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History | |
---|---|
Italy | |
Name | Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta |
Namesake | Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta |
Builder | O.T.O., Livorno |
Laid down | 29 October 1932 |
Launched | 22 April 1934 |
Commissioned | 13 July 1935 |
Fate | Ceded to the Soviet Union as war reparation, March 1949 |
Soviet Union | |
Name | Kerch |
Acquired | 2 March 1949 |
Commissioned | 30 March 1949 [1] |
Stricken | 20 February 1959 |
Fate | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Condottieri-class cruiser |
Displacement |
|
Length | 186.9 m (613 ft 2 in) |
Beam | 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in) |
Draught | 6.1 m (20 ft 0 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph) |
Range | 3,900 nmi (7,200 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Complement | 578 |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
Aircraft carried | 2 or 3 Ro.43 floatplanes |
Aviation facilities | 1 catapult |
Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta was an Italian light cruiser of the fourth group of the Condottieri-class, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war, but was ceded as war reparation to the Soviet Navy in 1949. She was finally renamed Kerch and served in the Black Sea Fleet until the 1960s.
Duca d'Aosta was the namesake of the fourth subclass of Condottieri light cruisers. The design of the Duca d'Aostas derived from the preceding Montecuccoli class, with a slight increase in size and a significant increase in armour. The machinery was also re-arranged.
Duca d'Aosta was built by OTO, Livorno and was named after Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, an Italian Field Marshal of World War I.
The ship joined the 7th Cruiser Division. Ducad'Aosta took part actively of the Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War, when the cruiser shelled the port of Valencia on 15 February 1937. [2] In 1938 departed on a circumnavigation with her sister-ship, Eugenio Di Savoia. The deteriorating world political situation caused this to be cut short after visits to the Caribbean and South America, and the ships returned La Spezia in March 1939.
At the Italian entry into the war, Duca d'Aosta was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and participated in the Battle of Punta Stilo between 6–10 July. In addition, she protected North Africa convoys, took part in a fleet sortie against British cruisers and bombarded Corfu on 18 December.
During 1941, Duca d'Aosta served mostly with the 8th Cruiser Division, laying minefields off North Africa and protecting convoys. One of the convoy duties, in December, led to the First Battle of Sirte, in which Duca d'Aosta took part.
Her duties in 1942 were much as before, but with aggressive actions against Allied convoys, including the Operations Harpoon and Vigorous, in June, to resupply the British controlled island of Malta. She sailed in August to intercept the critical Pedestal convoy, but this sortie was abandoned due to poor air cover. On 13 June 1942, Duca d'Aosta survived a torpedo attack by the British submarine HMS Unison, while south of Sardinia with the Raimondo Montecuccoli. [3]
In 1943, Ducad'Aosta was inactive due to fuel shortages for most of the remainder of the year, but in August, she attempted, unsuccessfully, a bombardment of Allied positions around Palermo.
Duca d'Aosta was a "lucky ship" in that she never was damaged in any of the naval actions in which she participated nor was she ever damaged by air attack or submarine attack.
After the Italian Armistice, Duca d'Aosta had a minor refit at Taranto and in October 1943, with the cruisers Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi and Giuseppe Garibaldi, she sailed to the South Atlantic, to serve with the Allies on shipping blockade duties, based at Freetown. There were seven patrols between November 1943 and February 1944; she returned to Italy in April and, thereafter, was used only for transport.
Duca d'Aosta was transferred to the Soviet Union on 2 March 1949 and served as Kerch in the Black Sea Fleet. The cruiser became a training ship in February 1956. Kerch was stricken on 20 February 1959 and scrapped. [1]
The Battle of Calabria known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. Ships of the Regia Marina were opposed by vessels of the Mediterranean Fleet. The battle took place 30 nmi to the east of Punta Stilo, Calabria.
The Italian Navy is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the Regia Marina after World War II. Historically the Italian Navy traces its roots back to the navy of Ancient Rome. As of August 2014, the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active personnel, with approximately 184 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels. It is considered a multiregional and a blue-water navy.
The Regia Marina (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Regia Marina changed its name to Marina Militare.
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The First Battle of Sirte was fought between forces of the British Mediterranean Fleet and the Regia Marina during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. The engagement took place on 17 December 1941, south-east of Malta, in the Gulf of Sirte. The engagement was inconclusive as both forces were protecting convoys and wished to avoid battle.
Luigi Cadorna was an Italian Condottieri-class light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II; named after Italian Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna who was commander in Chief of the Italian Army during World War I.
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Eugenio di Savoia was a Condottieri-class light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war but was given as a war reparation to the Hellenic Navy in 1950. Eugenio di Savoia was renamed Elli and served until 1965.
Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi was an Italian Duca degli Abruzzi-class light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. After the war, she was retained by the Marina Militare and decommissioned in 1961. She was built by OTO at La Spezia and named after Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, an Italian explorer and Admiral of World War I.
HMS Unison (P43) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, and part of the third group of that class. She is the only craft of the Royal Navy to have borne the name Unison. Prior to receiving the name, she carried the pennant number P43 and was unofficially known as Ulysses. She was renamed Unison in 1943.
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