Freccia and Folgore: the limits of iterative refinement

The Freccia and Folgore classes returned to refining the Sella-derived pattern even after twelve larger Navigatori ships had been built in response to its problems. Four Freccia ships developed the Turbine design, and Folgore then narrowed the beam to improve the length-to-beam ratio and gain speed. The resulting instability interfered with effective power delivery in the water. The change reduced practical performance instead of raising it. A favourable ratio on paper could not be separated from the hull's stability. Italian yards also produced four related ships for Greece and four for Turkey, linking the domestic design sequence with the drive for export sales.