| Italian cruiser San Marco | |
|---|---|
 San Marco steaming at high speed | |
| Career (Italy) |  |
| Name: | San Marco |
| Namesake: | Saint Mark |
| Ordered: | 18 September 1905 |
| Laid down: | 2 January 1907 |
| Launched: | 20 Dec 1908 |
| Struck: | 27 February 1947 |
| Fate: | Broken up 1949 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class & type: | San Giorgio class armoured cruiser |
| Displacement: | 11,300 t full load |
| Length: | 131.0 m (429 ft 9 in) pp, 140.8 m (462 ft 2 in) oa |
| Beam: | 21.0 m (68 ft 11 in) |
| Draught: | 7.3 m (21 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons Turbines |
| Speed: | 23.2 knots (43 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,270 nmi (11,610 km) |
| Complement: | 32 officers, 666–673 men |
| Armament: |
4× 254 mm (10 in) guns, |
| Armour: |
Side 200 mm (7.9 in) |
The San Marco was an armoured cruiser of the Royal Italian Navy (Italian: Regia Marina) that saw action in the Italo-Turkish War and World War I.
Design and Construction[]
The ships of the San Giorgio class were ordered as improved versions of the Pisa-class cruisers. They had the same main armament as the older ships, but various improvements were made to the ship's armor, the forecastle was raised, and crew accommodations were improved.[1]
San Marco's design featured several new innovations that differentiated it from the San Giorgio. San Marco was the first Italian cruiser to use steam turbines.[2] San Marco was the first ship to feature a gyroscopic compass, the first ship with anti-rolling water tanks, and the first turbine-fitted ship with four propellers.[3]
Operational History[]
San Marco was launched on 20 December 1908 at Castellammare di Stabia, Italy. During her steaming trials at Spezia, San Marco was required to give half a knot more than San Giorgio, a requirement she easily surpassed.[2]
San Marco first saw service in the Italo-Turkish War, where she took part in the capture of Derna, Libya and supported Italian troops at Benghazi.[4]
San Marco also saw action during the First World War, and participated in the Battle of Durazzo (1918), shelling the port of Durazzo alongside San Giorgio.[5]
Even during the First World War, San Marco was growing obsolete.[3] In 1931-1936, she was converted into a radio-controlled target ship, controlled by the torpedo boat Audace.[1] During the Second World War, she was captured by the Germans at La Spezia on 9 September 1943, and was found sunk in La Spezia naval yard at the end of the war. She was broken up for scrap in 1949.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gardiner, Robert (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 252, 261–262. ISBN 0 85177 245 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=V2r_TBjR2TYC&lpg=PA261&dq=cruiser%20san%20marco&pg=PA262#v=onepage&q=cruiser%20san%20marco&f=false.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Attilio, Dagnino (December 1911). "Italy's First Turbine-Driven Cruiser, the San Marco". pp. 477–480. http://books.google.com/books?id=n27mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA477&dq=san+marco+cruiser&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XLFMUcecGKrA4AOG2YHIDQ&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBQ#v=snippet&q=San%20Marco&f=false. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Osborne, Eric (2004). Cruisers and Battle Cruisers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 83. ISBN 1-85109-370-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=PryqSiAk9y4C&lpg=PA83&dq=cruiser%20san%20marco&pg=PA83#v=onepage&q=cruiser%20san%20marco&f=false.
- ↑ Beehler, William (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War: September 29, 1911, to October 18, 1912. Annapolis, Maryland: The Advertiser-Republican. pp. 9, 30, 47, 49. http://books.google.com/books?id=OWcoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=San%20Marco&f=false.
- ↑ Koburger, Charles (2001). The Central Powers in the Adriatic, 1914-1918: War in a Narrow Sea. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 112. ISBN 0-275-97071-X. http://books.google.com/books?id=FYqLUs2rzIAC&lpg=PA112&dq=san%20marco%20cruiser&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q=san%20marco%20cruiser&f=false.
| |||||||||||
The original article can be found at Italian cruiser San Marco and the edit history here.