Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi (1936)
 Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1938 | |
| History | |
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_crowned.svg.png){kind=small}  Italy
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| Name: | Giuseppe Garibaldi |
| Namesake: | Giuseppe Garibaldi |
| Builder: | CRDA |
| Laid down: | 28 December 1933 |
| Launched: | 21 April 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 1 December 1937 |
| Decommissioned: | 1953 |
| Refit: | 1957-1961 |
| Homeport: | Taranto |
| Motto: | "Obbedisco" |
| Fate: | Reconstructed from 1957 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Duca degli Abruzzi-class cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: | 18.9 m (62 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 6.9 m (22 ft 8 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
| Range: | 4,125 mi (6,639 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement: | 640 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 4 Ro.43 |
 Garibaldi in 1961 | |
| Italy
| |
| Name: | Giuseppe Garibaldi |
| Builder: | La Spezia Arsenal |
| Laid down: | Reconstruction started in 1957 |
| Launched: | 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 1961 |
| Decommissioned: | 1972 |
| Struck: | 1976 |
| Homeport: | Taranto |
| Motto: | "Obbedisco" |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| Notes: | Pennant 551 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | none |
| Type: | Guided missile cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: | 18.9 m (62 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 6.7 m (22 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range: | 4,125 mi (6,639 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement: | 640 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian Duca degli Abruzzi-class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. After the war she was retained by the Marina Militare and upgraded. She was built by CRDA, in Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard Trieste and named after the Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Decommissioned in 1953, Giuseppe Garibaldi was converted between 1957 and 1961, at the La Spezia shipyards, into a guided missile cruiser.
Design
The Duca degli Abruzzi-class cruisers were the final version of the Condottieri-class 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. The machinery was also revised which led to these ships having a slightly slower maximum speed than their predecessors.
World War II service
1940
On 9 July at the Battle of Calabria Giuseppe Garibaldi along with her sister, Duca degli Abruzzi, fired the first rounds of the contest. During the engagement, splinters from a 6-inch round fired by Giuseppe Garibaldi[1][2] hit the British cruiser HMS Neptune, damaging her catapult and the reconnaissance aircraft beyond repair.[3][4]
On 1 September, it took part in the Hats convoy and on 29 September, took part in Operation MB 5. On 11 November, Giuseppe Garibaldi was anchored at Taranto when British aircraft attacked the Italian fleet in the harbour.
1941
On 27 March, Giuseppe Garibaldi participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan. The commander of the ship at the time was Captain Stanislao Caraciotti. On 8 May she was part of the Tiger convoy. On 28 July the cruiser was damaged by British submarine HMS Upholder.
1942
On 3 January, the cruiser escorted Italian convoy M 43. On 7 March, Garibaldi took part in Operation V 5. On 14 June the ship participated in the action against convoy Vigorous, the attempt to resupply Malta by the British.
After the armistice (8 September 1943), she operated in the South Atlantic together with Allied ships against potential German raiders.
Recommissioning as a guided missile cruiser
After the war she was retained by the Marina Militare and modernized with minor changes of the armament and a radar. She was decommissioned in 1953 and reconstructed as a guided missile cruiser.
The new ship was rebuilt in the La Spezia Arsenal starting from 1957, and, at her completion in 1961, she was named flagship of the Italian Navy.
The reconstruction included a complete overhauling of the superstructure, while the hull kept its original dimensions.
Apart from some minor changes, much of the latter's rebuilding included four launchers for the U.S. designed UGM-27 Polaris nuclear ballistic missiles. Despite the successful launching tests, the US never provided the missiles, due to political convenience. Instead the Italian government set to develop an indigenous missile, called Alfa, with a successful program, officially halted by the Italian Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ratification and failure of the NATO Multilateral Force.
The propulsion system remained the same. The rest of the armament was radically altered: a RIM-2 Terrier missile launcher made Giuseppe Garibaldi the first missile cruiser in Europe. The previous artillery was replaced by four 135/45 mm guns in two twin turrets and eight Oto Melara 76/62mm Type MMI AA guns. Electronics included several radars and fire control systems.
She was decommissioned in 1971 and scrapped the following year.
Notes
- ↑ D'Adamo, Christian. "Action off Calabria". regiamarina.net. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ↑ Jordan, John (2008). Warship 2008. Conway Maritime Press. p. 32. ISBN 1-84486-062-0.
- ↑ Smith, Peter Charles (1980). Action imminent: three studies of the naval war in the Mediterranean theatre during 1940. Kimber. p. 66. ISBN 0-7183-0197-8.
- ↑ Cunningham, Admiral Sir Andrew B (28 April 1948). "Report of an action with the Italian Fleet off Calabria, 9th July, 1940." (pdf). London Gazette. HMSO. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
References
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
External links
- Italian light cruiser Garibaldi on Marina Militare official web site
- Italian guided missile cruiser Garibaldi on Marina Militare official website
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