Heavy Cruiser Zara

Zara

Country	Italy
Ship Class	Zara-class Heavy Cruiser
Builder	O.T.O., La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
Laid Down	4 Jul 1929
Launched	27 Apr 1930
Commissioned	20 Oct 1931
Sunk	29 Mar 1941
Displacement	11,870 tons standard; 14,530 tons full
Length	600 feet
Beam	67 feet
Draft	23 feet
Machinery	8 three-drum Thornycroft boilers, 2 Parsons turbines
Power Output	95,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	33 knots
Range	4,500nm at 16 knots, 2,950nm at 25 knots, 1,700nm at 31 knots
Crew	841
Armament	8x203mm guns, 6x100mm guns, 6x40mm AA guns, 8x13.2mm AA machine guns
Armor	100-150mm belt, 70mm deck, 120-140mm turrets, 140-150mm barbettes
Aircraft	2 reconnaissance aircraft

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned in early 1931, Zara was among the newest and most capable heavy cruisers in the world. During the Spanish Civil War, she served off Spain on the side of the Nationalists. In 1940, she participated in the Battle of Calabria and was present during the British raid on Taranto, Italy. On 29 Mar 1941, while under the command of Captain Luigi Corsi, Zara and her sister ships escorted the damaged battleship Vittorio Veneto back to port. En route, sister ship Pola was attacked and disabled by a British torpedo plane, and the two sister ships Zara and Fiume returned with four destroyers to guard her. That night, radar-equipped British ships, including three battleships, attacked the group. After sustaining heavy damage within five minutes of the battle, Corsi ordered Zara abandoned. At the end of the battle, all three Zara-class ships as well as two of the destroyers were sunk.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Dec 2007

Heavy Cruiser Zara Interactive Map

Photographs

Italian cruisers Zara, Fiume, Pola, and Gorizia at Trieste, Italy, circa 1940s

Zara firing during the Battle of Calabria, Ionian Sea, 9 Jul 1940

Zara Operational Timeline

20 Oct 1931

Zara was commissioned into service.

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Zara