Durand de la Penne-class destroyer

Durand de la Penne
Class overview
Name:	Durand de la Penne class
Builders:	Fincantieri, Riva Trigoso (La Spezia)
Operators:	Marina Militare
Preceded by:	Impavido class
Cost:	Lire 1.498 millions (1981-1993)
Built:	1989-1992
In commission:	1992-present
Completed:	2
Active:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	- 4.500 t (4.429 long tons), standard - 5.560 t (5.472 long tons), full load
Length:	147.7 m (485 ft)
Beam:	16.1 m (53 ft)
Draught:	5 m (16 ft)
Propulsion:	- CODOG scheme: - 2 × General Electric/Avio LM2500 gas turbines providing 41.000 kW (54.982 hp) - 2 × diesel engines BL-230-20-DVM 9.396 kW (12.600 hp) - 6 x diesel engine generators Fincantieri DMD 203-6
Speed:	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range:	7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement:	380
Sensors and processing systems:	- 1 × AESN MM/SPS-768 radar - 1 × SPS-52C 3D radar - 1 × medium range AESN MM/SPS-774 - 1 × surface radar AMS MM/SPS-702 - 1 × navigation radar SMA MM/SPN-703 - 4 × AESN Orion RTN-30X (MM/SPG-76) - 1 × sonar system DE-1164/1167 - 1 × TACAN URN-25 - 1 × SADOC-2 combat system
Electronic warfare & decoys:	- ECM system Elettronica SLQ-732 NETTUNO - 2 x SAGEM Sagaie decoy launching system - ASW AN/SLQ-25 Nixie, Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) System
Armament:	- 1 × Otobreda 127 mm gun - 3 × Oto Melara 76/62 mm Super Rapido gun - 1 × Albatross octuple launcher for Selenia Aspide SAM - 1 × Mk 13 launcher with 40 Standard SM-1MR missiles - 4 × OTOMAT Mk2 SSMs - 4 × Milas anti submarine missile - 2 × 324 mm triple torpedo launchers WASS B515/3
Aircraft carried:	2 helicopters
Aviation facilities:	double hangar

The Durand de la Penne class are two guided missile destroyers operated by the Marina Militare, the Italian navy. The design is an updated version of the Audace class but these ships are larger, have CODOG machinery and modern sensors. Initially four ships were planned but the second pair were cancelled as Italy had decided to join the Horizon project.

This class is named after a famous naval diver who served in the Regia Marina during World War II, Luigi Durand de la Penne. He, together with other members of X MAS made the most successful human torpedo mission, damaging the British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria, December 1941, with SLCs 'Maiale'.

These new ships were meant as very advanced destroyers, with an improvement over the previous types in almost every aspect of design. Because the ships in Marina Militare Italiana are seldom built from scratch (especially for economic reasons), it is worth considering the evolution of this project, starting with the first class of missile destroyers made in Italy. With progressive calls for better performances, this class evolved into the final design for the Durand de la Penne class destroyer.

The first step of this 'cumulative growth' was the Impavido class, the firsts guided missile destroyers of the Marina Militare, but still a version of the Impetuoso class. The Impavido class ships were commissioned in the early 1960s and were roughly equal to the US Navy Charles F. Adams-class destroyers. Both shared the Tartar missile system, with a Mk 13 launcher, around 40 missiles and two Fire Control radars, all this was fitted in the aft of the ship. Both also had two single 127 mm (5 in) guns, but American ships had these in single mountings and in a new model, the Mk 42, one fore and the other aft, while the Impavido made use of an older Mk 38 dual turret.

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Wikipedia