Written by D-Mitch
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| Vittorio Veneto, the last cruiser of Italian Navy |
Some years after the commissioning of the two helicopter cruisers of Andrea Doria class, the Italian Navy ordered an enlarged version of a helicopter cruiser. The new 180-meter cruiser received the name Vittorio Veneto (C550) and she entered in service with the Italian Navy in 1969. A second ship of the same design, the Italia, was cancelled. Instead, Italy proceeded later in the construction of Giuseppe Garibaldi light aircraft carrier, an aircraft carrying cruiser as it was classified in the early years of its service. Vittorio Veneto had a similar layout as the smaller Andrea Doria class
helicopter cruisers, but with two elevators in the large (40x18.5-metre) flight deck and the
hangar positioned below the flight deck. The ship was built from the keel up as guided missile cruiser forward and helicopter carrier aft. Unlike the Andrea Doria class ships, Vittorio Veneto had two combination mast/funnels, rather than separate funnels like the ships of the Andrea Doria class. Vittorio Veneto was a fast ship especially for her size as she was propelled by two steam turbines providing 73,000 shp, for a maximum speed of 32 knots. Similarly to Andrea Doria class vessels, she had a sets of stabilizing fins to improve stability for helicopter operations.
