class was a class of destroyer of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy). Six destroyers were built by the Pattison shipyard of Naples between 1899 and 1905, to a design based on the contemporary destroyers of the British shipyard Thornycroft. They were active in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War, where three were lost.

Zeffiro
Class overview
Name: Nembo class
Builders: Pattison, Naples
Operators:  Regia Marina
Preceded by: Lampo class
Succeeded by: Soldato class
Built: 1899–1905
In commission: 1902–1924
Completed: 6
Lost: 3
Scrapped: 3
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer
Displacement:
  • 325 long tons (330 t) normal
  • 380 long tons (390 t) full load
Length:
  • 63.39 m (208 ft 0 in) pp
  • 64.00 m (210 ft 0 in) oa
Beam: 5.94 m (19 ft 6 in)
Draught: 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:
Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement: 55
Armament:

Nembo and Turbine:

1 × 76 mm/40 gun
5 × 57 mm/43 guns
2 × 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes

Remaining ships:

5 × 57 mm/43 guns
3 × 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes
1 × 356 mm (14 in) bow tube

Design

In 1899, work began on at the Pattison shipyard of Naples on the first ships of a new class of destroyers, the Nembo class.[1] The Nembo class were based on a design by the British shipbuilders Thornycroft, and were similar to the Thirty-knotter destroyers that Thornycroft were building for the British Royal Navy (such as HMS Stag).[2]

The ships were 64.0 metres (210 ft 0 in) long overall and 63.39 metres (208 ft 0 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 5.94 metres (19 ft 6 in) and a draught of 2.29 metres (7 ft 6 in). Displacement was 325 long tons (330 t) normal and 380 long tons (390 t) full load.[3] Three Thornycroft boilers fed steam to two triple expansion steam engines rated at 5,000 indicated horsepower (3,700 kW) and driving two propeller shafts, giving a design speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).[3][4] The ships featured a raised turtleback[lower-alpha 1] forecastle and two funnels.[6] Crew was between 51 and 58 officers and men.[4]

The first two ships of the class, Nembo and Turbine were armed with one 76 mm (3 in)/40 calibre gun (capable of firing a 5.9 kilograms (13 lb) shell to a range of 9,850 metres (32,320 ft) at a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per gun[7]) and five 57 mm/43 guns, with two 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes,[3] while the remaining four ships had a reduced gun armament of five 57 mm/43 guns, allowing an increased torpedo armament of four 356 mm torpedo tubes to be carried.[3]

The six ships of the class were completed between 1902 and 1905, reaching speeds of up to 30.2 knots (55.9 km/h; 34.8 mph) during sea trials (corresponding to a realistic sea speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)).[8]

Nembo and Turbine were rearmed in 1905 to match the other four ships.[3] From 1908, all ships of the class were fitted with new oil-fired boilers, with a resulting change in the ships' profile, with three funnels being fitted rather than two. Sufficient oil was carried to give a range of 330 nautical miles (610 km; 380 mi) at 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) or 2,200 nautical miles (4,100 km; 2,500 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph). The ships' armament was changed at the same time, to four 76 mm/40 guns and two 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes.[4]

Service

The ships of the class were active during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912.[9] They were fitted for minelaying, with a capacity of 10–16 mines during the First World War, during which three destroyers were lost.[3] Following the end of the war, the remaining three ships had a boiler removed, with the consequent loss of a funnel, together with a 76 mm gun, and were reclassified as torpedo boats.[4]

Ships
Ship Laid down[8] Launched[8] Completed[8] Operational History
Nembo 6 August 1899 18 May 1901 26 June 1902 Torpedoed by Austro-Hungarian submarine U-16 on 17 October 1916.[10][lower-alpha 2]
Turbine 20 August 1899 21 November 1901 28 August 1902 Sunk by Austro-Hungarian cruiser Helgoland and destroyers Csepel, Tátra and Lika on 24 May 1915.[10]
Aquilone 10 September 1899 16 October 1902 12 October 1903 Re-rated as torpedo boat 1 July 1921, discarded 4 March 1923.[4]
Borea 2 October 1899 12 December 1902 6 October 1903 Sunk by Austro-Hungarian destroyers Csepel and Balaton 14/15 May 1917.[4]
Zeffiro 14 May 1904 1 April 1905 Re-rated as torpedo boat 1 July 1921, discarded 13 March 1923.[10]
Espero 9 July 1904 1 April 1905 Renamed Turbine 16 January 1921. Re-rated as torpedo boat 1 July 1921, discarded 5 April 1923.[4]

Notes
  1. A turtleback is an arched structure over the deck of a ship, normally at the ship's bow.[5]
  2. U-16 was also sunk in this engagement, possibly by the explosion of Nembo's depth charges after the destroyer sank,[3][10][11][12] or possibly by ramming, either by Nembo[13] or by another ship.[14]

Citations
  1. "Nembo: Cacciatorpedinere" (in Italian). Marina Militare. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. Friedman 2009, p. 50.
  3. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 356.
  4. Fraccaroli 1970, p. 65.
  5. "turtleback: Definitions". wordnik.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  6. Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare, p. 1877.
  7. Fraccaroli 1970, pp. 281–282.
  8. Fraccaroli 1970, pp. 65–66.
  9. Beehler 1913, pp. 10, 89.
  10. Fraccaroli 1970, p. 66.
  11. Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 258.
  12. Grant 1964, p. 163.
  13. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Nembo". U-Boat War in World War I. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  14. Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 343.

References
  • Beehler, William Henry (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War, Sept. 29, 1911 to Oct. 18, 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Advertiser-Republican.
  • Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Fraccaroli, Aldo (1970). Italian Warships of World War 1. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0105-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Grant, Robert M. (1964). U-Boats Destroyed: The Effect of Anti-Submarine Warfare 1914–1918. London: Putnam.
  • "Nembo". Purnell's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Modern Weapons and Warfare. London: Phoebus Pub. Co.: 1877 1978–1979.
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