The Indomito class was designed by Luigi Scaglia of Societa Pattison of Naples. The boats were the first large destroyers of the Règia Marina and the first fitted with steam turbines. The Indomito class were the first in the progression of Italian destroyers to be called either tre pipe or tre canne for their three funnels.[1] [2]
The ships were 237inchesft11inchesin (ftin) at the waterline (239inchesft6inchesin (ftin) overall) with a beam of 24feet and a draft of 7inchesft11inchesin (ftin). They had twin shafts driven by two Tosi steam turbines that were fired by four Thornycroft boilers. The drivetrain was designed for a power output of to move the ships at 30knots, but had a maximum output of which propelled the ships at 35.79knots.
As built, the ships were armed with one 4.7-1NaN-1/40 gun, four 3inches/40 guns, and two 17.7-1NaN-1 torpedo tubes. In 1914 they were augmented with an additional two torpedo tubes. During World War I, guide rails for laying up to ten mines were added to the ships. Later wartime changes replaced all the guns with five 4sp=usNaNsp=us/35 and a single 40mm/39 AA gun. Oil capacity was also increased during the war from 100MT to 128MT in order to increase endurance, but the increased weight had the opposite effect: slowing the ships and reduced their endurance.
All of the Indomito class saw action during World War I, with two of the ships, and, sunk during the war. The remaining four ships all survived the war and were reclassified as torpedo boats in 1929. The remaining four ships were stricken 1937–38., however, was reinstated on 1 March 1941. Reduced to two funnels and rearmed, she served as a target ship, a convoy escort, and served in an anti-submarine warfare role. She was scuttled by her crew on 10 September 1943 at Pola, but was raised by the Germans who commissioned her as Wildfang on 8 November. Wildfang, the last surviving member of the Indomito class, was sunk by U.S. aircraft on 5 November 1944 after just under one year of German service.
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Operational History | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (AE) [3] | Orlando, Livorno | 4 April 1912 | 15 December 1912 | 15 August 1913 | Stricken 12 October 1937[4] | |
| [5] | Orlando, Livorno | 1912 | 20 October 1912 | 1914 | Stricken in summer 1931 | |
| (IV) | Pattison, Naples | 1911 | 22 March 1913 | 1914 | Stricken 1 September 1937 | |
| Pattison, Naples | 1910 | 23 July 1913 | 1914 | Sunk 10 July 1916 by Austro-Hungarian U-boat | ||
| (ID) | Pattison, Naples | 1910 | 10 May 1912 | 20 January 1913 | Stricken 11 July 1937 | |
| (IS) | Pattison, Naples | 1912 | 30 September 1913 | 1914 | Stricken 18 September 1938. Reinstated as a target ship and convoy escort on 1 March 1941 but scuttled at Pola on 10 September 1943; raised and renamed Wildfang by Germany, but sunk by U.S. aircraft on 5 November 1944 | |
| Pattison, Naples | 1910 | 7 August 1912 | 1913 | Sunk 4 December 1915 by a mine from German U-boat | ||
| (IR) | Pattison, Naples | 1910 | 12 December 1912 | 1913 | Stricken 11 October 1937 |