The author has always been interested in, so to speak, small forms in the navy. And at one time I could not pass by a rather promising, albeit crude development in the form of an Italian missile boat on hydrofoils of the "Sparviero" type, simply could not. Moreover, in his humble opinion, these boats are just a mental exception in the ranks of the Italian fleet, which almost always built exceptionally elegant, even sophisticated ships on its stocks. And suddenly this "freak" appears, looking like a penguin on figure skates. Nevertheless, this boat did not lose interest in its person.
The direct progenitor of "Sparviero" was the American experimental hydrofoil USS Tucumcari. True, the USS Tucumcari did not carry missile weapons on board, limiting itself to artillery. This boat was developed by the Boeing company. On its basis, the technologies of hydrofoils were tested, as well as the assessment of the operation of the jet propulsion unit. USS Tucumcari even managed to prove itself in the Vietnam War, but its age was short-lived. Already in 1972, i.e. just four years after the start of operation, the crew during an exercise in the area of the island of Vieques (Puerto Rico) rammed the reef at a speed of over forty knots. And during the rescue work, the Yankees overdid it so that they finally ruined the ship. The renovation was found to be unprofitable.
Italian "childbirth"
Back in 1964, an Italian entrepreneur of Spanish origin Carlo Rodriguez, who built his business on the development of hydrofoils, and Boeing Corporation, with the support of the Italian Naval Research Department, founded the Alinavi company. It was on the basis of this company that the first developments of military hydrofoils were started.
When USS Tucumcari joined the US Navy in 1968, the Italians immediately became interested in it. Already in 1970, the Italian Navy ordered Alinavi to develop and build a prototype hydrofoil boat based on the American experience. The prototype was named "Sparviero". And since it was missile boats that came into fashion, changes were made to the original American version.
Tactical and technical characteristics:
- maximum length - 24.5 m, width - 7 m, draft - from 1.45 to 1.87 m;
- displacement - 60, 6 tons;
- maximum speed on hydrofoils in optimal weather - 50 knots (92.6 km / h), speed in displacement mode - 8 knots (15 km / h);
- crew - 10 people, including two officers;
- autonomy - 1 day;
- cruising range at a speed of 45 knots - 740 km, at a speed of 8 knots - 1940 km;
- hull and superstructure material - aluminum.
As a legacy from the Americans, the Italian boat received a hydrofoil system developed by Boeing and consisting of one wing in the bow and two at the stern. Naturally, in different types of motion, two different engines and two different propellers were used. In displacement mode, a conventional Isotta-Fraschini ID38N6V diesel engine operated, and the propeller was the propeller. When the boat switched to hydrofoil movement, the Rolls-Royce Proteus 15М560 gas turbine engine (5000 hp) with a water-jet propeller came into operation.
Taking into account the cruising range and so on, the Italian military men planned to use these ships for short operations requiring high speed from the boats. That is why they were not going to equip any living quarters and even more so a galley on ships.
Initial armament consisted of two Otomat anti-ship missiles at the stern behind the superstructure and one 76mm Oto Melara cannon at the bow.
Life at sea and on paper
The Sparviero prototype was laid down at the La Spezia shipyard in April 1971 and launched on May 9, 1973. The direct commissioning of the boat into operation took place in 1974 under the hull number P 420. During sea trials and direct operation, this boat justified the declared performance characteristics, but the start of construction of a full-fledged series was constantly postponed.
In 1975, the question was raised again not just about ordering a whole series of boats of the Sparviero class, but also about the additional purchase of two larger American-made Pegasus-class hydrofoils. The Pegasus were being built in 1975 by Boeing in Renton, Washington. These ships were supposed to work together in the framework of the NATO armament standardization. But this group was never created.
In 1977, the command condescended to resolving the issue of serial production of "Sparviero". At the same time, the order was placed at the Fincantieri shipyard. The "new" boats received an improved Otomat missile launcher with a Teseo target designation system. It was also planned to install more powerful Allison gas turbine engines on the boats, but this was not implemented.
In total, from 1980 to 1983, six Sparviero-class hydrofoil missile boats were launched: Nibbio (tail number P 421), Falcone (P 422), Astore (P 423), Grifone (P 424), Gheppio (P 425) and Condor (P 426).
These boats failed to show themselves in all their glory. Until the mid-90s, ships of the "Sparviero" type carried quite a quiet, mostly patrolling service. The high-speed stinging strike of missile weapons, which the command hoped for, was delivered by the ships only as part of the exercises. At the moment, all boats have been decommissioned.
Second short breath of life
In the early 90s, when the Italians were slowly sending Sparviero for metal, the Japanese became interested in boats. The Land of the Rising Sun wanted to replace its outdated RT-11 - RT-15 torpedo boats with nimble Italians, which develop speeds of up to 40 knots.
In 1991, the Japanese entered into a licensing agreement with Italy for the production of hydrofoil missile boats. Naturally, changes were made in terms of weapons. Instead of the 76-mm gun, the M61 Vulcan rapid-fire cannon was installed on the nose, and the Type 90 anti-ship missiles were installed instead of the Otomat complex. And, of course, the new boats were equipped with more modern radars. The gas turbine engine was also replaced with a General Electric LM500 5200 hp engine.
In 1992, both boats were launched. At the same time, they were not provided with their own names - only the numbers PG 01 and PG 02. It would seem that the ships, sunk into oblivion, received a second chance. But suddenly problems with financing began.
The next boat was laid down only in 1993 under the number PG 03. In 1994, when the third boat of the series descended from the slipways of the Sumitomo shipyard, the command had finally cooled down to these hydrofoils. As a result, they did not order the fourth boat, and the project was canceled.
The Japanese trinity honestly crossed the line of 2000, and in 2010 the last chick of the Italian-American company of Japanese shipyards was safely decommissioned.
