The Oriani-class destroyers were slightly improved versions of the preceding Maestrale class.[1] They had a length between perpendiculars of 101.6 meters (333 ft 4 in)[2] and an overall length of 106.7 meters (350 ft 1 in). The ships had a beam of 10.15 meters (33 ft 4 in) and a mean draft of 3.15 meters (10 ft 4 in) and 4.3 meters (14 ft 1 in) at deep load.[3] They displaced 1,700–1,750 metric tons (1,670–1,720 long tons) at normal load, and 2,400–2,450 metric tons (2,360–2,410 long tons) at deep load.[4] Their complement during wartime was 206 officers and enlisted men.[2]
The Orianis were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam supplied by three Thornycroft boilers.[2] Designed for a maximum output of 48,000 shaft horsepower (36,000 kW) and a speed of 32–33 knots (59–61 km/h; 37–38 mph) in service, the ships reached speeds of 38–39 knots (70–72 km/h; 44–45 mph) during their sea trials while lightly loaded. They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 2,600–2,800 nautical miles (4,800–5,200 km; 3,000–3,200 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) and 690 nmi (1,280 km; 790 mi) at a speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph).[4]
Alfredo Oriani belonged to the 9th destroyer flotilla of the Royal Italian Navy, which also comprised her sisters Vittorio Alfieri, Giosue Carducci and Vicenzo Gioberti.[7]Oriani survived the Battle of Cape Matapan, where she was severely damaged by the 6 inches (150 mm) secondary guns of battleship HMS Warspite.[8] The destroyer was part of the Italian squadron that engaged the Harpoon convoy on 15 June 1942, where Oriani hit the destroyer HMS Bedouin, and, along with the destroyer Ascari and the cruisers Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia, she sunk the already crippled tanker Kentucky and the freighter Burdwan. Oriani launched a torpedo to the drifting hull of Kentucky to secure her sinking.[9] The ship escaped from La Spezia during the Italian Armistice in 1943 and was interned in Malta.[10] The Italian destroyer was given to the French Navy as a war reparation, where she served as the D'Estaing until 1954.[11]
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