- Author
- Letter Writer
- Subjects
- None noted
- Tags
- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- June 1983 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
The March 1983 issue of `Naval Historical Review’ featured an article on the Italian Navy which I found quite fascinating. I would query, however, the picture of the `Venezia’ (ex `Saida’). The ‘Saida’ was of 3492 tons (not 2756) and had four funnels when built. The vessel shown does not have four funnels which in itself would not be conclusive, however when you note the raised single gun on the forecastle and the whaleboat on davits outboard amidship, the vessel appears to be very small, f would say of only about 800 tons.
It could be that the two photos on the page have been transposed, the one above looks like the ‘Saida’.
The photo of the ‘Ancona’ (ex ‘Graudenx’) is very interesting, I’ve not seen her pictured before – although of the modified ‘Karlsruhe’ class she looked not unlike the `Frankfurt’ class.
The accentuated clipper bow intrigues me – was it an original feature or was it a later modification connected with her role of minelayer?
B Eneberg
[Ed: Note: Some of the captions were unfortunately reversed – Ross Gillett. (These were corrected when the article was put on the website)]
[Ed: Mr Eneberg remarked on “accentuated clipper bow”. This also intrigued the editors. Some Googling produced the following photograph from WWIIF where the original poster says ‘AFAIK the “swan bow” addition was to mount a catapult, the Italian navy liked to put the floatplanes on the forecastle’. Confirmed by www.modelwarships.com who remark “in order to be able carry a Macchi M7 Seaplane; from 1928-29 the foredeck and bow were extensively re-modelled to carry the bow catapult track; to which end she gained the rather graceful clipper bow which supported the catapult.)
