Trento-class cruiser

Trento early in her career
Class overview
Builders:	Trento Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando, Livorno
Operators:	Regia Marina
Preceded by:	None
Succeeded by:	Zara class
Built:	1925–1929
In commission:	1928–1943
Completed:	2
Lost:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Heavy cruiser
Displacement:	Full load: 13,334 long tons (13,548 t)
Length:	196.96 m (646 ft 2 in) o/a
Beam:	20.6 m (67 ft 7 in)
Draft:	6.8 m (22 ft 4 in)
Installed power:	12 Yarrow boilers 150,000 shp (110,000 kW)
Propulsion:	4 Parsons turbines
Speed:	Trials: 35.65 kn (66.02 km/h; 41.03 mph) Service: 31 kn (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range:	4,160 nmi (7,700 km; 4,790 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement:	Peacetime: 723 Wartime: 781
Armament:	8 × 203 mm (8 in) / 50  caliber guns 16 × 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns 8 × 40 mm (1.6 in) / 39 caliber anti-aircraft guns 8 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns 8 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 70 mm (2.8 in) Deck: 20 to 50 mm (0.79 to 1.97 in) deck Turrets: 100 mm (3.9 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in)
Aircraft carried:	2 × IMAM Ro.43 seaplanes

The Trento class was a group of two heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the late 1920s, the first such vessels built for the Italian fleet. The two ships in the class—Trento and Trieste, were named after the unredeemed cities of Trento and Trieste taken from the Austro-Hungarian empire after the victory in World War I. The ships were very lightly armored, with only a 70 mm (2.8 in) thick armored belt, though they possessed a high speed and heavy armament of eight 203 mm (8.0 in) guns. Nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers nevertheless exceeded the displacement limits imposed by the treaty.

In the interwar period, the two cruisers served in the Cruiser Division, frequently alternating as the divisional flagship. Trento made two extensive trips abroad, the first was a tour of South American countries in mid to late-1929 and the second was a deployment to China to protect Italian nationals during the Chinese Civil War. In 1938, Trieste assisted in the repatriation of Italian volunteer soldiers who had fought in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Both ships saw extensive action in World War II, including the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan. Trieste was damaged by a British submarine in November 1941 and therefore missed the First and Second Battles of Sirte, where at the latter action Trento damaged a British destroyer.