Italy is surrounded by the ocean on three sides and has a long coast. Since the union of Italy in 1861, the Italian Army has been dominated by its military strength. The Italian navy, in the eighties of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, was distinguished by its great firepower and during this period a large number of heavy warships were put into service. For example, the "Durio" class, which has a displacement of 12,000 tons and is armed with four 450 mm naval guns, and a "Garibaldi", which has a standard displacement of only 7,000 tons, but meets the requirements for a battleship of more than 10,000 tons. The same applies to the protection of a frigate, which, although it is not large, has very high firepower. This is the frigate "Piedmont", which has a total tonnage of only 2,900 tons, but is armed with twelve Armstrong-type guns.
1. Background of development.
The protection ship, also known as the dome ship, is different from the general destroyer in that it has converted the original flat armor plate into a flat arched armor plate with flat middle and inclined sides, commonly known as "dome armor". Such a modification allowed the broadside around the ** waterline to be better protected, and the advantages of the dome boat over unprotected cruisers, as well as ordinary frigates, were obvious. Construction of the Chilean Esmeralda began in England in 1881, marking the beginning of a new era of protected frigates with armoured services. In the first decade of the 19th century, the era of escort cruisers, when the world's major maritime powers were manufacturing a large number of escort cruisers, of which the British Empire had dozens.
The Italian Navy also realized the advantages of this new cruising ship, and they also bought similar ships from the British and then made them in their homeland with the same drawings. "Piedmont" is a frigate ordered from Great Britain by the Italian Navy with only one line called "Piedmont". Its greatest feature is its powerful firepower, its total tonnage is only 2900 tons, but it is armed with twelve Armstrong rapid-fire guns, six 152 mm and six 120 mm.
2. Usage information.
The characteristics of the "Piedmontese" class frigates are: a length of 9.8 meters, a width of 111 meters, a depth of 511 meters, a thickness of 110 mm for the main gun shield, a thickness of 76 mm for the command platform, a thickness of 25 mm on the foredeck, an angle of inclination that can rise to 50 mm, a standard displacement of 2473 tons, and a full load displacement of 2900 tons. 2 x 4-cylinder three-cylinder piston engines, 11,500 hp, 2 axles, 21 per hour5 knots, 6000 knots per hour. The storage capacity of coal is 200 and the maximum is 600 tons.
It was armed with six Armstrong-made 152 mm 40 caliber guns, two in front and two in the forech, and the remaining four were mounted side by side on the fore compartment and the rear mast. 6 Armstrong self-propelled guns of 120 mm 40 caliber, three on both sides. 10 Haqikaisi 57 mm 40 mm rapids, 6 Haqikais 37 mm 20 mm rapids, and 4 11 mm guns. 3 torpedo barrels of 356 mm, one in the bow and one on both sides, were all installed above the waterline.
3. Modification. The biggest drawback of the "Piedmontese" class frigates was their overarmament, which the Italian Navy had improved on several occasions. One year the four 152 mm rapid-fire guns were replaced with lighter 120 mm rapid-fire guns. In 1913, in order to further reduce the weight of the hull, the two 152 mm rapid-fire guns were eliminated and replaced with 120 mm rapid-fire guns, and the four 57 mm rapid-fire guns and four 37 mm rapid-fire guns were also removed.
On 14 November 191010, American pilot Eugene Erie piloted a "Curtis" two-wing aircraft from the American cruiser "Birmingham" docked in the harbor to begin a new era of aircraft boarding. The Italians were very curious about everything new, and they also wanted to be able to convert a battleship that could be used for testing take-off and landing, and the frigate "Piedmont" was chosen, but the Italian Navy was not very interested, probably because it was not heavy enough, so it gave up.
Fourth, the use of the status.
The "Piedmont" began in 1887 at the Ellswick shipyard in Armstrong, was launched on August 23, 1888, completed on September 8, 1888, and placed in the hands of the Italian fleet. During the Russo-Japanese War, he also participated in a number of military exercises and was sent to the Far East. Other than that, he did almost nothing, not even the First World War. It was abandoned in May 192 and soon disbanded due to damage.
The Beiyang Navy's "Zhiyuan"-class frigate "Zhiyuan" was also ordered at the British Armstrong shipyard and was completed in July 1887, which was the same period as the "Piedmont". It's just a pity that they are armed with old German artillery, not Armstrong. With a displacement of 2,300 tons, the Zhiyuan could be equipped with a 152 mm rapid-fire gun in the front, rear, left and right, and 120 mm rapid-fire guns on the left and right sides, which would have come in handy in the Sino-Japanese War. February** Power Stimulation Program