italian cruiser torpedo cruiser built italian regia marina royal_navy 1880s lead ship class included seven vessels ship built laid june launched december completed september main armament torpedo tubes supported battery small caliber guns spent career main italian fleet primarily occupied training exercises converted losing torpedo tubes italo turkish war provided gunfire support italian forces libya lay series minefields adriatic_sea italy entered world war march torpedoed sunk german submarine design meters long overall beam average draft displaced metric tons long tons short tons normally propulsion system consisted pair horizontal triple expansion steam engines driving single screw propeller steam supplied coal fired locomotive boilers specific figures engine performance survived ships class speeds knots mph indicated horsepower ship cruising radius nautical miles speed knots mph crew armed main battery gun guns mounted equipped guns single mounts primary offensive weapon torpedo tubes ship protected armored deck thick conning tower armored thickness steel plate service history laid june launched december fitting work completed ship commissioned fleet september decade career primarily served main italian fleet 2nd division usually kept reserve reserve ships typically kept service months year annual training maneuvers active status months year assigned 2nd fleet ironclad protected cruiser 2nd division consisted ironclads joined ironclads cruisers visit united_kingdom july ships save joined international naval demonstration late crete period tension greece ottoman_empire culminated turkish war division consisted ironclads sister ship addition joined ironclads armored cruiser torpedo boats italian fleet expanded increase 1st division 1st squadron unit spent seven months commission training reserve transferred new unit sister 1st squadron included battleships cruisers destroyers ship modernized converted received new oil fired boilers armament reduced guns guns guns speed reduced knots mph ihp ship equipped carry naval mines bank thirty mines platform ship start italo turkish war september attached 2nd division 1st squadron italian fleet time november armored cruiser protected cruiser torpedo boat provided critical gunfire support broke series ottoman attacks city tripoli month later torpedo boats euro conducted series ports returned tripoli continued providing gunfire support defending italian garrison ironclads bombarded oasis turkish forces present italians sent garrison protect oasis italy declared neutrality start world war july triple convinced italians enter war admiral italian naval chief staff believed threat austro hungarian submarines naval mines narrow waters adriatic use fleet active way instead decided implement blockade relatively safer southern end adriatic main fleet smaller vessels boats conducted raids austro hungarian ships installations initially lay series defensive minefields sister cruiser support strategy march german boat torpedoed sank north tunisia coordinates
Italian cruiser Partenope