Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi (1936)

"Giuseppe Garibaldi" was an Italian "Duca degli Abruzzi" class light cruiser, that served in the "Regia Marina" during World War II. After the war she was retained by the Marina Militare and rebuilt. She was built by CRDA, Trieste and named after the Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Decommissioned in 1953, "Giuseppe Garibaldi" was converted between 1957 and 1961, at the La Spezia shipyards, into a guided missile cruiser.

Design

The "Duca degli Abruzzi" class cruisers were the final version of the "Condottieri" class and were larger and better protected than their predecessors. The armament was also increased by two extra 152 mm guns, triple turrets replaced twins in the A and Y positions. The machinery was also revised which led to these ships having a slightly slower maximum speed than their predecessors.

World War II service

1940

* 9 July: Battle of Calabria, during which a shell from "Giuseppe Garibaldi" hit HMS "Neptune", damaging her catapult and the reconnaissance aircraft
* 1 September: operation "Hats"
* 29 September: operation "MB 5"
* 11 November: present during the "Night of Taranto" when Italian fleet attacked at anchor by Royal Navy aircraft

1941

* 27 March: Battle of Cape Matapan. The commander of the ship is the "Capitano di Vascello" (Captain) Stanislao Caraciotti;
* 8 May: "Tiger" convoy
* 28 July: damaged by British submarine "Upholder"
* 20 November: "Force K" in Malta

1942

* 3 January: Italian convoy "M 43"
* 7 March: Operation "V 5"
* 14 June: convoy "Vigorous" for Malta

After the armistice (8 September 1943), she operated in the Atlantic ocean together with Allied ships.

Recommissioning as a guided missile cruiser

After the war she was retained by the Marina Militare and modernized with minor changes of the armament and a radar. She was decommissioned in 1953 and reconstructed as a guided missile cruiser.

The new ship was rebuilt in the La Spezia Arsenal starting from 1957, and, at her completion in 1961, she was named flagship of the Italian Navy.

The reconstruction included a complete overhauling of the superstructure, while the hull kept its original dimensions.

Apart from some minor changes, much of the latter's rebuilding included four launchers for US UGM-27 Polaris nuclear ballistic missiles. Despite the successful launching tests, the US never provided the missiles, due to political convenience. Instead the Italian Government set to develop an indigenous missile, called Alfa, with a succesful program, offically halted by Italian NNPT ratification.

The propulsion system remained the same. The rest of the armament was radically altered: a RIM-2 Terrier missile launcher made "Giuseppe Garibaldi" the first missile cruiser in Europe. The previous artillery was replaced by four 135/45 mm guns in two twin turrets and eight Oto Melara "76/62 mm Type MMI" AA guns.

Electronics included several radars and fire control systems.

She was decommissioned in 1971 and scrapped the following year.

Other ships with the same name

"Giuseppe Garibaldi" is the third ship of the Italian Navy named after the 19th century Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Previous ships with the same name are:
* a frigate (1861)
* an armoured cruiser (1901)

The aircraft carrier "Giuseppe Garibaldi", launched in 1983 and commissioned on September 30 1985, is in service as flagship of Marina Militare.

All the ships named Garibaldi had as motto "Obbedisco".

References

*

External links

* [http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/Almanacco/Parte04/Navi0426-01.asp Italian light cruiser Garibaldi on Marina Militare official web site]
* [http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/Almanacco/Parte04/navi0432.asp Italian guided missile cruiser Garibaldi on Marina Militare official web site]