Italian cruiser Carlo Alberto

Carlo Alberto at anchor
History
Kingdom of Italy
NameCarlo Alberto
NamesakeCharles Albert of Sardinia
BuilderArsenale di La Spezia, La Spezia
Laid down1 February 1892
Launched23 September 1896
Completed1 May 1898
RenamedZenson, 4 April 1918
ReclassifiedTroop transport, 4 April 1918
Stricken12 June 1920
FateSold for scrap, 1920
General characteristics
TypeArmored cruiser
Displacement6,397 t (6,296 long tons)
Length105.7 m (346 ft 9 in) (o/a)
Beam18.04 m (59 ft 2 in)
Draft7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range5,400 nmi (10,000 km; 6,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement500–504
Armament
Armor

Carlo Alberto was the second of two Vettor Pisani-class armored cruisers built for the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) in the 1890s. She was deployed overseas several times during her career, notably to the Far East and South America. The ship was used as a royal yacht by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in 1902, during which time she was used for radio experiments by Guglielmo Marconi. Carlo Alberto served as a training ship before the start of the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12. During the war she supported Italian operations in Libya. The ship was virtually inactive during World War I and was converted into a troop transport in 1917–18. Carlo Alberto was stricken from the Navy List in 1920 and subsequently broken up for scrap.