Italian cruiser Zara

Career	Missing image Regia_Marina_Ensign.png Kingdom of Italy
Missing image RNZara.jpg Zara profile
Ordered:
Laid down:	4 July, 1929
Launched:	27 April, 1930
Commissioned:	20 October, 1931
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Sunken
Struck:	29 March, 1941
General Characteristics
Displacement:	13,580 tons standard, 14,530 tons full load
Length:	180 m - 182.8 m
Beam:	20.6 m
Draught:	7.2 m
Propulsion:	8 boilers, 2 shafts, 95,000 hp
Speed:	33 knots (60 km/h)
Range:	5,361 miles at 16 knots
Complement:	841
Armament:	8 203/53 mm, 16 100/47 mm, 6 40/49 mm, 8 13,2 mm
Aircraft:	2
Protection:	max 150 mm (horizontal) 70 mm (vertical)

Zara was an Italian Zara class heavy cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II.

Her keel was laid down 1928 at O.T.O., La Spezia; she was launched on 27 April 1930, and her construction was completed in 1931. It sank on 29 March 1941.

The cruiser was named after the Adriatic city of Zara (today Zadar).

Contents

1 Actions

Actions

Zara participated to the Spanish Civil War, having an important role in the end of the independent Basque country.

Missing image
RNZara-Punta_Stilo.jpg

29 March: battle of Cape Matapan, sunken. Zara was escorting battleship Vittorio Veneto, which had been damaged and slowed down, to Italy. During the operation, Zara class cruiser Pola was damaged by a torpedo dropped by a bomber, and was obliged to slow down and later stop. The Italian force headed towards home ports, leaving the ship at her destiny, but with the beginning of the night, Zara returned to help Pola, together with sister ship Fiume and four destroyers. Italian cruisers were taken by surprise by radar-aided British vessels, and outgunned. Zara was hit by the shells of three British battleships, from a distance of as close as 2,000 m. Being not able to recover the ship, the commander ordered to abandon Zara and to sink it. Also Fiume, Pola and two destoryers were sunk.