''Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi'' was an Italian light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. After the war, she was retained by the

Marina Militare "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

and decommissioned in 1961. She was built by OTO at

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

and named after Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, an Italian explorer and Admiral of World War I.

Design

The ''Duca degli Abruzzi''-class cruisers were the final version of the and were larger and better protected than their predecessors. The armament was also increased by two extra 152 mm guns, triple turrets replaced twins in the "A" and "Y" positions thus making them the most heavily armed light cruisers of Italy during World War II. The machinery was also revised which led to these ships having a slightly slower maximum speed than their predecessors.

Career

World War II

The ship was completed in 1937 and formed the 8th Cruiser division with 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 ...

. She fought in the following actions: * Battle of Calabria, where she led a squadron of light cruisers which fired the first salvoes of the battle * 1 September 1940: Part of the fleet that attempted to intercept the convoy Hats * Battle of Cape Matapan * 24 September 1941: Part of the fleet that attempted to intercept the convoy Halberd headed for Malta. Damaged by an aircraft torpedo on 22 November 1941 but repaired, she was interned by 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 ...

after the Italian Armistice and later served with the

Italian Co-Belligerent Navy The Italian Co-Belligerent Navy (''Marina Cobelligerante Italiana''), or Navy of the South (''Marina del Sud'') or Royal Navy (''Regia Marina''), was the navy of the Italian royalist forces fighting on the side of the Allies in southern Italy after ...

in the South Atlantic on operations against potential German raiders.

Post war

After 1945, her torpedo launchers were removed and replaced by two 4 inch anti-aircraft guns. Since 1953 she was equipped with an AN/SPS-6 2D air search radar.Marina Militare website
In late 1953, during the negotiations which ended in the handover of Trieste to Italy, the cruiser was transferred from Taranto to Venezia, in order to strengthen the Italian position at the bargaining table. Eventually, on 26 October 1954, ''Duca degli Abruzzi'' was the flagship of the Italian naval force which took possession of Trieste's port facilities.''Trieste torna all'Italia (26 Ottobre 1954)''
by Riccardo Basile She served in the post war

Marina Militare "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

until 1961.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duca degli Abruzzi Duca degli Abruzzi-class cruisers Ships built by OTO Melara Ships built in La Spezia 1936 ships World War II cruisers of Italy Cold War cruisers of Italy