She participated in the normal peacetime activities of the fleet in the 1930s as a unit of the 2nd Squadron, including service in connection with the Spanish Civil War. On 10 June 1940 she was part of the 4th Cruiser Division, with the 1st Squadron, together with her sister shipAlberico da Barbiano and was present at the Battle of Punta Stilo in July. She carried out a minelaying sortie off Pantelleria in August, and for the rest of the year acted as distant cover on occasions for troop and supply convoys to North Africa.
On 12 December 1941 she left port together with her sister ship Alberico da Barbiano. Both she and her sister were being used for an emergency convoy to carry gasoline for the German and Italian mobile formations fighting with the Afrika Korps. Jerrycans and other metal containers filled with gasoline were loaded onto both cruisers and were placed on the ships' open decks. The thinking behind using these two cruisers for such a dangerous mission was that their speed would act as a protection. Nonetheless, the ships were intercepted by four Allied destroyers guided by radar on 13 December 1941, in the Battle of Cape Bon. Alberto di Giussano was able to fire only three salvos before being struck by a torpedo amidships and hit by gunfire, which left her disabled and dead in the water. After vain struggle to halt the fire, the crew had to abandon the ship, which broke in two and sank at 4.22. 283 men out of the 720 aboard lost their lives. The ship's commanding officer, Captain Giovanni Marabotto, was among the survivors.
Citationsedit
^"Sommario: Leggi e Decreti". Gazzetta Ufficiale (in Italian). 26 December 1927. p. 4895. Regio Decreto 1° dicembre 1927, n. 2354. Incrizione degli esploratori «Alberto di Giussano»
^Troisi, Francesco (May 2010). "Quel 29 Maggio del 1176". Medioevo (in Italian): 18–29.
Referencesedit
Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-544-8.
Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968). Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0002-6.
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-141-6.
italian, cruiser, alberto, giussano, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, schola. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Italian cruiser Alberto di Giussano news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alberto di Giussano 1 named after Alberto da Giussano a fictional 2 medieval military leader condottiero was an Italian Giussano class cruiser which served in the Regia Marina during World War II She was launched on 27 April 1930 HistoryItalyNameAlberto di GiussanoNamesakeAlberto da GiussanoLaid down29 March 1928Launched27 April 1930Commissioned1 January 1931FateSunk at the Battle of Cape Bon 13 December 1941General characteristicsClass and typeGiussano class cruiserDisplacement6 571 tonnes 6 467 long tons standard 6 954 tonnes 6 844 long tons full load Length169 3 m 555 ft 5 in Beam15 5 m 50 ft 10 in Draft5 3 m 17 ft 5 in Propulsion6 Yarrow Ansaldo boilers 2 Belluzo turbines 2 shafts 95 000 hpSpeed37 knots 69 km h 43 mph Range3 800 nmi 7 000 km at 18 kn 33 km h 21 mph Complement507Armament8 152 mm 6 in 53 guns in 4 twin mountings 6 100 mm 4 in 47 caliber guns in 3 twin mountings 8 37 mm 1 5 in 54 cal guns 8 13 2 mm machine guns 4 533 mm 21 in torpedo tubesArmorDecks 20 mm 0 79 in Belt 24 mm 0 94 in Turrets 23 mm 0 91 in Tower 40 mm 1 6 in Aircraft carried2 CANT 25AR later Ro 43 seaplanesAviation facilities1 catapult launcherShe participated in the normal peacetime activities of the fleet in the 1930s as a unit of the 2nd Squadron including service in connection with the Spanish Civil War On 10 June 1940 she was part of the 4th Cruiser Division with the 1st Squadron together with her sister ship Alberico da Barbiano and was present at the Battle of Punta Stilo in July She carried out a minelaying sortie off Pantelleria in August and for the rest of the year acted as distant cover on occasions for troop and supply convoys to North Africa On 12 December 1941 she left port together with her sister ship Alberico da Barbiano Both she and her sister were being used for an emergency convoy to carry gasoline for the German and Italian mobile formations fighting with the Afrika Korps Jerrycans and other metal containers filled with gasoline were loaded onto both cruisers and were placed on the ships open decks The thinking behind using these two cruisers for such a dangerous mission was that their speed would act as a protection Nonetheless the ships were intercepted by four Allied destroyers guided by radar on 13 December 1941 in the Battle of Cape Bon Alberto di Giussano was able to fire only three salvos before being struck by a torpedo amidships and hit by gunfire which left her disabled and dead in the water After vain struggle to halt the fire the crew had to abandon the ship which broke in two and sank at 4 22 283 men out of the 720 aboard lost their lives The ship s commanding officer Captain Giovanni Marabotto was among the survivors Citations edit Sommario Leggi e Decreti Gazzetta Ufficiale in Italian 26 December 1927 p 4895 Regio Decreto 1 dicembre 1927 n 2354 Incrizione degli esploratori Alberto di Giussano Troisi Francesco May 2010 Quel 29 Maggio del 1176 Medioevo in Italian 18 29 References editBrescia Maurizio 2012 Mussolini s Navy A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930 45 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 59114 544 8 Fraccaroli Aldo 1968 Italian Warships of World War II Shepperton UK Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 0002 6 Chesneau Roger ed 1980 Conway s All The World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7 Whitley M J 1995 Cruisers of World War Two An International Encyclopedia Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 141 6 External links editAlberto di Giussano Marina Militare websitePortals nbsp Italy nbsp Engineering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Italian cruiser Alberto di Giussano amp oldid 1204200021, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
