Oriani class destroyer

The Oriani class (also known as the Poeti class), were a group of four destroyers built for the Italian Navy in the late 1930s. They were a repeat of the Maestrale-class destroyers, but had increased machinery power and a different anti-aircraft armament. The increase in power, however, disappointed in that there was only a marginal speed improvement. The obsolete 40 mm anti-aircraft guns were finally discontinued, being replaced by extra 13.2 mm machine guns; otherwise armament was unchanged. Significant upgrades were made to the weapons systems of the two ships that survived Matapan, similar to those made to the Maestrales. One torpedo tube mounting was replaced by two 37 mm guns; 20 mm cannon, a 120 mm star-shell gun and depth charge throwers were also installed. Before the end of the war, one ship, Oriani had German Seetakt radar and an additional 20 mm cannon.