The Audace-class destroyers were two guided missile destroyers built for the Italian Navy during the Cold War. An improvement of the Impavido class, these ships were designed for area air defence and also had a heavy gun armament. They were fitted with contemporary American radars and sonars, but also, as the next Italian ships, all the modern weapons made by Italian industry of the time, such torpedoes, helicopters and guns. Also some indigenous radars were fitted.
In 1988–1989 they underwent extensive modernisations: it included the replacement of one 127 mm gun turrets and also the A.184 torpedoes with new weapons: a Teseo SSM system (midship, between the 76mm guns) and an eight-cell Albatros Aspide SAM launcher (directly replacing the 127mm turret). The four 76/62 mm guns remained, but the Compact model was replaced by 76/62 Super Rapido (120 rpm, meant especially for anti-ship missile defence). The Tartar SAM complex was replaced by the RIM-66 Standard Missile SM-1 system. So, with this new systems, these ships were able to cope with all the requirements: thanks to the Superapido and Albatross they had a much improved close-defence, especially against missiles, while OTOMAT allowed a long range, anti-ship capability, together with AB-212 for targeting over the horizon. All this helped to bring these ships almost to the same level of the new de La Penne class, in 1991 still under construction, with even more weaponry (1 Super Rapido gun).
What remained unsolved was the lack of a VDS (variable depth sonar), the construction vulnerability, with the tall superstructures made in aluminium (and so vulnerable to fire), the excessive amount of weapons and explosives in the small hull (especially in the aft superstructure, that in 20 metres (66 ft) concentrated both hangar and SAM depots), some spartan solution for hosting the crew of 380, and the lack of an aft close-defence weapon: 6 were available at flanks and foredeck but the four Super-Rapido were placed at mid-ship, unable to fire directly both forward and behind. Also, the engine was of an outdated model, potentially dangerous and slow to operate from start. All these ships suffered from the age and the intense sea service, so their operational life was almost expired at the end of the 20th century, and only the delays of Horizon program allowed them to stay in service for several years longer than expected.
The file contains all the sounds and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow provided the animation files and Ares de Borg did the sounds. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
In 1988–1989 they underwent extensive modernisations: it included the replacement of one 127 mm gun turrets and also the A.184 torpedoes with new weapons: a Teseo SSM system (midship, between the 76mm guns) and an eight-cell Albatros Aspide SAM launcher (directly replacing the 127mm turret). The four 76/62 mm guns remained, but the Compact model was replaced by 76/62 Super Rapido (120 rpm, meant especially for anti-ship missile defence). The Tartar SAM complex was replaced by the RIM-66 Standard Missile SM-1 system. So, with this new systems, these ships were able to cope with all the requirements: thanks to the Superapido and Albatross they had a much improved close-defence, especially against missiles, while OTOMAT allowed a long range, anti-ship capability, together with AB-212 for targeting over the horizon. All this helped to bring these ships almost to the same level of the new de La Penne class, in 1991 still under construction, with even more weaponry (1 Super Rapido gun).
What remained unsolved was the lack of a VDS (variable depth sonar), the construction vulnerability, with the tall superstructures made in aluminium (and so vulnerable to fire), the excessive amount of weapons and explosives in the small hull (especially in the aft superstructure, that in 20 metres (66 ft) concentrated both hangar and SAM depots), some spartan solution for hosting the crew of 380, and the lack of an aft close-defence weapon: 6 were available at flanks and foredeck but the four Super-Rapido were placed at mid-ship, unable to fire directly both forward and behind. Also, the engine was of an outdated model, potentially dangerous and slow to operate from start. All these ships suffered from the age and the intense sea service, so their operational life was almost expired at the end of the 20th century, and only the delays of Horizon program allowed them to stay in service for several years longer than expected.
The file contains all the sounds and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Wyrmshadow provided the animation files and Ares de Borg did the sounds. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
