Italian cruiser Iride

{{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|Iride}} 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|931|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|Iride}}{{'}}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|Iride}} was armed with a main battery of one QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IV /40 gun placed on the forecastle. 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 six {{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}}

{{lang|it|Iride}} was laid down at the {{lang|it|Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia}} (Royal Dockyard in Castellammare di Stabia) on 21 February 1889, and was launched on 20 July 1890. After fitting-out work was completed, the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 1 November 1892.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} {{lang|it|Iride}} took part in the annual fleet exercises in 1893 in the "attacking squadron", which also included six ironclads, her sister ship {{ship|Italian cruiser|Euridice||2}} and the torpedo cruisers {{ship|Italian cruiser|Goito||2}} and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Monzambano||2}}.{{sfn|Clarke & Thursfield|p=202}} Beginning on 14 October 1894, the Italian fleet, including {{lang|it|Iride}}, assembled in Genoa for a naval review held in honor of King Umberto I at the commissioning of the new ironclad {{ship|Italian ironclad|Re Umberto||2}}. The festivities lasted three days.{{sfn|Garbett 1894|p=1295}}

In 1895, {{lang|it|Iride}} was 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}}, {{lang|it|Euridice}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Urania||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Minerva||2}}, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Caprera||2}}, the four {{sclass|Goito|cruiser|1}}s, and {{ship|Italian cruiser|Tripoli||2}}.{{sfn|Garbett 1895|p=90}} In 1902, {{lang|it|Iride}} was assigned as the station ship for Constantinople, responsible for safeguarding Italian interests in the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Garbett 1902|p=1075}}

In 1904–1905, {{lang|it|Iride}} was assigned to the Levant Station in the eastern Mediterranean.{{sfn|Garbett 1904|p=1429}} She took part in the 1907 fleet maneuvers that took place in September and October that year.{{sfn|Leyland|p=78}} At the start of the Italo-Turkish War in September 1911, {{lang|it|Iride}} was stationed in Italy, alternating between the ports of La Spezia and Naples, along with her sister ships {{lang|it|Urania}} and {{lang|it|Caprera}}.{{sfn|Beehler|p=9}} By January 1912, {{lang|it|Iride}} had been stationed in Tripoli to support the garrison there against Ottoman forces.{{sfn|Beehler|p=50}} In early April, {{lang|it|Iride}}, the torpedo cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Agordat||2}}, and six torpedo boats rendezvoused with a troop convoy carrying 10,000 men to Zuwarah near the border with Tunisia.{{sfn|Beehler|pp=65–66}} In June and July, {{lang|it|Iride}} and the armored cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Carlo Alberto||2}} bombarded Turkish forces near Zuara.{{sfn|Beehler|p=84}} The Ottomans eventually agreed to surrender in October, ending the war.{{sfn|Beehler|p=95}}

Italy declared neutrality after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but by July 1915, the Triple Entente had convinced the Italians to enter the war against the Central Powers with promises of territory acquisition in {{lang|it|Italia irredenta}}. The Austro-Hungarian Navy, which had been Italy's primary rival for decades, was the primary opponent in the conflict. The Austro-Hungarian battle fleet lay in its harbors directly across the narrow Adriatic Sea. Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Italian naval chief of staff, believed that the narrow waters and numerous islands of the Adriatic allowed Austro-Hungarian submarines and minelayers to operate with a great degree of freedom. The threat from these underwater weapons to his capital ships was too serious for him to use the fleet in an active way. Instead, Revel decided to implement blockade at the relatively safer southern end of the Adriatic with the battle fleet, while smaller vessels, such as the MAS boats, conducted raids on Austro-Hungarian ships and installations. As a result, {{lang|it|Iride}} did not see action during the war.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=140–142, 150}} She was sold for scrap in December 1920 and was subsequently broken up for scrap.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}

{{notelist

| notes =

}}

{{reflist|20em}}

• {{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

|last1=Clarke

|first1=George S.

|last2=Thursfield

|first2=James R.

|title=The Navy and the Nation, or Naval Warfare and Imperial Defence

|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924030750636

|year=1897

|location=London

|publisher=John Murray

|oclc=3462308

|name-list-style=amp

|ref={{sfnref|Clarke & Thursfield}}

}}

• {{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

|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution

|publisher=J. J. Keliher

|location=London

|date=November 1894

|volume=XXXVIII

|number=201

|pages=193–206

|oclc=8007941

|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1894}}

}}

• {{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.

|title=Naval Notes

|journal=Journal of the Royal United Service Institution

|publisher=J. J. Keliher

|location=London

|year=1902

|volume=XLVI

|pages=1060–1079

|oclc=8007941

|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1902}}

}}

• {{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=1904

|volume=XLVIII

|pages=1428–1431

|oclc=8007941

|ref={{sfnref|Garbett 1904}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Halpern

|first=Paul G.

|title=A Naval History of World War I

|year=1995

|location=Annapolis

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|isbn=978-1-55750-352-7

|ref={{sfnref|Halpern}}

}}

• {{cite journal

|last=Leyland

|first=John

|title=Foreign Naval Manoeuvres

|pages=64–82

|editor-last=Brassey

|editor-first=Thomas A.

|editor-link=Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey

|journal=The Naval Annual

|year=1908

|publisher=J. Griffin & Co.

|location=Portsmouth

|oclc=5973345

|ref={{sfnref|Leyland}}

}}

• {{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}}

}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/EFGHI/iride_incrociatore.aspx Iride] Marina Militare website

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Partenope-class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iride}}

Category:1890 ships

Category:Partenope-class cruisers

Category:Ships built in Castellammare di Stabia

Category:Italo-Turkish War naval ships of Italy