Raimondo Montecuccoli, which gives the name to its own sub-class, was part of the third group of Condottieri-class light cruisers. They were larger and better protected than their predecessors; 1,376-tons or 18.3% of her displacement were destined to armour, compared with 8% of the previous Condottieri-class groups.[1] She was built by Ansaldo, Genoa, and was named after Raimondo Montecuccoli, a 17th-century Italian general in Austrian service.
Careeredit
Raimondo Montecuccoli entered service in 1935 and was sent out to the Far East in 1937 to protect Italian interests in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. She returned home in November 1938 after being relieved by Bartolomeo Colleoni.[1]
She led the successful attack on Harpoon convoy during the Battle of Pantelleria, on 15 June 1942. Raimondo Montecuccoli and the cruiser Eugenio Di Savoia, forming the 7th Division, fought a long gunnery duel off Pantelleria with the escort of a large Allied convoy to Malta, at the end of which their combined fire crippled the destroyerHMS Bedouin and damaged the cruiser HMS Cairo and the destroyer HMS Partridge; only two ships from the convoy reached Malta, one of them holed by a mine. Partridge took the disabled Bedouin under tow. Two Allied freighters from the convoy, the cargo ship Burdwan and the large tanker Kentucky, both of them brought to a standstill by previous air attacks and abandoned by their escorts, were finished off by the Italian squadron. Kentucky was shelled and set on fire by Raimondo Monteccucoli's guns.[2] While chasing off the escorting vessels of the crippled ships, and according to post-battle reports from both sides, Raimondo Montecuccoli scored a hit on the minesweeperHMS Hebe at "approx. 26,000 yards". Fires erupted aboard Hebe, which received extensive splinter damage.[3][4] Electrical cables to sweep magnetic and acoustic mines, low power wires, steering gear, echo sounding gear and voice pipes were broken, the Kelvin sounding machine and the Commanding Officer's Cabin damaged, while a whaler was left unseaworthy.[5] The Italian cruisers also forced Partridge to cast off the tow and leave Bedouin behind. The disabled destroyer was eventually sunk by an Italian SM 79 torpedo bomber.[6]
Raimondo Montecuccoli was heavily damaged by USAAF bombers in Naples on 4 December 1942 with the loss of 44 of her crew, but having been repaired just weeks before the armistice in August 1943, she was operative again. The cruiser became by this time one of the few Italian naval units fitted with the Italian-designed EC-3 ter Gufo radar. On 4 August Raimondo Montecuccoli along with the light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia, shelled without consequences a small Allied convoy off Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily, in an aborted attempt to attack the United States Navy fleet in port. The Allied convoy was actually an American submarine chaser, USS SC-530, escorting a freshwater barge. The Italian cruisers withdrew after picking up with their Metox devices a number of coastal search radars tracking them.[7] After the Armistice she sailed to Malta with the majority of the remaining Italian fleet. Joining the Italian Co-Belligerent navy, she acted as a fast transport ship for the rest of the war.[8] She remained with Italy after the war to serve as a training cruiser until 1964.
Preservationedit
Some remains of the ship, along with several artillery pieces and armoured vehicles, are preserved at the Città della Domenica theme and amusement park near Perugia, in Italy. There is the forward mast and a dual artillery mount, placed near the mast.
^Richard (2000). Malta Convoys, 1940–1943, pp. 344-45. London: Jack Murray. ISBN978-0-7195-5753-8.
^Kelly, C. Brian (2010). Best Little Stories from World War II: More than 100 true stories. Sourcebooks, Inc. p. 224. ISBN978-1402254857.
^Stille, Mark. Italian Cruisers of World War II. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 38.
Referencesedit
Bragadin, Marc'Antonio (1957). The Italian Navy in World War II, United States Naval Institute: Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN0-405-13031-7
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.
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Da Zara, Alberto (1949). Pelle d'Ammiraglio (in Italian) (2014 ed.). Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. ISBN8898485913.
Fraccaroli, Aldo (1968). Italian Warships of World War II. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0002-6.
Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-141-6.
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For other ships with the same name see Italian ship Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli was a Condottieri class light cruiser serving with the Italian Regia Marina during World War II She survived the war and served in the post war Marina Militare until 1964 Raimondo Montecuccoli visiting Australia in 1938HistoryItalyNameRaimondo MontecuccoliNamesakeRaimondo MontecuccoliBuilderAnsaldo GenoaLaid down1 October 1931Launched2 August 1934Commissioned30 June 1935Decommissioned1 June 1964FateScrappedGeneral characteristicsClass and typeCondottieri class cruiserDisplacement7 523 t 7 404 long tons standard 8 994 t 8 852 long tons full loadLength182 2 m 597 ft 9 in Beam16 6 m 54 ft 6 in Draught5 6 m 18 ft 4 in Propulsion2 shaft Belluzzo geared turbines 6 Yarrow boilers 106 000 hp 79 044 kW Speed37 knots 43 mph 69 km h Range4 122 nmi 7 634 km at 18 kn 21 mph 33 km h Complement578Sensors and processing systemsGufo radar 1943 Metox radar warning receiver 1943 Armament8 152 mm 6 in 53 guns 4 2 6 100 mm 4 in 47 caliber guns 3 2 8 37 mm 1 5 in 54 cal guns 4 2 8 13 2 mm guns 4 2 4 533 mm 21 in torpedo tubes 2 2 ArmourDeck 30 mm 1 2 in Main belt 60 mm 2 4 in Turrets 70 mm 2 8 in Conning tower 100 mm 3 9 in Aircraft carried2 aircraftAviation facilities1 catapult Contents 1 Design 2 Career 3 Preservation 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksDesign editRaimondo Montecuccoli which gives the name to its own sub class was part of the third group of Condottieri class light cruisers They were larger and better protected than their predecessors 1 376 tons or 18 3 of her displacement were destined to armour compared with 8 of the previous Condottieri class groups 1 She was built by Ansaldo Genoa and was named after Raimondo Montecuccoli a 17th century Italian general in Austrian service Career editRaimondo Montecuccoli entered service in 1935 and was sent out to the Far East in 1937 to protect Italian interests in China during the Second Sino Japanese War She returned home in November 1938 after being relieved by Bartolomeo Colleoni 1 During the first stages of the war in the Mediterranean she participated in the Battle of Punta Stilo on 9 July 1940 and in December the cruiser shelled Greek army positions north of Corfu In April 1941 Raimondo Montecuccoli laid down an extensive minefield off Cape Bon along with her sister Muzzio Attendolo and the cruisers Eugenio di Savoia and Duca D Aosta 1 She led the successful attack on Harpoon convoy during the Battle of Pantelleria on 15 June 1942 Raimondo Montecuccoli and the cruiser Eugenio Di Savoia forming the 7th Division fought a long gunnery duel off Pantelleria with the escort of a large Allied convoy to Malta at the end of which their combined fire crippled the destroyer HMS Bedouin and damaged the cruiser HMS Cairo and the destroyer HMS Partridge only two ships from the convoy reached Malta one of them holed by a mine Partridge took the disabled Bedouin under tow Two Allied freighters from the convoy the cargo ship Burdwan and the large tanker Kentucky both of them brought to a standstill by previous air attacks and abandoned by their escorts were finished off by the Italian squadron Kentucky was shelled and set on fire by Raimondo Monteccucoli s guns 2 While chasing off the escorting vessels of the crippled ships and according to post battle reports from both sides Raimondo Montecuccoli scored a hit on the minesweeper HMS Hebe at approx 26 000 yards Fires erupted aboard Hebe which received extensive splinter damage 3 4 Electrical cables to sweep magnetic and acoustic mines low power wires steering gear echo sounding gear and voice pipes were broken the Kelvin sounding machine and the Commanding Officer s Cabin damaged while a whaler was left unseaworthy 5 The Italian cruisers also forced Partridge to cast off the tow and leave Bedouin behind The disabled destroyer was eventually sunk by an Italian SM 79 torpedo bomber 6 Raimondo Montecuccoli was heavily damaged by USAAF bombers in Naples on 4 December 1942 with the loss of 44 of her crew but having been repaired just weeks before the armistice in August 1943 she was operative again The cruiser became by this time one of the few Italian naval units fitted with the Italian designed EC 3 ter Gufo radar On 4 August Raimondo Montecuccoli along with the light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia shelled without consequences a small Allied convoy off Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily in an aborted attempt to attack the United States Navy fleet in port The Allied convoy was actually an American submarine chaser USS SC 530 escorting a freshwater barge The Italian cruisers withdrew after picking up with their Metox devices a number of coastal search radars tracking them 7 After the Armistice she sailed to Malta with the majority of the remaining Italian fleet Joining the Italian Co Belligerent navy she acted as a fast transport ship for the rest of the war 8 She remained with Italy after the war to serve as a training cruiser until 1964 Preservation editSome remains of the ship along with several artillery pieces and armoured vehicles are preserved at the Citta della Domenica theme and amusement park near Perugia in Italy There is the forward mast and a dual artillery mount placed near the mast nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Notes edit a b c Backer Steve RN Raimondo Montecuccoli steelnavy com Retrieved 2021 11 27 Bragadin 1957 p 184 Da Zara Appendix 1 p 38 9 O Hara Vincent P 2012 In Passage Perilous Malta and the Convoy Battles of June 1942 Indiana University Press p 164 ISBN 978 0 253 00603 5 HMS Hebe 1942 Halcyon Class Minesweeper C A F O 2972 39 www halcyon class co uk Retrieved 2021 11 25 Richard 2000 Malta Convoys 1940 1943 pp 344 45 London Jack Murray ISBN 978 0 7195 5753 8 Kelly C Brian 2010 Best Little Stories from World War II More than 100 true stories Sourcebooks Inc p 224 ISBN 978 1402254857 Stille Mark Italian Cruisers of World War II Bloomsbury Publishing p 38 References editBragadin Marc Antonio 1957 The Italian Navy in World War II United States Naval Institute Annapolis Maryland ISBN 0 405 13031 7 Brescia 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 Chesneau Roger ed 1980 Conway s All The World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7 Da Zara Alberto 1949 Pelle d Ammiraglio in Italian 2014 ed Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare ISBN 8898485913 Fraccaroli Aldo 1968 Italian Warships of World War II Shepperton UK Ian Allan ISBN 0 7110 0002 6 Whitley M J 1995 Cruisers of World War Two An International Encyclopedia Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 141 6 External links editRaimondo Montecuccoli Marina Militare websitePortals nbsp Italy nbsp Engineering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli amp oldid 1177296603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
