[6] In 1931 Turbine together with Ostro, Aquilone and Borea as well as older Daniele Manin, Giovanni Nicotera and Pantera formed 1st Destroyer Flotilla, part of II Naval Division.

On 3 August 1937 Franco made an urgent plea with Mussolini to use the Italian fleet to prevent the passage of a large Soviet transport convoy, which just departed from Odessa.

On 14 September an agreement was signed establishing British and French patrol zones around Spain (with a total of 60 destroyers and airforce employed) to counteract aggressive behavior by submarines.

At the time of Italy entry into World War II Turbine together with Euro, Nembo and Aquilone formed 1st Destroyer Squadron based in Tobruk.

[13][14] On 19 June 1940 while conducting another anti-submarine mission Turbine, about 25 miles north of Tobruk, detected and attacked with depth charges another British submarine, Orpheus, and sank her in the approximate position 32°30′N 24°00′E / 32.500°N 24.000°E / 32.500; 24.000.

In the late afternoon a group of nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of 813 Naval Air Squadron took off from the airfield in Sidi Barrani and headed towards Tobruk.

[17] Zeffiro was attacked first by a plane piloted by Nicholas Kennedy, whose torpedo hit the destroyer in the bow, around the ammunition depot, between the bridge and a 120 mm cannon.

On 19 July 1940 British command, believing that the light cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere, damaged during the Battle of Cape Spada, had taken refuge in Tobruk, decided to launch a new bomber attack against the base.

Around 22:30 six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from the 824 Naval Air Squadron RAF appeared in the skies above Tobruk harbor and were met with strong anti-aircraft fire.

This forced the planes to make several passes over the area trying to avoid the fire, and also to acquire the targets, the situation exacerbated by a fairly cloudy night.

At 19:30 steamers Maria Eugenia and Gloria Stella escorted by Fratelli Cairoli arrived from Tripoli bringing the total number of vessels present in the harbor to 32.

At around 20:45 while about a mile outside the dredged area, Aquilone struck two magnetic mines, one in the middle and one by her stern, forcing the destroyer to immediately start veering to the left, towards the coast.

[22] Despite quick sinking, rough weather and darkness, the ship was abandoned in order limiting the number of casualties, with 4 people killed, 9 missing and 20 wounded.

[25] On 2 April 1941 Turbine along with Saetta and torpedo boat Orsa departed from Naples for Tripoli escorting a supply convoy for the Afrika Korps consisting of German steamers Alicante, Maritza, Santa Fé and Italian vessels Procida and Tembien.

[27] On 21 April 1941 Turbine together with Saetta, Strale and Folgore departed from Naples for Tripoli escorting another Afrika Korps convoy consisting of German ships Castellon, Arcturus, Leverkusen and Italian steamer Giulia.

[28] On 1 May 1941 Turbine together with Saetta, Strale and Folgore departed Tripoli for return trip to Italy escorting German ships Castellon, Arcturus, Leverkusen, Wachtfels and Italian steamer Giulia.

[29] On 16 May 1941 Turbine together with Folgore, Fulmine, Strale and Euro departed Naples escorting a German-Italian convoy consisting of freighters Preussen, Sparta, Capo Orso, Castelverde and Motia and tanker Panuco.

[30] On 24 May 1941 Turbine together with Folgore and Fulmine left Tripoli for Naples escorting German steamers Duisburg and Preussen and Italian ships Bosforo, Bainsizza and tankers Panuco and Superga.

On 30 June 1941 Turbine together with Freccia, Strale and Dardo departed Naples for Tripoli escorting convoy consisting of Italian ships Francesco Barbaro, Sebastiano Veniero, Andrea Gritti, Rialto, Barbarigo and German steamer Ankara.

On 27 July 1941 Turbine together with Freccia, Strale and Dardo left Naples for Tripoli escorting Afrika Korps convoy consisting of Italian ships Bainsizza, Amsterdam, Col di Lana and German freighter Spezia.

[33] On 4 August 1941 Turbine together with Freccia, Strale and Malococello left Tripoli for return trip to Italy escorting ships Bainsizza, Amsterdam, Col di Lana and Maddalena Odero.

[34] On 20 November 1941 Turbine, together with Perseo, left Naples for Tripoli escorting supply convoy C consisting of steamers Napoli and Vettor Pisani, with cruisers Gorizia, Trieste and Trento providing distant cover.

[38] On 13 April 1942 Turbine and Freccia departed from Taranto for Tripoli escorting one of three supply convoys consisting of one merchant vessel, a part of Operation Aprilia.

[39] On 5 May 1942 Turbine together with Ugolino Vivaldi and torpedo boats Pegaso and Enrico Cosenz departed Naples for Benghazi escorting three merchant ships.

[40] On 22 June 1942 Turbine together with Folgore and torpedo boats Partenope, Castore and Orsa departed from Palermo for Benghazi escorting Italian merchant ships Nino Bixio and Mario Roselli.

[41] On 3 July 1942 Turbine together with Giovanni da Verrazzano, Euro and torpedo boats Antares, Pegaso, Castore, San Martino and Polluce departed from Taranto for Libya escorting cargo ships Ankara, Nino Bixio and Monviso.

[42] Between 3 and 5 August 1942 Turbine together with destroyers Grecale, Freccia, Corsaro, Folgore and Legionario and torpedo boats Partenope and Calliope escorted three ship convoy consisting of Nino Bixio, Ankara and Sestrieri to Libya.

[45] All these operations were made possible after the Italian intelligence broke the Greek partisan codes used to make contact with the British Middle East Command in Egypt.

[45] At the time of Italy's signing of Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 Turbine was in Piraeus and was ordered by the Italian Command in Greece to surrender the vessel to the Germans.

The order was obeyed and Turbine was transferred to Kriegsmarine on 9 September 1943, with most of the crew opting to leave the destroyer and being then sent to POW camps in Germany and Poland as "italian military internees".