extensive action against British forces in the Mediterranean Sea, including at the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan in July and November 1940 and March 1941, respectively. Trento was present at Calabria, where she battled British cruisers but did not sustain any damage. At the Battle of Cape Spartivento, either Trento or Trieste scored a hit on the British cruiser , and Trieste was briefly engaged but not seriously damaged by the battlecruiser . At Cape Matapan, the two cruisers engaged several British cruisers at very long range, with neither side scoring any hits. In November 1941, Trieste was torpedoed by the submarine ; she spent most of the next year under repair. In the meantime, Trento was also present during the inconclusive First and Second Battles of Sirte, and at the latter she severely damaged a British destroyer. Both cruisers were also frequently tasked with escorting convoys to supply Italian forces in North Africa as well as interdicting British convoys to the island of Malta in the central Mediterranean. During one of the latter missions to attack the British Operation Harpoon convoy in June 1942, Trento was torpedoed twice, first by a Bristol Beaufighter torpedo bomber and then sunk by the submarine with very heavy loss of life on 15 June; out of a wartime complement of 51 officers and 1,100 enlisted men, 549 were killed in the sinking, and a further 21 later died of wounds. Trieste returned to action in August 1942 for an operation that was cancelled following the torpedoing of another Italian cruiser by a British submarine. Trieste was moved to La Maddalena, Sardinia, where she was later sunk by United States heavy bombers on 10 April 1943. Salvage work on Trieste began in 1950. Her superstructure was cut away and she was refloated and towed to La Spezia; an inspection revealed that fuel oil had leaked into the machinery spaces, protecting them while the ship had been submerged. The Spanish Navy purchased the hull in 1952 and had her towed to Ferrol, with plans to convert the vessel into a light aircraft carrier. The project ultimately came to nothing due to the growing costs of the project, forcing its cancellation in 1956. She was ultimately broken up by 1959. Notes References External links Trento Marina Militare website Cruiser classes World War II cruisers of Italy Ships built in Livorno