:Partenope-class cruiser

The design for the {{lang|it|Partenope}} class was prepared by Engineering Inspector Carlo Vigna, and was based on the earlier torpedo cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Tripoli||2}}, the first modern vessel of the type built by Italy.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|pp=346–347}} The development of torpedo cruisers in Italy in the mid-1880s represented a shift away from the emphasis on large capital ships that had been built for the previous decade and toward the ideas of the {{lang|fr|Jeune École}}, which emphasized small, fast, torpedo-armed vessels that could damage or destroy the much larger battleships at a fraction of the cost.{{sfn|Sondhaus|p=149}} The {{lang|it|Partenope}} class were followed by the {{sclass|Agordat|cruiser|4}}, the last class of torpedo cruisers built by Italy.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|pp=347–348}}

File:Italian cruiser Urania.jpg

The ships of the {{lang|it|Partenope}} class were {{convert|70|m|sp=us}} long between perpendiculars and {{convert|73.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long overall. They had a beam of {{convert|8.22|m|0|abbr=on}} and an average draft of {{convert|3.48|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. They displaced from {{convert|821|to|931|LT|lk=on}} normally. Their hulls were steel-built and had a ram bow. The ships had forecastle that ran the first third of the ships' length, thereafter stepping down to the main deck that extended for the rest of their length. The forward conning tower was erected atop the forecastle, and a smaller, secondary conning tower was located further aft. The ships had a crew that ranged from 96 to 121.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

Their propulsion system consisted of a pair of horizontal triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single screw propeller. Steam was supplied by four coal-fired locomotive boilers that were trunked into two widely spaced funnels. They were initially fitted with a fore and aft sailing rig with two masts to supplement the steam engines on longer voyages, but the rigging was later removed.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

Specific figures for each ship's engine performance have not survived, but the ships of the class had top speeds of {{convert|18.1|to|20.8|kn|lk=in}} from {{convert|3884|to|4422|ihp|lk=in}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} Coal storage amounted to {{cvt|180|LT}},{{sfn|Marshall|p=18}} which provided a cruising radius of about {{convert|1800|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

File:Partenope-class cruiser plan and profile drawing.jpg

The {{lang|it|Partenope}}-class cruisers, with the exception of {{lang|it|Caprera}}, were armed with a main battery of one QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IV 40-caliber (cal.) gun that was carried in a single pivot mount on the forecastle. Defense against torpedo boats was provided by a secondary battery of six QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt 43-cal. guns mounted singly. They were also equipped with three {{convert|37|mm|abbr=on|1}} 20-cal. guns in single mounts. {{lang|it|Caprera}} instead had two 120 mm guns, four 57 mm guns, and two of the 37 mm weapons. {{lang|it|Caprera}}{{'}}s second 120 mm gun was placed at the stern. The ships' primary offensive weapon was their {{convert|450|mm|abbr=on|1}} torpedo tubes; {{lang|it|Partenope}} and {{lang|it|Caprera}} had five tubes, while the rest of the class had six.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

The ships were protected by a curved armored deck that was up to {{convert|1.6|in|abbr=on}} thick; the deck was flat over the longitudinal center and sloped down at the sides to connect to the outer hull plating. Their forward conning towers were armored with the same thickness of steel plate on the sides.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

All eight ships had their sailing rig replaced with a pair of light pole masts. Partenope and Minerva were reboilered in 1906–1908 and 1909–1910, respectively, with new oil-fired models. Partenope{{'}}s performance after the refit was {{convert|17.05|kn}} from {{convert|2481|ihp|abbr=on}}, while Minerva was faster, at {{convert|18.28|kn}} from {{convert|3524|ihp|abbr=on}}. During their refits in the late 1900s, Partenope and Minerva were converted into minelayers. Their armament was revised significantly, and now consisted of a pair of {{convert|3|in|abbr=on}} guns, four 57 mm guns, and two 37 mm guns. Partenope{{'}}s forecastle was completely rebuilt, significantly increasing her freeboard.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} Partenope was equipped to carry sixty naval mines, with a bank of thirty mines on a platform on each side of the ship;{{sfn|Alger|p=197}} the details of Minerva{{'}}s mine handling equipment and storage are unknown.

File:Italian cruiser Caprera.jpg

File:NH 88659 cruiser Iride.tiff

For much of the ships' careers, they were assigned to the main Italian fleet, where they were frequently occupied with conducting training exercises. These exercises frequently gamed attacks by the French fleet, such as the maneuvers conducted in 1893, which simulated a French attack on Naples.{{sfn|Garbett|p=567}}{{sfn|Clarke & Thursfield|pp=202–203}}{{sfn|Brassey|p=60}} In 1895, {{lang|it|Partenope}} joined a squadron that visited Great Britain,{{sfn|Neal (July 1895)|p=155}} and later that year took part in an international naval demonstration off Crete in an attempt to defuse tensions between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Neal (December 1895)|p=355}} {{lang|it|Euridice}} took part in a similar demonstration, again off Crete, in 1897; this was a reaction to the Greco-Turkish War that had broken out that year.{{sfn|Robinson|p=187}} Between 1906 and 1908, {{lang|it|Partenope}} was converted into a minelayer, and {{lang|it|Minerva}} underwent a similar conversion in 1909–1910. Two ships, {{lang|it|Calatafimi}} and {{lang|it|Euridice}}, were discarded in early 1907.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

During the Italo-Turkish War, {{lang|it|Partenope}} operated off Libya, bombarding Ottoman troops and supporting Italian forces.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=35, 47–48}} {{lang|it|Iride}} escorted a troopship convoy to North Africa and then conducted shore bombardments.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=65–66, 84}} {{lang|it|Aretusa}} was stationed in the Red Sea at the outbreak of the war,{{sfn|Beehler|p=11}} and she briefly engaged the Ottoman cruiser {{ship|Ottoman cruiser|Peyk-i Şevket||2}}.{{sfn|Stephenson|p=62}} {{lang|it|Aretusa}}, joined by {{lang|it|Caprera}} in early 1912, thereafter participated in bombardment and blockade operations against Ottoman ports in the area.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=51, 90}} {{lang|it|Minerva}} was assigned to the 4th Division at the time, but did not see action during the war.{{sfn|Beehler|p=9}} Three more members of the class were sold for scrap after the end of the war, with {{lang|it|Urania}} and {{lang|it|Aretusa}} being stricken in 1912 and {{lang|it|Caprera}} being discarded in early 1913.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

{{lang|it|Partenope}} and {{lang|it|Minerva}} laid a series of defensive minefields in the Adriatic Sea after Italy entered World War I in 1915.{{sfn|O'Hara, Dickson, & Worth|p=201}} They did not see action for much of the rest of the war, owing to the cautious strategies adopted by Italy and its enemy across the Adriatic, Austria-Hungary.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=141–142}} On 24 March 1918, the German U-boat {{ship|SM|UC-67||2}} torpedoed and sank {{lang|it|Partenope}} north of Bizerte, Tunisia.{{sfn|Willmott|p=426}} {{lang|it|Iride}} and {{lang|it|Minerva}} survived the war and were discarded in December 1920 and May 1921, respectively.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

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{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/partenope_incrociatore.aspx Partenope] Marina Militare website

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Partenope-class cruiser}}

{{Italian torpedo cruisers}}

{{WWI Italian ships}}