Baleno was one of four Folgore-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the early 1930s.

The Folgore-class destroyers were essentially copies of the preceding Freccia class, although their beam was reduced in an unsuccessful attempt to improve their speed over that achieved by the earlier ships.

They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,600 nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

Although the ships were not provided with a sonar system for anti-submarine work, they were fitted with a pair of depth charge throwers.

[3] Baleno was laid down by Cantieri navali del Quarnaro at their Fiume shipyard on 1 October 1929, launched on 22 March 1931 and commissioned on 15 June 1932.