''Luigi Cadorna'' was an Italian light cruiser, which served in the ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; named after Italian Field Marshal

Luigi Cadorna Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna, (4 September 1850 – 21 December 1928) was an Italian general, Marshal of Italy and Count most famous for being the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 1914-1917 of World War I. Early career Luigi Cador ...

who was commander in Chief of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

during World War I.

History

''Luigi Cadorna'' was launched on 30 September 1931. During her early service she did operations in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. In April 1939 she participated in the occupation of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

World War II

When World War II broke out she was a part of the 4th Cruiser Division and started laying mines on 9 June 1940 near the island of

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of L ...

. A month later she was present in the

Battle of Calabria The Battle of Calabria, known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the World War II, Second World War. Ships of the Kingdom of Italy, Italian ''Regia Marina'' were oppose ...

where she avoided a submarine torpedo attack, engaged enemy aircraft and assisted her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, which had boiler problems. However, due to her relatively weak design and light armor, she went into

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

from 12 February 1941. The cruiser re-entered service when supplying of the Axis army in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

became more important. ''Luigi Cadorna'' provided distant cover for convoys headed towards North Africa. Occasionally she sortied with the fleet to intercept British convoys to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In the period of November/December 1941 she was also used as a transport, transporting fuel and ammunition to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. From January 1942 she was transferred to

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

, where she was employed in a training role. After a short refit in May/June 1943, she joined the 8th Cruiser Division on 14 June. Between 24–30 June she transported troops to

, and on 3 July she was transferred to

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

, from whence, in August, she made five

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

sorties to lay defensive fields in the

Gulf of Taranto The Gulf of Taranto ( it, Golfo di Taranto; Tarantino: ; la, Sinus Tarentinus) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy. The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the ...

along with the light cruiser . At the armistice on 8 September 1943 she was at Taranto, but she sailed to Malta on the next day to surrender together with the fleet. She remained there until transferred to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

on 14 September. After a brief stay she returned to Taranto in October. For the remainder of the war she was used as a transport ship for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and for the repatriation of Italian troops. After the Peace Treaty on 10 February 1947, she was one of the few ships to remain in the Italian Navy. Because of her age and condition she was only used as a training ship until stricken in May 1951 and subsequently scrapped.

Citations

References

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External links

Luigi Cadorna
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Luigi Cadorna Cadorna-class cruisers Ships built in Trieste 1931 ships World War II cruisers of Italy Cruisers of the Italian Navy Cold War cruisers of Italy Ships built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico