Italy's Primadonnas - The Audace-Class DDG:s

I am aware that this class has already been drawn to the earlier set standards of shipbucket. It was good at the time, but still, unfortunately afflicted with some glaring errors which can easily be disabused by a careful study of both plans and photos of the class.

I believe the Audaces were among the most handsome warships ever designed. They combined brute firepower with elegance and an exceptional seaworthiness. (Having seen the Ardito perform her pas-de-deuxes at sea I can vouch for that!). Unusually for the age (1972/73) they were completed as steam powered ships, thus making them among the very last such vessels in history. But their machinery proved reliable and they were good for an impressive 33 knots, with sprints of up to 36 knots possible; all this on a comfortable displacement of barely 5,000 tons! - Yes, they were cramped and the conventional propulsion did not make for longevity in an age consious of steadily increasing fuel costs, and their layout did not make optimal allowance of their very powerful armament. But these facts notwithstanding they still rank among the very best of their type. They served good and hard, seeing most parts of the world till they were retired from service in 2006. Today their rusty hulls can still be seen at La Spezia. Their fate seem still to linger.

Anyway, considering the importance of these vessels and the fact that the standards of shipbucket has constantly over the time risen (thanks to emminent drawers such as KimWerner, Hood and WhyMe to just pick a few!) I thought it only proper to bring these ships up to the standard by redrawing them in proper proportions and with proper details. Much I have had to draw from scratch, others I have gratefully transferred from the old drawings. I know some members will find oddities in how I have chosen to solve problem; e g the SPS-768 is completely redrawn, and I have deliberately chosen to do it the way I have for maximum 'real' effect. This radar was never painted anything but hull color!

Anyhow, I present the first of the two Graces; Ardito as she appeared at H. M. Queen Elizabeth II:s Silver Jubilee at the Solent in 1977:

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...and here she is ready to fire the Royal Salute from her 'B'-turret:

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Next I am showing the two Primadonnas at the end of their life. I could have made more version; there are possibilities, and I may still do it, but for now it is the beginning and the end. So here is first Audace (having inexplicably lost her after pair of 76mm guns!) as of 2005 and then Ardito as she appeared during her last excercise in the summer of 2005:

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

Cracking drawings, once again!

The green hull colour is different, I like. Maybe the 76mm was removed due to the SSM launchers amidships?

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Wow, these blow the current drawings out of the water.

It's just my 30 something year old crush and infatuation with these sisters that's expressing itself. But thanx for your kind words! It does warm a lot!

For some reason, apart from being greatly drawn, they seem to have waaaay to many adjacent black pixels

Why have you shown the second 127mm face on?
I'm not exactly sold on those massive antennas on the aft side of the funnel.
The pictures I've seen seems to show a much less substantial one.
Anyway if it is that big it really should have an outline.

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Source Materiel is always welcome.

Overall, excellent

The points raised above stand, and I would also question why the green hull?

Greata drawings Bezo!

@ Bill: all naval ships of Italia got green hulls up to 1960!

I would have the same doubts as Bill about the green hull.
I have no precise info about the date: it would be very difficult to argue about the right color of the 1977 version but the other should be definetly red.

The "Optical Number" is wrong: Impetuoso has D558 and Indomito D559.
Moreover the font is not correct: I would suggest to draw directly...

Finally a question: are you sure about the stabilizer? I do not have any reference about the underwater part.

Shipbucket

Italy's Primadonnas - The Audace-Class DDG:s

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