class cruiser class group protected cruisers built italian regia marina royal_navy late 1880s early 1900s class comprised named regions italy exception named island class referred class ship laid ships built different shipyards varied slightly size speed armament steam mph main armament consisted centimeter guns guns ships served variety roles careers including scouts main fleet colonial cruisers representatives italy major foreign events observed russo japanese war including picked russian survivors converted depot ship submarines equipped observation balloons sold haiti renamed quickly sank care inexperienced crew remaining ships took italo turkish war provided gunfire support italian troops bombarded ottoman ports instituted blockade red_sea world war ships withdrawn secondary roles having converted seaplane tender member class active role based deliberately blown regia marina deception operation austria-hungary remaining ships broken scrap early 1920s bow section preserved museum design design class referred class lead ship prepared naval architect protected cruiser designed italy previous ships type designed britain case class enlarged copies british designed attempt ships class proved disappointment owing slow speed insufficient armor protection general characteristics ships varied slightly dimensions ships meters long waterline long overall beam draft ships displaced metric tons long tons short tons normally long tons short tons load ships originally designed fore aft sailing rig quickly removed instead fitted pole masts equipped spotting tops crew machinery ships propulsion system consisted pair horizontal triple expansion engines steam supplied cylindrical water tube boilers boilers pair funnels centerline speed trials reached maximum knots mph indicated horsepower mph ihp reached mph ihp mph ihp slowest member class mph ihp far fastest capable steaming speed mph ships cruising radius nautical miles speed knots mph armament armor ships armed main battery guns mounted singly forward aft guns placed broadside ships light armament varied ships save equipped guns additional guns equipped gun guns guns guns ships pair machine guns torpedo tubes ships armament repeatedly revised careers ship guns replaced additional guns secondary battery standardized guns guns exception guns respectively torpedo tubes removed point guns removed guns armament reduced refitted point mounted guns guns starting equipped guns guns guns torpedo tubes time rearmed guns guns machine gun retained torpedo tubes ships protected thick deck conning tower thick sides deck thick thickness armor conning tower ships service history ships class served variety roles careers decade service marked frequent deployments abroad interspersed main italian fleet served scouts battleships main fleet visited germany opening ceremonies stationed south_america outbreak yellow fever killed half crew rio_de_janeiro assigned main fleet deployed china replaced italian briefly rebels present korea russo japanese war took place primarily neighboring witnessed battle bay february rescued russian survivors british french cruisers represented italy lewis portland oregon converted depot ship submarines visited united_states twice major events modified operate observation balloon assist spotting naval mines easily seen air december sold renamed sank shortly transfer new crew inexperience remaining ships participated exception stationed adriatic took assault provided gunfire support italian forces north_africa stationed duration war frequently bombarded ottoman ports included attack helped cruiser destroyers sink force aground flotilla seven ottoman battle bay january joined fleet red_sea imposed blockade ottoman ports region coupled frequent ottoman positions converted dedicated seaplane tender italian fleet small real use remained service years ship class active role world war patrolling briefly encountered austro hungarian cruiser sms retreated ship open fire covered withdrawal elements shelled pursuing deliberately blown august fool austria-hungary believing espionage network thoroughly compromised operational sold scrapping january followed sister july month involved civil unrest split ship captain sailor murdered group nationalists sold broken navy sold march dismantled donated bow section museum
Regioni-class cruiser