Turbine-class destroyer

The destroyer Espero at anchor
Class overview
Name:	Turbine class
Operators:	Regia Marina  Kriegsmarine
In commission:	1927–1943
Completed:	8
Lost:	8
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	1,070 long tons (1,090 t) standard 1,670 long tons (1,700 t) full load
Length:	93.2 m (305 ft 9 in)
Beam:	9.2 m (30 ft 2 in)
Draught:	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Installed power:	40,000 shp (30,000 kW) 3 boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed:	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) (39.5 knots achieved in trials)
Range:	3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement:	179
Armament:	2 × twin 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 2 × single 40 mm pom-pom anti-aircraft guns 2 × single 13.2 mm AA machine guns 2 × triple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes 52 mines

The Turbine-class destroyer was a class of destroyers built for the Italian Regia Marina in the late 1920s. They were essentially larger versions of the earlier Sella-class destroyer. All the ships of the class were lost during World War II.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Navy supported the Spanish Nationalists not only by assisting them with war supplies, but also through undercover operations against enemy shipping. In the course of these missions, the destroyer Ostro torpedoed and sank the Spanish Republican freighter Conde de Abasolo on 13 August 1937, while Turbine sank the Soviet Timiryazev by the same means on 30 August, both of them off Algeria.

At the beginning of World War II, when Italy declared war against Britain and France, all eight ships of the Turbine class were based in Tobruk, Libya. They were tasked with mine laying duties and running supplies between Tobruk and Taranto. On 16 June 1940, Turbine sank the British submarine HMS Orpheus just off Tobruk.

Turbine, Aquilone and Nembo took part in the shelling of Sollum on 14 June 1940. They repeated this action on 26 June.

On 28 June 1940, Espero, Ostro and Zeffiro were in convoy, heavily loaded down with cargo, when they were intercepted by a British task force of five ships. In the ensuing battle, HMAS Sydney sank Espero as it lagged behind to allow the other two destroyers to reach Benghasi and later Tobruk safely.