Giussano-class cruiser

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The Alberto di Giussano class of light cruisers were a sub-class of the Template:Sclass2 built before World War II for the Italian Regia Marina, to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea. They were designed by general Giuseppe Vian and were named after Condottieri (military commanders) of the Italian Mediaeval and Renaissance periods.

Between the World Wars, the world powers started a rush to gain the supremacy on the seas. In 1926, France started to produce the Template:Sclass of destroyers, which were superior in displacement and firepower to other destroyers of that period. To counter the French menace, the Regia Marina decided to produce a new class of cruiser that would be of intermediate size between the new French destroyer class and cruisers. The Italian ships equated to the British Template:Sclass cruisers.

There were 4 ships, all laid down in 1928: , , and .

Meant to hunt down and overwhelm the big French destroyers, the emphasis on firepower and speed resulted in these ships being virtually unprotected against gunfire and underwater threats; this was a major factor in all four ships being sunk by torpedoes.

Ships

Ships of the Alberto di Giussano class

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate
	Ansaldo, Genoa	16 April 1928	23 August 1930	9 June 1931	Sunk 13 December 1941, by a group of Royal Navy and Dutch destroyers during the Battle of Cape Bon.
	Ansaldo, Genoa	29 March 1928	27 April 1930	5 February 1931
	Ansaldo, Genoa	21 June 1928	21 December 1930	10 February 1932	Sunk 19 July 1940, during the Battle of Cape Spada.
	R. C. di Castellammare di Stabia	31 October 1928	27 April 1930	27 April 1931	Sunk 1 April 1942, torpedoed by British submarine Template:HMS while off Stromboli.

See also

• List of ship classes of the Second World War