In 1899,[1] the Italian Navy ordered six destroyers from the German shipyard Schichau-Werke of Elbing, Prussia (now Elbląg in Poland).

The design was typical for Schichau-designed destroyers of the period, with a raised turtleback[a] forecastle, a ram bow and two funnels.

[1][4] They were powered by two triple expansion steam engines fed by four Thornycroft water-tube boilers which were rated at 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) driving two shafts to give a design speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).

One ship, Freccia ran aground in a storm off Tripoli, Libya, on 12 October 1911,[5][8] a few days after the city was captured by the Italians.

[4] The ships were used as escorts in North African waters and in the Tyrrhenian Sea,[3][12] and as such carried depth charges and anti-submarine sweeps.