List of protected cruisers of Italy

File:Italian cruiser Giovanni Bausan LOC 4a04852v.jpg

{{main|Italian cruiser Giovanni Bausan}}

{{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}} was the first protected cruiser built for the Italian {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Royal Navy). The ship was designed by George Rendel at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard in Britain; the design was based on the Chilean {{ship|Chilean cruiser|Esmeralda|1883|2}}.Marshall, p. 268 Equipped with a pair of {{convert|10|in|adj=on|0}} guns, {{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}} was intended as a "battleship destroyer", since these weapons would be able to defeat the heavy armor of the much larger—and much more expensive—battleships in foreign navies. She nevertheless proved to be unsatisfactory for this role, since the guns fired too slowly and she was too unstable to be a good gunnery platform. Construction of the ship—along with the subsequent {{lang|it|Etna}} class, for which {{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}} provided the basis—represented the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}}{{'}}s brief experimentation with the {{lang|fr|Jeune École}} doctrine.Sondhaus (2001), p. 149

{{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}} frequently served abroad. She participated in the conquest of Eritrea in 1887–1888 as the flagship of the Italian squadron during the campaign. She took part in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 alongside several other Italian, British, and German warships.Robinson, pp. 420–421 The ship was withdrawn from front-line service by 1905 and was employed as a training ship. During the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, she provided gunfire support to Italian troops ashore in North Africa. By the outbreak of World War I, {{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}} had been relegated to secondary duties, first as a distilling ship, and later as a depot ship for seaplanes. The ship was disarmed during the conflict and ultimately was sold to ship-breakers in March 1920.

File:Etna Italian cruiser 1890s.jpg

{{main|Etna-class cruiser}}

The {{lang|it|Etna}} class was an improved version of the preceding {{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}}, being slightly larger but carrying the same armament and armor protection. License-built variants of the earlier ship, they were partially designed by George Rendel, who had also designed {{lang|it|Giovanni Bausan}}. As such, they suffered from the same limitations as the earlier vessel that were imposed by their slow-firing 10-inch guns and poor stability.Brook (2003), pp. 97, 99

The four cruisers nevertheless had long service lives, which included periods with the main Italian fleet as well as on foreign stations. {{lang|it|Etna}} served on the North American Station from 1893 to 1895, and in 1899, {{lang|it|Ettore Fieramosca}}, {{lang|it|Vesuvio}}, and {{lang|it|Stromboli}} participated in the suppression of the Boxer Uprising in China. {{lang|it|Etna}} was rebuilt into a training ship in 1905–1907, and in 1909 she took part in the Hudson–Fulton Celebration.Kunz, pp. 317–318 {{lang|it|Ettore Fieramosca}} was the first member of the class to be decommissioned, and she was sold for scrap in 1909. {{lang|it|Stromboli}} followed in 1911 and {{lang|it|Vesuvio}} was discarded in 1915. {{lang|it|Etna}} remained in service longer than her sisters; she saw action during the Italo-Turkish War,Beehler, pp. 47, 50, 65, 91, 94 and during World War I, she served as the headquarters ship in Taranto.Halpern (2004), p. 70 She was ultimately discarded in 1921.

File:Italian cruiser Dogali.jpg

{{main|Italian cruiser Dogali}}

{{lang|it|Dogali}} was originally designed by William Henry White of Armstrong Whitworth for the Greek Navy. She was initially named Salamis, but the Greek Navy put the ship up for sale while she was still under construction. Italy purchased the vessel and renamed her {{lang|it|Angelo Emo}} and then {{lang|it|Dogali}} before she entered service. Her career was uneventful, with her early years spent with the main fleet conducting training exercises. In 1893 she represented Italy at the World's Columbian Exposition,Neal, pp. 99–100 and was present in Brazil during the {{lang|es|Revolta da Armada}} (Revolt of the Fleet), where she protected Italian interests from the unrest.Marley, p. 592 In 1908, Italy sold '{{lang|it|Dogali}} to Uruguay, and she was renamed {{lang|es|25 de Agosto}}. In 1911, she became {{lang|es|Montevideo}}, and she was decommissioned in 1914. She remained in the Uruguayan Navy's inventory until 1932, when she was sold for scrap.

File:StateLibQld 1 199899 Piemonte (ship).jpg

{{main|Italian cruiser Piemonte}}

{{lang|it|Piemonte}}, designed by Philip Watts at Armstrong Whitworth, was based on the preceding {{lang|it|Dogali}}. Originally intended to carry a pair of {{convert|8|in|adj=on|0}} guns and four {{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}} guns, the Italian Navy instead requested a uniform battery of six 6-inch guns.Brook (1999), pp. 14, 68; Brook (2003), p. 103 She proved to be a revolutionary vessel, as she was the first major warship to be armed entirely with quick-firing, medium-caliber guns; these became the standard for all cruisers from the 1890s onward.Sondhaus (2001), pp. 156–157

The ship had an eventful career. She was briefly assigned to the main fleet, but by the early 1890s, she was serving abroad in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.Brook 2003, p. 108 In 1896 she was sent to Brazil to protect Italian nationals in the country after unrest in the country targeted Europeans.Huntington, p. 83 By 1901, {{lang|it|Piemonte}} was assigned to the East Asia Station.Reeve, p. 67 By the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War, the ship was again stationed in the Red Sea. She led a pair of destroyers in the Battle of Kunfuda Bay, where she sank or destroyed seven Ottoman gunboats, destroying Ottoman naval strength in the area.Beehler, p. 51 For the rest of the war, she blockaded and bombarded Ottoman ports.Beehler, pp. 51, 70, 90 During World War I, she was assigned to the Second Fleet, based in Brindisi, but she did not see action.Sondhaus (1994), pp. 273–274 {{lang|it|Piemonte}} was sold for scrap in 1920.

File:Italian cruiser Etruria Hudson 1909 LOC 4a16123v.jpg

{{main|Regioni-class cruiser}}

The six Regioni-class cruisers—so named as all vessels save {{lang|it|Elba}} were named for regions of Italy—were the first protected cruisers designed by Italian naval architects. They were built by four different shipyards, and so varied slightly in size, speed, and armament. They proved to be a disappointment in service, owing to their slow speed and weak armor protection.Gardiner, pp. 348–349

They served in a variety of capacities throughout their careers, including scouts for the main fleet, colonial cruisers, and representatives of Italy at major foreign events. While on the China Station, {{lang|it|Elba}} observed the Russo-Japanese War, including the Battle of Chemulpo Bay in 1904, where she picked up Russian survivors.May, pp. 142–146 {{lang|it|Lombardia}} was converted into a depot ship for submarines in 1906. {{lang|it|Elba}} and {{lang|it|Liguria}} were equipped with observation balloons in 1907–1908.Cernuschi & O'Hara, p. 61 In 1910, {{lang|it|Umbria}} was sold to Haiti and renamed Consul Gostrück, though she quickly sank under the care of her inexperienced crew.Gardiner & Gray, p. 416

The remaining ships, except for {{lang|it|Lombardia}}, took part in the Italo-Turkish War.Beehler, pp. 9–10, 27–29, 81, 84 They were relegated to secondary roles during World War I, except for {{lang|it|Puglia}}, which battled the Austro-Hungarian cruiser {{SMS|Novara|1912|6}} and later covered the evacuation of the Serbian Army from Durazzo.Halpern (1995), p. 158Klein, p. 389 {{lang|it|Etruria}} was deliberately blown up by Italy as a deception operation against Austria-Hungary.O'Hara, Dickson, & Worth, p. 187 The remaining ships were broken up for scrap in the early 1920s, though the bow section of {{lang|it|Puglia}} is preserved at the {{lang|it|Vittoriale degli italiani}}, a museum in Lombardy.Domenico, p. 54

File:StateLibQld 1 125651 Calipe (ship).jpg

{{main|Italian cruiser Calabria}}

{{lang|it|Calabria}} was designed for use in Italy's colonial empire, rather than the earlier vessels intended as fleet scouts. As such, her steel hull was sheathed with wood and then a layer of zinc to protect it from fouling during lengthy tours in the overseas colonies. Additionally, she was equipped with less powerful though more efficient engines than the earlier cruisers. The ship was otherwise similar to preceding designs like the Regioni class, having a displacement only slightly lower and a nearly identical gun battery.

The ship's career spanned the globe, and ranged from a deployment to China to help suppress the Boxer Uprising in 1899–1901,Journal of the RUSI, p. 624 to tours in the Americas throughout the 1900s,Annual Report of the Navy Department, p. 4{{cite news|title=Italy's Cruiser Calabria here for Festival|journal=San Francisco Call|date=14 October 1909|page=3|url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19091014.2.24&srpos=&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-------#|access-date=13 September 2014}} and a trip to Australia in 1905.Cresciani, p. 52 During the Italo-Turkish War, she was transferred to the Red Sea, where she bombarded Ottoman troops and ports and helped to enforce a blockade before returning to Italy in April 1912 for a refit.Beehler, pp. 48, 51, 70 The ship continued to serve in the Red Sea during World War I and as a result, did not see action.Koburger, p. 14 She was reclassified as a gunboat in 1921 and then a training ship in early 1924,Gardiner & Gray, p. 257 before being sold for scrap in November 1924.

File:Rn libia (3).JPG

{{main|Italian cruiser Libia}}

{{lang|it|Libia}} marked a major advancement over earlier designs, owing in large part due to the fact that the ship was originally ordered by the Ottoman Navy. Based on the British-built {{ship|Ottoman cruiser|Hamidiye||2}}, the ship was to have been named {{lang|tr|Drama}}, but the Ottoman government failed to make payments so construction stopped, and she was seized after the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War and completed for the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}}. She was significantly larger, faster, and more heavily armored than the other Italian protected cruisers, but she carried a weaker main battery.Gardiner, pp. 348–350

As a scout for the main fleet, {{lang|it|Libia}} spent much of World War I in port, acting as a fleet in being to deter the Austro-Hungarian Navy from attempting any major operations.Halpern (1995), pp. 141–142 In 1921 the ship went on a world tour under the command of Admiral Ernesto Burzagli. During the cruise, she stopped in San Francisco, United States in November, where she stayed for a month. While there, she was filmed for a short documentary by the then-unknown film director Frank Capra on 6 and 7 November—though it did not generate much attention, it was Capra's first publicly screened film.McBride, p. 133 She was deployed to China in 1925, where she was stationed until the early 1930s.Marinelli & Andornino, p. 54 After returning to Italy and being laid up in 1935,Willmott, p. 60 {{lang|it|Libia}} was eventually sold for scrap in March 1937.

File:Quarto illustration.jpg

{{main|Italian cruiser Quarto}}

{{lang|it|Quarto}} represented another major shift in Italian cruiser designs; unlike earlier designs that attempted to fill multiple roles, {{lang|it|Quarto}} was optimized for use as a fleet scout. She also incorporated advances like steam turbines and mixed oil and coal-fired boilers, which produced a much higher top speed. Intended to engage only hostile scouts, her armament was significantly weaker than earlier cruisers, mounting a battery of only 4.7-inch guns. She was also fitted with equipment to handle 200 naval mines to allow her to serve as a fast minelayer. Unlike many of her fellow cruisers, {{lang|it|Quarto}} was quite active during World War I, as she was stationed at Brindisi to support the Otranto barrage.O'Hara, Dickson, & Worth, pp. 183–184 While on patrols throughout the war, she encountered Austro-Hungarian and German U-boats, though they frequently misjudged her speed, causing them to miss with their torpedoes. She engaged in a long gunnery duel with the Austro-Hungarian cruiser {{SMS|Helgoland|1912|2}} in December 1915, but neither vessel was seriously damaged.Halpern (1995), pp. 156–157 {{lang|it|Quarto}} supported Italian forces during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in 1935–1936,Marinelli & Andornino, pp. 54–55 before serving as the flagship of Italian forces participating in the non-intervention patrols in 1936 and 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.Greene & Massignani, p. 18 Stricken from the naval register in January 1939, she was thereafter allocated for weapons testing. The commando unit {{lang|it|Decima Flottiglia MAS}} tested new SLC human torpedoes and MT explosive motorboats on {{lang|it|Quarto}} in 1940, the latter causing extensive damage and sinking the ship in November.Greene & Massignani, p. 38

File:Marsala illustration.jpg

{{main|Nino Bixio-class cruiser}}

The {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} decided to follow {{lang|it|Quarto}} with two more similar ships, which became the {{lang|it|Nino Bixio}} class. These two ships carried an identical armament and the same scale of armor protection. They were significantly heavier and had one fewer turbine, though, and this resulted in poor performance. {{lang|it|Nino Bixio}} and {{lang|it|Marsala}} proved to be a disappointment in service, owing to their unreliable engines and their failure to meet their design speed of {{convert|29|kn}}. During World War I, the two ships were based at Brindisi with {{lang|it|Quarto}}, where they patrolled the southern end of the Adriatic Sea, though {{lang|it|Nino Bixio}} did not see action in the conflict. {{lang|it|Marsala}} was the only Italian cruiser at Brindisi to have steam in her boilers when an Austro-Hungarian cruiser flotilla attacked the Otranto barrage in May 1917;Halpern (2004), p. 50 she briefly engaged the hostile vessels in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto before the Austro-Hungarians withdrew.Halpern (1995), p. 165 Both ships were discarded in the late 1920s.

{{main|Campania-class cruiser}}

The last pair of protected cruisers built by the Italian Navy were intended for colonial service, and were based on experience from {{lang|it|Calabria}}. They were given a relatively heavy main battery for their small size and a long cruising range, at the expense of armor protection and speed. The ships were so small that they could be built on the same slipway and launched the same day. Since they had been launched less than a week before hostilities broke out at the end of July 1914, fitting-out work was delayed by a steel shortage, particularly after Italy entered the war.Marshall, p. 33 {{lang|it|Campania}} and {{lang|it|Basilicata}} initially served in Libya; neither had eventful careers. The latter vessel was destroyed by a boiler explosion in Tewfik on 13 August 1919. {{lang|it|Campania}} was reclassified as a gunboat in 1921 and became a training ship in 1932. She ultimately was sold for scrap in 1937.

During the war, Italy stopped building cruisers, since destroyers, submarines, and smaller patrol vessels were more useful in operations against the Austro-Hungarians.Gardiner & Gray, pp. 253–254 After the war, the anemic Italian economy could not support significant naval construction programs.Zabecki, p. 859 Additionally, Italy had received several modern light cruisers from the defeated Germans and Austro-Hungarians, and these ships formed the backbone of the Italian cruiser force.

• List of heavy cruisers of Italy
• List of torpedo cruisers of Italy

{{reflist|20em}}

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{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Italian protected cruisers}}

{{Italian navy ship types}}

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Italy

Category:Cruisers of Italy

Cruisers

Cruisers