Italian cruiser Calabria

Calabria photographed soon after completion
History
Kingdom of Italy
Builder:	La Spezia
Laid down:	February 1892
Launched:	20 September 1894
Commissioned:	12 July 1897
Fate:	Sold for scrapping, 13 November 1924
General characteristics
Displacement:	2,660 t (2,620 long tons; 2,930 short tons)
Length:	81 m (266 ft)
Beam:	12.71 m (41.7 ft)
Draft:	5.05 m (16.6 ft)
Installed power:	4 water-tube boilers, 4,260 ihp (3,180 kW)
Propulsion:	Vertical triple-expansion engines
Speed:	16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph)
Range:	2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	14–254
Armament:	4 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 4 × 12 cm (4.7 in) guns 8 × 5.7 cm (2.2 in) guns 8 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns 2 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Deck: 50 mm (2.0 in) Conning tower: 50 mm

Calabria was a small protected cruiser built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1890s, intended for service in Italy's overseas empire. She was laid down in 1892, launched in 1894, and completed in 1897, and was armed with a main battery of four 15-centimeter (5.9 in) and four 12 cm (4.7 in) guns. Calabria spent significant periods abroad, ranging from deployments to Chinese, North American, and Australian waters, in addition to periods in Italy's East African empire. She saw action during the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 in the Red Sea, primarily bombarding Turkish ports in the area. Calabria was reclassified as a gunboat in 1921, reduced to a training ship in 1924, and sold for scrap at the end of the year.

Calabria was designed by the Chief Engineer, Edoardo Masdea, and was intended for overseas service. She had a steel hull sheathed with wood and zinc to protect it from fouling during lengthy deployments abroad. The hull was 76 meters (249 ft) long between perpendiculars and 81 m (266 ft) long overall. It had a beam of 12.71 m (41.7 ft) and a draft of 5.05 m (16.6 ft). Her normal displacement was 2,453 metric tons (2,414 long tons; 2,704 short tons) but increased to 2,660 t (2,620 long tons; 2,930 short tons) at full load. Calabria had a crew of between 214 and 254 officers and enlisted crew.

The cruiser was powered by two-shaft vertical triple-expansion engines with steam supplied by four coal-fired, cylindrical water-tube boilers that were trunked into a single funnel amidships. The engines had an output of 4,260 indicated horsepower (3,180 kW) and produced a top speed of 16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph). Calabria had a cruising radius of about 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).