Built 1989-93: Luigi Durand de la Penne, Francesco Mimbelli 1993-2024/25 Italy Day ! The last destroyers (so far) of the Marina Militare had been designed at the dawn of the cold war: The Durand de la Penne class. These two two guided-missile destroyers were a considerably enlarged version of the 1970s Audace class, updated with … Read more
Built 1968-71, in service until 2006: Audace, Ardito DD 551-550 The Audace-class destroyers were two guided missile destroyers built for the Italian Navy during the Cold War. An improvement of the Impavido class, these ships were designed for area air defence and ASW close protection with an heavy gun armament. They had with their Tartar … Read more
The first Italian guided missile destroyers Built 1958-64, in service 1991-1992: Impavido, Intrepido DD 570-571 The Impavido class were the second group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy after World War II, but they were also the first Italian guided missile destroyers, often compared to the US Charles Adams class. But they were still … Read more
Amphibious Transport Docks Built 1985-1994: San Giorgio, San Marco, San Giusto (L9892 to 9894). Exports: Kalaat Béni Abbès, Al Fulk. San Giorgio class LSDs: For the Italy Unity Day, let’s review the largest amphibious ships ever designed for the Italian Navy, a far cry from the WW2 Motozaterra MZ, they actually replaced much older De … Read more
The first Italian postwar destroyers Built 1952-83: Impetuoso, Indomito Italy Army Day ! The Impetuso or Indomito class depending on the authors were two early cold war destroyers built for the Marina Militare, the first large warships in years. They were the fruit of WW2 lessons and recent NATO guidelines and if the base design … Read more
Built 1981-85 currently in service Italy Unification Day ! Giuseppe Garibaldi is one of the two current Italian aircraft carriers, and the first “through-deck” aviation ship ever built for the Italian Navy, first to operate fixed-wing aircraft (Aquila was never completed and Miraglia only operated floatplanes). She is equipped with short take-off and vertical landing … Read more
Helicopter cruiser Vittorio Veneto (1967) In service 1969-2003 The last Italian helicopter missile cruiser Within the frame of NATO’s ASW policy, Italy developed and launched two helicopter cruisers armed with US Terrier missiles in the early 1960s, following the success of the conversion of the Giuseppe Garibaldi: The Andrea Doria class. They were found successful … Read more
Italian Guided Missiles Cruisers and Helicopter cruisers (1962) Andra Doria, Caio Duilio, in service 1964-1992 The first Italian helicopter missile cruisers: The Andrea Doria class became an important step in the reconstruction of the Italian Navy after WW2, following the modernization of former cruisers, such as the Garibaldi, reconfigured as a Terrier missile cruiser. Italian … Read more
Missile cruiser Garibaldi (1960) Giuseppe Garibaldi (1936), converted 1957-61, in service 1962-1972 The Condottieri are back in action! In 1948, Italy still had a considerable fleet of cruisers, survivors of WW2: Most of them were light cruisers of the superclass ‘Condotierre’, the old Cadorna (discarded 1951), the Raimondo Montecuccoli (taken in hands for modernization later), … Read more
