Product Details
AN INTERESTING HALF-MODEL IN WOOD OF THE ITALIAN HEAVY CRUISER 'ZARA', BUILT BY A CREW MEMBER AND IN A GLAZED FRAME,
overall dimensions 29in. x 16in. including frame, stylised half-model in several varieties of wood with propellor and railings in brass, and rope rigging work, the model surmounting a plaque which reads "MADE BY CACCIOPPOLI F.co. 1944. P.O.W. 1", the whole in a glazed softwood frame with two suspension rings.
Provenance: We are kindly informed by the vendor that this half-model was built by crew member Caccioppoli, and presented by him to a Mr. Burton, her father-in-law. Caccioppoli was an Italian prisoner of war and interned in the Leicestershire countryside where he worked on a farm owned by the Burton family.
The Italian warship Zara was launched April 1930 as the first of a new class of four heavy cruisers. She carried reasonable armour and was able to test her opponents' with six 8in. guns in three barbettes. The class were well received by the Regia Marina and were considered one of the best cruiser designs of the last war. This was despite the fact that the ships were not fitted with radar, and this was to have a clear impact on their fate.
At the outbreak of war Zara, in the company of two of her sisters, Gorizia and Fiume were formed into the 1st Cruiser Division. For a spell they proved a thorn in the side of the Royal Navy who had, at the time, no ships in the Mediterranean that could keep them at bay. Indeed, the Royal Navy were rather out-gunned in the battles of Calabria and Cape Spartivento, although these proved to be inconclusive.
It was at the Battle of Cape Matapan though, that Zara was brought to account and sunk. She had been in the company of several ships escorting the carrier Vittorio Veneto back to port after she had been damaged by an aerial torpedo. Zara's sister-ship Pola was also damaged and was forced to stop, being left behind by the rest of the convoy. However, under cover of darkness the bulk of the escort party re-traced their tracks to protect the Pola. They were surprised by three Royal Navy battleships, Repulse, Valiant and Barham, who were all equipped with radar and had no difficulty in finding the Italian fleet. Zara was sunk in the ensuing battle, along with most of the other Regia Marina ships, although a large number of her crew were picked-up and sent to Britain for internment.
Estimate £150-250