Sella class destroyer

"Sella" class destroyers were a group of destroyers built for the Italian "Regia Marina" in the 1920s. Two of these ships fought in World War II and both were sunk after the Italian capitulation to the Allies. Two more ships were sold to the Swedish Navy in 1940 and were scrapped in the late 1940s.

These ships formed the basis for most subsequent destroyers built by the Italians, but were disappointing in service with unreliable machinery.

They were based in the Dodecanese and were used in the Italian retaking of Kastelorizo (Operation Abstention for the British), on 27 February 1941, and as mother ships for the attack by explosive motor boats on HMS|York|90|6 on March 25.

hips

* "Francesco Crispi" - Named after Francesco Crispi, completed 29 April 1927, seized by the Germans after the Italian Armistice in September 1943, served as the TA15, sunk by air attack on 8 March 1944 in the Aegean Sea
* "Quintino Sella" - Named after Quintino Sella, completed 25 March 1926, sunk by German E-Boats on 11 September 1943.
* "Bettino Ricasoli" - Named after Bettino Ricasoli, commissioned 11 December 1926. Sold to the Swedish Navy as the "Puke".
* "Giovanni Nicotera" - Named after Giovanni Nicotera, commissioned 8 January 1927. Sold to the Swedish Navy as the "Psilander".

References

*cite book|first=M.H.|last=Whitley|title=Destroyers of World War 2|year=1988|publisher=Cassell Publishing|id=ISBN 1-85409-521-8