Italian battleship Conte di Cavour
Encyclopedia : I : IT : ITA : Italian battleship Conte di Cavour
| |
| Career | 
|
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 1910 |
| Launched: | 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 1915 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 May 1928 |
| Reconstructed: | 1933–1937 |
| Fate: | captured (1943) |
| Struck: | 1947 |
| General Characteristics (before reconstruction) | |
| Displacement: | 23,088 tons standard, 25,086 tons full load |
| Length: | 168.9 - 176.1 m |
| Beam: | 28 m |
| Draught: | 9.4 m |
| Propulsion: | 20 boilers, 4 shafts, 31,000 hp |
| Speed: | 21.5 knots (41 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,800 miles at 10 knots |
| Complement: | 1,000 |
| Armament: | 13 305/46 mm, 18 120/50 mm, 16 76/50 mm, 6 76/40 mm, 3 450 mm torpedo launchers |
| Aircraft: | 0 |
| Protection: | max 280 mm (vertical) 111 mm (horizontal) |
| |
| General Characteristics (after reconstruction) | |
| Displacement: | 28,800 tons standard, 29,100 tons full load |
| Length: | 168.9 - 186.4 m |
| Beam: | 28 m |
| Draught: | 10.4 m |
| Propulsion: | 8 boilers, 2 shafts, 93,000 hp |
| Speed: | 28 knots (53 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,100 miles at 20 knots |
| Complement: | 1,236 |
| Armament: | 10 320/44 mm, 12 120/50 mm, 8 100/47 mm, 8 37/54 mm, 12 20/65 mm |
| Aircraft: | 0 |
| Protection: | max 280 mm (vertical) 135 mm (horizontal) |
Conte di Cavour was an Italian Conte di Cavour class battleship, that served in the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II. It was named after the Italian statesman Count Camillo Benso di Cavour.
Construction and first years
Built on a project of general Masdea, Conte di Cavour was based in Taranto, in the forthcoming war against Austria-Hungary (World War I). At the beginning of the war, 24 May 1915, Conte di Cavour became the flagship of the rear-admiral Luigi Amedeo di Savoia. During the war, the battleship had no active missions, since it was impossible to engage the enemy: it performed 966 hours of training exercises compared to 40 hours spent in 3 war actions.
After the war, Conte di Cavour had a propaganda cruise in North America, entering in the ports of Gibiltrair, Ponta Delgada, Fayal, Halifax, Boston, Newport, Topkinsville, New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Hampton Roads.
In summer 1922, king Vittorio Emanuele III travelled on Conte di Cavour to pay visit to the freed Italian cities in the Adriatic sea. It was also used in Benito Mussolini travel to Tripoli, in April 1925.
On 12 May 1928, in Taranto, was disarmed; five years later, in October 1933, Conte di Cavour was transferred to Trieste, to be re-constructed.
Re-construction and World War II actions
The reconstruction process left only 40% of the original structure. The central 305 mm tower was removed, and the remaining guns of the same caliber were upgraded to 320 mm. The new motors were able to provide 93,000 hp, allowing Conte di Cavour to reach 28 knots. Overall, it was a good unit, even if with weak anti-aircraft and submarine protections.Conte di Cavour was returned to Regia Marina on 1 June 1937; it was in Taranto at the beginning of the World War II, on 10 June 1940.
On 10 September 1943, Conte di Cavour was captured by Germans, but later abandoned during Trieste bombing (15 February 1945). The battleship was scrapped on 27 February 1947.
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