View source for Italian destroyer Benedetto Cairoli

{{short description|Italian ''La Masa''-class destroyer}}
{{confuse|Italian destroyer Fratelli Cairoli}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption= |italic title=}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:RN Benedetto Cairoli.jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Italy]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Italy|naval}}
|Ship name=''Benedetto Cairoli''
|Ship namesake=[[Benedetto Cairoli]] (1825–1889), Italian patriot, soldier, and politician
|Ship owner=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=''[[Cantieri navali Odero]]'', {{nowrap|[[Sestri Ponente]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]}}
|Ship laid down=1 September 1916
|Ship launched=28 December 1917
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed=3 February 1918
|Ship commissioned=1918
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sunk in collision 10&nbsp;April&nbsp;1918
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header =
|Header caption =
|Ship type = [[Destroyer]]
|Ship displacement =*{{convert|785|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (standard)
*{{convert|851|LT|t|0|lk=on}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length = {{convert|72.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[Waterline length|waterline]])
|Ship beam = {{convert|7.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught = {{convert|2.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power =*{{convert|15,500|shp|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}
*maximum {{convert|17,000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion =*2 × [[Franco Tosi Meccanica|Tosi]] steam turbines
*4 × [[Three-drum boiler#Thornycroft boiler|Thornycroft boilers]]
|Ship speed = {{convert|33.6|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range = *{{convert|2,230|nmi|sigfig=3|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12.5|kn}} 
*{{convert|410|nmi|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} at {{convert|28.5|kn}}
|Ship complement = 4 [[Commissioned officer|officers]], 74 [[non-commissioned officer]]s and sailors
|Ship crew =
|Ship sensors =
|Ship EW =
|Ship armament =*4 × [[Cannon 102/45|{{Convert|102|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}/45]] guns
*2 × [[Cannon 76/40 Model 1916|{{Convert|76.2|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}/40]] AA
*4 × {{Convert|450|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*10 [[Naval mine|mine]]s
|Ship armour =
|Ship notes =
}}
|}
'''''Benedetto Cairoli''''' was an Italian {{sclass|La Masa|destroyer}}. [[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]] into service in the Italian {{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} ("Royal Navy") in 1918. She served in [[World War I]], participating in the [[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|Adriatic campaign]]. Only a little more than two months after entering service, she sank after a collision.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Benedetto Cairoli'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] at the {{lang|it|[[Cantieri navali Odero]]}} ({{langx|en|Odero [[Shipyard]]}}) in [[Sestri Ponente]], [[Italy]], on 1&nbsp;September&nbsp;1916. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 28&nbsp;December&nbsp;1917 and completed and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 3&nbsp;February&nbsp;1918.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|1985|pp=252, 290}}

==Service history==
===World War I===
''Benedetto Cairoli'' entered service in time to take part in the final year of [[World War I]]. She was assigned to the 4th [[Destroyer squadron|Destroyer Squadron]] at [[Brindisi]], Italy,<ref name="betasom">[http://www.betasom.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=21473 Il Santuario Di N S Di Bonaria - Betasom - XI Gruppo Sommergibili Atlantici<!-- Title generated automatically -->] (in Italian).</ref> and served in the [[Adriatic Campaign of World War I|Adriatic campaign]].

On the night of {{nowrap|9–10 April 1918}} ''Benedetto Cairoli'' was part of a force of several Italian and [[French Navy]] destroyers escorting the three [[battleship]]s of the Italian 2nd Naval [[Division (naval)|Division]] from Brindisi to [[Taranto]], Italy.<ref name="betasom"/> During the predawn hours of 10&nbsp;April, two of the French destroyers, {{ship|French destroyer|Faulx||2}} and  {{ship|French destroyer|Mangini||2}}, collided in the [[Strait of Otranto]] and ''Faulx'' sank.<ref name="betasom"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyFrench.htm |title=French Navy |publisher=Naval History |accessdate=21 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?138453|title=Faulx (FX) (+1918)|publisher=[[Wrecksite]]|accessdate=30 August 2022}}</ref> About an hour later, after the ships entered the [[Ionian Sea]], ''Benedetto Cairoli''′s [[sister ship]] {{ship|Italian destroyer|Giacinto Carini||2}} accidentally rammed her, and ''Benedetto Cairoli'' sank a few hours later off [[Santa Maria di Leuca]], Italy. The [[Royal Australian Navy]] destroyer {{HMAS|Torrens|D67|6}} rescued her survivors, but one member of ''Torrens''′s crew was swept overboard and drowned in heavy seas during the rescue operation. Meanwhile, ''Giacinto Carini'' reached port with a severely damaged [[Bow (ship)|bow]] and remained under repair for the rest of World War I.<ref name="betasom"/><ref name="navalhistory">[http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyFrench2.htm French Navy in World War 1 in Outline<!-- Title generated automatically -->]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/boysoldiers.asp |title=Encyclopedia {{!}} Australian War Memorial<!-- Title generated automatically --> |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416190909/http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/boysoldiers.asp }}</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|title=Italian Warships of World War 1|year=1970|publisher=Ian Allan|location=London|isbn=0-7110-0105-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|chapter=Italy|pages=252–290|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-0-87021-907-8}}
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==External links==-->

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{{La Masa class destroyer}}
{{April 1918 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedetto Cairoli}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Italian destroyer ''Benedetto Cairoli''}}
[[Category:La Masa-class destroyers| ]]
[[Category:1917 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by Cantieri navali Odero]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of Italy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]