Italian cruiser Minerva

{{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|Minerva}} 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. On speed trials with a displacement of {{convert|828|LT|abbr=on}}, {{lang|it|Minerva}}{{'}}s engines produced an average top speed of {{convert|19|kn|lk=in}} from {{convert|3884|ihp|lk=in}} with forced draft. The ship had a cruising radius of about {{convert|1800|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}}{{sfn|Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats — Italy|p=68}}

{{lang|it|Minerva}} 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}} 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|Minerva}} was laid down on 1 February 1889 at the Gio. Ansaldo & C. shipyard in Genoa, and was launched on 27 February 1892. After fitting-out work was completed less than six months later, the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 20 August.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} During the 1893 fleet maneuvers, {{lang|it|Minerva}} served with the 1st Division of the Reserve Squadron, along with the ironclads {{ship|Italian ironclad|Re Umberto||2}} and {{ship|Italian ironclad|Duilio||2}} and four torpedo boats. During the maneuvers, which lasted from 6 August to 5 September, the ships of the Reserve Squadron defended against a simulated attack by the Active Squadron, which gamed a French attack on the Italian fleet.{{sfn|Clarke & Thursfield|pp=202–203}} In 1895, {{lang|it|Minerva}} 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}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Euridice||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Iride||2}}, {{ship|Italian cruiser|Urania||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}}

{{lang|it|Minerva}} served in the active squadron in 1902.{{sfn|Garbett 1902|p=1075}} In 1903, {{lang|it|Minerva}} was assigned to the 1st Squadron, along with {{lang|it|Euridice}}. The unit also included eight battleships, six other cruisers, and six destroyers. The 1st Squadron was kept in active service for seven months of the year for training, and had reduced crews for the remainder of the year.{{sfn|Brassey|p=60}} She remained in the squadron the following year, which was reduced in size, with the two oldest battleships having been withdrawn, though three destroyers were added.{{sfn|Garbett 1904|p=1429}} Between 1909 and 1910, the ship was modernized and converted into a minelayer. She received new oil-fired boilers and had her armament reduced to two {{convert|3|in|abbr=on}} guns, four 57 mm guns and two 37 mm guns. {{lang|it|Minerva}}{{'}}s speed was reduced to {{convert|18.28|kn}} on {{convert|3524|ihp|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=347}} At the start of the Italo-Turkish War in September 1911, {{lang|it|Minerva}} was attached to the 4th Division of the 2nd Squadron of the Italian fleet. By this time, she was being used as a minelayer. She did not see significant action during the war.{{sfn|Beehler|p=9}}

Italy had declared neutrality at the start of World War I, but by July 1915, the Triple Entente had convinced the Italians to enter the war against the Central Powers. Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Italian naval chief of staff, believed that the threat from Austro-Hungarian submarines and naval mines in the narrow waters of the Adriatic was too serious for him to use the fleet in an active way. Instead, Revel decided to implement a blockade at the relatively safer southern end of the Adriatic with the main fleet, while smaller vessels, such as the MAS boats, conducted raids on Austro-Hungarian ships and installations.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=140–142, 150}} {{lang|it|Minerva}} was initially used to lay a series of defensive minefields, along with her sister {{lang|it|Partenope}} and the cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Goito||2}}, in support of this strategy.{{sfn|O'Hara, Dickson, & Worth|p=201}} {{lang|it|Minerva}} survived the war and was discarded in May 1921, the last surviving member of her class. She 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 journal

|editor-last=Brassey

|editor-first=Thomas A.

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

|journal=The Naval Annual

|year=1903

|location=Portsmouth

|publisher=J. Griffin & Co.

|title=Comparative Strength

|pages=57–68

|oclc=5973345

|ref={{sfnref|Brassey}}

}}

• {{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 – 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

|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

|ref={{sfnref|Notes on Ships and Torpedo Boats — Italy}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last1=O'Hara

|first1=Vincent

|last2=Dickson

|first2=David

|last3=Worth

|first3=Richard

|title=To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|location=Annapolis

|date=2013

|isbn=978-1-61251-082-8

|name-list-style=amp

|ref={{sfnref|O'Hara, Dickson, & Worth}}

}}

• {{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}}

}}

• [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/LMNO/minerva_incrociatore.aspx Minerva] Marina Militare website

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Partenope-class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minerva}}

Category:1892 ships

Category:Partenope-class cruisers

Category:Ships built by Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Category:World War I cruisers of Italy

Category:Ships built in Genoa