Italian cruiser Agordat

Agordat was a torpedo cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina built in the late 1890s. She was the lead ship of the Agordat class, which had one other member, Coatit. The ship, which was armed with twelve 76 mm (3 in) guns and two 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, was too slow and short-ranged to be able to scout effectively for the fleet, so her career was limited. She saw action during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911–12, where she provided gunfire support to Italian troops in North Africa. She assisted in the occupation of Constantinople in the aftermath of World War I, and in 1919 she was reclassified as a gunboat. In January 1923, Agordat was sold for scrapping.

Agordat circa 1900
History
Italy
Name: Agordat
Namesake: City of Agordat
Laid down: 18 February 1897
Launched: 11 October 1899
Commissioned: 29 September 1900
Fate: Sold for scrapping, 4 January 1923
General characteristics
Class and type: Agordat class
Displacement: Full load: 1,340 long tons (1,360 t)
Length: 91.6 m (300 ft 6 in)
Beam: 9.32 m (30 ft 7 in)
Draft: 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range: 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 153–185
Armament:
Armor: Deck: 20 mm (0.79 in)

Design
Main article: Agordat-class cruiser

Agordat was 91.6 meters (300 ft 6 in) long overall and had a beam of 9.32 m (30 ft 7 in) and a draft of 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in). She displaced up to 1,340 long tons (1,360 t) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of a pair of horizontal triple-expansion steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by eight Blechynden water-tube boilers. Her engines were rated at 8,129 indicated horsepower (6,062 kW) and produced a top speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). The ship had a cruising radius of about 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She had a crew of between 153–185.[1]

Agordat was armed with a main battery of twelve 76 mm (3 in) L/40 guns mounted singly. She was also equipped with two 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. The ship was only lightly armored, with a 20 mm (0.79 in) thick deck.[1]

Service history

Agordat was built at the Castellammare shipyard; her keel was laid down on 18 February 1897 and her completed hull was launched on 11 October 1899. After completing fitting-out work, the new cruiser was commissioned into the Italian fleet on 26 September 1900.[1] Sea trials lasted from 11 February 1901 to 6 March, and during the final speed trial she exceeded her design speed by a knot.[2] She nevertheless proved to be too slow and short-legged to be useful as a fleet scout, which limited her active duty career.[1] She served in the main fleet in 1903–1904, during which time the fleet was kept in a state of readiness for seven months. For the remaining five months, the ships had reduced crews.[3] During the 1908 fleet maneuvers, Agordat was assigned to the hostile force that was tasked with simulating an attempt to land troops on Sicily.[4]

At the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire in September 1911, Agordat was assigned in the 2nd Division of the 1st Squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Ernesto Presbitero, the divisional commander.[5] On 15 October, Agordat and her sister joined the battleship Napoli, the armored cruisers Pisa, Amalfi, and San Marco, three destroyers, and several troop transports for an attack on the port of Derna. Negotiators were sent ashore to attempt to secure the surrender of the garrison, which was refused. Napoli and the armored cruisers bombarded the Ottoman positions throughout the day, and on 18 October the Ottomans withdrew, allowing the Italian troops to come ashore and take possession of the port. The fleet remained offshore and helped to repel Ottoman counterattacks over the following two weeks.[6] In December, Agordat joined San Marco and the battleships Roma and Regina Margherita at Benghazi. There, they provided gunfire support to the Italian garrison against repeated Turkish assaults.[7] In early April 1912, Agordat, the torpedo cruiser Iride, and several other vessels rendezvoused with a troop convoy carrying 10,000 men to Zuwarah near the border with Tunisia.[8]

In November 1918, Agordat participated in the occupation of Constantinople following the surrender of the Ottoman Empire. She and the battleship Roma joined a fleet of British, French, and Greek warships that entered the Dardanelles and landed troops to occupy the city.[9] In 1921, Agordat was reclassified as a gunboat and her armament was modified; four of the 76 mm guns were replaced by a pair of 120 mm (4.7 in) L/40 guns and the torpedo tubes were removed. This service lasted less than two years, and on 4 January 1923 the ship was sold for scrapping.[1]

Notes
  1. Gardiner, p. 348
  2. Phelps, p. 137
  3. Garbett, p. 1069
  4. Brassey, pp. 76–78
  5. Beehler, p. 9
  6. Beehler, p. 30
  7. Beehler, p. 47
  8. Beehler, pp. 65–66
  9. Willmott, pp. 331–332

References
  • Beehler, William Henry (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War: September 29, 1911, to October 18, 1912. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute. OCLC 1408563.
  • Brassey, Thomas A., ed. (1908). The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co. OCLC 5973345.CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  • Garbett, H., ed. (1903). Journal of the Royal United Service Institution. London: J. J. Keliher & Co. XLVII. OCLC 8007941.CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Phelps, Harry (1901). "Steam Trials". Notes on Naval Progress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office: 103–146. OCLC 5140928.
  • Willmott, H. P. (2009). The Last Century of Sea Power (Volume 1, From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35214-9.
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