Italian cruiser Eugenio di Savoia
Encyclopedia
Eugenio di Savoia was a Condottieri class
Condottieri class cruiser
The Condottieri class was a sequence of five, different, light cruiser classes of the Regia Marina , although these classes show a clear line of evolution. They were built before World War II to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea...
light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
, which served in the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She survived the war but was given as a war reparation to the Hellenic Navy
Hellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence...
in 1947. She was renamed Elli and served until 1964.
Design
Eugenio di Savoia was part of the fourth group of CondottieriCondottieri class cruiser
The Condottieri class was a sequence of five, different, light cruiser classes of the Regia Marina , although these classes show a clear line of evolution. They were built before World War II to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea...
light cruisers, also known as Duca d'Aosta class. The design of the Duca d'Aosta class was based on the Montecuccoli class
Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli was a Condottieri class light cruiser serving with the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war and served in the post-war Marina Militare until 1964.-Design:...
, with a slight increase in size and a significant increase in armour. The machinery was also re-arranged.
Eugenio di Savoia was built by Ansaldo, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and named after Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
. It is ironic that both Eugenio di Savoia and her Kriegsmarine namesake Prinz Eugen
German cruiser Prinz Eugen
Prinz Eugen was an Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser, the third member of the class of five vessels. She served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down in April 1936 and launched August 1938; Prinz Eugen entered service after the outbreak of war, in August 1940...
honour a General who was such a staunch ally of the British in an earlier era.
Career
As results of the pact between Franco and Mussolini, on February 13, 1937, the ship take action near the coast of Barcelona (Spain), bombarding the city and causing 18 deaths.The ship joined the 7th cruiser division and went on a circumnavigation of the globe with her sister ship in 1938-39. Returning to La Spezia in March 1939. During the war she fought in the following actions;
- Battle of Punta StiloBattle of CalabriaThe Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
- Operation Harpoon (1942)Operation Harpoon (1942)Not to be confused with Operation Harpoon Operation Harpoon was one of two simultaneous Allied convoys sent to supply Malta in the Axis-dominated Mediterranean Sea in mid-June 1942, during the Second World War. One convoy, Operation Vigorous, left Alexandria. The other, Operation Harpoon, travelled...
- the very battle in which she crippled . - Operation PedestalOperation PedestalOperation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies...
She was hit during an air strike carried out by Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bombers while berthed in Napoli on 4 December 1942. Two other cruisers, Montecuccoli
Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli was a Condottieri class light cruiser serving with the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war and served in the post-war Marina Militare until 1964.-Design:...
and Attendolo
Italian cruiser Muzio Attendolo
Muzio Attendolo was a light cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina, which fought in World War II. She was sunk in Naples by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces on 4 December 1942...
were badly hit and the latter sunk. After the armistice in 1943, she was used as a training ship in Suez. She was transferred to Greece in 1949 as part of the Peace treaty. She was renamed Elli
Greek cruiser Elli II
Elli was a 10,000 ton Greek light cruiser named for a naval battle of the First Balkan War in which Greece was victorious. She was the second ship of the Royal Hellenic Navy to bear this name...
(Έλλη) and served until 1965.
Video
Italian newsreel footage of an IMAM Ro.43IMAM Ro.43
|-Newsreel clip:An Italian newsreel footage of a Ro.43 launching from a catapult aboard the Italian light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia can be viewed at YouTube as .-References:...
reconnaissance floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
launching from a catapult
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
aboard Eugenio di Savoia can be viewed at I.M.A.M Ro 43 Hidroavion Catapultable Regia Marina.