Today we will talk about the continuation of the series of Italian light cruisers of the "Condottieri" type, series D, which consisted of two ships. The first was "Eugenio di Savoia" (in the text - "Savoy") and "Emanuelo Filiberto Duca D'Aosta" (in the text - "Aosta").
Yes, they will forgive me for such liberties with names, but the names are not very short, and I will have to mention them often.
So, "Condottieri" of the fourth series, "D". We are not going to disassemble them in detail, it's easier to say how they differed from the ships of the previous series - "C", "Raimondo Montecuccoli". In fact, the "D" series was distinguished by some improvements that can be considered as such.
The shapes of superstructures and chimneys were changed, and the installations of universal guns were moved to the nose. Increased the thickness of the armor belt and armor deck, but only slightly.
However, the changes affected the displacement. This means that in order to maintain the set speed, it was necessary to increase the power of the power plants. This has been done quite efficiently.
Moreover, it was the successful propulsion systems that made the D-series cruiser related to the Soviet fleet. The first power plant of the cruiser "Eugenio Savoie" was not installed on the ship, but sent to the USSR and became the power plant of the new cruiser of the project 26 "Kirov". And for "Savoy" they made a duplicate. And the second ship of the series, "Aosta", did become part of the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet after the war.
The standard displacement of the "Aosta" was 8,450 tons, the "Savoy" - 8748 tons, the displacement in full load was 10,840 and 10,540 tons, respectively. The cruisers had a maximum length of 186 m, 180.4 m along the constructive waterline and 171.75 m between perpendiculars, width 17.53 m, draft at a standard displacement of 4.98 m.
The booking was slightly changed. The citadel was formed from a 70-mm main armor belt, which was of the same thickness along its entire length, and a 20-mm upper belt. The thickness of the mine bulkhead was increased to 35 mm in the middle and 40 mm in the area of the cellars.
The citadel was closed by 50 mm thick bulkheads. The main deck was 35 mm thick, the upper deck was 15 mm thick. We covered the compartments of diesel generators and bilge pumps with 30-mm armor.
The protection of the upper part of the barbets was increased up to 70 mm, the frontal plates of the towers - up to 90 mm, the walls and roof - up to 30 mm.
In general, despite the fact that the armor was increased, it still did not protect against 203-mm projectiles, even theoretically, and nominally and with reservations against 152-mm classmate guns.
The thickness of the armor increased, but very slightly, so the position with the free maneuvering zones remained the same: it was absent under fire from 203 mm guns, and under fire from 152 mm guns it was too small.
The situation with the power plant was as follows: boilers from Yarrow were installed on the Savoy, and boilers from Tornycroft were installed on the Aosta. The turbines also differed: the Savoy had turbines from the Beluzzo, and the Aosta from the Parsons.
The ships were required to develop a speed of 36.5 knots according to the project with a power of 110,000 hp mechanisms.
However, on tests, "Aosta" with a displacement of 7 671 tons developed a speed of 37, 35 knots with a power of mechanisms 127 929 hp. "Savoy" with a displacement of 8,300 tons and a mechanism capacity of 121,380 hp. developed a speed of 37, 33 knots.
Under normal operating conditions, the cruisers typically developed a full speed of 34 knots, a cruising range of 3,400 miles at a speed of 14 knots.
The artillery armament was identical to the earlier types of cruisers, except that the D-type cruisers immediately received 37-mm submachine guns from Bred as air defense. 8 vending machines in four paired installations. 13, 2-mm machine guns were present in the amount of 12 units, in six coaxial installations.
The fire control system was completely identical to that installed on cruisers of the "Montecuccoli" class.
The anti-submarine armament consisted of two bomb releasers and two bomb throwers, the mine armament consisted of two mine rails, and the number of mines taken on board varied depending on their type, the anti-mine armament included 2 paravans.
Aircraft armament consisted of a catapult and a reconnaissance seaplane "RO.43". According to the plan, there should have been two seaplanes, but they took one aboard and placed it immediately on the catapult.
The upgrades that were carried out on the cruisers were significant, although from the moment they entered service in 1935 until 1943, the ships served in their initial configuration.
In 1943, torpedo armament was dismantled on the cruisers, catapults were removed, and 13, 2-mm machine guns were removed. Instead, each ship received 12 single-barreled 20-mm anti-aircraft guns. This strengthened the air defense of the cruisers pretty well.
And on the "Aosta" also installed the Italian radar "Gufo". The radar, to be honest, did not shine, therefore after the armistice it was replaced by the American SG-type radar.
By the way, the Eugenio di Savoia is the namesake of the German heavy cruiser Prince Eugen. The ships were named after the same person, the Germans were more generous.
In fairness, we note that Eugene, Prince of Savoy (1663-1736), became one of the greatest Austrian military leaders in history.
Traditionally, the large ships of the Italian fleet had their own mottos. The cruiser sounded like "Ubi Sabaudia ibi victoria" ("Where there is Savoy, there is victory"). The motto was inscribed on the sublime barbet of tower no. 3.
With the start of deliveries of German mines in March-April 1941, two additional mine rails were installed on the cruiser in parallel with the existing ones. After that, the ship could take on board 146 EMC-type mines or 186 UMA-type (anti-submarine) mines. In addition, it was possible to accept mines of types G. B.1 and G. B.2 - 380 or 280, respectively. To compensate for the weight, the stern anchors were removed.
Service
After entering service, the ship was engaged in the usual training of the crew, taking part in parades, campaigns and exercises. Combat work began when the Spanish Civil War broke out.
In January-February 1937, the Savoy took part in two missions to deliver personnel and equipment to General Franco.
On February 13, 1937, the cruiser left La Maddalena, heading for Barcelona. Before leaving, the commander of the formation ordered to paint over the name of the ship with gray paint and remove all lifebuoys on which it was written, so that if they accidentally fall into the water, they would not give out national identity.
At 9 kilometers from Barcelona, the cruiser drifted and, having specified the coordinates, opened fire on the city with the main battery. In less than 5 minutes, seventy-two 152-mm shells were fired. The target was an aircraft plant, but the Italians did not hit the plant, but they destroyed several residential buildings in the city. 17 people were killed. The coastal batteries returned fire, but the shells fell very short.
It should be noted that the names of the ships that participated in the bombing of peaceful cities were kept secret for a long time. In Spanish literature, shelling has long been attributed to the Italian cruiser Armando Diaz or even the Francoist Canarias.
However, officers of the British battleships Royal Oak and Ramillies, anchored near Valencia that night, accurately identified the attacker.
Soon there was an incident with the submarine "Irida" under the command of Lieutenant Commander Valerio Borghese. The future commander of the Italian submarine special forces mistakenly fired a torpedo at a British destroyer, mistaking it for a republican one. After that, the Italians abandoned the active participation of the surface fleet in hostilities.
Instead of war, the Savoy and Aosta were sent on a populist round-the-world trip. It was supposed to show the whole world the achievements of Italy in shipbuilding. The round-the-world trip did not work, because the general pre-war tension had already begun throughout the world, and the war was already in full swing in China.
However, the cruisers visited Dakar, Tenerife, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Valparaiso and Lima. But instead of crossing the Pacific Ocean and voyages across Asian countries, the ships returned to Italy through the Panama Canal.
The visit to South America has brought certain results. The ships were visited by the presidents of four countries, governors-general of the colonies (five), ministers of all countries in bulk and about half a million interested ordinary citizens.
On the afternoon of June 10, 1940, the crew of the cruiser was familiarized with the declaration of war between Great Britain and France, and in the evening the cruiser, along with three other ships of the 7th division and the heavy cruisers "Pola", "Bolzano" and "Trento" went to cover for laying mines in Tunis strait.
It was not possible to fight with the French, eternal rivals. France quickly ended on land.
During 1940-41, the cruiser took part in covering the Libyan convoys. Participated in the battle about Punta Stillo. To no avail, as, indeed, all Italian cruisers.
The Savoy, along with other ships, took part in operations against Greece at the end of 1940, shelling the positions of the Greek troops with the main caliber.
In April-June 1941 "Savoy" took part in the largest laying of mines off the coast of Tripoli. Italian ships set up obstacles in the number of over two thousand mines of various types.
This staging turned out to be the most successful operation of the Italian fleet during the entire war: on December 19, 1941, the British cruiser Neptune and the destroyer Kandahar were killed here, and the cruiser Aurora was badly damaged.
Inspired by such success, the Italians decided to put up another obstacle - codenamed "B". However, the actions of the British squadron thwarted the laying of mines, and barrier "B" was never deployed.
During 1941, the cruiser was first under repair, then escorted convoys to Africa.
In May 1942, the situation of the British troops in Malta became very sad. Everything was lacking, and the British command decided to send two convoys simultaneously: from Gibraltar (Operation Harpoon) and Alexandria (Operation Vigores). According to the British plan, this would force the Italian fleet to split its forces, respectively, one of the convoys could slip by with impunity at all.
What happened was called the Battle of Pantelleria, or the "Battle of Mid-June".
The main forces of the Italian fleet tried to locate the Vigores convoy, but were not very successful in this. But with the second convoy, "Harpoon", the story turned out to be very instructive.
5 convoy transports directly covered the air defense cruiser Cairo, 5 destroyers, 4 destroyers, 3 minesweepers and 6 patrol boats.
Long-range cover was provided by the Gibraltar squadron from the battleship Malaya, the aircraft carriers Eagle and Argus, 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers.
Italian torpedo bombers sank one transport and damaged the cruiser Liverpool, which was being repaired accompanied by two destroyers.
In the area of Pantelleria Island, the long-range cover fell on the opposite course, and the convoy had to go to Malta only with the forces of the main cover.
4 cruisers and 4 destroyers came out to intercept: everything that they could scrape together in the Supermarine. And the detachment was able to find the ships of the convoy. A scout was launched from the Savoy, which, however, did not have time to convey anything, he was shot down by the Beaufighters. Even so, the Italians were able to find the convoy.
The gunners of the Italian cruisers showed that they can. The second salvo covered "Cairo", the fourth - one of the transports. The British could not answer, since their 120mm and 105mm guns simply could not compete with the Italian, which worked decently at a distance of 20 km.
And the British destroyers launched an attack on the Italian cruisers. What else could they do? In general, in this regard, the British sailors were still scumbags in the good sense of the word. In the same way, "Arden" and "Akasta" went on the attack on the "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau", destroying the "Glories", although it was clear that the destroyers did not shine for anything but heroic death.
Five British destroyers against four cruisers and four Italian destroyers. The Savoy and Montecuccoli focused their fire on them.
The fight quickly became a landfill. The shooting was carried out virtually point-blank by military standards, that is, at a distance of 4-5 km, when it is possible to miss, but difficult. Even anti-aircraft guns were used on both sides.
The Savoy was seriously damaged by the flagship destroyer Bedouin. 11 hits of 152-mm shells deprived the ship of the course, turned the superstructure, had to flood the bow cellar, in which the fire began, and to top it all off, the Italians disabled both turbines. Shells from the Bedouin smashed the cruiser's medical bay and killed two doctors.
Montecuccoli successfully shot at the Partridge EM, which also lost its speed.
On the whole, the Italians had a good debut.
Then the British were able to damage one of the destroyers well, but the battle began to fizzle out. The fault was very skillfully placed smoke screens, which, due to the lack of wind, actually closed the targets from the Italians. The British took advantage of this and began an urgent retreat to the north, while the Italians did not immediately figure out the essence of the enemy's maneuvers and went a little in the wrong direction.
And then the gallant guys from the Luftwaffe flew in and, for a start, sank the Chant transport. Three direct hits, and the ship quickly sank. Tanker "Kentucky" was also not ignored, and he lost speed. One of the minesweepers had to take him in tow.
Considering that only minesweepers and boats remained in the protection of transports, we can safely say that the Ju-87 pilots were engaged in training bombing.
Then the opponents temporarily lost each other, and the British made a very original move: undamaged ships and ships rushed to Malta, and the damaged ones … And the damaged ones were found by the Italians.
The British cruiser Cairo and the three remaining destroyers went to meet the Italians at full speed, but while they were in a hurry to help, the Italian ships calmly shot two damaged transports and damaged the minesweeper. And then, having caught up with the Partridge and the Bedouin, they sent the second to the bottom with the participation of Italian torpedo bombers.
Partridge managed to break away and go to Gibraltar. "Cairo" with the destroyers also turned around, since there was no one to help.
The Italians with a sense of accomplishment went to the base. This was normal, since the ammunition consumption on cruisers reached 90%.
It is worth saying that, although the convoy reached La Valletta, it lost an escort destroyer on Italian mines, two destroyers, a minesweeper and transport were damaged.
In general, the battlefield remained with Supermarina.
Then the Italian fleet fell on hard times. The ships were actually stuck in bases due to lack of fuel. Outings to the sea were extremely rare, and military operations were not actually carried out.
After the ceasefire, the Savoy was out of luck. The cruiser was transferred to Suez and there he served as a target for British torpedo boats and aircraft. On January 1, 1945, the ship was officially put into reserve.
Then there was a change of flag, as the "Savoy" fell under the section. The victorious sides divided the Italian fleet among themselves. So the cruiser ended up in the Greek Navy.
By the way, not a bad option, because in the Greek service "Ellie", which became "Savoy", he served right up to 1965. At the insistence of the Italian side, it was specifically stipulated that the ship was not a war booty, but was handed over as compensation for the Greek cruiser Elli, sunk by an Italian submarine long before the declaration of war between these countries.
For eight years "Ellie" was the flagship of the commander of the Greek fleet. King Paul of Greece made several sea voyages on it. Active service ended in 1965, and "Ellie" was expelled from the fleet. But it was dismantled only in 1973, and until that moment the ship had also served as a floating prison after the successful uprising of the "black colonels".
Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta
The cruiser was named after the famous Italian military leader - Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Savoy, Duke of Aosta (1869-1931). The Duke commanded the 3rd Italian Army during the First World War. Marshal of Italy.
The motto of the ship - "Victoria nobis vita" ("Victory is our life"), was inscribed on the sublime barbet of tower number 3.
The cruiser began combat service during the Spanish Civil War, at first acting as a hospital, then taking citizens home, and then it came to real hostilities.
On February 14, 1936, the Aosta approached Valencia 6 miles and opened fire on the train station. Within eight minutes, the cruiser fired 125 shells in 32 volleys. Railroad tracks, station buildings were destroyed, several shells accidentally hit the territory of the city hospital and destroyed the dining room of the children's hospital of the Red Cross.
There were casualties among the civilian population: 18 killed, 47 wounded. After the fourth salvo, Republican coastal batteries and warships stationed in the roadstead began firing in response. The shooting was inaccurate, but several shells landed near the Aosta. Shrapnel easily damaged one of the aft towers, and one small-caliber shell hit the stern, breaking the davit.
The Aosta set up a smokescreen and retreated.
Together with the "Savoy" was supposed to participate in a round-the-world voyage, but the matter was limited to a voyage to South America. Although the goal (demonstration in front of permanent customers Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina), in principle, was fulfilled.
With the outbreak of World War II, he took part in all operations of the 7th cruiser division. A participant in the battle at Punta Stilo, although he did not fire a single shot.
In 1941, together with the Savoy and the rest of the cruisers of the Aosta division, he took part in the largest and most effective mine laying for the Italian fleet near Tripoli.
During the convoy confrontation in the Mediterranean Sea, "Aosta" took part in the first battle in the Gulf of Sirte. With about the same success as Punta Stilo.
In 1942, the cruiser continued to take part in convoy operations. The extreme point was the operation against the Vigores convoy en route from Alexandria to Malta.
In principle, all the merits in neutralizing the convoy belonged to aviation and torpedo boats, the participation of cruisers was minimal. The British lost two ships sunk and the destroyer "Haistie", and the cruiser "Newcastle" was very badly damaged. The Italians lost the heavy cruiser "Trento", which was hit by torpedo bombers and finished off by a submarine.
We can say that the German-Italian forces coped with the task, since the Vigores convoy abandoned the idea of a breakthrough to Malta and turned on the opposite course. Before returning to Alexandria, the British lost the destroyers Nestor and Ayredale to air strikes, and the U-205 submarine sank the cruiser Hermioni.
After the conclusion of the armistice, "Aosta" left for Malta along with the rest of the forces of the Italian fleet. The ship was lucky, and he was assigned to the group to counter the German breakthrough forces in the Atlantic. A detachment of Italian ships was formed from the cruisers Aosta and Abruzzi and the destroyers Legionnaire and Alfredo Oriani. The ships were based in Freetown and were on patrol in these areas.
"Aosta" made seven patrols, after which it was returned to Italy.
It can be said here that the Aosta crew has earned a reputation as a very violent and unrestrained crew, and so much so that the sailors were forbidden to go ashore in foreign ports. The fights of the Aosta crew with sailors of other nationalities have become a kind of visiting card of the cruiser.
After the patrols, the Aosta was used as a transport to transport troops and civilians to Europe.
On February 10, 1947, a naval commission of the four powers began its work in Paris to deal with the division of the ships of the losing powers.
According to the draw, "Aosta" went to the Soviet Union. On February 12, 1949, the cruiser was excluded from the Italian fleet and received the number Z-15. In the documents of the Soviet side, the cruiser was originally listed under the name "Admiral Ushakov", later - "Odessa" and only on the eve of acceptance received the name "Kerch". But from the moment the agreements were signed and until the raising of the Soviet flag on the ship, a whole year and a half passed.
Not only were the Italians in no hurry, they still did not fulfill all the conditions for the ship's equipment. In addition, the cruiser required a major overhaul of the power plant and general repairs of a medium order.
The command of the Black Sea Fleet thought for a very long time what to do with the cruiser. The investment of money and resources promised to be enormous. The plans were very extensive, but they were adjusted several times. As a result, we got the following:
- Italian air defense systems were replaced with 14 domestic 37-mm assault rifles (4x2 V-11 and 6x1 70-K installations);
- torpedo tubes installed domestic, 533-mm;
- almost completely replaced the auxiliary mechanisms with domestic ones;
- carried out a major overhaul of the TZA.
Further, work was carried out to maximize the unification of the ship with the cruisers of the 26 and 26 bis project. They decided to keep the main caliber, and decided to replace the rest of the armament. However, the forced cost savings led to the fact that the "Kerch" was classified as a ship to be maintained in service only by current repairs without upgrades.
As a result, the ship was overhauled in May 1955 with the same armament, which significantly reduced its combat value. Suffice it to say that the only American SG-1 radar remained on it, only later the Fakel-M identification equipment and the Neptune navigation radar were installed.
After repairs, "Kerch" was part of a brigade, and then - a division of cruisers of the Black Sea Fleet.
But the disaster of the battleship "Novorossiysk" put an end to the further use of the cruiser. There was no trust in the ship, and therefore in 1956 he was transferred to a training ship, and in 1958 - to an experimental ship OS-32.
It is a pity, because the cruiser could actually serve for quite a long time and without any problems. But in 1959 he was finally disarmed and handed over to the metal.
What about the D-class cruisers? They became veterans. The word "veteran" is of Latin origin and means "survivor." The ships actually went through the entire war, took part in all significant operations of the Supermarine, and, as they say, died a natural death.
This indicates that the project was nevertheless brought to mind.
