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

They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 4,600 nautical miles (8,500 km; 5,300 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] Saetta was laid down by Cantieri del Tirreno at their Riva Trigoso shipyard on 27 May 1929, launched on 17 January 1932 and commissioned on 10 May.

[2] During the Spanish Civil War, the ship torpedoed and sank the Republican 7,932-gross register ton (GRT) oil tanker SS Campeador off Ras el Mustafa, French Tunisia, on 11 August 1937.