Italian cruiser Nino Bixio

Illustration of Nino Bixio's sister ship Marsala
History
Italy
Builder	Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia
Laid down	15 February 1911
Launched	30 December 1911
Commissioned	5 May 1914
Stricken	15 March 1929
Fate	Scrapped, 1929
General characteristics
Class and type	Nino Bixio class
Displacement	Normal: 3,575 long tons (3,632 t) Full load: 4,141 long tons (4,207 t)
Length	140.3 m (460 ft 4 in)
Beam	13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Draft	4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)
Installed power	14 × Blechynden boilers 23,000 shp (17,000 kW)
Propulsion	3 × steam turbines 3 × screw propellers
Speed	26.82 knots (49.67 km/h; 30.86 mph)
Range	1,400 nmi (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	13 officers 283 enlisted men
Armament	6 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns 6 × 76 mm (3 in) guns 2 × 450 mm (17.7 in)} torpedo tubes 200 naval mines
Armor	Deck: 38 mm (1.5 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in)

Nino Bixio was a protected cruiser built by the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the early 1910s. She was the lead ship of the Nino Bixio class, which were built as scouts for the main Italian fleet. She was equipped with a main battery of six 120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns and had a top speed in excess of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), but her engines proved to be troublesome in service. Nino Bixio saw service during World War I and briefly engaged the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Helgoland in 1915. Her career was cut short in the post-war period due to severe cuts to the Italian naval budget, coupled with her unreliable engines. Nino Bixio was stricken from the naval register in March 1929 and sold for scrap.