Leone-class scout cruisers as large destroyers

The Leone class began as scout cruisers but served much more like large destroyers, gathering information and screening the fleet. Originally ordered in 1917, the ships were delayed by material shortages, revised, and reordered in 1920. Leone, Pantera, and Tigre carried 60 mines, six 18-inch torpedoes in two triple mounts, and eight 4.7-inch guns in four twin mounts, with a stated top speed of 33 knots. Their heavy gun battery anticipates the later British Tribal class, although the Tribal carried a single quadruple torpedo mount. The guns remained spread along the hull, supporting engagements on either side and helping the ships reach torpedo-launching positions. That arrangement left them short of a general-purpose destroyer built to fight its way into a position through concentrated gunfire. The class became an early starting point for Franco-Italian competition over large light combatants. Frequent service in Italian East Africa and the Red Sea also put the ships within the Royal Navy's observation, since Mediterranean Fleet units commonly served around the Red Sea approaches.