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Andrea Doria (D553, Horizon-class destroyer)
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Andrea Doria (D553) is the lead ship of the Italian Navy's Horizon-class (Orizzonte-class) air-defense destroyers, built by Fincantieri. She and sister ship Caio Duilio (D554), together with the French Forbin and Chevalier Paul, make up the four-ship Horizon class resulting from a 1990s trilateral France-UK-Italy design effort (the UK later withdrew). The ship is named for the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the fifth Italian naval vessel to carry the name.
Kits of this ship
+ Add a kit| Italian Horizon Class Destroyer D553 Andrea Doria / D554 Caio Duilio | Takom | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
Plans
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Build logs
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Resources
+ Submit a resourceHistory & specifications
- Navypedia: Andrea Doria missile destroyersWebsite
Technical data and project history including construction dates and class background, useful for build accuracy.
- Wikipedia: Italian destroyer Andrea DoriaArticle
Comprehensive overview of the ship's design, specifications, and service history, useful baseline reference for modelers.
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: Category Andrea Doria (D 553)Photo
Collection of free-licensed photographs of the ship from multiple angles and periods, useful reference imagery for modelers.
History
Specifications
The destroyer displaces 7,050 tonnes full load, with a length of 152.9 m, beam of 20.3 m, and draft of 7.6 m. She is armed with three 76mm Oto Melara Super-Rapid guns (upgraded to the Strales CIWS configuration), two 25mm autocannons, two EuroTorp torpedo tubes for MU90 torpedoes, a 48-cell Sylver A50 vertical launch system firing Aster 15/30 missiles as part of the PAAMS air-defense suite, and eight Teseo Mk2/A anti-ship missile launchers. Propulsion is CODOG, combining two GE/Avio LM2500 gas turbines with two SEMT Pielstick diesels, giving speeds up to 29 knots on turbines and a hangar/helipad for one NH-90 or EH101 helicopter.
Service history
Commissioned on 22 December 2007, Andrea Doria has served extensively in NATO and multinational operations, including anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean under Operation Atalanta, where she had a brush with pirates in November 2011 while escorting merchant shipping. She has participated in exercises such as Joint Warrior and Mare Aperto, escorted the British carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth through the Strait of Messina in 2021, and served in the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, including carrier-escort duty for USS George H.W. Bush's strike group. Since July 2024 she has been deployed as flagship of the EU's Operation Aspides in the Red Sea region.
Notable facts
The ship was designed with stealth shaping for the hull and superstructure to reduce radar cross-section, featuring an enclosed pyramidal mast and low-profile, enclosed funnels typical of modern European stealth destroyer design. Though officially classed as a destroyer, some sources also refer to the Horizon class informally as frigates due to their multirole air-defense role. Takom produces a popular 1/350 scale injection-molded kit covering both D553 Andrea Doria and D554 Caio Duilio, with photo-etched detail parts.