Source: Daemon93 (WoWS EU supertester)
Seb: BTW Folks, I am back. I fared pretty well in the exam (well, most probably I will pass it). Edited with the ship tiers. Enjoy!
LARGE DESTROYERS
Poerio – Tier II
Story
The Poerio-class is the first destroyer leader built by Italy. It was developed after the failure of the explorer cruiser Nino Bixio which wasn’t satisfactory. Originally it started as a destroyer with a heavy focus in torpedo armament with eight torpedo tubes in total(two twin torpedo racks per side) and four 102/35 guns as main armament. Before entering service however the armament was changed: two torpedo racks were removed and replaced with additional guns. Three ships of this class were built: Poerio, Pepe and Rossarol. All three of them served actively during WWI in the Adriatic supporting MAS and escorting convoys and major vessels. Only Rossarol was lost, on 16/11/1918 due to a mine. After WWI the surviving Poerio and Pepe served with the Italian Navy until 1938, when they were given to the Spanish Nationalists.
Technical data
Standard displacement: 1028 tons
Full load displacement: 1216 tons
Length: 83.1 m(water line), 85 m(overall length)
Beam: 8 m
Draught: 2.8 m(standard load), 3.1 m(full load)
Installed power: 24.000 hp
Maximum speed: 31.5 knots
Armament:
-Original project: 4×1 102/35, 4×2 450 mm TT
-As built: 6×1 102/35, 2×2 450 mm TT
Refits:
-1917, all: +2×1 40/39
-1918, Poerio: -6×1 102/35; +5×1 102/45
-1918, Pepe, Rossarol: -6×1 102/35; +6×1 102/45
Mirabello – tier III
Story
The Mirabello-class is another explorer developed during WWI. It is a further step forward compared to Poerio as far as “explorers” are concerned. While Poerio was just an enlarged destroyer with better armament Mirabello was starting to become something between a large destroyer and a small cruiser. Mirabello was considerably larger than Poerio and that made space for a larger array of guns. Eight guns were mounted: either eight 102/35 or seven 102/35 plus a 152/40. The 152 mm however didn’t last long because it was causing too much stress on the ship and was then replaced by the usual 102 mm. Three ships of this class were built: Mirabello, Riboty and Racchia. All three served during WWI and survived. Racchia was lost on 21/7/1920 near Odessa while escorting a convoy full of ex Russian POWs taken from the Austro-Hungarians. The other two surviving were still in service when WWII broke out and served primarily as escorts. Mirabello was lost due to a mine on 21/5/1941 during an escort mission. Riboty survived and remained under Italian control until the end of WWII. Riboty was the most active Italian destroyer of WWII and due to her extensive use she was discarted by the Soviet Union(originally was supposed to be given as war reparation). She remained at Taranto until the demolition happened in 1950.
Technical data
NOTE: as for now i will exclude the 152 mm since there aren’t known ships with mixed primary armament, especially since it got replaced.
Standard displacement: 1784 tons
Full load displacement: 1972 tons
Length: 101.1 m(water line), 103.4 m(overall length)
Beam: 9.7 m
Draught: 3.3 m standard load, 3.6 m full load
Installed power: 44.000 hp
Maximum speed: 35 knots
Armament: 8×1 102/35, 2×1 76/40, 2×1 6.5/80, 2×2 450 mm TT
Refits:
-1920/1922, Riboty, Mirabello: -8×1 102/35; +8×1 102/45
-1922/1923, Riboty, Mirabello: -2×1 76/40; +2×1 40/39
-1942, Riboty: -2×1 102/45, 2×1 6.5/80; +1×1 40/39, 2×1 8/80
-1943, Riboty: -2×1 102/45, 3×1 40/39, 2×2 450 mm TT; 6×1 20/70(Oerlikon)
I don’t think the 1943 refit will be implemented ingame since it would sacrifice too much firepower for AAA which isn’t exactly that critical at tier III, especially since the 1942 refit is already good enough for a tier III destroyer.
Leone – tier IV
Story
As for the contemporary destroyers in the early ’20s the “esploratori” got further improvements on their design and the fruit of such improvements is the Leone-class. This class is larger than the predecessor with improvements on primary and torpedo armament. The primary armament was based on the new 120/45 in twin mounts while the torpedo armament was based on triple tubes instead of the twin tubes used before. All the armament was placed along the center line which made the Leone more effective than the predecessor. This improvements came at a cost since the full load displacement grew and, also due to a slightly reduced installed power, there was a small loss in maximum speed. Five ships were originally ordered: Leone, Pantera, Tigre, Lince and Leopardo. Only the first three were built and saw service, primarily in the Italian colonies in East Africa. All three were lost during the war: Leone struck uncharted rocks on 1/4/1941 while Pantera and Tigre were scuttled on 3/4/1941 to avoid capture.
Technical data
Standard displacement: 1745 tons
Full load displacement: 2289 tons
Length: 109.6 m(water line), 113.4 m(overall length)
Beam: 10.3 m
Draught: 3.2 m(standard load), 3.6 m(full load)
Installed power: 42.000 hp
Maximum speed: 34 knots
Armament: 4×2 120/45, 2×1 76/40, 2×1 6.5/80, 2×3 450 mm TT
Refits:
-1931/1932, all: -2×3 450 mm TT; +2×1 40/39, +2×2 533 mm TT
-1936, all: -2×1 76/40(to make room for the air conditioning system so this won’t be considered)
-1938, all: +2×2 13.2/76, +2×1 6.5/80
-1939, all: -2×2 13.2/76, -4×1 6.5/80; +2×2 20/65
Navigatori – tier V
Story
The Navigatori-class was developed in response to the new French destroyers classes Jaguar and Guepard. They are unique as far as destroyer development is concerned because they are the only class with an echelon configuration for their engines(only the III series of Medaglie d’Oro had that same configuration). Other innovations compared to Leone are on the primary armament(with the 120/50 replacing the older 120/45), better AAA and better torpedo armament although the arrangement is unusual(two triple racks with two 533 mm TT one the sides and one 450 mm TT on the center). Twelve ships of this class were built: da Mosto, da Recco, da Noli, di Verazzano, Malocello, Pancaldo, Pessagno, Pigafetta, Tarigo, Usodimare, Vivaldi and Zeno. They were used primarily as escorts for convoys to and from Africa. During such missions most of the ships of this class were lost and, due to this reason, i prefer to talk about the ones i find worth mentioning. The ships worh mentioning are the Tarigo, the Vivaldi and the da Noli. The Tarigo was sunk during an escort mission on 16/4/1941. On that day she faced alone four British destroyers(HMS Jervis, HMS Janus, HMS Nubian and HMS Mohawk) and before going under she was able to hit HMS Mohawk with torpedoes, crippling her(she had to be scuttled). For this action the captain, Pietro de Cristofaro, and the chief engineer, Luca Balsofiore, got the Medaglia d’Oro. Vivaldi an da Noli have a sadder story: they survived until the Armistice and based at Civitavecchia when the Armistice became active. They were supposed to carry the King and his entourage southwards. The King decided to go to Pescara and the two destroyers had new orders: to go to the Maddalena and meet with the rest of the fleet. Both were sunk on their way by the Germans: da Noli was first hit by German coastal batteries based on Corsica and then hit by a mine. Vivaldi was badly hit by the coastal batteries but she was able to sail on although at only 10 knots due to the engine compartment being hit. She was then hit by German bombers and, due to the extensive damage, forced to scuttle. The captain, Alessandro Cavriani, and the chief engineer, Virginio Fasan, remained on board to speed up the process and both sank with the ship. For their action they received the Medaglia d’Oro.
Technical data
Standard displacement: 1935 tons
Full load displacement: 2580 tons
Length: 105.5 m(water line), 107.3 m(overall length)
Beam: 10.2 m
Draught: 3.4 m
Installed power: 50.000 hp
Maximum speed: 38 knots
Armament: 3×2 120/50, 2×1 40/39, 2×2 13.2/76, 2x(2×533 mm +1×450 mm) TT
Refits:
-1933/1934, all: -2x(2×533 mm +1×450 mm) TT; +2×2 13.2/76, 2×2 533 mm TT
-1939/1940, all except da Recco and Usodimare: reconstruction(new dimensions 109.3×11.2×4.2 m, displacement 2125/2888 tons); -2×2 533 mm TT; +2×3 533 mm TT; +2×2 13.2/76
-1940/1941, all survived: -2×1 40/39, 4×2 13.2/76; +(7-9)x1 20/65 or 20/70
-1942 Antonio da Noli, Nicolosso da Recco, Lanzerotto Malocello, Leone Pancaldo, Antonio Pigafetta, Ugolini Vivaldi, Nicoló Zeno: -1×3 533 mm TT; +2×1 37/54
Due to the margin of improvements, thanks also to the reconstruction, i decided to split the class into two tiers. At tier V there will be the pre reconstruction variant, at tier VI the post reconstruction with all the refits regarding AA(which would most likely be overkill at tier V).
