The Audace-class destroyers were two guided missile destroyers built for the Italian Navy during the Cold War. An improvement of the Impavido-class destroyers, these ships were designed for area air defence and also had a heavy gun armament. They were fitted with contemporary British radars and sonars, but also they were fitting, just as the next Italian ships, they fitted all the new weapons made by Italian industry of the time, such torpedoes, helicopters and guns. Also some indigenous radars were fitted.
Specifications[]
Original Configuration[]
- Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
- Service Period: 1972-2006
- Characteristics:
- Length: 462 feet (140.82 meters)
- Beam: 48 feet 2.8 inches (14.7 meters)
- Draught: 14 feet 9.2 inches (4.5 meters)
- Displacement: 4,554 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 380
- Propulsion: 2 shaft geared steam turbines, 4 Foster Wheeler boilers providing 73,000 hp
- Range: 4,000 miles (6,437.4 km/h) at 25 knots (46.3 km/h)
- Speed: 33 knots 61.12 km/h)
- Sensor Suite:
- SPS-52 3-D air search RDF
- RAN20S 2-D air search RDF
- SPQ-2 air/surface search RDF
- 3M20 navigation RDF
- Type 909 Sea Dart target illumination RDF x 2
- RTN-10X gun fire control RDF x 3
- CWE610 hull ASDIC
- SADOC-1 combat and communication system
- Countermeasures:
- Intercept arrays
- SLQ-2B/C jammer
- SCLAR decoy x 2
- Torpedo Decoy System
- Armament:
- 2 x Otobreda 127 mm gun
- 4 x Oto Melara 76/62 mm Compact gun
- 1 x GWS.30 Sea Dart AAM Launcher
- 2 x 324 mm triple torpedo launchers
- 2 x 533 mm triple torpedo launchers
- Aircraft Carried: 2 x Agusta-Bell AB-212 helicopters
Post 1987-1990 Refit Configuration[]
- Type: Guided Missile Destroyer
- Service Period: 1972-2006
- Characteristics:
- Length: 462 feet (140.82 meters)
- Beam: 48 feet 2.8 inches (14.7 meters)
- Draught: 14 feet 9.2 inches (4.5 meters)
- Displacement: 4,554 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 380
- Propulsion: 2 shaft geared steam turbines, 4 Foster Wheeler boilers providing 73,000 hp
- Range: 4,000 miles (6,437.4 km/h) at 25 knots (46.3 km/h)
- Speed: 33 knots 61.12 km/h)
- Sensor Suite:
- SPS-52 3-D air search RDF
- RAN20S 2-D air search RDF
- SPQ-2 air/surface search RDF
- 3M20 navigation RDF
- Tyoe 909 illumination RDF x 2
- RTN-10X gun fire control RDF x 3
- CWE610 hull ASDIC
- SADOC-1 combat and communication system
- Countermeasures:
- Intercept arrays
- SLQ-2B/C jammer
- SCLAR decoy x 2
- Type 2070 towed torpedo decoy system
- Armament:
- 1 x Otobreda 127 mm gun
- 4 x Oto Melara 76/62 mm Super Rapido gun
- 1 x Octuple launcher for Selenia Aspide SAM
- 1 x GWS.31 Sea Dart Mk.II AAM Launcher
- 8 x OTOMAT SSMs
- 2 x 324 mm triple torpedo launchers
- Aircraft Carried: 2 x Agusta-Bell AB-212 helicopters
Unit Run[]
- RM Audace (D550)
- RM Ardito (D551)
- RM Animoso (D552)
- RM Ardimentoso (D553)