Only four of the twelve planned vessels were completed. Four launched sisters were lost while fitting out or after capture: one fell to a British human-torpedo attack, two were sunk by air raids, and another served as a stationary oil hulk before being scuttled. Four more were cancelled in June 1940, less than a year after the ambitious program began. Giulio Germanico was captured and scuttled by Germany, then raised and completed after the war as the destroyer leader San Marco, serving until 1971. Pompeo Magno likewise returned after reconstruction as San Giorgio and remained in use until 1980. The contrast between wartime incompletion and decades of postwar service shows that the concept had value, but Italy lacked the time and industrial capacity to realize it during the conflict.
Chapter · 27:30-31:33
Twelve planned ships became four completions and two long-lived rebuilds
Cancellation, capture, air attack, and industrial limits reduced the twelve-ship program, yet Giulio Germanico and Pompeo Magno found long postwar lives as rebuilt destroyer leaders.