Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:20:49-4:22:29

Why Italy built so many torpedo-cruiser classes

Italian torpedo-cruiser construction reflected rivalry with France and a live doctrinal contest between expensive battleships and numerous smaller torpedo craft.

French NavyItalian NavyJeune EcoleNaval DoctrineNaval ProcurementTorpedo Cruisers
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Question

Why did Italy build so many different classes of torpedo cruiser?

Short answer

Rivalry with France and changing support for Jeune Ecole-style small craft kept torpedo cruisers in competition with battleships for procurement money.

Notes

Italy's torpedo-cruiser programs developed amid rivalry with France and arguments over the value of large battleships. Jeune Ecole ideas offered smaller torpedo-armed vessels as an alternative claim on naval funds. Changes in government and naval leadership shifted the balance between those options. The criticism also reaches French construction, which is described as losing roughly a decade of capital-ship development under the doctrine's influence.