Zara is a type of heavy cruiser of the Italian fleet. In total, 4 units were built: Zara ( Zara ), Fiume ( Fiume ), Gorizia ( Gorizia ), Pola ( Pola ).
| Zara heavy cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Incrociatore pesante classe zara | |
 Heavy cruiser Zara | |
| Project | |
| A country |
|
| Preceding type | Trento |
| Subsequent type | Bolzano |
| Years of construction | 1928-1932 |
| Years in the ranks | 1931-1944 |
| Built | four |
| Losses | four |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | Standard: Zara - 11 870 tons , Fiume - 11 508 t, Gorizia - 11 900 t “Paula” - 11 730 t |
| Length | 179.6 / 182.7 m |
| Width | 20.7 m |
| Draft | 7.2 m |
| Reservation | Belt - 150 ... 100 mm; upper belt - 30 mm; traverses - 120 ... 90 mm; deck - 70 ... 65 + 20 mm; towers - 150 ... 100 mm; Barbets - 120 mm; cutting - 150 mm |
| Engines | 2 TZ Parsons |
| Power | 95,000 liters with. |
| Mover | two screws |
| Speed | 32 knots |
| Sailing range | "Zara" - 5361, Fiume - 4480, Gorizia - 5434, Paula - 5,230 nautical miles at 16 knots |
| Crew | 841 people |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 4 × 2 - 203 mm / 53 |
| Flak | 6 × 2 - 100 mm / 47 , 4 × 2 - 37 mm / 54 , 4 × 2 - 13.2 mm machine gun |
| Aviation group | 1 catapult, 3 seaplanes [1] |
All Italian heavy cruisers were named after the cities received by Italy after the First World War (currently the cities of Zara , Pola and Fiume belong to Croatia ).
Content
Creation History
In the late 1920s, the Italian fleet received its first heavy cruisers - two units of the Trento type. Based on the concept of striking at maximum speed and range, these ships suffered from many shortcomings, the main of which was defense, which was completely inadequate against 203 mm shells. In view of this, in the Italian naval circles, an opinion arose about the desirability of building the following cruisers on a different project - less fast, but much better protected. The characteristics of the new ships included armament of 8,203-mm guns, an armor belt of 200 mm and a speed of 32 knots, however, it was not possible to put all this into the agreed 10,000 tons.
In an attempt to solve the problem, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Rear Admiral Romeo Burnotti proposed increasing the displacement to 15,000 tons. In his opinion, three such cruisers could cope with six “Washington” ones, but the Italian political leadership did not dare to go on such a clear violation of the treaty.
The project began to be squeezed, in particular, the armor belt decreased to 150 mm, the hull became semi-tank, which further worsened seaworthiness, and torpedo tubes were generally excluded. Nevertheless, the problem of exceeding the contractual limit remained. As a result, the Italian side went on a frank forgery - the displacement of new cruisers was officially declared equal to 10,000 tons, and the real figure was kept secret. However, falsification became known abroad before the Second World War. In August 1936, a gasoline vapor explosion occurred on the Gorizia cruiser and he was forced to enter Gibraltar and use a local dock. As a result, it became clear that the displacement of the cruiser was at least 1000 tons more than officially announced, but for unknown reasons, the British did not protest.
It is curious that during the construction, the new ships, like the Trento type, were considered light cruisers ( Incrociatori Leggeri ), but due to very large differences from their predecessors, they were transferred to the class of armored cruisers ( Incrociatori Corazzato ). Only with the adoption of the international classification in 1930, the Trento and Zara types were transferred to the class of heavy cruisers ( Incrociatori Pesanti ).
Design
Power plant
The main power plant included eight Tornicroft water-tube three-collector boilers (Yarrow boilers at Fiume) with superheaters and two gearboxes , four Parsons steam turbines were manufactured by the OTO concern (at Fiume Yarrow). Two turbines (high and low pressure), a gearbox, a thrust bearing , a main and auxiliary condensers constituted a turbo-tooth assembly. The installation had a layered placement system. The downsides were the increased length of the shafting of the nose of the TZA and the complicated scheme of switching the steam supply between boilers and machines of different groups. The continuous power of the machines was 76,000 liters. s., there was the possibility of forcing them to 95,000 liters. with. at 270 rpm (this figure appears in the directories as calculated), which was supposed to provide cruisers with 32-knot speed. During the service of the cruiser, about 29-30 knots were developed.
The working vapor pressure is 25 atm., The temperature is 360 ° C.
The cruisers had six DC turbogenerators with a capacity of 180 kW and a voltage of 220 V (total power of 1080 kW) and two auxiliary diesel generators.
Service
“Zara” - was laid down on July 4, 1929, launched on April 27, 1930, and entered service on October 20, 1931.
Fiume - laid down on April 29, 1929, launched on April 27, 1930, went into operation November 23, 1931
"Gorizia" - laid down on March 17, 1930, launched on December 28, 1930, went into operation December 23, 1931
"Paula" - laid down on March 17, 1930, launched on December 5, 1931, went into operation December 21, 1932
Project Evaluation
Notes
- ↑ All data is as of June 1940.
Links
- Heavy cruiser Zara
- S. B. Trubitsyn Heavy cruisers of Italy 1927-1945
Literature
- Nenakhov Yu. Yu. Encyclopedia of the Cruisers 1910-2005. - Minsk: Harvest, 2007. - ISBN 5-17-030194-4 .
- Patyanin S.V., Dashyan A.V. et al. Cruiser World War II. Hunters and defenders. - M .: Collection, Yauza, EKSMO, 2007 .-- 362 p. - (Arsenal collection). - ISBN 5-69919-130-5 .
- Patyanin S.V. Supercruiser Mussolini. If not for the admirals !. - M: Yauza, EKSMO, 2011 .-- ISBN 978-5-699-50944-7 .
- Trubitsyn S. B. Heavy cruisers of Italy (1927-1945). - Samara: ANO Eastflot, 2004. - (Warships of the world). - ISBN 5-98830-002-2 .
- Campbell J. Naval weapons of World War Two. - Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985 .-- ISBN 0-87021-459-4 .
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946. - New York: Mayflower Books, 1980. - ISBN 0-83170-303-2 .
- Whitley MJ Cruisers of World War Two. An international encyclopedia. - London: Arms & Armor, 1995 .-- ISBN 1-85409-225-1 .