Torpedo Cruisers: Goito Class

[Brian James]

Goito Class Torpedo Cruiser RM Monzambano pictured at Genoa in 1892.Between the 1870s and 1890s, the Italian Regia Marina built a series of Torpedo Cruisers, as part of a program intended to strengthen the fleet during a period of limited naval budgets. A total of six different Classes comprising eighteen vessels were constructed. The first vessel, Pietro Micca, was laid down in 1875, and was one of the first Torpedo Cruisers built by any navy. She proved to be a disappointment in service, being too slow to be an effective warship.She was followed by the more successful design, Tripoli, which provided the basis for the four Goito Class Cruisers and the eight-vessel Partenope Class. The four Goito Class...Goito,Montebello,Monzambano and Confienza were built on an experimental basis.