 Gorizia, date unknown | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy | |
| Name | Gorizia |
| Builder | O.T.O.,Livorno |
| Laid down | March 1930 |
| Launched | 28 December 1930 |
| Commissioned | 31 December 1931 |
| Fate | Disabled by manned torpedoes in 1944, scrapped in 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Zara-classcruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 182.8 m (599 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 20.62 m (67 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 Parsons turbines |
| Speed | 32knots (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
| Complement | 841 |
| Armament | |
| Armor | |
| Aircraft carried | 2seaplanes |
Gorizia was the third member of theZara class ofheavy cruisers to be built for the ItalianRegia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1930s. Named for the town ofGorizia, the ship was laid down at theOTO Livorno shipyard in March 1930, was launched in December that year and was commissioned into the fleet in December 1931. Armed with a main battery of eight 8-inch (200 mm) guns, she was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,000 t) limit imposed by theWashington Naval Treaty, though in reality she significantly exceeded this figure.
During the ship's peacetime career, she frequently took part infleet reviews. In 1934, she went on a tour with the royal yacht to eastern Africa, and she made another foreign cruise two years later to Germany during the1936 Summer Olympics being held there. She was involved in theSpanish Civil War in the late 1930s; she evacuated Italian nationals in August 1936, and while returning to Italy, suffered an explosion in anaviation gas tank that necessitated major repairs. The ship supported theItalian invasion of Albania in 1939.
The ship saw extensive service inWorld War II, which Italy entered in June 1940. She frequently operated against British convoys toMalta in the Mediterranean, and after theNorth African Campaign began, she escorted Italian convoys to support the Italo-German forces fighting there. In the course of these operations, she took part in the battles atCalabria,Cape Spartivento, andFirst andSecond Sirte.Gorizia was also attacked numerous times by Allied bombers while in port, culminating in a major raid in April 1943 that inflicted serious damage to the ship. Under repair when Italy surrendered to the Allies in September, the ship was seized by occupying Germany forces, who found the ship to be unusable and so abandoned her. Italian and Britishfrogmen tried unsuccessfully to sink the ship in 1944. After Germany's defeat in 1945, the Italian Navy determined the ship was beyond economical repair, and so she wasbroken up for scrap in 1947.
Gorizia was 182.8 meters (600 ft)long overall, with abeam of 20.62 m (67.7 ft) and adraft of 7.2 m (24 ft). Shedisplaced 14,330long tons (14,560 t) atfull load, though her displacement was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,000 t) restriction set in place by theWashington Naval Treaty. Her power plant consisted of twoParsonssteam turbines powered by eight oil-firedYarrow boilers, which were trunked into two funnelsamidships. Her engines were rated at 95,000shaft horsepower (71,000 kW) and produced a top speed of 32knots (59 km/h; 37 mph). She had a crew of 841 officers and enlisted men.[1]
She was protected with anarmor belt that was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick amidships. Her armor deck was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick in the central portion of the ship and reduced to 20 mm (0.79 in) at either end. The gun turrets had 150 mm thick plating on the faces and thebarbettes they sat in were also 150 mm thick. The main conning tower had 150 mm thick sides.[1]
Gorizia was armed with amain battery of eight203 mm (8 in) Mod 29 53-caliber guns in fourgun turrets. The turrets were arranged insuperfiring pairs forward and aft. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a battery of sixteen100 mm (4 in) 47-cal. guns in twin mounts, fourVickers-Terni 40 mm/39 guns in single mounts and eight 12.7 mm (0.50 in) guns in twin mounts. She carried a pair ofIMAM Ro.43seaplanes for aerial reconnaissance; the hangar was located in under theforecastle and a fixedcatapult was mounted on thecenterline at the bow.[1][2]
Gorizia'ssecondary battery was revised several times during her career. Two of the 100 mm guns and all of the 40 mm and 12.7 mm guns were removed in the late 1930s and eight 37 mm (1.5 in) 54-cal. guns and eight13.2 mm (0.52 in) guns were installed in their place. Two 120 mm (4.7 in) 15-cal.star shell guns were added in 1940. In 1942, the star shell guns were replaced with four more 37 mm guns. The following year, a battery of fourteen20 mm (0.79 in) guns in six twin and two single mounts replaced the13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns.[1]
Gorizia waslaid down at theOdero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) shipyard inLivorno on 17 March 1930. She waslaunched on 28 December that year, and was completed nearly a year later on 23 December 1931 when she wascommissioning into the 2nd Division. She took part in naval exercises held offNaples on 13 August in honor of KingVictor Emmanuel III. On the 25th, she became theflagship of the division. She participated in anaval review on 6–7 July 1933 in theGulf of Naples for Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini. On 16 September, the ship was transferred to the 1st Division, where she also served as the flagship. She received her battle flag from hernamesake city on 29 June 1934.Gorizia escorted theroyal yachtSavoia on a trip to the east coast of Africa in October; the tour included port calls inBerbera andMogadishu inBritish andItalian Somaliland, respectively.[3]
The commander of the 1st Division briefly transferred his flag toGorizia'ssister shipPola on 31 December, before returning toGorizia on 3 June 1935. The ship was sent to Spanish waters on 24 July 1936 to evacuate Italian nationals from the port ofGijón during theSpanish Civil War. She passed through theStrait of Gibraltar on 29 July and arrived in Gijon on the 31st. After embarking the Italian nationals on 1 August,Gorizia cruised toLe Verdon-sur-Mer, France, where they were disembarked between 1 and 4 August. The next day, the ship departed for Germany, arriving inKiel on 8 August for a naval review with the German heavy cruiserAdmiral Graf Spee, the light cruiserKönigsberg, and the British cruiserHMS Neptune.Gorizia remained in Kiel toshow the flag during the1936 Summer Olympics, as the sailing events for the Berlin games were held in Kiel.[3]
On 19 August,Gorizia departed Kiel and steamed toTangier, arriving five days later. After a short stop, the ship left the port, bound for Italy, but that night her forwardaviation gas tank exploded, causing serious damage. She was forced to return to Tangier before proceeding toGibraltar on 25 August for temporary repairs. While indry dock, British officials examined the vessel and concluded that she exceeded her nominal 10,000-ton displacement, though they lodged no formal complaint for Italy's violation of theWashington Naval Treaty. The repairs were completed by 9 September, allowingGorizia to leave Gibraltar for La Spezia, where permanent repairs would be effected. She arrived two days later; the work was completed by November, and on the 27th, she took part in a naval review for the Regent of Hungary,Miklós Horthy.Gorizia again lost her role as divisional flagship on 17 May 1937, this time being replaced by her sisterFiume. A naval review was held in theGulf of Naples on 7 June, followed by another the following year on 5 May; the latter was to honor German dictatorAdolf Hitler during hisstate visit to Italy.[3]
On 7 March 1939,Gorizia and hersister ships sortied fromTaranto to intercept a squadron ofSpanish Republican Navy warships—three cruisers and eightdestroyers—attempting to reach theBlack Sea. The Italian ships were ordered not to open fire but merely to try to impede the progress of the Spanish ships and force them to dock atAugusta, Sicily, where they would be interned. The Spanish commander refused to stop in Augusta and instead steamed toBizerte in French Tunisia, where his ships were interned. A month later, from 7 to 9 April,Gorizia supported theItalian invasion of Albania without incident. She was present during the visit ofRamón Serrano Suñer, then the foreign minister ofFrancoist Spain, which had recently defeated the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. Five days later, the ship took part in the Navy Day festivities in Venice.Gorizia spent the rest of 1939 and early 1940 uneventfully.[3]
Upon Italy's entrance into the Second World War on 10 June 1940,Gorizia was assigned to the 1st Division of the 1st Squadron, which also included her sistersZara andFiume and the fourOriani-classdestroyers.[4] At the time, the division was based inTaranto; the ships were immediately sent to patrol off the island ofCrete, and on 11–12 June, the ships were attacked by an unknownsubmarine, which theGorizia and thedestroyers unsuccessfully counterattacked. She was present at theBattle of Calabria on 9 July,[3] and was initially stationed on the disengaged side of the Italian line.Torpedo bombers fromHMS Eagle attackedGorizia and the other heavy cruisers, but they failed to score any hits. After the Italian battleships engaged their British counterparts,Gorizia and the other heavy cruisers steamed ahead to the front of the line and joined the attack on the leading British battleship,Warspite, but they scored no hits. A hit on the battleshipGiulio Cesare that reduced her speed to 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) forced the Italian commander to break off the engagement, as his ships could no longer keep formation. British cruisers attacked as the Italians withdrew, but heavy fire from the Italian cruisers drove them off.[5]
On 30 July, the 1st Division escorted a convoy toItalian Libya, arriving back in Augusta on 1 August. Gunnery training offNaples followed on 16 August, and on 29 August the ships left Naples for Taranto, arriving the next day. On the 31st, the 1st Division sortied to intercept the British convoys inOperation Hats, though the Italian fleet broke off the attack without encountering the merchant ships. On 7–9 September,Gorizia patrolled off Sicily but failed to locate any British vessels, and she thereafter docked inPalermo. She returned to Taranto on the 11th and took part in gunnery training on 23 and 24 September and again on 6 November. She was present in the harbor on the night of 11–12 November during the Britishattack on Taranto, but was undamaged in the air raid.[3] Her anti-aircraft batteries shot down one of the attacking British aircraft.[6] The ship was transferred to Naples on the 12th. She took part in theBattle of Cape Spartivento, where she engaged British cruisers and shot down a British aircraft. British bombing of the port four days later forced the Italians to again relocate the cruisers, sending them temporarily toLa Maddalena in Sardinia on 15 December.[3]
Gorizia returned to Taranto in late January 1941. She conducted maneuvers withZara on 29 January; she then went to La Spezia for periodic maintenance, which lasted from 28 February to 7 May.Pola took her place in the 1st Division, and all three of her sisters were sunk in theBattle of Cape Matapan on 28 March. Since the 1st Division had been effectively wiped out at Cape Matapan,Gorizia was reassigned to the 3rd Division on 8 May, along with the twoTrento-class cruisers. The ships, based inMessina, began escorting convoys to North Africa that month, the first of which took place from 26 to 28 May. Another convoy departed Italy on 25 June, escorted byGorizia,Trieste, and a squadron of destroyers. The convoy, which consisted of requisitionedtransatlantic liners, steamed toTripoli and back, arriving in Taranto on 1 July. On 23 August, the main fleet sortied to intercept the BritishForce H, though they failed to locate their opponent.[3]
Over the course of 9–11 September, the British launched several air strikes on Messina, andGorizia contributed her anti-aircraft batteries to the defense of the port. Later in the month, the British sent another convoy to reinforceMalta codenamedOperation Halberd; the Italian fleet sortied on 26 September to try to intercept it, but broke off the operation upon discovering the strength of the British escort force. On 29 September, upon returning from the failed attempt to disrupt Operation Halberd,Gorizia was sent to operate from La Maddalena, though she returned to Messina on 10 October. An Allied air attack on the port on 21 November caused extensive damage toGorizia'ssuperstructure from bomb splinters, though she nevertheless sortied that day to escort another convoy to North Africa. On 16 and 17 December, while on another convoy escort mission, she took part in theFirst Battle of Sirte against a force of Britishlight cruisers and destroyers.[7]
While in Messina on 25 January 1942, the ship was visited by the GermanLuftwaffe officerGeneraloberstBruno Loerzer, who had arrived to command German air units stationed on the island. Five days later,Umberto, Prince of Piedmont, the heir to the italian crown, andHermann Göring, the commander of theLuftwaffe, visited the ship on a tour of major bases in Sicily.Gorizia returned to combat operations in February; she sortied on the 14th to search for Allied shipping, but instead came under heavy attack from bothtorpedo bombers and submarines. She returned to Messina undamaged. On 21 February, she joined another convoy to Tripoli before returning to Messina on the 24th. A month later, on 22 March, she took part in theSecond Battle of Sirte, where she was heavily engaged with British light cruisers and destroyers.[7] The engagement occurred at long range, and smoke from the British ships interfered with the Italians' gunnery, andGorizia scored no hits. In the course of the battle, she had fired 226 rounds from her main battery.[8]
By May, her 203 mm guns were worn out from their use in the Battles of Sirte, and so they were relined in Messina early that month. Allied air attacks targeted the ship in Messina on 25 and 26 May, but she suffered only splinter damage. Further attacks over the following two days inflicted no damage at all. On the 28th, she left Messina for Taranto; although Allied aircraft continued to attackGorizia there from 8 to 11 June, she remained unscathed. On 15 June, the fleet sortied once again to intercept a convoy to Malta, codenamedOperation Vigorous. While on the mission,Gorizia's floatplane failed to return and was presumed lost. British torpedo bombers attackedGorizia three times, but failed to score any hits. The cruiserTrento was hit by a torpedo and was later sunk by a British submarine. On 5 July,Gorizia returned to Messina, and on the 17th, she hosted a visit from Umberto.[7] While she was on an operation to catch a British convoy on 11–13 August, a British submarine attempted to torpedo the ship while she slowed down to launch one of her floatplanes. She successfully evaded the attack, but the cruisersBolzano andMuzio Attendolo were not as lucky, both being badly damaged.Gorizia,Trieste, and two destroyers proceeded on to Messina while the other five destroyers stayed to protect the two damaged cruisers.[9] Umberto made another visit to the ship on 27 August in Messina.[7]
By December, the threat from Allied bombers had increased significantly, forcing theRegia Marina to abandon Messina as a major base. On 9 December, the 3rd Division left for La Maddalena further north in Sardinia, arriving the next day. Nevertheless, a major attack fromUSAAFheavy bombers struck La Maddalena on 10 April 1943 and sankTrieste and hitGorizia with three bombs, inflicting serious damage. One bomb penetrated the rear superfiring turret and exploded inside and the other two struck the deck abreast of the superstructure on the port side. Near misses breached the hull below the waterline, butdamage control parties kept flooding to a minimum. Two days after the attack,Gorizia steamed to La Spezia for repairs. On 19 April, an Allied air attack on the port inflicted minor splinter damage. Umberto made another visit to the ship while she was awaiting repair on 20 April. Ten days later, the 3rd Division was disbanded, since the two surviving Italian heavy cruisers were out of action,[7]Bolzano having been torpedoed and badly damaged by a British submarine in August 1942.[10]
Gorizia entered the dry dock in La Spezia to begin repairs on 4 May; she was still under repair when Italysurrendered to the Allies in September. The ship's commander initially ordered the caretaker crew to flood the drydock and scuttle the ship when German troops occupied the port, but cancelled the order when it became clear the ship would be of no use to the Germans anyway. The Germans later moved the ship out of the dock, anchored her in the harbor, and abandoned her. On the night of 21–22 June 1944, British and Italianfrogmen usedChariot manned torpedoes to infiltrate the harbor to sinkGorizia andBolzano to prevent the Germans from using them asblockships; while the commandos did sinkBolzano, they were unsuccessful withGorizia. She remained afloat and heavily listing in April 1945, when Allied forces liberated La Spezia. Judged to be too badly damaged to repair, the postwar navy decided to discard the ship. She was accordingly stricken from thenaval register on 27 February 1947 andbroken up for scrap.[7]
