Mirabello-class destroyer

The Mirabello-class were a group of three destroyers (originally scout cruisers) built for the (Royal Italian Navy) during World War I. 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. was also lost to a mine while escorting a convoy in 1941. The last surviving ship, , was reconfigured as a convoy escort in 1942–1943. The torpedo tubes were removed and depth charges and 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. They had an overall length of , a beam of and a mean draft of . They displaced at standard load, and at deep load. Their complement was 8 officers and 161 enlisted men.

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 for a speed of . The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at a speed of .

Their main battery consisted of eight 35-caliber [[Cannon 102/35 Model 1914|Cannone da Template:Cvt/35 S Modello 1914 guns]] 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. 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|Cannone da Template:Cvt/40 A Modello 1891]] 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|Cannone da Template:Cvt/40 Modello 1916]] AA guns in single mounts. They were equipped with four 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 MirabelloTemplate:'s original configuration. The 76 mm guns were replaced by a pair of 39-caliber [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|Cannone da Template:Cvt/39]] AA guns in single mounts in 1920–1922.

Ships

Construction data

Ship	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
	21 November 1914	21 December 1915	24 August 1916	Sunk by mines, 21 May 1941
	10 December 1914	2 June 1916	21 December 1916	Sunk by mines, 21 June 1920
	27 February 1915	24 September 1916	5 May 1917	Served in the italian navy until she was scrapped in 1951

External links

• Carlo Mirabello Marina Militare website