 Illustration of Marsala
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nino Bixio class |
| Operators |  Regia Marina |
| Preceded by | Quarto |
| Succeeded by | Campania class |
| Built | 1911–1914 |
| In commission | 1914–1929 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| 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 |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 26.82 to 27.66 kn (49.67 to 51.23 km/h; 30.86 to 31.83 mph) |
| Range | 1,400 nmi (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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| Armor |
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The Nino Bixio class was a pair of protected cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1910s. The two ships, Nino Bixio, and Marsala, were built in Castellammare between 1911 and 1914. They were intended to serve as scouts for the main Italian fleet, and as such required a high top speed. They were overweight as built, which prevented them from reaching their intended maximum speed. They were a disappointment in service, especially compared to the earlier—and faster—cruiser Quarto, which cut their careers short.
Both ships saw limited action during World War I, largely a result of the cautious strategies employed by the Regia Marina and its opponent, the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Nino Bixio was involved in the pursuit of a group of Austro-Hungarian raiders in December 1915, but did not engage them before they escaped. Marsala briefly battled Austro-Hungarian cruisers during the Battle of the Otranto Straits in May 1917. Both ships were sold for scrapping in the late 1920s, the victims of very tight naval budgets and their own poor performance.