Dardo was one of four s built for the Italian: [[Regia Marina]] (Royal Italian Navy) in the early 1930s. Completed in 1932, she served in World War II. The ship was captured by the Germans after the Italian armistice in September 1943 and used by the German: Kriegsmarine under the name TA31 until she was sunk in April 1945.
The Freccia-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding .[1] They had an overall length of 96.15m (315.45feet), a beam of 9.75m (31.99feet) and a mean draft of 3.15m (10.33feet).[2] They displaced 1225sp=usNaNsp=us at standard load, and 2150t at deep load. Their complement during wartime was 185 officers and enlisted men.[3]
The Freccias were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Thornycroft boilers.[3] The turbines were designed to produce 44000shp and a speed of 30kn in service, although the ships reached speeds of 38- during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 4600nmi at a speed of .[1]
Their main battery consisted of four 120sp=usNaNsp=us guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure.[4] Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Freccia-class ships was provided by a pair of 40mm AA guns in single mounts amidships and a pair of twin-gun mounts for 13.2mm machine guns.[3] They were equipped with six 533mm torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. Although the ships were not provided with a sonar system for anti-submarine work, they were fitted with a pair of depth charge throwers.[1] The Freccias could carry 54 mines.[4]
Dardo was laid down by Cantieri navali Odero at their Genoa-Sestri Ponente shipyard on 23 January 1929, launched on 6 September 1930 and commissioned on 21 January 1932.[2]
. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 2005. Third Revised. 1-59114-119-2. Jürgen Rohwer.
. Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia . 1988. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 1-85409-521-8 . Michael J. Whitley.