Ciclone-class torpedo boat

The Ciclone class were a group of torpedo boats or destroyer escorts built for the Italian Navy which fought in the Second World War. They were modified, slightly heavier, versions of the previous Orsa class, with improved stability and heavier anti-submarine armament. These ships were built as part of the Italian war mobilization programme and completed in 1942–43.

The Ciclone-class torpedo boat Aliseo
Class overview
Operators
Built1941–1943
In commission1942–1949
Completed16
Lost11
General characteristics [1]
TypeTorpedo boat
Displacement
  • 910 long tons (920 t) standard
  • 1,625 long tons (1,651 t) full load
Length82.5 m (270 ft 8 in) pp; 87.75 m (287 ft 11 in) oa
Beam9.9 m (32 ft 6 in)
Draught3.77 m (12 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 shaft steam turbines
  • 2 Yarrow type boilers
  • 16,000 hp (11,900 kW)
Speed26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Complement154
Sensors and
processing systems		Sonar and hydrophones
Armament

Armament

All units were fitted with a sonar, and also torpedo launchers were present in the same quantity and placement for all units of the class. However, there were three different gun configurations in the class:

  • Ghibli, Impavido, Impetuoso, Indomito were fitted with 3 single 100mm/47 guns, plus 4 dual 20mm/65 machine guns.
  • Aliseo, Ardente, Ciclone, Fortunale, Groppo, Monsone, Tifone, Uragano with 2 single 100mm/47 guns and 8 × 20mm/65 machine guns.
  • Animoso, Ardito, Ardimentoso, Intrepido with 2 single 100mm/47 guns, while the central mounting was fitted with a quadruple 20mm/65 mounting, for a total of 12 AA machine guns.

Ships
Ship Builder Launched Operational History
Aliseo Navalmeccanica 20 September 1942 On 8 September 1943, Aliseo engaged and destroyed several German auxiliary vessels off Bastia, right after the Cassibile armistice. War reparation to the Yugoslav Navy, 1949 as RE-51 Triglav
Animoso Ansaldo, Genoa 15 April 1942 Reparation to the USSR, 1949 as destroyer Ladny (Ладный), broken up 1958, sunk as target by P-15 missile, 28 August 1959.[2]
Ardente Ansaldo, Genoa 27 May 1942 Sank submarine HMS P48 on 25 December 1942. Sunk in collision with the destroyer Grecale 12 January 1943
Ardimentoso Ansaldo, Genoa 27 June 1942 Reparation to the USSR, 1949 as destroyer Liuty (Лютый), broken up 1960
Ardito Ansaldo, Genoa 16 March 1942 She sank submarine HMS Turbulent on 6 March 1943.[3] The vessel took part of the action off Bastia along Aliseo, but she was eventually captured by the Germans in September 1943 and served as TA26.[4] Either sunk 15 June 1944 by US Navy PT boats or destroyed by sabotage at Rapallo on 6 July 1944[5]
Ciclone CRDA, Trieste 1 March 1942 She took part in the shooting down of three Beaufort bombers and a Beaufighter while escorting a convoy to Libya between 20 and 21 August 1942.[6] Sunk by mines 8 March 1943
Fortunale CRDA, Trieste 18 April 1942 Sank submarine HMS P222 on 12 December 1942. Reparation to the USSR, 1949 as destroyer Liotny (Лётный), sunk as target ship 1959
Ghibli Navalmeccanica 28 February 1943 Seized by the Germans in September 1943, but not repaired. Scuttled in La Spezia 25 April 1945
Groppo Navalmeccanica 19 April 1943 She claimed the shooting down of a Bristol Beaufort while escorting a convoy on 23 January 1943. The Italian freighter Verona was torpedoed and sunk in the action. Groppo also captured an RAF inflatable motor boat with two airmen aboard after their Lockheed Hudson bomber was shot down by German aircraft while escorting a convoy near the Skerki Banks on 22 February. Sunk 25 May 1943, by USAAF B-17 bombers at Messina[7]
Impavido CT Riva Trigoso 24 February 1943 Captured by the Germans in September 1943, served as TA23. Struck a mine on 25 April 1944 and finished off by British MTBs while taken in tow[8]
Impetouso CT Riva Trigoso 20 April 1943 Scuttled 11 September 1943
Indomito CT Riva Trigoso 6 July 1943 War reparation to the Yugoslav Navy, 1949 as the Biokovo
Intrepido CT Riva Trigoso 8 September 1943 Captured by the Germans in September 1943, served as TA25. Sunk by US PT boats 15 July 1944[9]
Monsone Navalmeccanica 7 June 1942 She beat off the attack of three British MTBs off Marettimo on 16 February 1943, while escorting a four-ship convoy along with Sirio and the Gabbiano class corvettes Gabbiano and Antilope. The motor torpedo boats were caught in advance by the escorts' sonar.[10] Sunk 1 March 1943 at Naples by USAAF aircraft[11]
Tifone CRDA Trieste 31 March 1942 Close escort of the Cigno convoy on 16 April 1943, when she shepherded the transport Belluno to Trapani. As part of the same mission, she delivered aviation fuel to Bizerte. After successfully repeating the ressuply operation in the first days of May, Tifone was damaged by USAAF aircraft and scuttled at Korbous, Tunisia, on 7 May 1943
Uragano CRDA Trieste 3 May 1942 Sunk by mines 3 February 1943

History

Units of this class were heavily engaged in escort duties between Italy and Northern Africa, or in anti-submarine patrols. Some units were still incomplete when Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile, and were sabotaged by the Italians, or captured by the Germans, completed and reclassified as "Torpedoboot Ausland" (Foreign Torpedo-boat).

Aliseo, with Carlo Fecia di Cossato in command, destroyed eight German auxiliary vessels near the port of Bastia, Corsica.[12][13] For this success, di Cossato was given the highest Italian military decoration, the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Five units survived the war, to be transferred to the USSR, Greece and Yugoslavia as reparation for war damages. None was left in service with Italian Navy.[14]

References
  1. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946
  2. Александр Широкорад: Чудо-оружие СССР -Тайны советского оружия, ISBN 5-9533-0411-0, p. 119
  3. "HMS Turbulent (N 98) of the Royal Navy - British Submarine of the T class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. Destroyers of WW2 by M. J. Whitley page 174
  5. TA25
  6. Shores, Cull & Malizia (1991). Malta: The Spitfire Year 1942. Grub Street, pp. 522-524. ISBN 0-948817-16-X
  7. Colombo, Lorenzo (3 January 2016). "Con la pelle appesa a un chiodo: Groppo". Con la pelle appesa a un chiodo (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  8. TA23
  9. TA26
  10. Giorgerini, Giorgio (2001). La guerra italiana sul mare. La Marina tra vittoria e sconfitta 1940-1943 (in Italian). Mondadori. p. 550. ISBN 8804405813.
  11. Torpediniera Monsone From trentoincina.it (in Italian)
  12. The Italian Regia Marina and the Armistice of 8 September 1943
  13. Axis History Forum • View topic - korsika bastia 1943
  14. (in Italian) Italian navy website.
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