Italian light cruisers of the Di Giussano & Cadorna classes

The Giussano-class and Cadorna-class Condottieri were the first two subclasses of light cruisers in the Italian Royal Navy. Designed in the late 1920s to counter the large French destroyers, they prioritised exceptional speed and powerful armament at the expense of protection. This design philosophy made them among the fastest ships of their time, but also extremely vulnerable in combat. The Giussano-class ships, which entered service between 1931 and 1932, could reach speeds of over 37 knots and were nicknamed ‘paper cruisers’. All four were lost during the Second World War. The two Cadorna-class ships represented an evolution of the Giussano series, with slight improvements to stability, whilst keeping speed, armament and protection virtually unchanged. The Armando Diaz was sunk by a British submarine in February 1941, whilst the Luigi Cadorna survived the war, was used as a training ship and was struck off the register in 1951.