These ships formed the basis for most subsequent destroyers built by the Italians, but were disappointing in service with unreliable machinery.
The Sella-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding and . They had an overall length of 84.9m (278.5feet), a beam of 8.6m (28.2feet) and a draft of 2.7m (08.9feet). They displaced 970sp=usNaNsp=us at standard load, and 1480sp=usNaNsp=us at deep load. Their complement was 8–9 officers and 144 enlisted men.
The Sellas were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at 36000shp for a speed of 33kn in service,[1] although the ships reached speeds in excess of during their sea trials while lightly loaded.[2] They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3600nmi at a speed of .[3]
Their main battery consisted of three 120sp=usNaNsp=us guns in one twin-gun turret aft of the superstructure and one single-gun turret forward of it.[4] Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Sella-class ships was provided by a pair of 40mm AA guns in single mounts amidships and a pair of 13.2mm machine guns. They were equipped with four 533mm torpedo tubes in two twin mounts amidships.[1] The Sellas could also carry 32 mines.[4]
| Ship name | Namesake | Builder | Completed | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco Crispi | Pattison | 29 April 1927 | Seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice, September 1943; served as TA15, sunk by air attack in the Aegean Sea, 8 March 1944 | ||
| Quintino Sella | Pattison | 25 March 1926 | Sunk by German E-boats in the Adriatic Sea, 11 September 1943 | ||
| Bettino Ricasoli | Pattison | 11 December 1926 | Sold to the Swedish Navy as | ||
| Giovanni Nicotera | Pattison | 8 January 1927 | Sold to the Swedish Navy as the |
During the war, the destroyers were based at the island of Leros, in the Dodecanese. They took part in the Italian retaking of Kastelorizo (named Operation Abstention by the British) on 27 February 1941, and were used as mother ships for the successful attack by explosive motor boats on on 25 March. Crispi led the landing of an Italian division on Sitia, Crete, on 28 May 1941, in the course of the battle of Crete.