Goito-class cruiser

The class was a group of four torpedo cruisers built for the Italian (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. The members of the class were , , , and . They were among the first torpedo cruisers built for the Italian fleet, and were built to improve on the previous vessel, . Experimental ships, the four -class vessels varied in their dimensions, machinery, and armament, though all were comparable in terms of capabilities, having a top speed of and carrying an armament of four or five torpedo tubes.

All four ships spent the majority of their time in service with the main Italian fleet, alternating between active duty for training exercises and reserve status. In 1897, was converted into a minelayer and became a training ship for engine room personnel. and were simply sold for scrap in 1901. laid defensive minefields after Italy entered World War I in 1915, but otherwise did not see action during the war. The two surviving vessels remained in the Italian fleet until 1920, when they too were broken up for scrap.

Design

The first three members of the class was designed by Engineering General Inspector Benedetto Brin, while was designed by Engineering Director Giacinto Pullino. Brin had previously designed several classes of very large ironclad battleships, including the and es, but by the 1880s, he had begun to embrace the ideas of the , which emphasized small, fast, torpedo-armed vessels that could damage or destroy the much larger battleships at a fraction of the cost. The four s were similar to the preceding cruiser , the first torpedo cruiser Brin designed. As these were among the initial designs prepared by the Italian navy, they were experimental; Brin and Pullino used different hull shapes for all four vessels and fitted them with a variety of propulsion systems and armament.

General characteristics and machinery

As a result of their experimental nature, the ships of the class varied slightly in size. They all were long at the waterline and long overall, but their beam varied from and their draft ranged from . The ships were built with steel hulls. They displaced normally and at full load. They had a crew of between 105 and 121.

The first three ships had similar propulsion systems that consisted of three steam engines, each driving a single screw propeller. and had double-expansion engines, while had more advanced triple-expansion engines. instead used a two-shaft configuration for her double-expansion engines. Steam for the engines was supplied by coal-fired locomotive boilers; and had six boilers, while and had four. The boilers for and were trunked into two funnels, had three, and only had one.

Exact figures for the first three ships' performance have not survived, but they could steam at a speed of about from . , with only two screws, had a top speed of from . In 1894, had her center engine and screw removed and her original boilers replaced with oil-fired models. With these changes, her engines were capable of producing from . The ships had a cruising radius of at a speed of . They were originally fitted with a fore-and-aft sailing rig to supplement the steam engines, though they were later removed.

Armament and armor

The primary armament for the class was five torpedo tubes, though only had four tubes. The ships also carried a variety of light guns. was equipped with five 40-caliber (cal.) guns, two 20-cal. guns, and three 37 mm revolving Hotchkiss guns, all mounted singly. had six 57 mm guns and two 37 mm guns, and carried only six 57 mm guns. was the only vessel to carry a medium-caliber gun, a single 32-cal. gun mounted on her bow. She also carried six 57 mm guns and two 37 mm guns. The ships were protected with an armored deck that was thick.

Ships

Service history

All four -class cruisers served with the main Italian fleet for the majority of their careers. This time was spent either laid up in the reserve component of the fleet, or activated for yearly training maneuvers. These frequently gamed a French attack on Italy, as in the case of the 1888 maneuvers—for which only had been completed in time to participate—that simulated a French attack on La Spezia, or the 1893 maneuvers, which tested a French attack on Naples. In 1898, and participated in a rare deployment for members of the class when they were assigned to the Levant Squadron that was tasked with patrolling the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Throughout this period, the ships of the class would either be distributed among the divisions of the fleet, as with the case of the annual training maneuvers, or stationed together while in reserve status; in 1895, for example, the four s were assigned to the 2nd Maritime Department, along with and the eight torpedo cruisers.

In 1897, was withdrawn from front-line service and converted in a minelayer, with a capacity for 60 naval mines in place of her torpedo tubes. remained on active duty until 1898, when she was converted into a training ship for engine room personnel, and was re-boilered with coal- and oil-fired equipment from several manufacturers in 1903. and were the last members of the class to leave active service, being stricken from the naval register on the same day, 26 August 1901 and sold for scrapping. continued to take part in fleet maneuvers as late as 1907 in her minelayer configuration, and both she and remained in the s inventory during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 and World War I. Neither ship saw action in either conflict, though laid defensive minefields in the Adriatic Sea after Italy entered World War I in 1915. was eventually stricken on 26 January 1920, and followed her to the breakers' yard on 15 March.

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References

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External links

Classe Goito
Marina Militare website

{{WWI Italian ships