Profile of Italian light cruiser Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, di Giussano class
Di Giussano class
General characteristics
Displacement:	6570 tonne (standard); 6954 tonne (full load)
Length:	169.3 metres
Beam:	15.5 metres
Draught:	5.3 metres
Propulsion:	95,000 hp
Speed:	37 knots (42 knots in trials)
Range:	3800 miles at 18 knots
Complement:	507
Armament:	8 152 mm (6 inch) in twin mountings 6 100 mm (3.9 in) in twin mountings 8 37 milimeter machine-guns 8 13.2 mm machine-guns 4 533 mm (21 inch) torpedo tubes RN Giovanni dalle Bande Nere File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Ensign of the Regia Marina. ...
Protection:	Decks: 20 mm Sides: 24 mm Turrets: 23 mm Tower: 40 mm
Aircraft:	2

Di Giussano was a light cruiser class of the Italian Regia Marina. Its ships were built before World War II to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea, and were named after military commanders of the Italian Mediaeval and Renaissance periods. A light cruiser is a warship that is not so large and powerful as a regular (or heavy) cruiser, but still larger than ships like destroyers. ... The Italian Regia Marina (literally: Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Condottieri were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-fifteenth century. ...

Between the two World Wars, the world powers started a rush to gain the supremacy on the seas. In 1926, France started to produce the Le Fantasque class of destroyers, which were superior in displacement and firepower to the destroyers of that period. In order to counter the French menace, Regia Marina decided to produce a new class of cruiser that would be of intermediate size between the new French destroyer class and the cruisers built in that period. In fact, they roughly equated to the British Leander class cruisers. There have been two World Wars, now more commonly known as World War I or First World War (from 1914 to 1918), and World War II or Second World War (from 1939 to 1945). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ... The Leander class was a class of eight (including modified Australian Leanders) light cruisers built for the Royal Navy (RN), named after the character from Greek mythology. ...

The di Giussano class, designed by general Giuseppe Vian, was composed by four ships, all commissioned in 1928:

• Alberto di Giussano
• Alberico da Barbiano
• Bartolomeo Colleoni
• Giovanni dalle Bande Nere

Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking during the Battle of Cape Spada

The di Giussano were fast ships, with a good firepower. Speed was the major design criterion and this resulted in minimal protection over critical areas and underwater protection was almost completely lacking. As a result, all 4 ships were sunk by torpedoes: Bartolomeo Colleoni was an Italian Condottieri class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking during the battle of Cape Spada This article is a stub. ... Giovanni dalle Bande Nere was an Italian Condottieri class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. Her keel was laid down 1928 at Cantieri Navali di Castellammare di Stabia, Castellammare di Stabia; she was launched on 27 April 1930, and her construction was completed in... RN Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking during the battle of Cape Spada. ... RN Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking during the battle of Cape Spada. ... The battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle of World War II fought in the Mediterranean off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete on 19 July 1940. ...

• Colleoni sank during the Battle of Cape Spada (1940)
• da Barbiano and di Giussano were sunk during the Battle of Cape Bon by a group of Royal Navy destroyers (1941)
• Bande Nere sunk by torpedo from British submarine Urge, while off Stromboli (1942)

The battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle of World War II fought in the Mediterranean off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete on 19 July 1940. ... The Battle of Cape Bon was a Second World War naval action off Cape Bon, Tunisia. ... Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing one of the active volcanos in Italy. ...

External links

• Condottieri light cruiser classes