The Zara class was an Italian heavy cruiser design from the early 1930s, considered by many to be one of the best cruiser designs of World War II. Four ships of the class were completed, the Zara, Fiume, Pola and Gorizia, all of which saw extensive service during the war.
The Zara was essentially an improved Trento tasked with dealing with the latest French designs. The Trento's had sacrificed armor for speed, allowing them to make high-speed dashes up and down the long Italian coastline, however this left them unable to deal with newer ships facing them in a gunfight. On Zara the armor was thick enough to withstand hits from guns equal to her own, resulting in the best armored cruisers in the world at the time. The 8in/53 calibre gun, shared with the Trentos, had a high muzzle velocity of 3080fps, giving it excellent range and allowing it to engage its equals at a very long 34,400 yards. One odd feature was the aircraft catapult on the front deck, which made it impossible to prepare for launch while firing, perhaps a minor consideration.
Originally intended to conform to the Washington Naval Treaty limits of 10,000 tons, the extra armor made this impossible. Extras such as a high superstructure and torpedo tubes were removed in an effort to save weight, but in the end the ships ended up considerably "overweight" anyway. The removal of the superstructure made placement of radar difficult, and in the end none of the class would ever carry one. This would prove to be a deadly mistake.
Construction of the Zara started in 1929 and she was launched the next year, and commissioned in 1931. The remaining units of the class followed in 1932 and 1933. The French immediately responded with a new heavy cruiser of her own - Algerie - but were not able to match the Zara design when launched in 1934.
The Zaras were organized into their own 1st Division of three ships (the fourth being held in reserve) and operated in most early naval actions. During this part of the war the Zara's were a serious problem for the Royal Navy, which fielded nothing comparable in the Mediterranean Sea, and were seriously outgunned by them during the inconclusive Battle of Calabria and Battle of Cape Spartivento.
However Zara's were eventually taken to task during the Battle of Cape Matapan. After Pola was hit by an air-dropped torpedo and stopped, the rest of the 1st Division (at this time Gorizia was in reserve) ran in to protect her. Three RN battleships and a host of additional units were able to sneak up on them at night, the lack of radar on the Zaras making them unaware of their approach, and quickly sank all three and two escorting destroyers in a one-sided gunfight.
The Gorizia survived until it was taken over by the Germans after Italy left the war in 1943. She was later sunk in port, rather ironically, by Italian manned torpedoes in 1944.
Specifications
Dimensions: 599ft 4in x 66ft 6in x 23ft 6in (182.8m x 20.6m x 7.2m) Displacement: Zara 11870t standard, 14530t full load; Fiume 11508t standard, 14168t full load; Gorizia 11900t standard, 14560t full load; Pola 11730t standard, 14360t full load Armament: 8-8in/53, 12-3.9in/47, 8-37mm/54 AA, 8-.50cal AA, 2 reconnaisance aircraft Armor: belt 3.9in-5.9in, deck 2.75in, turrets 4.7in-5.5in, barbettes 5.5in-5.9in Engines : 8 three-drum Thornycroft boilers, 2 Parsons turbines, 95,000HP total Speed max: 33kts (32kts Fiume and Pola) Range: 4,500nm at 16kts, 2950nm at 25kts, 1700nm at 31kts Complement: 830