I was lucky enough to get this published in the Australian Naval History Society's Naval Historical Review. Comments and suggestions always welcome. New Article – Italy’s Light Cruiser Force All the best Andreas
Am I wrong to see a parallel between this "lightly armoured, fast, and heavily armed" philosophy for light cruisers, and the battlecruiser concept?
Really very interesting article, thanks for that! I found especially the dealing with the operational parameters as a basis for the layout informative: In some respects this allows a certain juxtaposition with the basic design philosophy of the German Panzerschiffe, which originally also assumed the French navy as the main opponent in (roughly) comparable engagements
I guess you can look at it something like this.(The Italians were obviously speed-freaks) In the case of the Panzerschiffe, the emphasis was on armament at the expense of armour protection and speed, but in return a superior range was achieved. However, a large number of other factors played a significant role. (This evolutionary line then culminated, after a series of preliminary designs - and many political and armament economic considerations - in the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.) With the light cruisers, unfortunately, no direct comparison is possible, because there were practically only gilded training ships in the Kriegsmarine. And this lack in turn found expression in mercilessly over-armed (and equally ineffectual) Narvik-class destroyers