Italian destroyer Francesco Nullo (1925)
# Italian destroyer Francesco Nullo (1925)

Francesco Nullo was one of four Sauro-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the 1920s. Completed in 1927, she served in World War II.

## Design and description

The Sauro-class destroyers were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding Sella class. They had an overall length of 90.16 meters (296 ft), a beam of 9.2 meters (30 ft 2 in) and a mean draft of 2.9 meters (9 ft 6 in). They displaced 1,058 metric tons (1,041 long tons) at standard load, and 1,600 metric tons (1,570 long tons) at deep load. Their complement was 8–10 officers and 146 enlisted men.

The Sauros 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 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) for a speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) in service, although Francesco Nullo reached a speed of 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph) from 45,000 shp (34,000 kW) during her sea trials while lightly loaded. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 2,600 nautical miles (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).

Their main battery consisted of four 120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft (AA) defense for the Sauro-class ships was provided by a pair of 40-millimeter (1.6 in) AA guns in single mounts amidships and a pair of 13.2-millimeter (0.52 in) machine guns. They were equipped with six 533-millimeter (21 in) torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships. The Sauros could also carry 52 mines.

## Construction and career

Francesco Nullo was laid down by Cantieri navali del Quarnaro at their Fiume shipyard on 9 October 1924, launched on 14 November 1925 and commissioned on 15 April 1927.

## Citations

* 1 2 3 4 Whitley, p. 160
* 1 2 3 Fraccaroli, p. 47
* 1 2 Roberts, p. 298
* ↑ McMurtrie, p. 281
