Leone-class destroyer
The Leone - class destroyer was a class of the Italian Navy. The class consisted of three destroyers, which were built in the early 1920s on the shipyards of Cantieri Ansaldo in Sestri Ponente. Only three of the five planned ships were built, the construction contracts for the Leopardo and the Lince were canceled between 1920 and 1921.
The ships were big, fast and well armed. Originally, the construction contract should be issued as early as 1917, due to shortage of steel but was revoked and reissued in 1920. 1936, the destroyers were modernized for the colonial service and reassigned to the Red Sea.
The three remaining ships of the class were stationed in Massawa 5th Destroyer Squadron and went during their missions in World War II lost in the Red Sea.