The ''Rosolino Pilo'' class was a class of eight

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the Italian ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' (" ...

'' (Royal Navy) constructed before and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Like other obsolete Italian destroyers, they were reclassified as

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s in 1929, and seven ships served throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Two ships were sunk by mines while under Italian service during the Second World War, with two more being seized by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

following the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

in 1943. The remaining three ships survived the war and continued in use with the post-war Italian Navy, with the last two of the class being decommissioned in 1958.

German capture

Following Italy's surrender on 8 September 1943, Germany captured two of the ''Pilo''-class vessels. ''Giuseppe Missori'' was renamed ''TA22'', and ''Giuseppe Dezza'' was renamed ''TA35''. These vessels were re-designated as torpedo boats and put into service with the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with th ...

. ''TA22'' was attacked by the all-

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

fighter group, the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...

, who put her out of action. ''TA35'' was sunk on 17 August 1944.

Operators

* *

Ships

Notes

Citations

References

* * *

External links

Rosolino Pilo (1915)
Marina Militare website {{Authority control Destroyers of the Regia Marina World War I naval ships of Italy World War II destroyers of Italy Destroyer classes Torpedo boat classes