Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruiser

Colorized photo of Nisshin at anchor at Kure, 24 June 1905
Class overview
Name:	Giuseppe Garibaldi
Builders:	Ansaldo, Genoa-Sestri Ponente, Italy Orlando, Livorno
Operators:	Argentine Navy  Regia Marina  Imperial Japanese Navy  Spanish Navy
Preceded by:	Vettor Pisani class
Succeeded by:	Pisa class
Subclasses:	Garibaldi; Giuseppe Garibaldi
Built:	1895–1904
In commission:	1896–1954
Planned:	11
Completed:	10
Cancelled:	1
Lost:	3
Scrapped:	7
General characteristics
Type:	Armored cruiser
Displacement:	6,840 t (6,732 long tons) Garibaldi 7,400–7,700 t (7,283–7,578 long tons) Giuseppe Garibaldi
Length:	108.8 m (356 ft 11 in) w/l 111.73 m (366 ft 7 in) o/a
Beam:	18.9 m (62 ft 0 in)
Draught:	7.32 m (24 ft 0 in)
Installed power:	13,000–13,500 ihp (9,700–10,100 kW); 8–24 Boilers
Propulsion:	2 Shafts 2 Triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	555 officers and enlisted men (578 as flagship)
Armament:	2 gun turrets, each with 1 × 254 mm (10 in) gun or 2 × 203 mm (8 in) guns 10–14 × single 152 mm (6 in) 0–6 × single 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 10 × single 76 mm (3 in) guns 6 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) guns 4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Waterline belt: 70–150 mm (2.8–5.9 in) Deck: 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) Barbette: 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) Conning tower: 150 mm (5.9 in)

The Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruisers were a class of ten armoured cruisers built in Italy in the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th century. The ships were built for both the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) and for export.

The design of the Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruiser was derived by the naval architect Edoardo Masdea from his earlier Vettor Pisani-class design. The Garibaldis were slightly larger and about a knot faster than their predecessors, but the primary improvement was the addition of two gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. These remedied a major weakness of the older ships in that their primary armament, being on the broadside, could not engage targets that were directly in front or behind. The design was so popular that ten cruisers were purchased by four different countries; the Royal Italian Navy, the Argentine Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the Spanish Navy. As might be expected over a group of ships that was built from 1892 to 1903, design improvements and more modern equipment were incorporated over time so that only the three ships actually accepted by Italy were true sisters.

The first five ships were built to the same measurements, and form the Garibaldi sub-class, but the last five were stretched by six frames amidships, and comprise the Giuseppe Garibaldi sub-class. The ships of the first group had an overall length of 106.94 meters (350 ft 10 in), a beam of 18.2 meters (59 ft 9 in) and a deep draft (ship) of 7.1 meters (23 ft 4 in). They displaced 6,840 metric tons (6,730 long tons) at normal load. The second ship purchased by Argentina, General Belgrano, is reported by some sources to have had a beam of 18.8 meters (61 ft 8 in) and therefore displaced some 300–400 metric tons (300–390 long tons) more than the others.