The Sauro Class were a group of destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s built for the Italian Navy

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 in the late 1920s. They were based in the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 Italian colony of Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 and all fought in World War II being sunk during the East African Campaign

East African Campaign (World War II)

The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....

 in 1941.

These ships were an enlarged version of the , with 6 rather than 4 torpedo tubes, a 60 cm increase in beam, and a new bridge structure.

Ships

These ships formed the 3rd Squadrilla and were based in the Red Sea.

• Cesare Battisti -

Named after patriot Cesare Battisti,

built by Odero, Sestri Ponente, completed 13 April 1927.

Based in the Red Sea, Scuttled on 3 April 1941.

• Daniele Manin -

Named after patriot Daniele Manin

Daniele Manin

Daniele Manin was an Italian patriot and statesman from Venice. He is a hero of Italian unification .-Early life:...

,

built by CNQ Fiume, completed 1 March 1927.

Based in the Red Sea, she was sunk by aerial bombing on 3 April 1941.

• Francesco Nullo -

Named after Francesco Nullo

Francesco Nullo

Francesco Nullo was an Italian patriot, military officer and a merchant, a close friend and confidant of Giuseppe Garibaldi. He supported independence movements in Italy and Poland...

,

built by CNQ Fiume, completed 15 April 1927.

She was beached 21 October 1940, on Harmil

Harmil

Harmil is an uninhabitated island in Eritrea and part of the Dahlak Archipelago.-See also:*List of islands of Africa...

 island following a battle with . The next day she was destroyed by three RAF Bristol Blenheim

Bristol Blenheim

The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...

 bombers.

• Nazario Sauro -

Named after Italian naval hero Nazario Sauro

Nazario Sauro

Nazario Sauro was an Austrian-born Italian irredentist and sailor.-Life:Born in Capodistria, in what was then the Austrian Littoral , he took to sailing from a very young age, and became the captain of a cargo ship when he was only 20...

,

built by Odero, Sestri Ponente. Completed 23 September 1926.

She was sunk 3 April 1941 by an Allied bombing.

Operational history

The destroyers were outfitted for colonial service, and by 1935 they were deployed in the naval base of Massawa

Massawa

Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,...

, Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

. Italian's entry in WWII left Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...

 isolated from Italy.

Attack on convoy BN 7

The only appreciable action in which the destroyers were involved was the attack on the Allied convoy BN 7, on the first hours of 21 October 1940. The Nullo and Sauro, along with the Leone and Pantera

Leone class destroyer

The Leone class were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy in the early 1920s. Five ships were planned and three completed. All three ships were based at Massawa, Eritrea during World War II and were sunk during the East African Campaign....

 shelled the convoy and its escort, inflicting some splinter damage to the leading transport ship, and launched at least two torpedoes aimed at HMAS Yarra

HMAS Yarra (U77)

HMAS Yarra , named for the Yarra River, was a Grimsby class sloop of the Royal Australian Navy that served during World War II. Commissioned in 1936, Yarra spent the early part of the war in Australian waters, then was transferred to the East Indies Station in 1940...

, which successfully dodged them. The attack was nevertheless repulsed by the cruiser HMS Leander

HMNZS Leander

HMNZS Leander was a light cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship of a class of eight ships, the Leander class light cruiser and was initially named HMS Leander.- History :...

, which fired 129 six-inch rounds on the Italian destroyers. While Sauro and the other destroyers successfully disengaged, Nullo was chased by HMS Kimberley and forced to run aground on Harmil

Harmil

Harmil is an uninhabitated island in Eritrea and part of the Dahlak Archipelago.-See also:*List of islands of Africa...

 island, where she was later wrecked by RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 Blenheim bombers. Kimberley took two hits from coastal batteries, and had to be towed to Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

 by HMS Leander.

End of the surviving units

The three surviving destroyers remained at dock in Massawa until the very end of ground operations in East Africa. Their commander ordered them to steam out on 2 April 1941, for an almost suicidal attack on Port Sudan

Port Sudan

Port Sudan is the capital of Red Sea State, Sudan; it has 489,725 residents . Located on the Red Sea, it is the Republic of Sudan's main port city.-History:...

. The squadron was soon discovered by British air reconnaissance, and immediately bombed by land-based Swordfish

Fairey Swordfish

The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...

 aircraft from HMS Eagle

HMS Eagle (1918)

HMS Eagle was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile as the Almirante Cochrane, she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924...

. The Battisti managed to reach the Arabian coast

Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...

, where she was scuttled by her crew. Manin and Sauro kept firing their antiarcraft guns until they were sunk by the British planes.