Trento class: heavy guns, high speed, thin armor

The Trentos were cruiser-sized analogues to MAS torpedo boats: fast and dangerous, but vulnerable when caught. Their 150,000-shaft-horsepower machinery produced a trial speed of about 35.7 knots. Because they predated the London Naval Treaty's heavy-cruiser category, the Washington rules made eight inches the largest cruiser gun and imposed no total cruiser-tonnage limit. Italy therefore had room to divide construction between fast raiders and slower, better-armored ships instead of expecting one design to do both jobs. The Trentos' eight-inch battery suffered from coupled mountings and persistent ammunition-quality problems, while a roughly 70 mm belt offered little endurance against comparable cruisers. Four torpedo tubes per broadside were too few to make the ships convincing massed torpedo attackers. The design carried the cost and visibility of a heavy cruiser without fully serving either the protected fighting role or the expendable torpedo-strike role.