Italian cruiser Caprera
{{Short description|Torpedo cruiser of the Italian Royal Navy}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=November 2022}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption= |italic title=}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Italian cruiser Caprera.jpg |Ship caption={{lang|it|Caprera}} in 1895, shortly after entering service }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= Italy |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Italy}} |Ship name= {{lang|it|Caprera}} |Ship namesake=Caprera |Ship ordered= |Ship builder={{lang|it|Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando}}, Livorno |Ship laid down=27 July 1891 |Ship launched=6 May 1894 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=12 December 1895 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship fate=Sold for scrap in May 1913 }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class={{sclass|Partenope|cruiser|0}} torpedo cruiser |Ship displacement=Normal: {{convert|833|LT|lk=on}} |Ship length= {{convert|73.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|8.22|m|0|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= {{convert|3.48|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=
|Ship power=
|Ship speed= {{convert|18.1|to|20.8|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|1800|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}} |Ship complement=96–121 |Ship armament=*2 × QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IV gun
|Ship armor=
}} |
{{lang|it|Caprera}} was a torpedo cruiser of the {{sclass|Partenope|cruiser|4}} built for the Italian {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. She was built by the Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando shipyard; her keel was laid in July 1891, she was launched in May 1894, and was commissioned in December 1895. Her main armament were her five torpedo tubes, which were supported by a battery of eleven small-caliber guns. {{lang|it|Caprera}} spent most of her career in the main Italian fleet, where she was primarily occupied with training exercises. She served in the Red Sea during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, where she conducted shore bombardments and blockaded Ottoman ports in the area. {{lang|it|Caprera}} did not remain in service long after the war, being sold for scrap in May 1913.
Design
{{main|Partenope-class cruiser}}
File:Partenope-class cruiser plan and profile drawing.jpg
The {{lang|it|Partenope}}-class cruisers were derivatives of the earlier, experimental {{sclass|Goito|cruiser|1}}s, themselves based on the preceding cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Tripoli||2}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|pp=347–348}} The class marked a temporary shift toward the ideas of the {{lang|fr|Jeune École}} in Italian naval thinking. The doctrine emphasized the use of small, torpedo-armed craft to destroy expensive ironclads.{{sfn|Sondhaus|p=149}}
{{lang|it|Caprera}} was {{convert|73.1|m|ftin|sp=us}} long overall and had a beam of {{convert|8.22|m|0|abbr=on}} and an average draft of {{convert|3.48|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. She displaced {{convert|833|LT|lk=on}} normally. The ship had a short forecastle deck that terminated at the conning tower. She had a crew of between 96 and 121 personnel.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}
Her 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, which were vented through two widely spaced funnels. Specific figures for {{lang|it|Caprera}}{{'}}s engine performance have not survived, but the ships of her class had top speeds of {{convert|18.1|to|20.8|kn|lk=in}} at {{convert|3884|to|4422|ihp|lk=in}}. The ship had a cruising radius of about {{convert|1800|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}
{{lang|it|Caprera}} was armed with a main battery of two QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IV /40 guns, one placed on the forecastle and the other toward the stern. Close-range defense against torpedo boats was provided by a secondary battery of six QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt /43 guns mounted singly.{{efn|"/40" refers to the length of the gun in terms of calibers, meaning that the length of the barrel is 40 times its internal diameter.}} She was also equipped with three {{convert|37|mm|abbr=on|1}} /20 guns in single mounts. Her primary offensive weapon was her five {{convert|450|mm|abbr=on|1}} torpedo tubes. The ship was protected by an armored deck that was up to {{convert|1.6|in|abbr=on}} thick; her conning tower was armored with the same thickness of steel plate.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}
Service history
{{lang|it|Caprera}} was laid down at the {{lang|it|Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando}} (Orlando Brothers' Shipyard) in Livorno on 27 July 1891, originally under the name {{lang|it|Clio}}. She was renamed {{lang|it|Caprera}} on 23 February 1893 and was launched on 6 May 1894, the last member of her class to enter the water.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} After fitting-out work was completed, she underwent sea trials in mid-1895. While testing the engines with forced draft, the ship reached {{convert|17.75|kn}}.{{sfn|Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats — Italy|p=68}} The ship was commissioned into the fleet on 12 December 1895.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} Upon entering service, {{lang|it|Caprera}} was initially stationed in the 2nd Maritime Department, split between Taranto and Naples, along with most of the torpedo cruisers in the Italian fleet. These included her sister ships {{ship|Italian cruiser|Partenope||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Aretusa||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Euridice||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Iride||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Minerva||2}}, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Urania||2}}, the four {{lang|it|Goito}}-class cruisers, and {{lang|it|Tripoli}}.{{sfn|Garbett 1895|p=90}} Shortly thereafter, she was transferred to Italian East Africa. She departed with the protected cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Etna||2}} in late December, passing through the Suez Canal on 30 December, along with a transport carrying a battalion of infantry. The rest of the Red Sea Squadron, which included the protected cruisers {{ship|Italian cruiser|Dogali||2}} and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Etruria||2}}, met {{lang|it|Caprera}} and {{lang|it|Etna}} in Massawa.{{sfn|The Italians in Africa|p=23}}
{{lang|it|Caprera}} joined the 2nd Division of the active fleet in 1897, which also included the ironclad {{ship|Italian ironclad|Andrea Doria||2}}, the armored cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Marco Polo||2}}, the protected cruisers {{lang|it|Etna}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Stromboli||2}}, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Liguria||2}}, and the torpedo cruisers {{lang|it|Urania}} and {{lang|it|Partenope}}.{{sfn|Garbett 1897|p=789}} The ship was assigned to the Atlantic Naval Division in 1899, along with {{lang|it|Marco Polo}} and the protected cruisers {{lang|it|Etna}}, {{lang|it|Dogali}}, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Giovanni Bausan||2}}.{{sfn|Garbett 1899|p=792}} In 1903, {{lang|it|Caprera}} was sent to strengthen the Red Sea Station, which also included the old screw corvette {{ship|Italian corvette|Cristoforo Colombo|1892|2}}, the gunboat {{ship|Italian gunboat|Volturno||2}}, and the aviso {{ship|Italian aviso|Barbarigo||2}}.{{sfn|Garbett 1903|p=1069}} By 1907, {{lang|it|Caprera}} had been transferred to the Reserve Squadron, along with four of the older ironclad battleships.{{sfn|Garbett 1907|p=93}} The following year, she was stationed in Italian East Africa. While there, an Italian meteorologist conducted several experiments aboard the ship with a hot air balloon to study the monsoon winds in the region, beginning in Zanzibar.{{sfn|Geikie & Newbigin|p=432}} The tests, which were conducted in the last week of July, were unsuccessful, as the weather was unfavorable.{{sfn|Lockyer|p=506}}
At the start of the Italo-Turkish War in September 1911, {{lang|it|Caprera}} was stationed in Italy, alternating between the ports of La Spezia and Naples, along with her sister ships {{lang|it|Urania}} and {{lang|it|Iride}}. The threat of an Ottoman attack from the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea to Italian Eritrea led the Italian High Command to reinforce the Red Sea Squadron. {{lang|it|Caprera}} and several destroyers were sent to strengthen the Italian defenses. The protected cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Piemonte||2}} and two destroyers annihilated a force of seven Ottoman gunboats in the Battle of Kunfuda Bay on 7 January 1912, wiping out the core of Ottoman naval forces in the area. {{lang|it|Caprera}} and the rest of the Italian ships then commenced a bombardment campaign against the Turkish ports in the Red Sea before declaring a blockade of the city of Al Hudaydah on 26 January. On 27 July and 12 August, {{lang|it|Caprera}}, her sister ship {{lang|it|Aretusa}}, and the protected cruiser {{lang|it|Piemonte}} conducted two bombardments of Al Hudaydah. During the second attack, they destroyed an Ottoman ammunition dump. On 14 October, the Ottoman government agreed to sign a peace treaty, ending the war.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=9, 51, 90, 95}} {{lang|it|Caprera}} did not remain in service long after the end of the war. She was sold for scrap in May 1913 and thereafter broken up.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}
Footnotes
= Notes =
{{notelist
| notes =
}}
=Citations=
{{reflist|20em}}
References
- {{cite book
|last=Beehler
|first=William Henry
|title=The History of the Italian-Turkish War: September 29, 1911, to October 18, 1912
|year=1913
|location=Annapolis
|publisher=United States Naval Institute
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWcoAAAAYAAJ
|oclc=1408563
|ref={{sfnref|Beehler}}
}}
- {{cite book
|last=Fraccaroli
|first=Aldo
|editor-last=Gardiner
|editor-first=Robert
|chapter=Italy
|pages=334–359
|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905
|year=1979
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=978-0-85177-133-5
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2
|ref={{sfnref|Fraccaroli}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Garbett
|editor-first=H.
|title=Naval and Military Notes – Italy
|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution
|publisher=J. J. Keliher
|location=London
|year=1895
|volume=XXXIX
|pages=81–111
|oclc=8007941
|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1895}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Garbett
|editor-first=H.
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRQmAQAAIAAJ
|title=Naval Notes—Italy
|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution
|volume=XLI
|issue=232
|pages=788–790
|date=June 1897
|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1897}}
|oclc=8007941
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Garbett
|editor-first=H.|title=Naval Notes – Italy
|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution
|publisher=J. J. Keliher
|location=London
|year=1899
|volume=XLIII
|pages=792–796
|oclc=8007941
|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1899}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Garbett
|editor-first=H.
|title=Naval Notes
|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution
|volume=XLVII
|number=307
|year=1903
|publisher=J. J. Keliher & Co.
|location=London
|pages=1058–1075
|oclc=8007941
|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1903}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Garbett
|editor-first=H.
|title=Naval Notes – Italy
|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution
|publisher=J. J. Keliher
|location=London
|year=1907
|volume=LI
|pages=92–94
|oclc=8007941
|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1907}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last1=Geikie
|editor-first1=James
|editor-last2=Newbigin
|editor-first2=Marion I.
|title=Meteorological Investigation in Africa
|page=432
|journal=The Scottish Geographical Magazine
|location=Edinburgh
|publisher=T. and A. Constable
|year=1908
|volume=XXIV
|oclc=1604208
|name-list-style=amp
|ref={{sfnref|Geikie & Newbigin}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|editor-last=Lockyer
|editor-first=Normal
|editor-link=Norman Lockyer
|title=Notes
|journal=Nature
|pages=502–507
|location=London
|publisher=MacMillan & Co.
|year=1910
|volume=LXXXIV
|oclc=1586310
|ref={{sfnref|Lockyer}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|title=Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats — Italy
|journal=Notes on the Year's Naval Progress
|year=1896
|location=Washington, DC
|publisher=Government Printing Office
|pages=65–69
|oclc=727366607
|ref={{sfnref|Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats — Italy}}
}}
- {{cite book
|last=Sondhaus
|first=Lawrence
|title=Naval Warfare, 1815–1914
|location=London and New York
|publisher=Routledge
|year=2001
|isbn=978-0-415-21478-0
|ref={{sfnref|Sondhaus}}
}}
- {{cite journal
|title=The Italians in Africa
|journal=The African Review
|location=London
|publisher=The African Review Publishing Company
|volume=VII
|oclc=39120879
|ref={{sfnref|The Italians in Africa}}
}}
External links
- [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/ABCD/caprera.aspx Caprera] Marina Militare website
{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}
{{Partenope-class cruiser}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caprera}}
Category:Partenope-class cruisers