- Yes
- No
The “De Cristofaro” class corvettes were built to replace the old corvettes of the Gabbiano series built during the war, and were an evolution of the “Albatros” class, they were mainly used for patrolling the Central Mediterranean. The “De Cristofaro” had a cutter hull and bow castle, the antiaircraft armament consisted of two 76/62 mm OTO Melara cannons served by a Selenia O.G.3 electronic control unit, equipped with Orion shooting radar. For the antisubmarine fight the units were equipped with hull sonar, and a variable depth towed sonar, type EDO AN / SQS-36, placed at the extreme stern, with the transducer being lowered into the sea supported by a special crane. The anti-submarine armament consisted of a 305 mm long-range automatic anti-submarine bomb thrower type Menon K 113 mod.
1960 single barrel, inserted in a revolving turret located on the aft deckhouse of the smokestack, by 2 trinated torpedo launchers, 305 mm Mark 32, installed after entry into service. The “Pietro de Cristofaro” was attacked on 21 September 1973 by Libyan Mirage5 fighters while it was 33 miles from the Libyan coast, therefore widely in international waters. The 30mm shots of the Libyan Mirages5 caused 3 injuries on board our ship.
Specifications:
Crew:
Officers: 10
Second Chiefs, Sergeants and Seamen: 118
Displacement:
Empty weight: 835 tons
Full load: 940 tons
Dimensions:
Length: 80,25 m
Width: 10,25 m
Draft: 2,72 m
Engine System:
2 rapid diesel engines, FIAT 3012 RSS
2 propellers (4 blades)
Power: 8300 HP
Speed: 23 knots (42,59 km/h)
Autonomy:
4900 miles (7886 km) at 18 knots
1750 miles (2816 km) at 23 knots
6139 miles (9880 km) at 15,9 knots
Armament:
2 Cannons 76/62 mm OTO Melara
2 trined systems of 305 mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes MARK 32
1 Menon anti-submarine bomb launcher (long single barrel)
Photos:
Sources:
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/italy/it_es_pietro_de_cristofaro.htm