Recent from talks
Italian cruiser Trento
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Italian cruiser Trento
Trento was the first of two Trento-class cruisers; they were the first heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy). The ship was laid down in February 1925, launched in October 1927, and was commissioned in April 1929. Trento was very lightly armored, with only a 70 mm (2.8 in) thick armored belt, though she possessed a high speed and heavy main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) guns. Though nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers significantly exceeded the displacement limits imposed by the treaty.
Trento frequently served as the flagship of the Cruiser Division throughout the 1930s. During the pre-war period, she also made lengthy trips abroad, including a tour of South America from May to October 1929 and a deployment to China from January to June 1932 to protect Italian nationals during the Chinese Civil War. She also took part in numerous naval reviews held for visiting foreign leaders.
After Italy entered World War II in June 1940, Trento saw extensive action in the Mediterranean Sea, including at the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan in July and November 1940 and March 1941, respectively. She was also present during the inconclusive First and Second Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a British destroyer. Trento was also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys to Malta. During one of the latter missions to attack the British Operation Harpoon convoy in June 1942, Trento was torpedoed twice, first by a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber and then sunk by the submarine HMS Umbra with very heavy loss of life.
Trento was 196.96 meters (646 ft 2 in) long overall, with a beam of 20.6 m (67 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in). She displaced 13,334 long tons (13,548 t) at full load, though her displacement was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) restriction set in place by the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship's superstructure included a large conning tower forward and a smaller, secondary conning position aft. She was fitted with a pair of tripod masts, one just aft of the conning tower and the second further aft. She had a crew of 723 officers and enlisted men, though during the war this increased to 781.
Her power plant consisted of four Parsons steam turbines powered by twelve oil-fired Yarrow boilers, which were trunked into two funnels amidships. Her engines were rated at 150,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW) for a top speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). On trials, she reached only 35.6 knots (65.9 km/h; 41.0 mph), and in service, her practical top speed was only 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 4,160 nautical miles (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Trento was armed with a main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) Mod 24 50-caliber guns in four gun turrets. The turrets were arranged in superfiring pairs forward and aft. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a battery of sixteen 100 mm (4 in) 47-cal. guns in twin mounts, four Vickers-Terni 40 mm/39 guns in single mounts and four 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns. In addition to the gun armament, she carried eight 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes in four deck mounted twin launchers. She carried a pair of IMAM Ro.43 seaplanes for aerial reconnaissance; the hangar was located under the forecastle and a fixed catapult was mounted on the centerline at the bow.
Trento's secondary battery was revised several times during her career. The 100 mm guns were replaced with newer Mod 31 versions of the same caliber. In 1937–1938, the two aft-most 100 mm guns were removed, along with all four 12.7 mm machine guns; eight 37 mm (1.5 in) 54-cal. Breda M1932 guns and eight 13.2 mm (0.52 in) Breda M1931 machine guns, all in twin mounts, were installed in their place. In 1942, the ship received four 20 mm (0.79 in) 65-cal. Breda M1940 guns in single mounts.
She was protected with an armor belt that was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick amidships with armored bulkheads 40 to 60 mm (1.6 to 2.4 in) thick on either end. Her armor deck was 50 mm (2 in) thick in the central portion of the ship and reduced to 20 mm (0.79 in) at either end. The gun turrets had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick plating on the faces and the supporting barbettes they sat in were 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) thick. The main conning tower had 100 mm thick sides.
Hub AI
Italian cruiser Trento AI simulator
(@Italian cruiser Trento_simulator)
Italian cruiser Trento
Trento was the first of two Trento-class cruisers; they were the first heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy). The ship was laid down in February 1925, launched in October 1927, and was commissioned in April 1929. Trento was very lightly armored, with only a 70 mm (2.8 in) thick armored belt, though she possessed a high speed and heavy main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) guns. Though nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers significantly exceeded the displacement limits imposed by the treaty.
Trento frequently served as the flagship of the Cruiser Division throughout the 1930s. During the pre-war period, she also made lengthy trips abroad, including a tour of South America from May to October 1929 and a deployment to China from January to June 1932 to protect Italian nationals during the Chinese Civil War. She also took part in numerous naval reviews held for visiting foreign leaders.
After Italy entered World War II in June 1940, Trento saw extensive action in the Mediterranean Sea, including at the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan in July and November 1940 and March 1941, respectively. She was also present during the inconclusive First and Second Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a British destroyer. Trento was also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys to Malta. During one of the latter missions to attack the British Operation Harpoon convoy in June 1942, Trento was torpedoed twice, first by a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber and then sunk by the submarine HMS Umbra with very heavy loss of life.
Trento was 196.96 meters (646 ft 2 in) long overall, with a beam of 20.6 m (67 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in). She displaced 13,334 long tons (13,548 t) at full load, though her displacement was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) restriction set in place by the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship's superstructure included a large conning tower forward and a smaller, secondary conning position aft. She was fitted with a pair of tripod masts, one just aft of the conning tower and the second further aft. She had a crew of 723 officers and enlisted men, though during the war this increased to 781.
Her power plant consisted of four Parsons steam turbines powered by twelve oil-fired Yarrow boilers, which were trunked into two funnels amidships. Her engines were rated at 150,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW) for a top speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). On trials, she reached only 35.6 knots (65.9 km/h; 41.0 mph), and in service, her practical top speed was only 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 4,160 nautical miles (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Trento was armed with a main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) Mod 24 50-caliber guns in four gun turrets. The turrets were arranged in superfiring pairs forward and aft. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a battery of sixteen 100 mm (4 in) 47-cal. guns in twin mounts, four Vickers-Terni 40 mm/39 guns in single mounts and four 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns. In addition to the gun armament, she carried eight 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes in four deck mounted twin launchers. She carried a pair of IMAM Ro.43 seaplanes for aerial reconnaissance; the hangar was located under the forecastle and a fixed catapult was mounted on the centerline at the bow.
Trento's secondary battery was revised several times during her career. The 100 mm guns were replaced with newer Mod 31 versions of the same caliber. In 1937–1938, the two aft-most 100 mm guns were removed, along with all four 12.7 mm machine guns; eight 37 mm (1.5 in) 54-cal. Breda M1932 guns and eight 13.2 mm (0.52 in) Breda M1931 machine guns, all in twin mounts, were installed in their place. In 1942, the ship received four 20 mm (0.79 in) 65-cal. Breda M1940 guns in single mounts.
She was protected with an armor belt that was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick amidships with armored bulkheads 40 to 60 mm (1.6 to 2.4 in) thick on either end. Her armor deck was 50 mm (2 in) thick in the central portion of the ship and reduced to 20 mm (0.79 in) at either end. The gun turrets had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick plating on the faces and the supporting barbettes they sat in were 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) thick. The main conning tower had 100 mm thick sides.
Recent media