Di Giussano class cruiser
Encyclopedia
The Di Giussano class light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s were built before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for the Italian Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
, to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. They were designed by general Giuseppe Vian and were named after military commanders
Condottieri
thumb|Depiction of [[Farinata degli Uberti]] by [[Andrea del Castagno]], showing a 15th century condottiero's typical attire.Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military free companies contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages...
of the Italian Mediaeval and Renaissance periods.
Between the two World Wars, the world powers started a rush to gain the supremacy on the seas. In 1926, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
started to produce the Le Fantasque class
Le Fantasque class destroyer
The Fantasque class of six large, very fast destroyers was ordered under the French naval programme of 1930...
of destroyers, which were superior in displacement and firepower to the destroyers of that period. In order to counter the French menace, Regia Marina decided to produce a new class of cruiser that would be of intermediate size between the new French destroyer class and the cruisers built in that period. In fact, they roughly equated to the British Leander class cruisers
Leander class cruiser (1931)
The Leander class was a class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936...
.
There were 4 ships, all laid down in 1928:
- Alberto da Giussano
- Alberico da BarbianoItalian cruiser Alberico da BarbianoAlberico da Barbiano was an Italian Condottieri class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after Alberico da Barbiano, an Italian condottiero of the 14th century....
- Bartolomeo ColleoniItalian cruiser Bartolomeo ColleoniBartolomeo Colleoni was an Italian Condottieri class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. It was named after Bartolomeo Colleoni, an Italian military leader of the 15th century....
- Giovanni dalle Bande NereItalian cruiser Giovanni dalle Bande NereGiovanni delle Bande Nere was an Italian light cruiser of the first group of the Condottieri class, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after the eponymous 16th century condottiero and member of the Medici family...
They were fast ships with good firepower. Speed was the major design criterion and this resulted in minimal protection over critical areas and underwater protection was almost completely lacking. As a result, all 4 ships were sunk by torpedoes:
- Colleoni sank during the Battle of Cape SpadaBattle of Cape SpadaThe Battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in Second World War. It took place on 19 July 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete.-Prelude:...
in 1940. - da Barbiano and di Giussano were sunk during the Battle of Cape Bon in December 1941 by a group of Royal Navy and Dutch destroyers.
- Bande Nere was sunk by torpedo from the British submarine in 1942 while off StromboliStromboliStromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it...
.