 Trento early in her career | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of Italy | |
| Name | Trento |
| Namesake | City ofTrento |
| Builder | Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando,Livorno |
| Laid down | 8 February 1925 |
| Launched | 4 October 1927 |
| Commissioned | 3 April 1929 |
| Stricken | 18 October 1946 |
| Fate | Sunk, 15 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Heavy cruiser |
| Displacement | Full load: 13,334long tons (13,548 t) |
| Length | 196.96 m (646 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 20.6 m (67 ft 7 in) |
| Draft | 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 4,160 nmi (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 ×IMAM Ro.43seaplanes |
Trento was the first of twoTrento-class cruisers; they were the firstheavy cruisers built for the ItalianRegia Marina (Royal Navy). The ship waslaid down in February 1925,launched in October 1927, and wascommissioned in April 1929.Trento was very lightly armored, with only a 70 mm (2.8 in) thickarmored belt, though she possessed a high speed and heavymain battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) guns. Though nominally built under the restrictions of theWashington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers significantly exceeded thedisplacement limits imposed by the treaty.
Trento frequently served as theflagship 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 theChinese Civil War. She also took part in numerousnaval reviews held for visiting foreign leaders.
After Italy enteredWorld War II in June 1940,Trento saw extensive action in theMediterranean Sea, including at the battles ofCalabria,Cape Spartivento, andCape Matapan in July and November 1940 and March 1941, respectively. She was also present during the inconclusiveFirst andSecond Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a Britishdestroyer.Trento was also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys toMalta. During one of the latter missions to attack the BritishOperation Harpoon convoy in June 1942,Trento was torpedoed twice, first by aBristol Beauforttorpedo bomber and then sunk by thesubmarineHMS Umbra with very heavy loss of life.
Trento was 196.96 meters (646 ft 2 in)long overall, with abeam of 20.6 m (67 ft 7 in) and adraft of 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in). Shedisplaced 13,334long tons (13,548 t) atfull load, though her displacement was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) restriction set in place by theWashington Naval Treaty. The ship'ssuperstructure included a largeconning tower forward and a smaller, secondary conning position aft. She was fitted with a pair oftripod 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.[1]
Her power plant consisted of fourParsonssteam turbines powered by twelve oil-firedYarrow boilers, which were trunked into two funnelsamidships. Her engines were rated at 150,000shaft horsepower (110,000 kW) for a top speed of 36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).[1] 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 4,160nautical miles (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[2]
Trento was armed with amain battery of eight203 mm (8 in) Mod 24 50-caliber guns in fourgun turrets. The turrets were arranged insuperfiring pairs forward andaft. 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 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 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]
Trento'ssecondary 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.[3][4]
She was protected with anarmor belt that was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick amidships with armoredbulkheads 40 to 60 mm (1.6 to 2.4 in) thick on either end. Her armordeck 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 supportingbarbettes they sat in were 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) thick. The main conning tower had 100 mm thick sides.[1]
Thekeel forTrento waslaid down at theCantiere navale fratelli Orlando on 8 February 1925. The completedhull was scheduled to belaunched on 4 September 1927, but sabotage from anti-fascist workers in the shipyard, who had mixed sand into the grease on the slipway, preventing the ship from sliding down into the water. After repeated attempts to complete the launching, the shipyard had to resort to draggingTrento from the slipway on 4 October 1927 using the passenger shipSS Principe di Udine. Afterfitting-out work was completed, the ship wascommissioned into the Italian fleet on 3 April 1929.[1][5] On 11 May 1929,Trento became theflagship of the Cruiser Division; five days later, she and hersisterTrieste began a cruise in the northern Mediterranean, which included a stop inBarcelona. The two cruisers returned toLa Spezia on 4 June.Trento started a much more ambitious cruise the following month, departing Italian waters on 23 July, bound for South America. Over the following three months, she visitedCape Verde,Rio de Janeiro,Santos,Montevideo,Buenos Aires,Bahía Blanca,Las Palmas, andTangiers, before arriving back in Italy on 10 October.[5]
On 15 September 1930,Trento embarked on a cruise to the eastern Mediterranean that concluded in La Spezia on 21 November. In mid-1931, she entered thedrydock in La Spezia for modifications to her tripod foremast; a sturdier five-legged version was installed to reduce vibration in the fire control director. On 28 January 1932,Trento steamed toGaeta, where she and thedestroyerEspero took on a contingent from the San Marco Battalion. The two ships then departed, bound for China, where they reinforced the Italian Far East Division, which included the oldprotected cruiserLibia and thegunboatsSebastiano Caboto andErmanno Carlotto. The force was tasked with protecting Italian nationals in the country during theChinese Civil War. The ships stopped inPort Said,Aden,Colombo, andSingapore en route toShanghai, where they arrived on 4 March. From 26 April to 1 May,Trento visitedNagasaki, Japan. Two weeks later, on 14 May,Trento left Shanghai to return to Italy, arriving in La Spezia on 30 June.[5]
On 6–7 July 1933,Trento took part in a majorfleet review held in theGulf of Naples for Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini.Trento became the flagship of the 2nd Division, 1st Squadron on 2 December. The ship visitedDurazzo on 23–26 June 1934, and on 1 July, became the flagship of the 3rd Division. She made another cruise in the eastern Mediterranean from 8 to 20 March 1935, during which she made calls inRhodes andLeros. On 18 June,Trieste temporarily relievedTrento as the divisional flagship. Another naval review was held in the Gulf of Naples on 27 November 1936, to honor the Regent of Hungary,Miklós Horthy, who was visiting Italy at the time.Trieste again replacedTrento as the flagship on 27 January 1937. From 10 to 12 March 1937, Mussolini took a short tour of Italian Libya aboard the heavy cruiserPola, escorted byTrento. The two cruisers stopped inBenghazi,Tripoli, andRa's Lanuf during the trip.[5]
The ship participated in another fleet review on 5 May 1938, this one held in honor of German dictatorAdolf Hitler's state visit to Italy. Another review, forPrince Paul of Yugoslavia, was conducted on 17 May 1939 in the Gulf of Naples. From 5 to 19 June,Trento joined the rest of the fleet inLivorno for the first celebration ofNavy Day on 10 June. Another cruise in the eastern Mediterranean followed on 9 July, during whichTrento stopped in Tripoli,Tobruk, Rhodes, and Leros, before returning toTaranto on the 29th of the month. From October to December, the ship underwent a major refit, which included modifications to her armament and the installation offunnel caps.[5]
On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain, joining its ally Germany inWorld War II. At that time,Trento was stationed inMessina, once again the flagship of the 3rd Division. The following day,Trento and the rest of the 3rd Division joined the 6th Division for a patrol in theStrait of Sicily, where they laid a minefield. On 8 July, the 3rd Division escorted a convoy to Libya, along with the battleships of the 1st Division; the next day, the returning warships collided with a heavily protected British convoy. In the ensuingBattle of Calabria,Trento engaged British cruisers and was heavily attacked by British aircraft, though she emerged undamaged. A force of 120 Italian aircraft arrived after both fleets had disengaged, and some Italian pilots accidentally attacked Italian vessels, prompting the fleet to paint red stripes on the forecastles of each ship. Another convoy to Libya, which passed without incident, followed on 30 July, withTrento returning to Messina on 1 August. On 31 August, the 3rd Division sortied to intercept the British convoys inOperation Hats, though the Italian fleet broke off the operation without encountering the merchant ships.Trento arrived back in Taranto on 2 September.[5]
Early on the morning of 12 October, Italian destroyers and torpedo boats engaged a pair of British cruisers in theBattle of Cape Passero; one of the destroyers,Artigliere, was badly damaged in the action.Trento,Trieste, andBolzano were ordered to relieve the Italian light forces at 08:00, though this was far too late to saveArtigliere, which was sunk about an hour later.[6] While on the way back, British aircraft attacked the Italian cruisers without success. On 21 October,Trento was moved to Taranto, and she was present in the harbor on the night of 11–12 November, when the Britishraided the port. During the attack, a single bomb hit the ship, though it failed to explode. It nevertheless damaged the forward 100 mm mount on the port side.[5]
On 26 November,Trento sortied with the fleet,[7] in an attempt to intercept another convoy toMalta.[8] The following morning, a reconnaissance floatplane fromBolzano located the British squadron.[9] Shortly after 12:00, Italian reconnaissance reports informed the Italian fleet commander,Vice AdmiralInigo Campioni of the strength of the British fleet, and so he ordered his ships to disengage. By this time,Trento and the other heavy cruisers had already begun engaging their British counterparts in theBattle of Cape Spartivento, and had scored two hits on the cruiserHMS Berwick, the second of which is credited to eitherTrieste orTrento.[10][11] ThebattlecruiserHMS Renown intervened to protect the British cruisers, which forced Campioni to commit the battleshipVittorio Veneto to the battle. This in turn forced the British cruisers to break off the action, allowing both sides to disengage.[12]
The 3rd Division escorted another convoy to North Africa on 12–13 March 1941. Two weeks later, on 27 March, the division—at this time commanded byRear AdmiralLuigi Sansonetti—sortied with the rest of the fleet for a major sweep toward the island of Crete.[13][14] At 06:55 on the 28th, an IMAM Ro.43floatplane launched byVittorio Veneto located a British cruiser squadron, and by 07:55,Trento and the 3rd Division had come within visual range. Seventeen minutes later, the Italian cruisers opened fire from a range of 24,000 yd (22,000 m), initiating the first phase of theBattle of Cape Matapan; in the span of the next forty minutes,Trento fired a total of 204 armor-piercing shells, though trouble with herrangefinders and the extreme range of the action prevented her from scoring any significant hits.[15][16]
At 08:55, the Italian fleet commander, Vice AdmiralAngelo Iachino instructed Sansonetti to break off the action with the British cruisers and turn northwest, to lure the British vessels into range forVittorio Veneto. By about 11:00,Vittorio Veneto had closed the distance enough to open fire, prompting Sansonetti to turn his three cruisers back to join the fight. The 6-inch-gun-armed British cruisers were outmatched both by the Italian heavy cruisers andVittorio Veneto, and they quickly reversed course. While the two sides were still maneuvering, a group of British torpedo bombers from Crete arrived and unsuccessfully attackedTrento and the rest of her division shortly after 12:00.[17] Further attacks from theaircraft carrierHMS Formidable convinced Iachino to break off the action and withdraw at 12:20.[18]
Later in the day,Vittorio Veneto andPola were torpedoed by British aircraft, the latter left immobilized.Trento,Trieste, andBolzano were also attacked by aircraft, but they escaped without damage.Trento reached Taranto in company with the damagedVittorio Veneto at 15:30 the following day. In the meantime,Pola and two otherZara-class cruisers were destroyed in the night action with British battleships late on the 28th.[19]
Trento moved to La Spezia on 6 May for an extensive overhaul that lasted until 5 August, at which point she returned to Messina. She took part in theDuisburg convoy on 8–9 November along withTrieste, the two ships serving as the convoy's covering force. The convoy was attacked by British warships in the early hours of 9 November, though the covering force failed to intervene and the convoy was destroyed.[13][20] Another convoy followed on 21 November, and during the crossingTrento helped to defend against a British air attack. Less than a month later, on 16 December,Trento joined most of the other heavy units of the fleet to escort two large convoys to Benghazi and Tripoli. The following day, the fleet encountered British forces covering a merchant ship steaming to Malta, leading to the inconclusiveFirst Battle of Sirte. On 22 March 1942,Trento joined the battleshipLittorio, the cruisersGorizia andGiovanni delle Bande Nere, and several destroyers in an attempt to intercept a British convoy. In theSecond Battle of Sirte, the four ships attacked Convoy MW10, but the British escorts—fourlight cruisers and eighteen destroyers—prevented the Italians from attacking the merchant ships. According to some sources,Trento scored a hit on the destroyerHMS Kingston in this action, inflicting heavy damage.[21] Two Italian destroyers,Lanciere andScirocco, foundered in heavy weather after the battle;Trento attempted to come to their aid, but they sank before she could reach them.[13]
On 14 June,Trento left Taranto withLittorio,Vittorio Veneto,Gorizia, and the light cruisersGiuseppe Garibaldi andEmanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta to attack the British convoy fromAlexandria steaming to Malta inOperation Harpoon. The following morning, while steaming in theIonian Sea, a BritishBristol Beaufort torpedo-bomber scored a hit onTrento at around 05:00. The torpedo caused a serious fire in the forwardboiler rooms, which forced the ship to stop. Some of the escorting destroyers laid a smoke screen to hide the ship from further attacks and tried to tow her back to port, but at 09:10, the BritishsubmarineUmbra torpedoed the crippled cruiser. The forwardmagazines exploded, sinkingTrento in a matter of minutes.[13] Her rapid sinking doomed many of her crew, with some 549 men out of a wartime complement of 51 officers and 1,100 enlisted going down with the ship. Among the dead was her commander, Captain Stanislao Esposito. The other Italian warships managed to rescue 602 men, of whom around a third were wounded. Of those, 21 men later died of their wounds.[22] On 18 October 1946, the postwarItalian Navy formally struckTrento from thenaval register.[13]
36°10′00″N18°40′00″E / 36.1667°N 18.6667°E /36.1667; 18.6667
