Artigliere
Class overview
Name	Soldati class
Operators	Regia Marina  Marina Militare  Marine nationale  Soviet Navy
Preceded by	Oriani class
Succeeded by	Comandanti Medaglie d'Oro class (planned) San Giorgio class /Artigliere class (actual)
Built	1938–1943
In commission	1939–1965
Planned	19
Completed	17
Cancelled	2
Lost	10
General characteristics (1st batch, as built)
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	1,820–1,850long tons (1,850–1,880 t) (standard) 2,450–2,550 long tons (2,490–2,590 t) (full load)
Length	106.7 m (350 ft 1 in) (o/a) 101.6 m (333 ft 4 in) (pp)
Beam	10.15 m (33 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.15–4.3 m (10 ft 4 in – 14 ft 1 in)
Installed power	3Yarrow boilers 48,000 shp (36,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 gearedsteam turbines
Speed	34–35knots (63–65 km/h; 39–40 mph)
Range	2,340 nmi (4,330 km; 2,690 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	206
Armament	2 × twin120 mm (4.7 in) guns 1 ×120 mm (4.7 in)star shell gun 8 ×20 mm (0.8 in)AA guns 2 × triple 533 mm (21 in)torpedo tubes 2 ×depth charge throwers 48mines

TheSoldati class (also known asCamicia Nera class, meaningBlackshirt) were a group ofdestroyers built for theRegia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during World War II. The ships were named after military professions (Artigliere, for example, meaning "artilleryman"). There were two batches; twelve ships were built in 1938–1939, and a second batch of seven ships were ordered in 1940, although only five were completed.

Ten ships of the class were lost during the war. Three of the survivors were transferred to theFrench Navy and two to theSoviet Navy aswar reparations, while two served in the Italian post-war navy, theMarina Militare.

In 1936, the ItalianRegia Marina placed an order for twelve examples of a new destroyer design, the Soldati class. The design was essentially a repeat of the previousOriani destroyer design, which was itself a development of theMaestrale class. The design featured an identical main gun armament of four120 mm/50calibre guns in two twinturrets, one forward and one aft, whiletorpedo armament was two triple 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes. Ashort (15 calibre) 120 mm gun^[1] was mounted on a pedestal between the banks of torpedo tubes for firingstarshell, while theanti-aircraft armament consisted of twelve13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns. A single ship (Carabiniere) was completed with a fifth120 mm 50 calibre gun replacing the starshell gun.^[1] The ships' powerplant, with two gearedsteam turbines driving twoshafts and generating 48,000shaft horsepower (36,000 kW), and with one largefunnel, was similar to that in theOriani class and was sufficient to propel the destroyers to 38knots (70 km/h; 44 mph).^[2][3]

Orders for a second batch of seven destroyers were placed in 1940. All except one of these ships were to carry the five main gun armament ofCarabiniere.^{[3][nb 1]}

The first batch of ships werelaid down in 1937, being completed between 1938 and 1939,^[2] with the second batch being laid down in 1940–1941, with five completing in 1942.^[4]

Four more of the first batch (Ascari,Camicia Nera,Geniere andLanciere) were modified in 1941–1942 by replacing the starshell gun with a full power 120 mm gun.^[3] The anti-aircraft machine guns were gradually replaced by 20 mm cannon, with up to 10–12 being fitted by 1943. Five ships (Carabiniere,Granatiere,Fuciliere,Legionario andVelite) had the aft set of torpedo tubes replaced by two37 mm (1.5 in) 54 cal. guns, whileFuciliere andVelite also had their starshell guns replaced by a further pair of 37 mm cannon.^[3][5]Fuciliere andVelite were fitted with Italianradar, whileLegionario was fitted with a German radar.^[5]

The Germans capturedSquadrista incomplete in September 1943, and transferred the ship, renamedTA33, toGenoa for completion as afighter direction ship carrying a long-rangeFreya radar and German 105 mm and 20 mm guns, but she was sunk byAllied bombing in 1944.^[6]

The two destroyers remaining in Italian service after the war were rebuilt asanti-submarine escorts in 1953–1954, with their torpedo tubes removed and the anti-aircraft armament changed to six40 mm/39 pom-pom guns.^[7]

• Brescia, Maurizio (2012).Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
• Campbell, John (1985).Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
• Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968).Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-0002-6.
• Gröner, Erich (1990).German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
• Roberts, John (1980). "Italy". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 280–317.ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Smigielski, Adam (1995). "Italy". In Chumbley, Stephen (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 195–218.ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988).Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSoldati class destroyer (1938).

• Soldati class on Uboat.net
• Soldati-class seconda serie Marina Militare website

• Soldati-class destroyers
• Destroyer classes
• Destroyers of the French Navy
• Torpedo boats of the Kriegsmarine
• Destroyers of the Soviet Navy
• Italy–Soviet Union relations
• Ship classes of the French Navy

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Italian-language text
• Articles containing Russian-language text
• CS1: long volume value
• Commons category link is on Wikidata