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Zara

1931 WORLD WAR 2

Zara's story

At the start of World War II (1939-1945), Italy was the fourth largest naval power in the world and was trying to control the precious Mediterranean route. In fact, Italian leader Benito Mussolini called the Mediterranean "our sea" to signal his ambitions for the future. Combined with the region's naval arms race with neighbouring French and Italian navies, the pre-war period grew significantly in strength - for every French design that came online, Italy responded with a new design of its own, and vice versa. The Zara-class heavy cruisers were developed in direct response to the introduction of the four-man Suffren-class cruisers in France.

Leading the class, Zara is followed by sisters Fiume, Pola and Gorizia.

The Zara was launched on July 4, 1929 at the Muggiano OTO shipyard in La Spezia, launched on April 27, 1930, and commissioned on October 20, 1931. She displaces 11,870 tonnes under standard load and more to 14,530 tonnes under full load. Her dimensions include a length of 600 feet, a beam of 67.6 feet, and a draft of 23.6 feet. Overall, Zara is more restrictive than the Washington Naval Treaty, created after World War I (1914-1919) to avoid another global naval arms race. The ship's machinery consists of 8 Thornycroft 3-drum boilers providing 108,000 hp to 2 Parsons steam turbines to 2 shafts below the stern.

It has a top speed of 33 knots and a range of up to 6,170 miles.

Compared to previous Italian cruiser designs (especially the Trento class), Zara sacrifices some speed for better armor protection. Still, the warship has a good balance of power and power. The thickness of the armor belt reaches 150 mm, and the thickness of the turret reaches 140 mm.

Barbettes range from 140mm to 150mm in protective steel.

Zara obtained a file that included a pair of funnels amidships. The main part of her superstructure is the front, including the bridge, communications and sensor systems. The main mast is located amidships. There are four main turrets, two forward and two rear, for powerful dedicated broadsides.

Like other warships of the time, the Zara was equipped with an aircraft launch and recovery system and therefore carried two reconnaissance aircraft. Her crew totaled 830-840, consisting of officers and seamen. No torpedo tubes were carried.

The armament consists of a row of 8 x 8 in (203 mm)/53 caliber main guns, two mounted on four separate main turrets (two front, two rear). This was supported by a 16 x 3.9 in (100 mm) dual purpose (DP)/47 caliber gun mounted as eight twin turrets.

6 x 40mm/49 caliber guns provided local air defense, the last line of defense was guarded by 8 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns. In the late 1930s, a pair of 3.9" anti-aircraft guns and all 40mm anti-aircraft guns were removed along with 12.7mm anti-aircraft guns - followed by 8 x 37mm anti-aircraft guns and 13.2mm machine guns.

In 1940, 2 x 4.7 inch firearms were added.

Sea trials proved the ship's robustness, and she set a service record for the remainder of the 1930s, serving on the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). With the start of World War II in September 1939, Italy joined the Axis war on June 10, 1940, officially declaring its opposition to France and Great Britain. Zara saw action in the "Battle of Calabria" on July 7, 1940, when members of the Italian Navy confronted the combined British and Australian fleets.

Despite the display of firepower, the battle was a draw for all parties, with no large ships lost in the disturbance. Regardless, both sides declared victory to their respective audiences.

Then on July 19, 1940, the "Battle of Cape Sparta" took place and the two sides met again. In this Allied victory, the Italians lost a cruiser, 121 killed and 555 captured. There was only one Allied wounded, and one light cruiser reported damage.

Zara managed to escape the area and fought again, she then took part in Operation Hat (September 1) and MB5 (September 29) before Taranto Nights on November 11.

The latter was the British naval attack on the port of Taranto, which resulted in a major defeat for the Italian Navy - one battleship sunk, two damaged, and two heavy cruisers damaged, 59 soldiers killed and 600 wounded. Britain reported two dead, two captured, and two aircraft lost.

The raid was closely watched by other warring parties, especially Japan, which helped formulate the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a year later. The attack also marked the beginning of the end of battleships as capital shipsaircraft carriers had already shown their worth.

In March 1941, the Italian fleet began to disrupt British convoys trying to reach Crete. The British set a trap, which the Italians carefully avoided, but the enemy persevered, launching fighter jets from the deck of the British carrier to overwhelm the Italians who were trying to escape. Zara's sister, Pola, is hit by a British torpedo and has to be helped by Zara and Fiume and the two accompanying destroyers.

This gave British warships the opportunity to approach and engage their cannons - they did so in honor of the "Battle of Cape Matapan" (27-29 March 1941).

The battle was another catastrophic loss for the Italian Navy, as British warships briefly attacked the enemy at close range. This resulted in the loss of three Zara-class ships - including the Zara - in a single battle, a fairly unheard of event. Zara's damage was enough to force her crew to evacuate as the captain ordered while she burned. However, the ship will lose about three-quarters of its crew, with 1,086 - 799 people missing at sea when it goes to sea, including her acting captain.

Some were rescued by Allied warships, while an Italian hospital ship arrived three days after the battle to pick up any remaining survivors.

Zara's career in the Italian Navy during World War II came to an end. As a pre-war cruiser, she was a viable design that managed to find herself in the dire situation that eventually led to her end.