''Zeffiro'' (F 577) is the eighth ship of the Maestrale-class

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

of the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

Development

The ''Maestrale''-class frigates were primarily designed for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

(ASW), however the ships are highly flexible so they are also capable of anti-air and anti-surface operations. Ships of this class have been widely used in various international missions, either under

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or UN flag, and during normal operations of the Italian Navy. The first of these ships entered in service in early 1982. The rest of the fleet was launched over the next three years. The ships of the ''Maestrale'' class will be replaced by the ''Bergamini'' class.

Construction and career

She was laid down on 15 March 1983 and launched on 19 May 1984 by Fincantieri shipyards. Commissioned on 4 May 1985 with the hull number F 577.

Gallery

File:Zeffiro (F577) Beirut.jpg, ''Zeffiro'' entering the port of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on 24 March 2010. File:ZEFFIRO is leaving Cagliari (22389162531).jpg, ''Zeffiro'' on its way conduct a firing exercise on 21 October 2015. File:Italian frigate ZEFFIRO firing exercise (21763956264).jpg, ''Zeffiro'' conducting a firing exercise on 21 October 2015. File:ZEFFIRO during manoeuvring exercise (2) 2 (22303667540).jpg, ''Zeffiro'' maneuvering at sea on 24 October 2015.

References

External links

Ships
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeffiro (F 577) Maestrale-class frigates 1984 ships Ships built by Fincantieri