Italian armored cruiser Amalfi
Encyclopedia
Amalfi was a of the Italian Royal Navy built in the first decade of the 20th century. She was a participant in the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
and the First World War before she was sunk in July 1915.
The ship was the second of two ships of the Pisa class, which was designed in 1904. In the Italian classification system at the time of their building, the Pisa ships were considered second-class battleships. The lengthy construction of Amalfi began before her keel was laid in July 1905. The ship was launched in May 1908 and completed in September 1909. The ship was armed with four 254 millimetres (10 in) guns in two twin turrets, eight 190 millimetres (7.5 in) guns in four twin turrets, and numerous smaller guns. The ship was also equipped with three 450 millimetres (17.7 in) underwater torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s. Amalfis armor thickness ranged from 130 millimetres (5.1 in) on the decks up to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) on her sides.
During the Italo-Turkish War, Amalfi operated with the Italian fleet off Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
in September 1911 and participated in the amphibious landings at Derna in October. In April 1912, Amalfi and sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
led the way in attacks on Turkish forts in the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
. After the rest of the fleet retired later in the month, the pair of armored cruisers remained in the area to attack Turkish communications facilities. After the Treaty of Lausanne signed in October 1912 ended the war, Amalfi escorted the Italian king and queen on the royal yacht to Germany and Sweden during a 1913 visit.
At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in August 1914, Italy declined to join her Triple Alliance
Triple Alliance
Triple Alliance may refer to:* Aztec Triple Alliance - Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan; better known as the Aztec Empire* Triple Alliance - England, France and the Dutch Republic...
partners, Germany and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. The country was eventually persuaded to side with the Entente Powers
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
and declared war on neighboring Austria-Hungary in May 1915. After the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
raided the Italian coast with relative impunity in May and June, Amalfi, Pisa, and two other armored cruisers were sent to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
to thwart future sorties by the Austrians. Shortly after their arrival, the ships were sent—in a show of force—to patrol near the main Austrian naval base at Pola
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
on the night of 6/7 July 1915. During Amalfis return from that mission, she was torpedoed by German submarine (flying the Austrian flag, since Germany and Italy were not yet at war) and sunk with the loss of 67 men. Amalfis loss caused the Italians to keep the other armored cruisers at Venice in port for most of the next year before they were eventually relocated.
Design and construction
The Pisa class was designed in 1904 by Italian engineer Giuseppe Orlando, who attempted to replicate on a smaller scale the armament and armor of the s then entering the service of the Regia Marina. According to the Italian classification system at the time, the Pisa ships were considered second-class battleships, but Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921 classes them as armored cruisers. For ships of their displacementDisplacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
, Conway's considers them to have been heavily armed, but inferior to battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s, a type introduced during the Pisa class' long construction time.
Work began on the pair of Pisa-class ships in August 1904, nearly a year before the keel of Amalfi was laid down on 24 July 1905. It was nearly three years before Amalfi was launched on 5 May 1908. The ship was completed on 1 September 1909, just over four years after her keel was laid.
As built, Amalfi was 461 feet (140.5 m) long overall by 68 in 11 in (21.01 m) abeam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
, with a draft of 22 in 8 in (6.91 m). She had twin propeller shafts powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines. The steam engines were fed from 22 coal-fired Belleville boilers. The projected output of her power plant was 20000 ihp, but in service Amalfi was able to produce 20260 ihp—some 600 ihp less than her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
, —which was enough to give a maxiumum speed of 23.6 knots.
Armament
Amalfis main battery consisted of four 10 inches (254 mm)/45The 45 denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 45 calibers, meaning that the gun is 45 times long as it is in diameter. guns mounted in two twin turretsGun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
. Each of the guns—manufactured by the Elswick Ordnance Company of the United Kingdom—weighed 34.5 long tons (35.1 MT). The guns fired 500 lbs armor-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
projectile
Projectile
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....
s with a bag propellant
Propellant
A propellant is a material that produces pressurized gas that:* can be directed through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust ;...
charge weighing 186 lbs at 2854 feet per second (869.9 m/s) at up to 2.6 rounds per minute. At the maximum elevation
Elevation (ballistics)
In ballistics, the elevation is the angle between the horizontal plane and the direction of the barrel of a gun, mortar or heavy artillery. Originally, elevation was a linear measure of how high the gunners had to physically lift the muzzle of a gun up from the gun carriage to hit targets at a...
of 25°, the guns had an effective range of about 27300 yards. The turrets were arranged on the centreline of the ship, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. The gun turrets could be rotated 150° in either direction from the centerline of the ship (for a sweep of 300°), and allowed for depression down to −5° and elevation up to 25°.
The ship's secondary battery consisted of eight 7.5 inches (190.5 mm)/45 guns mounted in four twin turrets. These guns—also manufactured by Elswick—fired 200.4 lbs armor-piercing projectiles with about 71.2 lbs of bag propellent at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 2835 ft/s (864.1 m/s). At a 25° elevation, the range of the guns was about 24000 yards. Two gun turrets were located fore and aft of the superstructure on each side of the ship; each turret had a sweep of about 160° and an elevation range of −7° to 25°.
Other armament on Amalfi consisted of sixteen 76 millimetres (3 in)/40 guns, eight 47 millimetres (1.9 in)/50 guns, and four machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. She was also equipped with three 450 millimetres (17.7 in) underwater torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s.
Armor
Amalfi was protected by a main beltBelt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
of armor 200 millimetres (7.9 in) thick. The 10-inch gun turrets were protected by 160 millimetres (6.3 in) of armor plate, and the 7.5-inch gun turrets by 130 millimetres (5.1 in). The conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
had armor 180 millimetres (7.1 in) thick, while the deck was 130 millimeters.
Italo-Turkish War
Amalfi and sister ship Pisa both entered service in 1909, but there is little information in sources on their activities until the 1911 Italo-Turkish WarItalo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
. On 24 September 1911, five days before Italy declared war against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
to start the conflict, Amalfi departed from Syracuse for Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
as part of a squadron that included battleships and ; armored cruisers Pisa, , , and ; and two flotillas of destroyers. Five days later, Amalfi and several of the other ships were seen taking on coal at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, before heading on to blockade Tripoli.
On 2 October, a division headed by the battleship relieved Amalfis groups in blockade duty, allowing them to proceed to the east to join the main Italian fleet. Napoli, Amalfi, and Pisa were joined by the recently commissioned armored cruiser , three destroyers, and two torpedo boats. The group escorted several Italian transports that arrived off Derna on 15 October. After negotiations for a surrender of the town fell apart, Pisa shelled the barracks and a fort. There was no return fire from Derna, so a boat with offers of a truce was sent in. When it was greeted by a volley of rifle fire Amalfi and the other armored cruisers opened fire on the town with their 190 millimetres (7.5 in) guns and, according to a contemporary account, "completely destroyed" the town in 30 minutes time. A landing party dispatched at 14:00 was unable to reach the shore because of rough seas and gunfire from the shore. Amalfi and company then shelled the beach until 16:00. Weather conditions prevented a landing until the 18th, when 1,500 men took possession of the Derna.
On 13 April 1912, Amalfi sailed from Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
as part of the Italian 1st Squadron, which consisted of the battleships (the squadron flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
), Roma, and Napoli; fellow armored cruisers Pisa, San Marco, and . The squadron was initially destined for Tripoli, but was diverted to the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
to bombard the Turkish coast. The 2nd Squadron—consisting of battleships (squadron flagship), Benedetto Brin, , and Emanuele Filiberto; and armored cruisers Francesco Ferrucio, Varese, and Giuseppe Garibaldi—sailed from Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
and Augusta at the same time. The two squadrons rendezvoused at Stampalia on 17 April. At 06:30, Pisa and Amalfi steamed into the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
in advance of the Italian fleet in an attempt to draw out the Turkish fleet. Four Turkish shore batteries, outfitted with 18 Krupps guns ranging from 8 to 11 in (203.2 to 279.4 mm) in size fired on the Italian fleet. The Italians, firing at a range of 8000 metre, returned fire in an exchange that lasted more than two hours. Official Italian reports claimed that no ships were hit and specifically rebutted Turkish claims that Varese had been set on fire, but a summary in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reports that Varese was hit twice. On 19 April, the Italian fleet departed for home, but left Amalfi, Pisa, and an assortment of smaller craft to continue destroying telegraph stations and cutting cables.
One other action of note involving Amalfi occurred on 28 April when a party of 250 men recruited from her complement and that of Pisa took the Turkish garrison on the island of Astropalia. The 1912 Treaty of Lausanne that ended the war was signed on 18 October.
Interwar period
In the period between the end of the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 and Italy's entry into the First World War in 1915, Amalfi is mentioned in several news accounts that offer hints of her peace-time activities. In June 1913, Amalfi escorted King Victor Emmanuel IIIVictor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy . In addition, he claimed the crowns of Ethiopia and Albania and claimed the titles Emperor of Ethiopia and King of Albania , which were unrecognised by the Great Powers...
and his wife, Queen Elena
Elena of Montenegro
Elena of Montenegro was the daughter of King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro and his wife, Milena Vukotić...
, on the royal yacht Trinacria to the annual regatta at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. While there, Victor Emmanuel met with Kaiser Wilhelm II, to discuss—it was speculated in a contemporary news report—the ongoing Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
. After departing from Kiel, Amalfi escorted the King and Queen on Trinacria to their next stop at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
By November, Amalfi was back in Italian waters when Admiral Cattolica, the former Italian Minister of the Marine, and the captains of Amalfi and the battleship greeted United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Admiral Charles J. Badger
Charles J. Badger
Charles Johnston Badger was an admiral in the United States Navy. His active-duty career included service in the Spanish-American War and World War I.-Biography:...
at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
on his flagship, . During the Wyomings stay, one stop on the battleship's 1913 Mediterranean tour, Badger returned the visits and toured Amalfi as part of his courtesy calls.
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Italy declined to join its Triple AllianceTriple Alliance
Triple Alliance may refer to:* Aztec Triple Alliance - Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan; better known as the Aztec Empire* Triple Alliance - England, France and the Dutch Republic...
partners Germany and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
when they declared war against the Entente Powers, opting instead to remain neutral. Pressure from the United Kingdom and France swayed Italy to sign the secret Treaty of London on 26 April 1915. In the agreement, Italy promised to leave the Triple Alliance and declare war against its former allies within a month in return for territorial gains after the end of the war.
At the beginning of May, Amalfi was part of the squadron headquartered at Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
that included six pre-dreadnought battleships—, Vittorio Emanuele, Roma, Napoli, Benedetto Brin, and Ammiraglio di Saint Bon—and four armored cruisers—Pisa, San Marco, , and Amalfi herself.
After Italy's declaration of war against Austria-Hungary on 23 May, Admiral Anton Haus
Anton Haus
Anton Haus was an Austrian naval officer. Despite his German surname, he was born to a Slovenian-speaking family in Tolmein . Haus was fleet commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in World War I and was the Navy's Grand Admiral from 1916 until his death.-Biography:Haus entered the Navy in 1869...
, the fleet commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
sortied his fleet to bombard the Italian coast on the night of 23/24 May in an attempt to try and disrupt the Italian mobilization. Of the many targets, Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
was hardest hit, with disruptions to the town's gas, electric, and telephone service; the city's stockpiles of coal and oil were left in flames. All of the Austrian ships safely returned to port, making it seem that they had been able to attack with impunity, putting political pressure on the Regia Marina from Rome. When the Austrians resumed attacks on the Italian coast in mid-June, Italian Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel
Paolo Thaon di Revel
Paolo Emilio Thaon di Revel, 1st Duca del Mare was an Italian admiral of the Royal Italian Navy during World War I and later a politician....
responded by sending Amalfi and the other armored cruisers at Brindisi—the navy's newest—to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
to supplement the older ships already there. Historian Lawrence Sondhaus argues that the arrival of the four fast armored cruisers in Venice should have been a major deterrent against future Austrian coastal raids, but concedes that they ended up becoming more inviting targets for Austrian U-boats instead.
Sinking
Shortly after the arrival of the quartet of cruisers at Venice, Amalfi participated in a "reconnaissance in force" mission near the Austro-Hungarian port of PulaPula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
on the night of 6/7 July 1915. After completion of the mission, the cruiser was about 20 nautical miles (37 km) from Venice when she was torpedoed by the Austrian submarine at dawn on 7 July. U-26—in actuality the German submarine UB-14, marked as an Austrian vessel and flying the Austrian flag since Italy and Germany were not at war—was under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Heino von Heimburg
Heino von Heimburg
Heino von Heimburg was a German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I and served also as Vice Admiral in the Kriegsmarine during World War II.-World War I:...
, and on her first patrol.
Amalfi immediately began listing to port and, after initial damage control efforts proved fruitless, her commander ordered the ship evacuated. The cruiser sank less than 30 minutes after she was torpedoed. Distress calls were answered by other ships of the division which rescued a large number of the ship's complement. The loss of men was reported as about 200 at the time, but later reports list only 67 fatalities. Amalfi was among the largest ships sunk by U-boats during the war. As a result of Amalfis sinking, sister ship Pisa and the other pair of armored cruisers at Venice rarely ventured out of port for most of the next year, and were eventually transferred to Valona
Valona
The valona is a popular narrative song- and poetry-form of the Mexican state of Michoacán. Its main characteristics are: a bitter sense of humor, mainly with reference to erotism and social concerns; its lyrics are composed as groupings of ten-line strophes, each line made up of eight syllables;...
in April 1916.