Italian cruiser Trento

	Trento early in her career
History
Kingdom of Italy
Name	Trento
Namesake	City of Trento
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: 13,334 long 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	12 × Yarrow boilers; 150,000 kW);
Propulsion	4 × Parsons steam turbines; 4 × screw propellers;
Speed	Trials: 35.6 kn (65.9 km/h; 41.0 mph); Service: 31 kn (57 km/h; 36 mph);
Range	4,160 nmi (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	Peacetime: 723; Wartime: 781;
Armament	8 × 203 mm (8 in) / 50 caliber guns; 16 × 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns; 8 × Vickers-Terni 40 mm (1.6 in) anti-aircraft guns; 8 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns; 8 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes;
Armor	Belt: 70 mm (2.8 in); Deck: 20 to 50 mm (0.79 to 1.97 in) deck; Turrets: 100 mm (3.9 in); Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in);
Aircraft carried	2 × IMAM Ro.43 seaplanes

Trento was the first of two

armored belt, though she possessed a high speed and heavy main battery of eight 203 mm (8 in) guns. Though nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers significantly exceeded the displacement

limits imposed by the treaty.

Trento frequently served as the

naval reviews

held for visiting foreign leaders.

After Italy entered World War II in June 1940, Trento saw extensive action in the Mediterranean Sea, including at the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan in July and November 1940 and March 1941, respectively. She was also present during the inconclusive First and Second Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a British destroyer. Trento was also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys to Malta. During one of the latter missions to attack the British Operation Harpoon convoy in June 1942, Trento was torpedoed twice, first by a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber and then sunk by the submarine HMS Umbra with very heavy loss of life.

Design

Trento was 196.96 meters (646 ft 2 in)

full load, though her displacement was nominally within the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) restriction set in place by the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship's superstructure included a large conning tower forward and a smaller, secondary conning position aft. She was fitted with a pair of tripod masts, one just aft of the conning tower and the second further aft. She had a crew of 723 officers and enlisted men, though during the war this increased to 781.^[1]

Her power plant consisted of four

amidships. Her engines were rated at 150,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW) for a top speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).^[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 4,160 nautical miles (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).^[2]

Trento was armed with a

aft. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a battery of sixteen 100 mm (4 in) 47-cal. guns in twin mounts, four Vickers-Terni 40 mm/39 guns in single mounts and four 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns. In addition to the gun armament, she carried eight 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes in four deck mounted twin launchers. She carried a pair of IMAM Ro.43 seaplanes for aerial reconnaissance; the hangar was located in under the forecastle and a fixed catapult was mounted on the centerline at the bow.^[1]^[2]

Trento's

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 an armor belt that was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick amidships with armored bulkheads 40 to 60 mm (1.6 to 2.4 in) thick on either end. Her armor deck was 50 mm (2 in) thick in the central portion of the ship and reduced to 20 mm (0.79 in) at either end. The gun turrets had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick plating on the faces and the supporting barbettes they sat in were 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) thick. The main conning tower had 100 mm thick sides.^[1]

Service history

The

Tangiers, 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 the

drydock 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 to Gaeta, where she and the destroyer Espero 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 old protected cruiser Libia and the gunboats Sebastiano Caboto and Ermanno Carlotto. The force was tasked with protecting Italian nationals in the country during the Chinese Civil War. The ships stopped in Port Said, Aden, Colombo, and Singapore en route to Shanghai, where they arrived on 4 March. From 26 April to 1 May, Trento visited Nagasaki, 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 major

Ra's Lanuf during the trip.^[5]

The ship participated in another fleet review on 5 May 1938, this one held in honor of German dictator Adolf Hitler's state visit to Italy. Another review, for Prince 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 in Livorno for the first celebration of Navy Day on 10 June. Another cruise in the eastern Mediterranean followed on 9 July, during which Trento stopped in Tripoli, Tobruk, Rhodes, and Leros, before returning to Taranto 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 of funnel caps.^[5]

World War II

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain, joining its ally Germany in

Operation 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 the

Battle of Cape Passero; one of the destroyers, Artigliere, was badly damaged in the action. Trento, Trieste, and Bolzano were ordered to relieve the Italian light forces at 08:00, though this was far too late to save Artigliere, 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 British raided 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,

Vice Admiral Inigo 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 the Battle of Cape Spartivento, and had scored two hits on the cruiser HMS Berwick, the second of which is credited to either Trieste or Trento.^[10]^[11] The battlecruiser HMS Renown intervened to protect the British cruisers, which forced Campioni to commit the battleship Vittorio Veneto to the battle. This in turn forced the British cruisers to break off the action, allowing both sides to disengage.^[12]

Battle of Cape Matapan

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 by

rangefinders and the extreme range of the action prevented her from scoring any significant hits.^[15]^[16]

At 08:55, the Italian fleet commander, Vice Admiral Angelo Iachino instructed Sansonetti to break off the action with the British cruisers and turn northwest, to lure the British vessels into range for Vittorio 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 and Vittorio Veneto, and they quickly reversed course. While the two sides were still maneuvering, a group of British torpedo bombers from Crete arrived and unsuccessfully attacked Trento and the rest of her division shortly after 12:00.^[17] Further attacks from the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable convinced Iachino to break off the action and withdraw at 12:20.^[18]

Later in the day, Vittorio Veneto and Pola were torpedoed by British aircraft, the latter left immobilized. Trento, Trieste, and Bolzano were also attacked by aircraft, but they escaped without damage. Trento reached Taranto in company with the damaged Vittorio Veneto at 15:30 the following day. In the meantime, Pola and two other Zara-class cruisers were destroyed in the night action with British battleships late on the 28th.^[19]

Convoy operations and loss

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 the Duisburg convoy on 8–9 November along with Trieste, 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 crossing Trento 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 inconclusive First Battle of Sirte. On 22 March 1942, Trento joined the battleship Littorio, the cruisers Gorizia and Giovanni delle Bande Nere, and several destroyers in an attempt to intercept a British convoy. In the Second Battle of Sirte, the four ships attacked Convoy MW10, but the British escorts—four light cruisers and eighteen destroyers—prevented the Italians from attacking the merchant ships. According to some sources, Trento scored a hit on the destroyer HMS Kingston in this action, inflicting heavy damage.^[21] Two Italian destroyers, Lanciere and Scirocco, foundered in heavy weather after the battle; Trento attempted to come to their aid, but they sank before she could reach them.^[13]