Impavido class Guided Missile Destroyer DDG Italian Navy MMI

Italian Navy / Marina Militare Italiana
Impavido class Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG)

impavido class guided missile destroyer ddg italian navy marina militare rim-24 tartar sam 02c

10/22

Ships:

D 570 ITS Impavido
D 571 ITS Intrepido

Specifications:

Displacement: 3200 tons (standard) / 3940 tons (full load)
Length: 130.9 meters (429 feet 6 in)
Beam: 13.6 meters (44 ft 7 in)
Draft: 4.5 meters (14 ft 9 in)
Speed: 34 knots (63 km/h)
Range: 3300 NMI (6100 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 344

Propulsion:
2 x geared steam turbines
4 x Foster Wheeler boilers
70000 hp / 52000 kW
2 shafts / 2 propellers

Armament:
1 x Mk.13 single-arm missile launcher for 40 x RIM-24 Tartar SAM
1 x 127/38 (5"/38-caliber) twin gun
4 x Oto-Melara 76/62 Allargato guns
2 x 21" (533mm) single torpedo tubes for heavy-weight torpedoes (earlier)
2 x Mk.32 12.75” (324mm) triple torpedo tubes for lightweight torpedoes (later)

Aviation:
flight deck for 1 helicopter / no hangar

Systems:
AN/SPS-12 air search radar
AN/SPS-39 3D radar
AN/SPG-51 fire control radar
AN/SQS-23 sonar
2 x SCLAR chaff/flare decoy systems

The Impavido class were the second group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy after World War II and the first Italian guided missile destroyers. Similar in performance to the US Navy's Charles F. Adams class, these ships were essentially improved Impetuoso-class vessels, with the after gun-turret being replaced by a Tartar surface-to-air-missile launcher and associated radar.

The Impavido class were the first guided missile destroyers of the Italian Navy. The vessels were commissioned in the early 1960s and were roughly equal to the American Charles F. Adams-class destroyer. Both classes shared the Tartar missile system, with a Mk 13 launcher, and carried around 40 missiles. They had two fire control radars to guide their weaponry and all this was fitted in the aft of the ship. Both classes also had two single 127 mm (5 in) guns, but the American ships had these in single mountings and in a new model, the Mk 42, one fore and the other aft, while the Impavidos made use of an older Mk 38 dual turret.

One difference between the classes was the secondary weaponry. While both had lightweight torpedo launchers, the rest was different. The Charles F. Adams class had an ASROC launcher, dedicated to anti-submarine warfare tasks, to help counter the growing number of Soviet submarines. The Impavidos did not have such systems, but instead had four 76/62 Allargato guns. In the Mediterranean Sea, where the ships were intended to operate, there was always the danger of air attacks as the main threat to ships. This usually led to the construction of many Italian warships with a heavier short-range air defence armament than normal.

In service the 76/62 guns were not considered satisfactory, despite having decisive improvements over the older American 76mm guns. Reliability left a lot to be desired, while the lack of a totally automatic mode of fire proved a disadvantage.

class images
for more images go to the individual ship-site

impavido class guided missile destroyer ddg italian navy marina militare rim-24 tartar sam 05c

D-570 Impavido

impavido class guided missile destroyer ddg italian navy marina militare rim-24 tartar sam 03c

D-571 Intrepido

impavido class guided missile destroyer ddg italian navy marina militare rim-24 tartar sam armament gun 02a

impavido class guided missile destroyer ddg italian navy marina militare rim-24 tartar sam 09c

| seaforces.org | Italian Navy start page |