We continue the topic started by two articles earlier. That is, on the agenda we have to go through the agony of Italian shipbuilders in an attempt to create a normal light cruiser. Some researchers generally consider "Condottieri" of the first two episodes to be almost overgrown leaders, but here I do not agree with them.
Still, "Condottieri" series A and B were cruisers. Very light, very flawed, but cruisers. Fast (doubtfully a few) and very fragile. However, the armament was the most cruising, although there were enough claims to the air defense.
However, if we compare it with anti-aircraft weapons, for example, the Soviet cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" or "Kirov", it becomes clear that it could be worse.
Although you can get to the bottom of speed too. Yes, measurements were made in greenhouse conditions and took off everything that is possible. The real combat speed, as I said, was much lower than that shown in tests.
Armor and survivability - yes, these were the weak points of the cruisers, and the Italian naval command was well aware of this. That is why they did not stamp type A, but tried to fix it by developing type B. It did not help, as it became clear.
The road, as they say, will be mastered by the walking one. Therefore, the next type of cruisers "Condottieri" appeared, type C.
The War Department demanded drastic changes in terms of protection. The construction was hanged on the firm "Ansaldo", which, I think, coped with the task with honor, because real light cruisers were born, which are not inferior to world analogues.
By the way, it was "Condottieri" type C that became the prototypes of our cruisers, type 26 "Kirov". But that's a completely different story.
So, engineers from "Ansaldo" (a super firm, because from such A and B to make almost candy …) built two cruisers. Raimondo Montecuccoli and Muzio Attendolo. And these were already ships that can be called real light cruisers. No comparison with scouts and destroyer leaders.
The essence of the project is simple as I don't know what. Extend the ship by 10 meters, make it wider by 1 meter. The displacement will increase, according to calculations, to 6,150 tons (the Da Barbiano had 5,300 tons), and the entire increase in displacement will be spent on booking the ship.
A very reasonable move.
Further, it was necessary to increase the power of the power plant. Up to about 100-110 thousand hp. A ship with a new reservation was still supposed to issue 36-37 knots according to the plan.
Reservation. It was a song, a hot Italian serenade about how they began to make a swan out of an ugly duckling. Or a goose.
No joke, the total weight of the armor was increased from 578 to 1376 tons compared to the same "Da Barbiano". Plus, on type C, the idea was realized to combine all combat posts and place them all in an armored superstructure that has a cylindrical shape.
The vertical armor of the hull was supposed to have a thickness of 60 mm, vertical bulkheads of 25 mm, and a deck of 30 mm. The traverses and the defense of the towers also had to be strengthened.
The lead cruiser of the series, Raimondo Montecuccoli, was laid down on October 1, 1931. The second ship, "Muzio Attendolo", due to some changes in the project and financial difficulties, was laid down only in April 1933.
The names, of course, were given in honor of the historical figures of Italy.
Raimondo, Count of Montecuccoli, Duke of Melfi (1609-1680). He rose to the rank of Generalissimo of the Holy Roman Empire, for which, in general, he fought all his life. With the Poles against the Swedes, with the Austrians against the Turks, with the Danes against again the Swedes, with the Dutch against the French. I won. He wrote many works on tactics and strategy. He died of old age a natural death, which is generally worthy.
Muzio Attendolo "Sforza" (1369-1424) was an Italian condottiere who served with Da Barbiano for a long time. The founder of the Sforza dynasty, which ruled Milan, also fought all his life and ended it by drowning when crossing the Pescara River.
Naturally, according to Italian tradition, the cruisers received their own personal mottos:
- "Raimondo Montecuccoli": "Con rizolutezza con rapidita" ("With determination and swiftness");
- "Muzio Attendolo": "Constans et indomitus" ("Firm and indomitable").
Some sources add to the company these two cruisers "Duca di Aosta" and "Eugenio di Savoia", built a little later. But we will consider them separately, since they were similar in appearance, but fairly different inwardly ships. Type D "Condottieri" differed from type C by a good thousand tons of displacement, which entailed quite decent changes in the design.
There is even a difference in appearance.
What did the Italians do on the third try?
The standard displacement is 7,524 tons, the total displacement is 8,990 tons.
Length 182 m, width 16.5 m, draft at full height / and 6 m.
The power plants consisted of 6 Yarrow oil boilers and two turbines. The Montecuccoli was powered by the Bellluzzo turbines, the Attendolo by the Parsons.
The power of the power plants reached 106,000 hp, which ensured a full speed of 37 knots. On sea trials, carried out in 1935, "Montecuccoli" with a displacement of 7020 tons developed the power of the machines 126,099 hp. and reached a speed of 38.72 knots. "Attendolo" with a displacement of 7082 tons showed 123 330 hp. and 36, 78 nodes, respectively.
The cruising range was estimated at 1,100 miles at a speed of 35 knots, at a cruising speed of 18 knots for the Montecuccoli 4,122 miles, for the Attendolo 4,411 miles.
Reservation. That for which everything was started.
The basis of the armor was an armored belt 60 mm thick from tower No. 1 to tower No. 4. The belt was closed by 25 mm traverses. A 20-mm fragmentation bulkhead was located behind the belt.
The deck was armored with sheets of 30 mm thick, the areas adjacent to the armor belt were armored with sheets of 20 mm.
The conning tower had 100 mm armor, the command and rangefinder post had 25 mm armor in a circle, and 30 mm roofs.
The towers themselves had 70 mm frontal armor, a 30 mm roof and 45 mm side walls.
The thickness of the armor of the barbets of the towers was different. The barbets of the elevated towers No. 2 and No. 3 above the upper deck were covered with 50 mm armor, the barbets of the bow towers (No. 1 and No. 2) below the level of the upper deck were covered with 45 mm armor, in the area of the cellars the thickness of the armor was 30 mm.
The barbets of the aft towers were 30 mm thick over their entire height. Shields of universal 100-mm guns were 8 mm thick.
When designing the armor, calculations were made that gave the following picture. At a distance of 20,000 m, a 203-mm projectile pierced the armor belt and the bulkhead behind the belt of cruisers at an encounter angle of no more than 26 °, and at a distance of 17,000 m - no more than 35.5 °. This instilled some confidence, but the calculations are such a thing …
The 152-mm projectile began to confidently penetrate the belt and bulkhead at zero angle at a distance of 13,000 m.
On the whole, meeting with heavy cruisers for the Condottieri was deliberately fatal. But it's already good that, in comparison with their predecessors, these cruisers were not afraid of the shells of the destroyers' guns. Not bad already, as they say.
The combination of the belt and the bulkhead moved away from it provided relative protection against projectiles with a low deceleration or an instant fuse, the break of which would occur in the space between the belt and the bulkhead. That is, from damage to the armor by splinters.
The only thing left unprotected are the steering gears. Doubtful such savings, but this decision was made by the designers.
Armament
The armament remained exactly the same as on the C type. Eight OTO 152 mm guns of the 1929 model.
Fire control of the main caliber was supplemented by the installation of RM 2 fire control devices. With the help of these devices, installed in towers No. 2 and No. 3, it was possible, if necessary, to control the fire of the entire main battery or groups of towers - bow and stern. And, of course, each tower of the four had the ability to fire, based on the data of its rangefinders.
The universal artillery consisted of the same 100-mm guns in the Minisini mounts of the 1928 model. The location is aft, identical to the previous series of ships.
But the small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery finally received the ill-fated 37-mm anti-aircraft guns of the Breda company, model 1932, already mentioned in previous articles. Each cruiser received eight such assault rifles in four paired installations.
The effective firing range was 4000 m, the maximum elevation angle reached 80 °, the maximum descent angle was 10 °. Ammunition consisted of 4000 shells.
The anti-aircraft guns were supplemented by the same eight machine guns of 13, 2 mm caliber of the same Breda model of 1931 in four twin installations.
The torpedo armament of the cruisers also remained unchanged, 4 533-mm apparatus, two twin-tube installations of the SI 1928 P / 2 type on each side.
Ammunition consisted of 8 torpedoes: 4 in vehicles, 4 spare, which were stored near the vehicles in special hangars. On the D-type cruisers, the storage scheme has been slightly changed. The torpedo bodies were kept in the same place, but for the warheads they made special cellars under the deck on each side.
A very interesting solution for the sake of security. But in the course of the war, hangars for spare torpedoes were generally dismantled from cruisers, since torpedoes in them still remained a source of increased danger, and additional ammunition for anti-aircraft guns began to be stored in the warhead cellars.
Cruisers could still be used as minelayers.
There were two loading options, maximum and standard. The maximum is 96 minutes of the Elia type or 112 minutes of the Bollo type, or 96 minutes of the R.200 type. But in this case, tower number 4 could not fire. The standard load, when nothing interfered with tower No. 4, consisted of 48 mines "Elia", or 56 "Bollo", or 28 "R.200".
During the war, German mines entered service with the Italian fleet. So the cruisers could take on board 146 EMC mines or 186 UMB anti-submarine mines. Or it was possible to take on board from 280 to 380 (depending on the model) German-made mine defenders.
Anti-submarine armament consisted of a passive sonar station and two 50/1936 ALB pneumatic bomb launchers.
The aircraft armament was identical to types A and B, that is, a catapult and two IMAM RO.43 seaplanes.
All cruisers had two sets of equipment for setting smoke screens: steam-oil and chemical. At the base of the chimneys there were devices (6 or 8, depending on the ship) for setting up smoke screens by mixing smoke from boilers with steam and oil. They provided the setting of black "oil", white "steam" or colored smoke screens. Two chemical smoke generators were attached to the sides at the stern. When they were turned on, a thick white cloud enveloped the ship for a short time.
The crew of the ships consisted of 27 officers and 551 foremen and sailors.
There were ship upgrades, but they were carried out at a fairly calm pace.
In 1940, the fire control system (KDP and guns) was supplemented with gyro-stabilization equipment. This made it possible to fire with the main caliber at any moment in a battle with excitement, without waiting for the ship's hull to return to an even keel.
In 1942, the 37 mm M1932 assault rifles were replaced by the air-cooled M1938 assault rifles, which were more convenient and easier to aim and maintain. The installations from the bridge were moved to the place of the dismantled posts for the guidance of torpedo tubes.
On "Raimondo Montecuccoli" 13, 2-mm machine guns were removed (finally!) And instead of them 10 single-barreled 20-mm "Oerlikon" assault rifles were installed.
In 1943, the EU 3 "Gufo" radar station and the German "Metox" radio intelligence station FuMB.1 were installed on the cruiser.
In 1944, mine rails, a catapult, and torpedo tubes were removed from the Montecuccoli.
Combat service
Muzio Attendolo. Let's start with it, because it's simpler and shorter.
The cruiser began fighting in June 1936, when the Spanish Civil War began. The ship made a trip to Barcelona and Malaga, taking out Italian citizens from there.
On November 28, 1936, the Italian government signed a secret agreement of mutual assistance with Franco, so the Italian fleet had to take over the patrolling of the western Mediterranean and escorting the transports that brought the personnel and military equipment of the Italian expeditionary force to Spain.
The Muzio Attendolo delivered on deck to General Franco two torpedo boats MAS-435 and MAS-436, which had been handed over to the Nationalist fleet. The boats were named Candido Perez and Javier Quiroga.
Having entered the Second World War with the declaration of war between France and Great Britain, the cruiser was engaged in covering mine laying.
Then there were going out to sea to cover convoys to North Africa.
The Muzio Attendolo took part in the Battle of Punta Stilo in July 1940. Nominal participation in the inglorious battle.
In October-November, the cruiser took part in the operations for the occupation of Albania and against the Greek island of Corfu. Until the beginning of 1941, the cruiser regularly fired at the positions of the Greek troops.
From February to May 1941, together with the cruisers of the 7th division, "Muzio Attendolo" was engaged in mine laying north of Tripoli. In total, 1,125 mines and 3,202 mine defenders were deployed. The task was considered completed.
The second half of 1941 was marked by convoy operations in North Africa. We put it straight - unsuccessful. 92 percent of the fuel sent to North Africa, as well as 12 ships with a total tonnage of 54,960 grt. was only lost in November 1941. Plus three sunk destroyers and two damaged cruisers.
1942 brought some lull as Britain began to experience full-fledged problems caused by Japan's entry into the war.
On August 11, the Italians made another absurdity, canceling the attack on the already doomed convoy "Pedestal", going to Malta and turning the ships on their way. A brigade of cruisers ("Gorizia", "Bolzano", "Trieste" and "Muzio Attendolo" plus 8 destroyers) fell right into the arms of British submarines located in the area of the islands of Stromboli and Salina.
British submarine P42 fired 4 torpedoes. One hit the heavy cruiser Bolzano, the other hit the Muzio Attendolo.
The torpedo hit the bow, tearing it off for 25 meters. None of the crew were injured, but the cruiser was thoroughly disfigured. But he stayed afloat, the team was even able to give a move. The cruiser was brought to Messina for repairs, and then transferred to Naples.
On December 4, 1942, during a British air raid, the cruiser received several direct hits and sank.
In 1949, the ship was raised and cut into metal.
"Raimondo Montecuccoli"
The service of this ship turned out to be longer.
Just like the sister ship, "Raimondo Montecuccoli" began his military service in Spain. Patrol service and removal of refugees.
In August 1937, the cruiser was transferred to the Far East to protect Italian interests in the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. It is difficult to say what interests Italy had in Shanghai, but the ship ended up there. Until December, "Raimondo Montecuccoli" guarded Italian ships, diplomatic missions, consulates.
The beginning of the Second World War, the cruiser marked her active participation in mine laying in the Gulf of Tunis against the French fleet.
"Raimondo Montecuccoli" took part in the Battle of Punta Stilo, but like all other ships, nothing was noted.
In October-November 1940 he took part in operations against Albania and Greece.
In fact, the whole of 1941 was spent in mines in the Gulf of Tunis, on the approaches to Malta and in the Gulf of Sicily.
1942 Raimondo Montecuccoli spent trying to prevent the British from sinking transport ships bound for Africa. Honestly, the attempts were not crowned with success at all.
In June 1942, the cruiser took part in the Battle of Pantelleria Island, the only naval battle that can be said to have been won by the Italians. Although all the ships of the allies, sunk in this battle, died either on mines or from the Luftwaffe. But yes, the Italian ships did their part.
When, in December 1942, British aircraft sank the Muzio Attendolo in Naples, the Raimondo Montecuccoli, which was in the same place, also got a decent hit. On the cruiser, a bomb exploded in the auxiliary boilers. The explosion completely destroyed the bow chimney, seriously damaged the right side of the bow superstructure. The shrapnel knocked out boilers No. 3 and No. 4. In addition, other bombs riddled the freeboard and superstructures in the stern section on the starboard side with a multitude of fragments, and one of them hit exactly the 100-mm installation.
Until mid-summer 1943, "Raimondo Montecuccoli" was under repair. Here the cruiser received radar weapons.
Then there was the Sicilian campaign, more precisely, the helpless attempts to organize at least some kind of resistance to the Allied forces, which began the landing of troops on the islands. The cruiser made two inconclusive raids.
In September 1943, after the conclusion of an armistice, "Raimondo Montecuccoli" with the entire Italian fleet went to Malta to surrender to the British.
The cruiser was lucky, he reached Malta. Unlike the battleship "Roma" and two destroyers, which were sunk by the Germans.
Raimondo Montecuccoli was lucky. He was transferred to a transport, and not put to rust when laid up. And throughout 1944, the cruiser carried British troops. The final report indicates the number of transported, about 30 thousand people.
After the end of the war, "Raimondo Montecuccoli" was lucky again. She turned out to be one of four cruisers that Italy was able to keep. But he was transferred to training ships and remained so until 1964, when the ship was finally disabled and dismantled for metal in 1972.
What can be said as a result? The third attempt … And in the end we got quite decent, and, most importantly, strong ships.
In the previous article, I said that the main nightmare of Italian cruisers was not bombs and shells, but torpedoes. The example with Muzio Attendolo”is more than indicative, in my opinion. His predecessors did not manage to survive the torpedo hit.
Combat path "Condottieri" type C is the best evidence that the ships have turned out.
