Italian cruiser Pola

Pola underway, date unknown
History
Italy
Name	Pola
Namesake	Pola
Builder	O.T.O., Livorno
Laid down	17 March 1931
Launched	5 December 1931
Commissioned	21 December 1932
Stricken	18 October 1946
Fate	Sunk, 29 March 1941
General characteristics
Class and type	Zara-class cruiser
Displacement	Full load: 14,133 long tons (14,360 t)
Length	182.8 m (599 ft 9 in)
Beam	20.6 m (67 ft 7 in)
Draft	7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Installed power	8 × 3-drum Yarrow boilers 95,000 shp (71,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	5,361 nmi (9,929 km; 6,169 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	841
Armament	8 × 203 mm (8 in)/53 cal. guns 16 × 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns 4 × Vickers-Terni 40 mm/39 guns 8 × 12.7 mm machine guns
Armor	Deck: 70 mm (2.8 in) Belt: 150 mm (5.9 in) Turret faces: 150 mm Barbettes: 150 mm
Aircraft carried	2

Pola was a Zara-class heavy cruiser of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy), named after the Italian city of Pola (now Pula, Croatia). She was built in the Odero Terni Orlando shipyard in Livorno in the early 1930s and entered service in 1932. She was the fourth and last ship in the class, which also included Zara, Fiume, and Gorizia. Compared to her sisters, Pola was built as a flagship with a larger conning tower to accommodate an admiral's staff. Like her sisters, she was armed with a battery of eight 203-millimeter (8.0 in) guns and was capable of a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).

Pola initially served as the flagship of the 2nd Squadron, and in 1940 she led the squadron during the battles of Calabria and Cape Spartivento, in July and November, respectively. During the latter engagement she briefly battled the British cruiser HMS Berwick. Pola was thereafter reassigned to the 3rd Division, along with her three sister ships. The ship took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan in late March 1941. During the battle, she was disabled by a British aerial torpedo. Later, in a fierce night engagement in the early hours of 29 March, Pola, Zara, Fiume, and two destroyers were sunk by the British Mediterranean Fleet with heavy loss of life.