warship profile 17 - rn_zara

Pro file hiRN Zara /Heavy Cruiser 1929-1941

I7by Aldo Fraccaroli 50pLt.-Commander (Pay), INR

RN Zara at the Action off Calabria (9 July 1940). Note the 8in guns at their maximum elevation, the large battle flag ather mainmast, and admiral's flag at her fore (LUCE. Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

On board RN Zara: the fore funnel and the conning tower(Courtesy, Aureliano Molinari)

COVER PHOTO:Zara at Naples, 7 May 1938, two days after the 'Review H'

(Photograph, Li Virghi; Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Zara as she appeared on 6 August 1933

RN Zaraby Aldo FraccaroliLt.-Commander (Pay), INR

An Evocative NameThe Italian cruiser Zara, keel number 219 of theOdero-Terni yards of Muggiano (La Spezia), waslaid down on 4 July 1929.A former Zara belonged to the Austrain Navy; shewas the Torpedoschiff (torpedo ship) Zara of 840metric tons, laid down in 1878 in the Pola Navy Yardand launched on 13 November 1879 (for otherparticulars see below'). Taken over by the ItalianNavy after the First World War, she was broken upin 1920.On 4 November 1918, as the 1914-18 War wascoming to its end, the Italian torpedo boat, 55 OS,with two infantry platoons aboard, tookpossession of the old Venetian town in Dalmatia-Zara-which was later given to Italy through theTreaty of Rapallo (12 November 1920).In the following years Zara was one of the seven'Washington Treaty' cruisers of the Italian Navy,and she also gave her name to the series of cruisersmore heavily armoured than the first 10,000 tonners-Trento, Trieste and later Bolzano. These were veryfast but only very lightly armoured. It is interesting

' She had a power rating of 1 000ihp and a speed of 14 knots,her dimensions were 55x8.0x4.0 metres, and she was armedwith five torpedo tubes and five light guns. When she becameobsolete for fleet service, she was classed as a Torpedo-schu/tender (ship for torpedo craft training), armed with2-90mm, 1 -66mm, 4-47mm guns and 3 machine guns.

(Photograph, Marius Bar)

to note that the seven Italian heavy cruisers hadbeen named after the seven 'redeemed' provinces,i.e. the seventowns of Italianspeaking peoplewhich,until the Italian victory of November 1918, were partof the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Pre-First World War and War ProgrammesImmediately after the end of the First World War, theItalian Navy completed one light scout, four des-troyers and two large submarines, and laid down oneclass of light scouts and two classes of destroyers.These were part of the pre-war building programmewhich had been held up during the war because ofthe shortage of materials, steel in particular. TheItalian Navy cancelled the completion of the fourCaracciolo class fast battleships-similar to theBritish Queen Elizabeth's in several particulars,including the main armament-and also cancelledthe rebuilding of the Leonardo da Vinci, a battleshipcompleted in 1914. She had been blown up byAustrian saboteurs at Taranto in 1916, and refloatedin 1919. War had exhausted the Italian treasury andin the Adriatic Sea, the Italian battleship squadronshad been only a fleet in being. With the destructionof Austria as a naval power, Italy had nothing to fearin the Adriatic. Moreover, from wartime experienceand the new conceptions in naval warfare, lightships seemed to be adequate for the Italian post-warfleet.

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New Naval ProgrammesThe Italian naval programmes of these years, as regards cruisers, consisted of :Financialyears 1923 -4 1924 -5 1925-6 1926 -7 1927 -8 1928 -9 1929 -30 1930-318ingunnedcruisers 2 - - 2 2 1(Washington Treaty 'A' cruisers) 20,320 tons 20,320 tons 20,320 tons 10,160 tons

(Trento,Trieste)

(Zara,Fiume)

(Bo/zano,Gorizia)

(Pola)

6in gunned cruisers 4 - 2 2(Washington Treaty 'B' cruisers) 20,600 tons 10,178 tons 11,900 tons

(Alberico (Luigi (MuzioAttendoloda Barbiano, Cadorna, RaimondoAlberto di Armando Montecuccoli)Giussano,BartolomeoCo/leon/,Giovanni de/leBande Nere)

Diaz)

The yards and dates of construction of the seven 10,000 tonners were as follows :Yard ordered laid down launched completed

Trento class , 1st groupTrento Orlando, Leghorn 18 April 1924 8 Feb 1925 4 Oct 1927 3 April 1929Trieste StabilimentoTecnicoTriestino, Trieste 11 April1924 22June1925 24Oct1926 21 Dec1928

Zara classFiume Stabili mento Tecnico Triestino, Trieste 15 Sept 1928 29 April 1929 27 April 1930 23 Nov 1931Gorizia Orlando, Leghorn 16 Oct 1929 17 March 1930 28 Dec 1930 23 Dec 1931Pola Odero-Terni-Orlando, Leghorn 1930 17 March 1931 5 Dec 1931 21 Dec 1932Zara Odero-Terni, La Spezia 27 Sept 1928 4 July 1929 27 April 1930 20 Oct 1931

Trento class , 2nd groupBolzano Ansaldo, Genoa 25 Oct 1929 11 June 1930 31 Aug 1932 19 Aug 1933

The Policy of SpeedThe first two cruisers, and later Bo/zano too, were atribute paid to the fetish of speed. Indeed, Italianvessels had been remarkable for their speed fornearly 70 years (from the launch of the first Duilio,1876)' and they were nearly always several knotsfaster than similar foreign warships.For instance, Italia (launched in 1880) and her sister-ship Lepanto (1883), were not only very largewarships compared with other ships of their era(about 15,000 tons), but, with speeds of 17.8 and18.4 knots respectively, they were the fastestbattleships in the world for more than 15 years.In addition, the three battleships of Re Umberto class,the two Regina Margheritas and, in particular, thefour battleships of Regina Elena class had speeds atleast 10 per cent higher than contemporary foreignbattleships.As Fred T. Jane rightly wrote in the 1909 issue of hisFighting Ships, 'The Italian naval construction isbased upon the peculiar strategical conditionsimposed by the Italian coast line, and there is nobuilding of "ships of the line" and "cruisers" as inother navies. All armoured ships are a species of"Intermediate", and they are not officially classedas battleships and cruisers.' Indeed all Italiancombatant vessels were, in those years, classed as

navi da battaglia (battle, or fighting, ships), fromthose of 1st class (corresponding to all the largecapital ships and the armoured cruisers of otherfleets) down to those of 6th class. The latterconsisted of small scouts or torpedo-cruisers of800-1300 tons, apart from destroyers, torpedo-boats, submarines, and the navi sussidiarie (auxi-liaries).The first Italian dreadnought, Dante Alighieri,reached a speed of 22.83 knotsin dayswhen existingcapital ships had a maximum speed of 19-21 knots.The four projected super-dreadnoughts of theCaracciolo class were also to be faster than the,Queen Elizabeths. In fact Caracciolo class turbineswere to be of 105,000shp in comparison withQueen Elizabeth's 75,000, and the respectivespeeds were 28 knots (as designed) and 24 knots(as designed, 242 actually reached).

Zara ready for launching in the Odero-Terni yard. ThePrinces of Piedmont were present at the ceremony

(Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

' ..'I have just had a letter from Spezia from "our Mr Dacres"giving me an account of the trials of theDandolo,the sister-shipof Duilio. Speed on the measured mile exceeded 152 knots.

. We certainly cannot do more than 121, knots at present forthat time. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of thisexcess of speed possessed by the Dandolo.' (From a letterwritten from Port Said on 12 September 1882 to Adm. SirBeauchamp Seymour. Fisher was at that time the captain ofHMS Inflexible.) Quoted by Arthur J. Marder: Fear Godand Dread Nought, The Correspondence of Admiral of theFleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, vol I, Jonathan Cape,London,1952.

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Muggiano (La Spezia), 27 April 1930: Another view of Zara ready for launching. On the left, a slipway is ready for thelaying down of the light cruiser, Armando Diaz, whose construction was begun three months later, on 28 July


It was not only in capital ships that the Italian Navysought qualitative superiority (quantitative superior-ity being out of the question), but also in lessercategories. For instance, the four Aquila classflotilla leaders (officially'esploratori') had a designedspeed of 36.5 knots and actual of 3552 (for theslowest boat) and up to 38.04 knots (for the fastest).These were for some years among the fastest ships inthe world. This policy of speed was continued inpost-First World War construction, but, in order toobtain higher figures, the Italian Navy often ran seatrials under unrealistic conditions. For example, therewas only sufficient fuel aboard for the trials; noammunition, no torpedoes, and sometimes, neitherguns or torpedo-tubes ! Consequently, under warconditions, British cruisers of 32.5 knots were as fastas their Italian counterparts of 35 knots.

ComparisonsThe first post-war Italian heavy cruisers, Trento andTrieste, were among the fastest 10,000 tonners of allnavies. Their machinery had a contractual powerrating of 1 50,000hp and a projected maximumspeed of 35 knots, while the fastest foreignWashington 'A' cruisers were less fast: 32-33 knotsfor British cruisers, 33.8-34.3 for the Japanese,32-33 for U.S. cruisers. Only the French Duquesneclass cruisers could compete with the Trentos :Duquesne max 3530 knots (under 4hr trials) with131,770shpTourville max 3613 knots (under 6hr trials) with126,91 9shpTrento max 35.6 knots (under 8hr trials) with146,975shpwith a maximum attained of 36.05 knots.Trieste max 35.04 knots (under 8hr trials) with124,761shp but 35.65 knots taking into accountwind and sea.

(Some years later, in 1932, Bolzano reached 36.81knots with 1 73,772shp.)These speeds were paid for at the price of lightarmour, because within the limits of a standarddisplacement of 10,000 tons it was not possible tobuild ships which were, at the same time, wellarmed (most of these cruisers had eight 8in guns),very fast and heavily armoured. A salutary reactionto the Trento class resulted in the building of theZara class which were better balanced in theirfeatures.The chiefs of the Italian Navy recognised that thelarge light cruisers of 10,000 tons of the Trentotype were not able to form the backbone of theirfleet, particularly in view of the obsolescence andthe poor efficiency of the existing battleships.Indeed, Dante Alighieri, the older Italian Dread-nought, was near to her end, and was in fact laid upon 1 July 1928. The two Cavours and the two Doriashad never been technically successful ships and in1933-37 and, in 1937-49 respectively, were com-pletely reconstructed.Rear-Admiral Romeo Bernotti, the Deputy Chief ofNaval Staff' had a resolute character supported by aworld-wide reputation as a practical and theoreticalnaval expert. He proposed the building of 15,000-toncruisers for the Italian Navy, asserting that three ofthem would knock out six 10,000-ton cruisers.However, displacements of this magnitude wereforbidden by treaties, and the Italian Navy therefore

' Born in 1877, Adm. Bernotti is the author of fundamentalbooks on naval strategy and tactics, and on the history ofnaval operations in the First and Second World Wars. He wasthe Deputy Chief of the Italian Naval Staff, 21 Dec 1927-5 Oct1929, and the Chief of the Test Commission for new cruisers,17 July 1931-5 February 1932. He is still writing, and hismost recent work is a book of memoirs.

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decided to build a new type of 10,000 ton cruiser,having three knots less than the Trento type but withimproved armour. From this principle the Zara typewas born.The ships of this class constituted the first step tomeet the Italian Navy's requirement to have shipswhose qualities would give them superiority in anaval action. This had been the aim of the navi dabattaglia at the end of the nineteenth and thebeginning of the twentieth centuries. Thus the1928-29 Naval Programme consisted of two 10,000ton cruisers of the new type (Fiume and Zara), fourdestroyers of 1225 standard tons, and four sub-marines of 823 standard tons.

Possible Plans for Zara ClassThe planning of the new type, however, was not aneasy job. The Italian Staff wished to have sturdycruisers, protected with an extensive armour200mm thick, a good horizontal protection, eight8in guns and an actual sea speed of 32 knots. Adisplacement of 10,000 standard tons was never-theless insufficient to meet these requirements.Either the number of 8in guns had to be cut by twoor the armour decreased. The reduction in the mainarmament would have been acceptable only if athird cruiser were built simultaneously. This wasfinancially impossible. Accordingly the armourthickness was reduced to 150mm, giving a standarddisplacement of 11,500-12,000 tons, even aftertaking further measures to diminish the weight ofthe ship. For example, the four Zaras did not have aflush deck, but a forecastle 81 z metres long, whichextended from the bow to the base of the bridge.The project was the result of team work by the navalengineer officers of the Comitato progetti navi(Committee for projecting naval vessels). At thattime, the Chief of Naval Construction was Eng. Lt-General (Eng. Rear-Admiral) Fabio Mibelli.The displacements of the four Zaras, were, in tons:

standard normal atfullloadFiume 11,508 13,260 14,168Gorizia 11,900 13,660 14,560Pole 11,730 13,531 14,360Zara 11,870 13,580 14,530

PARTICULARS OF ZARADimensions:Length : 182.70m (overall), 179.6 (between perpendiculars)Beam: 20-624mDraught: 5-9m (standard), 7-2m (full load)Length/beam ratio was therefore 8.86, and beam/draught ratio was2.86, and the coefficient of fineness was 0.496.Armament:Eight 8in guns, 53 calibre long (called in Italy: 203/53 Ans.-vizAnsaldo built-model 1929), mounted in four twin axial turrets (B and

Launching of Zara O.T.D., Muggiano yard. Note thebulbous shape of the bow, typical of Italian navalconstruction (Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

X superimposed) formed Zara 's main armament. Their barrels werecomposed of two self-hooped elements, separable when cold, and hadWelin type breech screw blocks.Weight of gun: 25.0 metric tonsWeight of twin gun turret: 270 metric tonsMax pressure: 3200 atmospheresMuzzle velocity: 940m/secMax elevation : +45'Max depression : -5'Max range: 31,566mWeight of armour piercing projectile: 1 25kgWeight of HE shell : 111 kgWeight of cordite (in canvas bags) : 52kgRounds per minute: 3 8

These guns were suitable only for daylight engage-ments as flashless charges had not been provided bythe Italian Navy for some mysterious tactical reason(night action was considered not possible for theseships!) During 1940-1 only 15in, 6in, 4.7in and3.9in guns were provided with flashless cordite in theItalian Navy. Sixteen 3.9in guns, 47 calibre long,mounted in eight twin mountings, served for navaland AA use. These were the old so-called 10cm L50built by Skoda for the Austrian Navy before the1914-18 war, in fact, the 1910 model. Adapted bythe Italians, they were known as 100/47. Whenmounted in special mountings designed by Eng.General Eugenio Minisini, these guns had a maxi-mum elevation of 85° (depression-5°), and couldtherefore also be used as an AA weapon. These oldbarrels were later replaced by new Italian built(OTO, model 1931) 3.9in guns.3.9" Guns Old Skoda New OTOWeight of a barrel: 2020kg 2195kgMuzzle velocity: 850m/sec 840m/secMax range in metres: 15,240 (as a naval gun)Max ordinate metres: 8500 (as an AA gun)Weight of a projectile (HE shell) : 13.75kgWeight of a complete cartridge: 25-77kgWeight of cordite only : 4-7kgRounds per minute: 10

(In Autumn 1937, the two stern 3.9in twinmountings-one, to starboard, the other, to port-were replaced by two Breda 37mm 54 cal twinmountings.)Originally Zara had four 40mm 39cal Vickers-Ternimodel 1915 machine guns, in single mountings,and eight 13.2mm Breda machine guns in twinmountings. But in 1940 she no longer had the old40mm machine guns, and her light AA armamentconsisted of eight 37mm 54cal Breda model 1932and eight 13.2mm machine guns.Their particulars were:

40mm 39ca1Vickers -Terni

37mm 54ca1Bredamod 1932

13.2mmBreda

Weight of barrel, in kg : 239 275 95Weight of mounting, in kg : 711.2 1400 (twin)Maxelevation: +80' +80' +80'Max depression: -5' -10'Muzzle velocity, in m/sec: 610 830 800Max range (as a navalweapon) in metres: 7160 .. 6480Max ordinate (as an AAweapon) in metres: 4425 .. 3200Weight of shell, in g : 900 .. 52Weight of complete cartridgeing: 1290Rounds per minute(each barrel) : 200 120-150 400

Zara's magazines had a capacity of 1256 8inprojectiles, i.e. 157 rounds for each barrel; about6000 rounds for 3.9in guns; about 4000 rounds for40mm machine guns; about 12,000 rounds for13.2mm machine guns.No torpedo tubes were mounted nor was the shipfitted for minelaying.

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Protection :The side armour of Zara was 150mm thick for thearea comprising all the central part of the ship,including the turrets, machinery and magazines.This extended up to the 70mm thick armoured deck,but, under the waterline, it was reduced to aminimum of 100mm. Above the side armour, thebulwarks were protected with 30mm plates. Thefinal bow and stern transverse bulkheads plates,holding the central armoured citadel, were 120mmthick, down to a minimum of 90mm under the water-line. Above the plates they extended to the maindeck. Plates forming the main deck were of chrome-nickel steel fixed to the transverse beams andhaving a thickness of 70mm for the citadel area,reduced to 65mm along the waterway course. Thecover deck had 20mm thick horizontal plates toabsorb the initial shock of the nose caps of theenemy shells. The turrets and barbettes wereformed with special steel plates, 140-120mm thick,from the main deck to the upper deck, and of150-130mm on the upper deck.The conning tower, of circular shape with aninternal diameter of 3.30m, had vertical walls madeof 150mm thick cemented steel plates. The roofwas of 80mm armour and the bottom 70mm.Overhanging the bridge, there was the director,which also had a circular shape, with an internaldiameter of 3.50m. The vertical walls had 130mmthick steel plates, the roof was 100mm thick andthe mobile bottom was 15mm thick. The verticalarmoured tube, connecting the conning tower withthe underlying secondary fighting station (placedbetween the armoured deck and the middle deck)was 120-100mm thick.Finally, the steering gear compartment was pro-tected by means of a 30mm thick deck and byplates of 20mm at the bottom and sides.It may be of interest to compare the thickness ofarmour of the 8in gunned cruisers of the principalnavies during that period :

max maxside armour deck armour

FRANCE in mm in mmTourvi//e class 30 (only for magazines 30

and steering gear)Suffren class 60 51-60 (according

to ships)Algerie 110 80GREAT BRITAINYork/Exeter 76 38-51 (according

to ships)Kentclass 76 76ITALYTrento class 70 50Zara class 150 70+20JAPANNachiclass 102 76Atago class 102 127U.S.A.Pensacola class 76 51+25Northampton class 76 51 +25Astoria class 127 (only for boilers 76+51

and engines) -37

The relatively good armour of the Zara classcruisers, compared with the very light armour of theTrentos, caused Fiume, Gorizia, Pola and Zara to beconsidered by the Italian Navy as 'armouredcruisers'. This was after an initial period when allthe seven 8in gun cruisers had been classed as'light cruisers'. Later, both the Zaras and theTrentos were all classed as 'heavy cruisers', in order

Zara off the town of Zara (Dalmatia), from which she tookhername. Photograph taken on4June 1932

(Photograph, Aldo Fraccaroli)

Zara as completed, Autumn, 1931(Photograph byAnsaldo, S.p.A.)

to distinguish them from the cruisers of theCondottieritypes, which, being armed with 6in guns,were classed as light cruisers. The armour of theZaras had, however, not been designed to resist 1 5inshells fired from less than 4000 yards as happenedat Matapan.

Machinery:The designed power of the Zara class was of95,000hp, with a contractual speed of 32 knots and270rpm. Unlike the two Trentos and the Bolzano,which had four shafts, the Zaras had only two shafts,like the Condottieri class cruisers whose first group(the four da Barbianos) and second group (the twoCadornas) had the same engine power. The concen-tration of nearly 1 00,000hp in only two power plantswas regarded as a remarkable achievement by theRoyal Italian Navy. As a comparison, the machineryof each of Zara class cruiser weighed about 1400metric tons, and her armour weighed about 2700metric tons, while for the Trentos the correspondingweights were about 2330 and 900 metric tons.Zara had eight boilers of Thornycroft 3-drum type,which had a heating surface of 7558 square metresand produced 650,000kg of superheated steam perhour at a pressure of 25kg per square centimetre.Total fuel consumption was 53,906 kg per hour.Two groups of Parsons type, OTO-built, gearedturbines moved two three-blade propellers ofScaglia type. The entry diameters of the turbineswere 1088mm for high pressure , 1796 for lowpressure , and 1512 for the astern turbines.

Speed:During the eight hour trials, run in 1931 without theturrets and their eight guns, and without the eight3.9in twin mountings, Zara reached a maximumspeed of 34.2 knots developing nearly 11 8,000shp,with a displacement of almost 10,800 tons.

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Oil fuel capacity was normally 2150 metric tons,and her endurance was 1817 miles at full speed(about 32 knots), 3400 miles at the cruising speedof 25 knots, and 5360 miles at economical speed(16 knots).

Aviation facilities:In the bows of the cruiser there was a hangar,initially containing two 'Piaggio P6 bis' reconnais-sance seaplanes, which could be raised by a specialderrick and placed on the rail of the Gagnotto'catapult. This was operated by compressed air andsighted along the ship's centreline. Later, the P.6 bisseaplanes were replaced by M41 s, by Cant 25 ARs,by M.F.6s, and finally (1938) by Ro. 43s. Particularsof these aircraft were:

' So-called after Eng.-Major (Eng.-Lt-Commander) LuigiGagnotto who designed it.

Wingspan in metres:

Piaggio'P.6 big'1350

Total weight (including crew, armament, fuel), in kg: 1850Armament: number and calibre of machine guns(in mm) : 2-7.7Power plant in bhp: 500Maximum speed in km/h: 180Endurance in nautical miles: 240

Right: 'Y' Bin gun turret ('203mm no. 4 turret' in theItalian terminology) and the ship's motto Tenacemente'.(Tenaciously) (LUCE, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Below left and right: Zara photographed at about1932-33, from an old 12in gun Italian battleship

(LUCE, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Motto:Like nearly all the vessels of the Italian Navy, Zarahad a motto, which was Tenacemente (Tenaciously),inscribed in several parts of the ship and in particularin large brass letters on Y turret (No. 4 turret).

Price:The contractual cost of Zara was 106,000,000Italian lire.

Complement:Her established complement was of 31 officers and810 petty officers and ratings.

The CommissioningUntil the outbreak of the Second World War, Zara'shistory was not particularly eventful and her lifewas the normal one of an Italian cruiser in theMediterranean. For several years she served as theflagship of what was, at that time, the backbone of

Macchi C . R.D.A. C . M.A.S.A . I.M.A.M.'M.41' 'Cant 25AR' 'M.F.6' 'Ro.43'1082 1040 11 05 11 571530 1700 2300 2285

2-7-7 2-7-7 1-7.7 2-7.7(+1)400 410 575 700260 245 265 290470 680 600 620

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A view of Zara during her first years . Note the band on the funnels and the admiral 's flag at her main mast . For severalyears ( from 1 September 1933 until 15 September 1937) Zara was flagship of the 1st Squadron


the fleet. In fact, when she entered service, thebattleships Conte di Cavour, Giulio Cesare, AndreaDoria and Dui/io were too obsolete and slow for amodern fleet; moreover, from 1933 till 1937 Cavourand Cesare were being rebuilt. Therefore the 1stCruiser Division (Zara, Fiume, Gorizia, Pola) formedthe more important squadron of Italian fightingships (the two Trentos and Bolzano formed the 3rdDivision, although it was realised that these fastcruisers were not sufficiently armoured).Delivered by her yard to the Royal Italian Navy on20 October 1931, Zara had in Captain CountGiuseppe Raineri Biscia her first commandingofficer.

Zara 's Captains:Captain Count Giuseppe Rained Biscia, 20 October1931-27 September 1933;Captain Luigi Spalice, 20 October 1933-14 Sept1934;Captain Enrico Accorretti, 15 September 1934-14 August 1935;Captain Pellegrino Matteucci, 15 August 1935-26 September 1937;Captain Emilio Ferreri, 27 September 1937-26October 1938;Captain Antonio Muffone, 27 October 1938-1March 1940;Captain Luigi Corsi, 2 March 1940 until the sinkingof the ship (29 March 1941).

Zara's Admirals:Zara was also the flagship of the following flagofficers :Squadron Admiral (Vice-Admiral) Ernesto Burzagli,C-in-C, 1st Squadron, 1 September 1933-31October 1933;Squadron Admiral Giuseppe Cantu, C-in-C, 1stSquadron and 1st Cruiser Division, 1 November1933-30 April 1935;Squadron Admiral Umberto Bucci, C-in-C, 1stSquadron, 1 May 1935-15 September 1937;Division Admiral (Rear-Admiral) Count AlbertoMarenco di Moriondo, Commander, 1st CruiserDivision, 1 September 1938-15 November 1938;(from 16 November 1938 until 12 January 1940,

Zara served as a private ship, Fiume being thedivisional leader)Division Admiral Pellegrino Matteucci, Commander,1st Cruiser Division, 13 January 1940-12 December1940;Division Admiral Carlo Cattaneo, Commander, 1stCruiser Division, 13 December 1940 until thesinking of the ship.

Short Pre-War HistoryAfter entering service on 20 October 1931, thecruiser required some months before becomingoperational. On 5 June 1932, in the harbour of Zara,the cruiser received her battle flag. This was atraditional ceremony of the Italian Navy, consistingof the gift of a silk naval ensign by a town, anassociation of veterans, or a patriotic society. Thisensign, preserved in a valuable wood or metalcoffer, was to be hoisted when action was imminent,and when all hands were called to their battlestations. At that time, the hoisting of the battle flagwas still possible. Zara's battle flag (2-40x3.70m)was presented by a committee of ladies from Zara, onbehalf of the people of the town. HRH AdmiralFernando di Savoia, Duke of Genoa, was presentand the torpedo boats Grado with four craft of theGenerale Papa division also came to the Dalmatianharbourforthis ceremony.Some months later, summer exercises were carriedout in mid-Mediterranean between the Libyan andSouth Italian coasts. All the available new 10,000 toncruisers (and other major and minor warships) tookpart, and Zara acted as the direction ship of themanoeuvres (8-11 August 1932).

Naval ReviewsIn addition to the regular fleet activity and training,Zara took part in the naval review carried out forAdmiral Horthy, Regent of Hungary, on 26 November1936, off Gaeta. The cruiser Zara, having on boardthe King, Horthy, Prince Royal Humbert, andMussolini (Prime Minister and Armed ForcesMinister) was the leading ship of the 1st Squadron,and altogether 16 cruisers, 25 destroyers, 14 torpedoboats, and 51 submarines were engaged in the

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3.9/n AA guns and one 40mm /39cal Vickers machine gun.These old 40mm machine guns were removed in 1939-40

(LUCE, A/do Fraccaroli Collection)

exercise. Another review took place in honour of theGerman General von Blomberg (7 June 1937), andon 5 May 1938 Zara was one of the 161 navalvessels involved in the great 'Rivista H', the reviewcarried out for Hitler off Naples. At this spectacle, thecruisers Fiume and Zara fired their main guns againstthe radio-controlled ship San Marco.In April 1939, Zara was one of the ships of thesecond group (under the command of DivisionAdmiral Sportiello) charged with the task ofoccupying Durazzo (Albania). The followingmonths, saw the last naval review of the Italian Navybefore the outbreak of war. This was in honour ofthe Prince Regent of Yugoslavia, off Naples, 11 May1939.

Armament modificationsSome technical alterations were made to the ship,apart from the changes in the type of aircraftalready mentioned. In 1936 Zara's stern 5mrangefinder (placed between the second funnel andX turret) was removed. Towards the end of thefollowing year, the two stern 3.9in (100mm/47ca1)twin mountings were removed, and two twin 37mm/54cal Breda machine guns were mounted in theirplace. A shorter (base 4m) rangefinder was mountedin 1939 in the same position as the 5m instrumentremoved in 1936. The two side small rangefinders(base 3m), mounted on the mainmast's crow's nest,were taken away, together with the old 40mmVickers-Terni machine guns. These were replacedby the same number of 37mm Bredas.On 11 June 1940, when Italy entered the war,Zara's armament was as follows :8-8in 53ca1 guns (8-203/53)12-3.9in 47cal AA guns (12-100/47 AA)8-37mm 54cal Breda machine guns8-13.2mm Breda machine guns.

The Second World WarWhen Italy entered the war, RN Zara was the flagshipof the 1st Cruiser Division, including Fiume andGorizia. Her more recent sister-ship, Pola, was theflagship of the 2nd Squadron.At 0020 on 12 June 1940, the 1st and the 8thCruiser Divisions (the latter including the lightcruisers Garibaldi and Duca degli Abruzzi) sailed

Zara at the end of a summer exercise , about 1933(LUCE, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Zara in Naples bay, on 26 November 1936, with KingVictor Emmanuel //I of Italy and the Hungarian AdmiralHorthy aboard. Note the removal of the range-finder towerabaft the second funnel. In the background on the left, thedestroyer N em bo ; on the right, the destroyer La m po

(Prlore, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Zara entering the Taranto ship-canal in 1938. Note thather stern 3 9in AA mountings had been removed andreplaced by 37mm/54cal AA Breda machine guns (doublemountings)

(Photograph, Campese; Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

from Taranto in the company of their destroyerdivisions (9th: Alfieri, Carducci, Gioberti, Oriani;16th : da Recco, Usodimare, Pessagno). This forcewas intended as a support to Pola and the heavycruisers of the 3rd Cruiser Division with their eightdestroyers of the 11th and 12th Destroyer Divisions(11th: Artigliere, Camicia Nera, Aviere, Geniere;12th: Lanciere, Carabiniere, Corazziere, Ascari).These ships were searching for the British lightcruisers HMS Caledon and Calypso. The latter werenot alone, being part of the Mediterranean Fleetwhich had sailed from Alexandria (HMS Warspite,Malaya, Eagle, the 7th Cruiser Squadron and ninedestroyers). Both the British sweep and the Italiansearch were unsuccessful, but 'the cruiser Calypsowas torpedoed south of the western end of Creteat 2am on 12 June; she sank at 3.30 with a loss ofone officer and 38 ratings. It was a good performance

104

A view ofZara during her Summer cruise in the Adriatic Sea, with several visiting tourists aboard(Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

by the submarine, as the cruisers were close asternof a destroyer screen."The Italian ships of the 1st and 8th Cruiser Divisionswere attacked by five submarines whose torpedoesmissed their targets. Three anti-submarine sweeps,carried out by five divisions of destroyers and by oneof the torpedo boats, resulted in the sinking ofHM S/M Odin by the Italian destroyers Strale andBaleno.In another operation on 22-24 June, Zara and herDivision gave support to a raid by the 7th CruiserDivision and the 13th Destroyer Division againstFrench shipping and convoys in the WesternMediterranean.

Action off CalabriaThe Action off Calabria, 9 July 1940, is known inItaly as Battaglia di Punta Stilo (Battle of PointStilo). This title is not universally accepted as, inspite of the fact that many scores of warships wereinvolved, not a single ship was sunk.2 Taking partwere Pola, the flagship of Vice-Admiral RiccardoPaladini, commander of the 2nd Squadron, whichincluded the 1st Cruiser Division (Zara, flag of Rear-Admiral Matteucci, Fiume, Gorizia), and the 3rdCruiser Division (Trento, flag of Rear-Admiral CarloCattaneo, and Bolzano). These six heavy cruisers,with the 12 destroyers of the 12th, 9th and 11thDestroyer Divisions, and with the four light cruisersof the 7th Cruiser Division (Eugenio di Savoia, flag

'Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope:A Sailor's Odyssey, Hutchinson & Co Ltd, London, 1951.The submarine was the Italian Bagnolini.

'Admiral Alberto Da Zara: Pe//e d'Ammirag lio, Mondadori,Milano, 1949, at page 332.

of Rear-Admiral Luigi Sansonetti, Duca d'Aosta,Attendolo, Montecuccoli) and the four destroyersof the 13th Division, formed the outer escort to aconvoy of merchantmen Esperia, Calitea, MarcoFoscarini and Vettor Pisani, which sailed fromNaples southbound for Benghazi.The four transports, which were joined by a fifth(M/S Francesco Barbaro) from Catania, carried intotal 2190 officers and soldiers, 232 lorries, 5720metric tons of fuel and lubricants, 10,445 metrictons of miscellaneous materials. The close escortconsisted of the 2nd Cruiser Division (light cruisersBande Nere, flag of Rear -Admiral Fernando Casardi,and Colleoni), the 10th Destroyer Division, the 4thTorpedo boat division and a sub-division of oldtorpedo boats. Finally, the supporting force consistedof the 5th Battleship Division (Giulio Cesare, flag ofVice-Admiral Inigo Campioni, C-in-C, and Conte diCavour), of the 4th Cruiser Division (light cruisersda Barbiano, flag of Rear-Admiral Alberto Marencodi Moriondo, di Giussano, Cadorna, Diaz).However, Cadorna and Diaz suffered frommechanical failure and were compelled to returnhome. The other forces were 8th Cruiser Division(light cruisers Duca deg// Abruzzi, flag of Rear-Admiral Antonio Legnani, and Garibaldi), and the7th, 8th, 15th and 16th Destroyer Divisions(13 destroyers, reduced to 10 by mechanical failure).

The EnemyRanged against them was Admiral Andrew BrowneCunningham's Mediterranean Fleet, in three groups.Force A: 7th Cruiser Squadron, under Vice-AdmiralJohn Cronyn Tovey's command (five light cruisersand one destroyer); Force B: battleship HMSWarspite (with the C-in-C) and five destroyers;

105

At Naples, 7 May 1938, two days after the 'Review H. The complete Italian 1st Naval Division (left to right): Gorizia(partially visible), Pola, Zara, Fiume (flagship at that time) (Photograph, Li Virghi; Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Force C: 1st Battle Squadron, under Rear-AdmiralHenry Daniel Pridham-Wippell's command (twobattleships, one aircraft carrier, 11 destroyers).It would not be possible to describe here the wholeaction. It will be sufficient to say that Zara and hertwo sister-ships, together with the Pola (squadronflagship), sailing from Augusta, joined the two heavycruisers of the 3rd Cruiser Division, from Messinaat 0640 on 9 July.Four of the 10,000 tonners were attacked by twotorpedo-aircraft, and Zara, target of one of thetorpedoes, avoided it by altering course.

Action is joinedFrom 1550-1601 the Italian 10,000 tonners(forming a line ahead: Bo/zano leading, Trento,Fiume, Gorizia, Zara, Pola) opened fire. Zara inparticular commenced firing at 1600, aiming threesalvoes at the British light cruisers (who were out-numbered and outgunned) and her last six salvoes atthe enemy battleships. Zara ceased firing at 1616. At1609 HMS Warspite opened fire on a cruiser at therange of 24,600 yards, but no hit was scored. Theonly hits registered in the cruiser engagement byboth sides were three AP projectiles, fired fromthe British light cruisers, which struck Bo/zano at1605, damaging her steering gear, one 8in barrel ofher B turret, and her torpedo tube compartment.

Wrong IdentificationAfter the action between the opposing fleets, 126Italian aircraft, operating from the mainland,attacked the British Fleet and, in error, also theItalians (in particular the battleship Cesare and thecruisers Bo/zano and Fiume, the latter beingstraddled by four 250kg bombs), in spite of the factthat the aircraft observers were naval officers andthe Italian ships' forecastles were painted white.'Following this, Vice-Admiral Campioni ordered,national ensigns to be spread on the turret roofs andred smoke to be made from his ships' after funnels.This was the practice in peacetime exercises, inorder to distinguish the national party. Fortunatelyno bombs hit the Italian vessels. On the otherhand, 'There were no hits (on the MediterraneanFleet) and the fleet suffered no damage but therewere numerous near misses and a few minorcasualties from splinters'.2 Only one Italian aircraftwas shot down, an 'S.79', apparently hit by ItalianAA fire.

Zara in Mar Grande, Taranto. The fourth 3 9in AA doublemountings and the after range-finder tower (abaft theafter funnel) have been removed

(Photograph, Priore; Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

' Later, the white painting of the forward part of the deck orforecastle was replaced by diagonal white and red stripes, apractice in use for the rest of the war.2 REPORT OF AN ACTION WITH THE ITALIAN FLEET OFFCALABRIA, 9TH JULY 1940, Supplement to The LondonGazette of Tuesday, 27 April 1948.

106

Zara in Genoa harbour, May 1935, with practically all the Italian fleet. In the background on the right, the conning towerof Pola. The photograph was taken from aboard Fiume, whose 37mm Breda machine gun is in the foreground on the left


Operations from August till December 1940On 31st August 1940 Supermarirta, the ItalianNaval High Command in Rome, with the knowledgethat British naval forces had sailed from Gibraltareastbound and, from Alexandria, westbound, sentout 5 battleships, 13 cruisers and 39 destroyers.The battleships included the brand-new Littorioand Vittorio Veneto. The cruisers included Zara,Fiume and Gorizia forming the 1st Cruiser Division,and the three 'Trentos' forming the 3rd CruiserDivision. All these cruisers were under the commandof Vice-Admiral Angelo lachino who had replacedthe former Squadron commander, Vice-AdmiralPaladini on 25 July. The Squadron flagship Polawas also present. The Italian forces however failedto find the enemy and returned to their bases.On 29 September-1 October 1940 the Italian forcesagain sailed without success against a British convoyunder a strong escort.

During the night air attack on Taranto (11-12November 1940), Zara was moored in 'Mar Grande'(Great Sea), between Fiume and Gorizia, where sheopened machine-gun fire against the torpedo-bombers. On the following day, Zara, her Divisionand the Squadron flagship Po/a left Taranto, escortedby the 9th and 11th Destroyer Divisions, and incompany with the three undamaged battleships andtheir 10th and 13th Destroyer Divisions, arrived atNaples.Zara was not present at the action off CapeSpartivento on 27 November 1940. This was knownas 'Scontro (fight) di Capo Teulada' by the Italians.She was then under repairs, and meanwhile Fiumehad become the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Division.On 15 December, Zara and Gorizia reached LaMaddalena (Sardinia), having left the harbour ofNaples after an air attack on the previous night.During this raid Pola was hit by a bomb which

107

One of Fiume's three 'Ro.43' aircraft on the bow catapult,and the forward Bin turrets. Genoa harbour, May 1938


exploded in the compartment of No. 3 boiler. Polalisted to port, three compartments having beenflooded. Thirteen officers and men were killed and33 wounded. On 20 December both Zara andGorizia returned to Naples from where they sailed on22 December, arriving at 'Mar Piccolo' (Small Sea),Taranto, on 23 December.

Gavdo and MatapanFollowing the heavy damage inflicted on the Italianbattle forces by the air attacks on Taranto' andNaples,2 only one battleship, Andrea Doria,

' Of the three battleships damaged during the air attack on thenight of 11 -12 November 1940, Littorio was under repair from11 December 1940 until 9 March 1941 ; Duilio, after somerepairs in Taranto, was transferred to Genoa, where sheremained under repairs from 26 January 1941, returning toTaranto on 16 May 1941. Cavour was towed to Trieste on22 December 1941, but could not be repaired in time for her toplay any further part in the war.2 On 8 January 1941, Vittorio, Veneto and Cesare weredamaged by bombs at Naples, and were transferred to LaSpezia and Genoa, respectively, for repairs.' In August 1942, in contrast to the British Operation 'Pedestal',the Italian Navy could only put to sea cruisers, destroyers,MAS and MS boats, and submarines, not having sufficient fuelfor the battleships." Vice-Admiral lachino had replaced Vice-Admiral Campioni on9 December 1940, when the two Italian Squadrons werecombined to form only one. Campioni was called to Rome asVice-Chief of Naval Staff.5 Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, both launched in 1937 andoperational since August 1940, had a maximum practicalspeed of about 28 knots (more than 31 at sea trials), werearmed with 9-1 5in, 12-6in and 12-3.5in AA guns, and about50 machine guns. Their standard displacement was about41,000 tons, max almost 46,000 tons.

INZara leaving Genoa harbour in 1938. Note the chains ather bow for protective minesweeping

(Photograph, F. Cali; Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

A wartime photograph taken from aboard Zara: on theleft in foreground, her forward 8in guns, in background,3 9in AA guns; then left to right, Fiume, Gorizia, Pola.The forward part of Zara's deck is painted with diagonalred and white stripes, for aircraft recognition


remained operational after 9 January 1941. Evenwhen Vittorio Veneto had been repaired, shortage offuel prevented any extensive operations .' This putthe Italian Navy at a great disadvantage , which wasnot helped by the lack of naval aviation and aircraftcarriers , and the general unreadiness for nightfighting which derived from lack of radar.

Genesis of the OperationBy the end of February, Vice-Admiral lachino, thenew C-in-C of the Italian Fleet,4 had prepared aplan for an offensive sweep in the Eastern Mediter-ranean, employing only one of the faster and morerecent battleships of 'Littorio' classy and three of thefaster cruisers. This proposal, sent by lachino to theChief of the Naval Staff, was similar to a plan alreadyprepared by Supermarina. It was decided to carryout the raid against enemy shipping in the EasternMediterranean and the Aegean Sea on 28 March.

The PlanThe plan of the operation called for a greater numberof warships than that planned by lachino, and adouble sweep was proposed : one to the North ofCrete, in the Aegean Sea, as far as the Karavi Reefs;the other to the South of Crete as far as GavdoIsland. The forces which would take part were to be:-the battleship Vittorio Veneto (flag of the C-in-C),

from Naples,-her attendant destroyer division, the 13th:

110

Granatiere (Captain Vittorio De Pace), Fuciliere,Bersagl/ere, Alp/no, from Messina;

-the 3rd Cruiser Division : Trieste (flag of Rear-Admiral Luigi Sansonetti), Trento, Bolzano, fromMessina;

-its attendant destroyer division, the 12th :Corazziere (Captain Carmine D'Arienzo),Carabiniere, Ascari, from Messina.

The above ships formed the so-called 'lachinoGroup' and were all charged with the Southernsweep.The second force consisted of:-the 1st Cruiser Division : Zara (flag of Rear-

Admiral Carlo Cattaneo), Pola, Fiume,' fromTaranto;

-its attendant destroyer division, the 9th : Alfieri(Captain Salvatore Toscano), Gioberti, Carducci,Oriani, from Taranto;

-the 8th Cruiser Division: Duca deg/i Abruzzi (flagof Rear-Admiral Antonio Legnani) and Garibaldi,from Brindisi ;

-its attendant destroyer division (in fact only asub-division) : da Recco (Captain Ugo Salvadori)and Pessagno, from Brindisi.

These two cruiser divisions (1st and 8th), with theirsix destroyers, formed the so-called 'Cattaneo (orZara) Group', under Rear-Admiral Cattaneo'scommand, and were charged with the sweep Northof Crete, into the Aegean Sea.In addition, the Italian Navy prepared somesubmarine patrols, and five boats were ordered toreach positions between Crete and Alexandria.

Deficiency in Co -operation and InformationIt was agreed with Regia Aeronautica (Italian RoyalAir Force) and with the German X. Flieger-Korps(10th Air Korps, known in Italy as 'X CAT', viz. 10°Corpo Aereo Tedesco) to carry out reconnaissanceover Alexandria harbour and the sea areas relevantto the operation. Offensive action would also betaken against enemy ships.Co-operation between naval forces and aircraftrequires very considerable experience to be effective:it failed on this occasion because of excessiveimprovisation. Moreover, the Italian C-in-C was notkept fully informed of some very important facts.For example, he received the signal on 17 Marchfrom some German aircraft of the 'X CAT' that theyhad torpedoed and damaged two British battleships,out of the three of the Mediterranean Fleet. But hewas not told that-a week later-the same 'X CAT'had informed Supermarina that all the three Britishbattleships (with one carrier and about 14destroyers) had been observed under way offMersa Matruh, on 24 March.

Vice-Admiral lachino had several telephoneconversations with Naples, where his flagship wasmoored, and with Rome until 2030 on 26 March, butneither Vice-Admiral Riccardi, Chief of Naval Staff,nor Vice-Admiral Campioni informed him that theformer German signal was a mistake. In the sameway, lachino heard nothing of some importantchanges regarding the air reconnaissance andoperations arranged between Supermarina, the

' Gorizia was under repairs at the Taranto Navy Yard.

Another wartime view of Zara (right) in company with(right to left) Fiume, and Gorizia (plus another heavycruiser behid Fiume-possib/y Pola or Trento). Observethe after range-finder tower once again mounted aboardZara (since 1939) (Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

The 1st Naval Division at sea, in 1940-41. Left to right:Fiume, Gorizia, Zara (Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Italian General High Command, and the Commandof the Italian Islands in the Aegean Sea.

Lack of SurpriseIt would not be possible to give here a full accountof the Italian raid. The element of surprise, however,failed from the beginning because:1) 'It had already been decided (by AdmiralCunningham) to take the battlefleet to sea undercover of night on the evening of the 27th ...' ;Z2) '. . . when air reconnaissance from Malta reportedenemy cruisers steaming eastward p.m./27th ...''The latter was contained in the report, from a'Sunderland' flying boat, that three Italian cruisersand one destroyer steaming eastward had been seenin position 36° 30' N, 16° 40' E (a position lateramended). This was also decrypted by Supermarina(except for the position) but no counter-order wassent to the C-in-C afloat. This reassured him, as it waswell known that the Italian Naval High Command inRome did not confine its activities to keeping theCommander afloat informed. Unlike the BritishAdmiralty, the Italian High Command would alsointerfere with the strategic and tactical conduct ofoperations. The only change ordered by Rome wasradioed in the evening of 27 March. It cancelled thenorthern sweep planned for the 'Zara Group' for the

2 DESPATCH SUBMITTED TO THE LORDS COMMIS-SIONERS OF THE ADMIRALTY BY ADMIRAL SIR ANDREWB. CUNNINGHAM, C-IN-C, MEDITERRANEAN FLEET(published in the Third Supplement to The London Gazetteof 29July 1947).' Ditto.

111

An 'Ro . 43'taking off from an Italian heavy cruiser. Note white and red diagonal stripes on deck(LUCE, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

One ofZara's reconnaissance aircraft(Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

Two Ro.43's (not Zara's) flying over Italian cruisers, in1943 (Photograph, Aldo Fraccaroli)

following day, ordering Cattaneo to join the 'lachinoGroup' after the dawn of 28 March.At the rendezvous, the 'Zara Group' was slightlylate, being sighted by the 'lachino Group' at about0635. At about the same time a 'Ro.43' aircraft fromVittorio Veneto signalled it had sighted four enemycruisers and four destroyers.'

The Two Engagements off Gavdo Is.The 'Zara Group' took little part in the followingevents until the later afternoon of the 27th. In themorning there were two separate actions betweenthe Italian and British vessels. In the first, steamingup to 32 knots,2 the 3rd Italian Cruiser Division gavechase to the British Light Forces.3 In the second,lachino tried to cut off the Light Forces by attackingthem with his flagship and the two heavy cruiserdivisions. However, only Vittorio Veneto was able tofire at the British cruisers,4 and after twenty minuteseven this proved impossible, because, in takingevasive action to avoid air strikes, she had lostcontact with the enemy.Vittorio Veneto had been hit at 1519 by a torpedofrom an Albacore during an air strike in the afternoon.lachino therefore ordered his ships to form fivecolumns, with three heavy cruisers (Zara, Pola,Fiume) to starboard of Vittorio Veneto, and the otherthree (the 'Trentos') to ports In the centre columnthere were two destroyers leading Vittorio Venetoand two others astern . The remaining seven

' Light cruisers Orion (Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell' s flag),Ajax, Perth, Gloucester; destroyers Ilex, Hasty, Hereward,Vendetta.

112

An approach to the Action off Calabria, (known by theItalians as Battaglia di Punta Stilo), 9 July 1940. Thecruisers in the photograph are beginning from the rearship: Fiume, Gorizia, Trento, Bolzano. Not visible abaftFiume are Zara and Pola


destroyers formed the two outer columns. In thisway the damaged flagship6 was protected fromfurther aircraft attack.Throughout the day no friendly aircraft was seencovering the Italian squadron from British strikingforces , with the exception of two German ' Ju 88s',one of which was shot down by Fulmars whenattempting to counter the attacks.Meanwhile , lachino had been informed that,besides Pridham-Wippell 's Light Forces, there wasonly one enemy group at sea, consisting of a singlebattleship , one carrier and minor escorting vessels,170 miles from his own force .' Warships of theremaining Mediterranean Fleet were said to be atAlexandria . This message proved vital in the light oflater events.From 1515 to 1645, 'Zara Group, was repeatedlyattacked by bombers , but without result.

Air Strike at DuskWarned by his Intelligence that air attacks would becarried out at sunset , with his battleship as target,and that the enemy was correctly informed of thecomposition , speed and course of the Italian ships,Vice-Admiral lachino completed his countermeasures . After having sighted 10 enemy aircraftsince 1823, twenty- four minutes after sunset ( 1851),he ordered the whole squadron to alter course,steering 270°.8 The destroyers were instructed tomake smoke , and the outer warships to switch ontheir searchlights in order to dazzle the pilots. When

2 Because of mechanical troubles , the maximum speed ofTrento was 32 knots . Sansonetti therefore held the othercruisers down to this speed to avoid leaving the Trento.Sansonetti did not wish to remain with the other two cruisersagainst the four British light cruisers and, alone , Trento wouldhave been late.

It appears that Trieste fired 132 8in shots ; Trento, 214;Bolzano , 190. No direct hit was scored.

° Twenty- nine 1 5in salvoes were fired , and of the 94 projectilesa number straddled HMS Orion (who suffered slight damagefrom a near miss) and HMS Gloucester ( who became the rearship after Pridham-Wippell's immediate alteration of courseeastward under Italian fire). No direct hits were scored in thisattack.

One of Zara 's 37mm/54ca1 Breda AA double mounting,during the Action off Calabria . 9July 1940


Crews of starboard 3-9in AA guns of a heavy cruiser,possibly Zara (Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

s The 8th Cruiser Division with its two destroyers wasdetached to return to Brindisi.

6About 4000 tons of water flooded Vittorio Veneto, wholisted to port , her rudder pumps being put out of action and herengines stopped at 1530. Six minutes later the engines and therudder were partially repaired and she was able to steam again,up to nearly 20 knots , but not regularly.

In reality, Cunningham with all his Battle Force was 65 milesaway, steaming at 22 knots towards lachino's squadron.

° The ships thus offered the smallest target to the enemy, as atthe end of March the sun sets due west.

113

Between about 1620 and 1930 on 9 July 1940 (Action oft Calabria) the Iresulting in near misses, as in this view of Zara

One of the last photographs of Zara. The two small sidemounted on tripod mainmast, have been removed (in 1939)

the aircraft approached, the Italians opened a veryheavy fire with all their AA guns and machine guns,at the same time altering course, steering 30° tostarboard. The six Fulmars and the four Albacoresreleased their torpedoes. At 1945 Vittorio Venetowas able to increase speed from 15 to 19 knots,enabling the whole force to proceed faster. At 1950the AA fire ended, the searchlights were switchedoff and twenty-one minutes later the smoke screenalso ceased.

Pola torpedoedOf the 10 torpedoes only one reached a target; thiswas Pota, hit amidships at 1950. She had threecompartments flooded-her forward engine roomand boilers 4-5 and 6-7. Temporary failure ofelectricity at first prevented her from signalling, byradio or flashing, that she had been hit. She lost

^caroli Collection)Italian aircraft,

3 gin AA guns),(LUCE, Aldo Fraccaroli Collection)

speed, fell back, and finally stopped. The C-in-Clater received the news, partly from Fiume, andpartly from Pola, when able to radio. At 2018 heordered Rear-Admiral Cattaneo to turn back with his1st Cruiser Division to assist Pola. His signalcrossed that from Cattaneo (sent at 2015 andreceived at 2025 aboard Vittorio Veneto) in whichthe Rear-Admiral proposed to send two destroyersto stand by Pola.

Fatal Night SailingOn receiving Cattaneo's signal, lachino decidedthat two destroyers would be insufficient assistancefor the damaged cruiser. He therefore confirmed(at 2038) his original signal, ordering Cattaneo toturn back with Zara, Fiume and their attendantdestroyers. In the meanwhile Pola was requesting atow. This second order reached Zara at 2045, and the

114

Only one ship of the three cruisers sunk off Matapan was camouflaged: Fiume, whose experimental camouflage waspainted in March 1941, a few weeks before her loss. This is probably the only existing photograph of Fiume dazzlepainted-a 'mondial first'photograph (Copyright photograph by Aldo Fraccarol/)Note: The plan of this experimental camouflage does not exist

A viewofZara taken in about 1940

six ships turned back at 2106, in line ahead: Zara(flagship; Captain Luigi Corsi), Fiume (CaptainGiorgio Giorgis), Alfieri (leader of the 9th DestroyerDivision, Captain Salvatore Toscano), Gioberti,Carducci, Oriani.Surprisingly, Cattaneo proceeded with his majorunits ahead, and the four destroyers in line, astern.'He also proceeded at slow speeds which increasedhis delay in reaching Pola.Cattaneo, leading the formation, ordered Fiume(2157) to make ready to tow Pola. The operation


was hardly under way, when the 1st Italian Divisionwas sighted by the British Mediterranean FleetBattle Squadron-a surprise for both sides. The

' This was contrary to standard night cruising regulations. Itmight have been excusable if anything seen forward could beconsidered to be an enemy ship and therefore to be fired on.It must also be remembered that, as had already been stated,Zara's class main guns were notfitted for night engagements.

3 Rear-Admiral Cattaneo ordered the following speeds: from2107 till 2125: 16 knots, from 2125 till 2203: 22 knots,from 2203 till 2220: again 16 knots.

115

The first camouflage of Gorizia, (the only survivor of the Zara class cruisers after the night action off Cape Matapan), wasordered by the C-in-C of the Italian Fleet on 15 February 1942. This was carried out at the end of February. The initialareas of white paintwork were later (in Summer 1942) replaced by light grey. This photograph shows Gorizia steamingat 30 knots towards the enemy, at about 1030 on 22 March 1942, just before the Second Battle of Sirte


130

150 7UTurret B

30

Turret X

151

120

70

- - - Waterline

150

140

120

15Turret Y ^-

150

1401 1 140

120 70

-20-- ------00---i 20 I

Zara thickness of armour-figures are in mm

latter was already on the alert, because the immobilePola had been plotted, at 2015, by Orion's radar,and at 2210 by Valiant's. HMS Warspite (flag of theC-in-C, Admiral A. B. Cunningham), Valiant andBarham altered course and trained their 1 5in guns onthe stationary vessel. At this moment CommodoreEdelsten saw in the darkness the silhouettes of twomore large ships' moving in the darkness. AdmiralCunningham at once ordered his battleships to turnto starboard, and turrets were swung round to thenew target.

SurpriseSuddenly Zara was illuminated by HMS Greyhound'ssearchlight, and at the same moment HMS Warspiteopened fire at about 3800 yards-a point-blankrange for her main armament. Fiume was hit by five

' Visibility was, evidently, asymmetrical. British sources statethat a smaller Italian ship was ahead of the two heavy cruisers.At first (Cunningham's Narrative and others) this smaller vesselwas described as a 6in gun ship; later it became the destroyerAlfieri. But all the Italian survivors' accounts agree on the factthat the leading ship of the line was Zara, followed by Fiumeand then the four destroyers. Obviously, this discrepancybetween British and Italian accounts may give rise to differencesregarding the position of the Italian ships involved in the nightengagement, and thus affect their names. The author has madeevery endeavour to obtain the maximum accuracy.2 Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope:A Sailor's Odyssey, cit.

(Profile Publications Ltd)

out of six 1 5in shots of her first broadside. A fewseconds later the searchlights of the other Britishvessels were switched on, star-shells were fired andCunningham's flagship began firing also with hey'6in guns at Fiume. At the same time Fiume was hit byValiant's first salvo of four 1 5in shells; Valiant thenshifted target (as her X and Y turrets did not bear onFiume), and, training her turrets on Zara, in aboutthree minutes fired five full broadsides on theItalian ship. Meanwhile, Warspite, having fired twobroadsides on Fiume, also turned her attention toZara, who was hit at 3000 yards. 'The plight of theItalian cruisers was indescribable. One saw wholeturrets and masses of other heavy debris whirlingthrough the air and splashing into the sea, and in ashort time the ships themselves were nothing butglowing torches and on fire from stem to stern.'2The four Italian destroyers, whilst attempting to closeon the enemy battleships to fire their torpedoes,were fired upon. Alfieri, was sunk after firing foursalvoes with her 4.7in forward mounting and threetorpedoes (none of which scored a hit), whilstCarducci, repeatedly hit and damaged, wasscuttled.

Zara 's Last MomentsRegia Nave (His Italian Majesty's Ship) Zara, withher turrets trained fore and aft, tried to reply with her

116

G

Stern

Propeller

HP

LP 7

0

5

4

3

LP

HP

1

2

Machinery disposition aboard the Italian cruiser Zara. G=geared reduction; HP=high pressure; LP=low pressure.1=number of the boiler (4, 6, 8=small boilers) (Profile Publications Ltd)

Zara as she appeared on 6 A ugust 1933 (Photograph, Marius Bar)

117

Zara type8in turret (203/53Ans. mod 1929)

3.9in guns, but even this was impossible. Thetremendous damage to her installations preventedher from retaliation. Her helm no longer answeredand at least five boilers had been put out of action.A-turret, hit by a shell, had been annihilated and theintercoms and the directors were also out of action.Only a machine gun fired.For some hours Zara's surviving officers and crew,maintaining perfect discipline, tried to put out thefires. The ship still remained afloat although further

hit by torpedoes and gunfire from HMS Stuart andHavock. At last, however, Captain Corsi realised thatit would be impossible to save the vessel. In order toprevent her falling into the hands of the enemy, heordered her to be scuttled by flooding her hull.Rear-Admiral Cattaneo agreed.Before abandoning ship, about 200-250 officers andmen gathered at the stern, and together with theiradmiral and their captain gave the traditional Italiancheer :'VivailRe !'The executive officer, Commander

118

Giannattasio, then led a party of volunteers to sinkthe ship by blowing up the stern magazines.Many men died as the sea was very cold, rafts andcarley floats being damaged by gunfire. Among thedead were Rear-Admiral Cattaneo and Captain Corsi.Finally Zara received three torpedoes out of fivefired by HMS Jervis, and sank-her battleflag stillflying-in 35° 20' N, 20° 57' E, at 0240 of 29 March1941. Losses were : 30 officers and 752 men.

Sister - ships' FateR.N. Fiume was the first cruiser to sink at about 2315of the 28th, in 35° 21' N, 20° 57' E, with the loss ofher commanding officer, Captain Giorgis, 32 officersand 780 men.R.N. Pola, who had not received the fire of anyenemy warships, had no prospect of escaping.Accordingly her commanding officer, CaptainManlio De Pisa, ordered the valves to be opened toscuttle her. However, eight British destroyerssurrounded her and H MS Jervis boarded Pola, takingoff 258 men. Losses were 328. Then one torpedofrom Jervis and another from Nubian struck Pola,who blew up, sinking at 0403 of 29, in 35° 15' N,21°00'E.On the morning of the 29th, 1015 men were pickedup by British destroyers, a further 110 on the night of29th by Greek destroyers, and 161 by the Italianhospital-ship Gradisca between 31 March and3 April.The fourth ship of the Zara-class, RN Gorizia,was sunk in shallow waters, at La Spezia on 26 June1944, by British 'chariots' and Italian frogmen,brought in by the destroyer Grecale and MS 74.She had been there at the time of the Italian armistice

Zara armour thickening amidships-figures are in mm

(8 September 1943) and had been captured by theGermans. After the war, in 1946, her hull wasdismantled.

War OperationsDuring the war, from 11 June 1940 to 8 September1943, the four Zaras carried out the followingoperations:

War hoursinactive

fuel burnt, for

Fiume

operations,numbers9(+12various)

milescovered10,939

underway558

metrictons8578

repairs,days76

Gorrzia 36 (+20 various) 27,672 1471 20,929 207Polo 12(+8 various) 13,174 611 8813 57Zara 10 (+16 various) 11,498 584 7843 25

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe author would like to express his thanks for theirassistance to : Ammiraglio di Squadra Carlo Paladini,Director of the Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare,Rome; and Generale del Genio Navale GinoGaluppini, of the same Ufficio Storico; Dr FrancoBargoni, Rome: Signor Mauro de Pinto, President ofthe 'Associazione Marinara Aldebaran', Trieste.

Warship Series Editor : JOHN WINGATE, Esc

(Profile Publications Ltd)

waterline

119

Zara as completed, Autumn 1931 (Photograph byAnsaldo, S.p.A. )

Warship"`seriesThe most ambitious series so far conceived and produced by Profile Publications Limited. This new inter-national series will span the era of the modern fighting ship from the launching of the Dreadnought in 1906up to the present day ship-a complex of floating electronics, weaponry and technology. Profile have createda team of international experts in naval history backed by a first rate group of researchers and consultants.This new series will continue to reflect the high standard of the Profile series already published. Present-ation will follow the format which has proved so popular with the other series with first rate text,supported by many superb black and white illustrations and, of course, the famous Profile colour centrespread which will show complete side and plan views of each warship and, where applicable, additionalinformation such as ships' badges, camouflage schemes, cross sections and details of ships' fittings.

Titles already published1. HMS Dreadnought 9. USS Charles Ausburne (DD-570)2. HMS Cossack 10. HMS Illustrious3. USS Hornet (CV 8) 11. HMS Illustrious4. Kriegsmarine Admiral Graf Spee 12. IJN Kongo5. HMS Campbeltown (USS Buchanan) 13. HMS Exeter6. Kriegsmarine Prinz Eugen 14. SMS Seydlitz7. HM Motor Torpedo Boat ! Vosper 70ft. 15. USS Enterprise (CVAN 65)8. Kriegsmarine U-107 16. HM Submarine Upholder

Next 12 titles are 19. HMS Hood

17. R It. N ZaraLaid down in 1929, this 8in. gunned cruiserformed the backbone of Mussolini's cruiser forces.A superb ship, she ended her life a blazing infernoat the Battle of Matapan: by Lt.-Commander(Pay), Italian Naval Reserve, Aldo Fraccaroli,naval historian.

Special AnnouncementOne of the most dramatic encounters in WorldWar II, HMS Hood's and Prince of Wales's engage-ment with KM Bismark and Prinz Eugen, has beenrecorded in Warship Profiles Numbers 18 and 19which are both being issued during May, 1972.This important publishing achievement is beingmarked by the provision of a `double-double' pagegate-fold centre-spread in colour of each protag-onist.The author of HMS Hood is R. G. Robertson, CA,who was the last man to leave the ship when shesailed from Scapa Flow for her final sortie. Fregatt-enkapitan a.D. Paul Schmalenbach, who was PrinzEugen's Gunnery Officer during the action, is theauthor of KM Bismark; he also wrote WarshipProfile No. 6, KM Prinz Eugen.

18. KM BismarckWith Tirpitz, Germany's other battleship, Bismarck,was the pride of the German fleet. `Big Brother' toPrinz Eugen, she forayed into the Atlantic in May1941, where, after sinking HMS Hood, she washunted and eventually destroyed by units of theRoyal Navy: by Fregattenkapitan Paul Schmalen-bach, author of Warship Profile No. 6, Prinz Eugen,whose Gunnery Officer he was for the duration ofWorld War II.

The `Mighty Hood', the most graceful warship ofher time, held pride of place in the hearts of theBritish public. A superb battle cruiser, she bore aninherent defect in design which was to lead toterrible disaster: by R. G. Robertson, the lastman to leave Hood at Scapa Flow when she sailedfor the Atlantic and her encounter with Bismarck.

20. HMS HesperusThe ex-Brazilian `H'-class destroyer who, asleader of Commander Donald Macintyre's EscortGroup, successfully harassed the German U-boats.KRESCHMER, the brilliant U-boat commander, whoranked only with PRIEN, was sunk and captured byCommander Macintyre in Hesperus: by CaptainPeter Dickens, D.S.O., M.B.E., D.S.C., R.N. (Retired).

21. USS Tennessee (BB 43)

This famous battleship was built during the super-Dreadnought era of World War I and served in theUSN until placed in reserve after World War II.Receiving only minor damage during the Japaneseattack at Pearl Harbour, Tennessee was expensivelyrebuilt in 1942 and rejoined the Pacific Fleet forits attack on Japan. Ironically, it was Tennessee andher `old contemporaries', salvaged off the bottomof Pearl Harbour, who were destined to fight thelast battleship-to-battleship engagement in history,vice the big, new super battleships: by CommanderW. H. Cracknell, USN.

22. IJN Yukikaze23. HMS Furious24. HMS Furious25. SMS Emden26. FF. S/M Rubis27. SMS Torpedoboat B. 11028. USS Indianapolis (CA 33)

Available from your local book or model shop at 50p or if in difficulty direct from the mail order department of the publishers

Profile Publications Ltd, Coburg House , Sheet Street , Windsor , Berks . SL41 EBAlso published by Profile Publications Limited are the world-renowned Aircraft, Loco, AFV and Car Series.

Warships in Profile 1

VOLUME 1 WARSHIPS IN PROFILEGeneral Editor: John Wingate DSC

Exciting launch to impressive series devoted to the famous and infamous surface and underseavessels of the world's navies. Superbly detailed plan and side views; full-colour two-pageplates by Profile artists. Vol. 1 : 12 titles, approximately 7000 words each, with 420 photos plusarchitectural drawings.Warships included are: HMS Dreadnought; HMS Cossack; USS Hornet (CV8); K.A. GrafSpee; HMS Campbeltown; Kriegsmarine Prinz Eugen; HM Motor Torpedo Boats;Kriegsmarine U-107; USS CharlesAusburne; HMS Illustrious: Parts 1 and 2; IJN Kongo,

304pp. Index. Glindura covers. Size 10in x 72in.Price ( UK) £7.50 SBN 85383 060 6

Profiles are remarkable value for money, and are usually available from bookshops and model shops

In case of difficulty please contact the publishers:

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Warship Profile and its contents are copyright © Profile Publications Limited, Coburg House, Sheet Street, Windsor, Berkshire, EnglandPrinted in England by Chichester Press Limited, Chichester, Sussex April 1972

warship profile 17 - rn_zara

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