Italian cruiser Quarto
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy
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| Name: | Quarto |
| Laid down: | 14 November 1909 |
| Launched: | 19 August 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 31 March 1913 |
| Fate: | Sunk in weapons tests, November 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | Full load: 3,442 t (3,388 long tons; 3,794 short tons) |
| Length: | 131.6 m (432 ft) |
| Beam: | 12.8 m (42 ft) |
| Draft: | 4.1 m (13 ft) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 4-shaft steam turbines |
| Speed: | 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range: | 2,300 nmi (4,300 km; 2,600 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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Quarto was a unique protected cruiser built by the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1910s. Her keel was laid in November 1909, she was launched in August 1911, and was completed in March 1913. She was the first Italian cruiser to be equipped with steam turbines, which gave her a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). Her high speed was a requirement for the role in which she was designed to serve: a scout for the main Italian fleet.
Quarto was based at Brindisi during World War I; she saw action once, during an attack by the Austro-Hungarian Navy on transports operating in the southern Adriatic. She engaged the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Helgoland but neither ship was damaged and both sides withdrew. Quarto served briefly in East Asian waters in the early 1930s, and supported Italian forces during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1936. The following year she served as the flagship of the Italian forces participating in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War; here she was attacked by Republican bombers, although she escaped damage. She was stricken from the naval register in January 1939 and subsequently used in weapons tests with human torpedoes and explosive motorboats. Quarto was sunk in a test with an MT explosive motorboat in November 1940.
Quarto was designed by Lieutenant Commander Giulio Truccone, and was intended to serve as a scout for the main fleet. As such, she was equipped with steam turbines, which produced higher speeds than the older triple-expansion steam engines used on earlier cruisers. She was the first Italian cruiser so equipped. Quarto was 126 meters (413 ft) long at the waterline and 131.6 m (432 ft) long overall. She had a beam of 12.8 m (42 ft) and a draft of 4.1 m (13 ft). She displaced 3,271 metric tons (3,219 long tons; 3,606 short tons) normally and up to 3,442 t (3,388 long tons; 3,794 short tons) at full load. The ship was fitted with a pair of pole masts at the main and rear conning towers. The ship was only lightly armored, with a 38 mm (1.5 in) thick deck, and 100 mm (3.9 in) thick plating on her main conning tower. She had a crew of 13 officers and 234 enlisted men.
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