The Trento class was a group of two heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the late 1920s, the first such vessels built for the Italian fleet. The two ships in the class— and , were named after the redeemed cities of Trento and Trieste annexed from the Austro-Hungarian empire after the victory in World War I. The ships were very lightly armored, with only a thick armored belt, though they possessed a high speed and heavy main battery of eight guns. Nominally built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, the two cruisers nevertheless exceeded the displacement limits imposed by the treaty. In the interwar period, the two cruisers served in the Cruiser Division, frequently alternating as the divisional flagship. Trento made two extensive trips abroad, the first was a tour of South American countries in mid to late-1929 and the second was a deployment to China to protect Italian nationals during the Chinese Civil War. In 1938, Trieste assisted in the repatriation of Italian volunteer soldiers who had fought in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Both ships saw extensive action in World War II, including the battles of Calabria, Cape Spartivento, and Cape Matapan. Trieste was damaged by a British submarine in November 1941 and therefore missed the First and Second Battles of Sirte, where at the latter action Trento damaged a British destroyer. Trento was torpedoed and sunk by a British torpedo bomber and a submarine in June 1942 with heavy loss of life. In April 1943, Trieste was also sunk in port at La Maddalena during an attack by United States heavy bombers. Salvage operations began in 1950, and after it was determined that the ship's engines had been preserved by leaked fuel oil, the hull was sold to the Spanish Navy, which planned to convert the vessel into a light aircraft carrier. The plan was eventually cancelled in 1956 due to rising costs of the project, and Trieste was broken up for scrap in 1959. Design In the early 1920s, the Regia Marina began design studies for cruisers that would adhere to the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited cruisers to a displacement of and an armament of guns. The design for what became the Trento class was prepared by General Filippo Bonfiglietti in 1923. In 1924, the French Navy laid down the first of two s,