Bolzano

Unit Card:

WASBolzanoStatCard.jpg

Set - Rarity - Number

War at Sea - Rare - 44/64

History:

Bolzano was built a year later than the other two, with enough differences that she is sometimes considered a separate class. She served in most of the same missions as her sisters. She was hit three times by six-inch rounds from the British cruiser HMS Neptune in the battle of Calabria, where she sustained two deaths and minor damage below the waterline, which was patched up in just six minutes. Another round hit in the "B" turret and holed the guns, which continued to fire undeterred. A third round struck the torpedo room, where the two fatalities took place.[3] At the beginning of the battle of Spartivento, her Ro.43 floatplane was the first to spot the British fleet 20 miles off Algeria. On 25 August 1941, while returning from an abortive attempt to intercept minelayer HMS Manxman, used by the British in re-supply missions, Bolzano was damaged by a torpedo from the British submarine HMS Triumph near the Straits of Messina. With her steering damaged, she had to be towed to Messina. Repairs lasted three months, during which she was hit during an air raid.

In August 1942, when her participation in the interception of the Pedestal convoy had been cancelled, she was again torpedoed while returning to base. Bolzano and the light cruiser Muzio Attendolo were both seriously damaged by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Unbroken off the Aeolian Islands on 13 August.The damage to Bolzano required her magazines to be flooded and she was beached at the island of Panarea. After a month, she was salvaged and taken first to Naples, then to La Spezia for repairs. While she was at La Spezia in September the Italians surrendered and she was captured by the Germans. However the damage was so heavy that they didn't have resources to repair her. She was sunk by former members of Decima Flottiglia MAS, transported by human torpedoes, in a combined Italian and British raid on 21 June 1944.After the war she was refloated, and sold for scrap in 1947.

Reviews:

Lobukia
Not a half bad ship… decent guns, okay air defense, average armor/vital, nice SA… but for the price of 2 Bolzanos, you can get 3 Zaras! The uses and utility of this craft are nearly identical to the Zara; an excellent screening unit. If you only have a Bolzano and don't have any Zaras, don't feel let down, she's a good ship with solid stats. But, if you have a Zara, go with that instead.

One thing that might recommend the Bolzano over the Zara: speed. If you constantly are losing initiative as an Italian and find yourself chasing enemy units around the map at range 3 or 4, the Flank Speed SA might make this unit worth it, as it gives you that closing power you need.

mercenary_moose
As Lobukia pointed out, Bolzano is a good ship, but Zara is much, much better. Think; for the cost of Bolzano you could get a Zara and Pegaso and have a destroyer-killing beast as well as an excellent anti-sub unit. Flank Speed is fun but doesn't justify the additional cost.

ROUS
The "Flank Speed" Special ability was unique to the Bolzano until Set 5 with the introduction of the Scipione Africano. At a class limit of one, the Bolzano had no ships to partner with. Now there is the possibility of a Scipione Africano + Bolzano pairing that may add some surprise to a turn 3 maneuver when fleets close within 3 sectors of one another, making a 3 space move possible. This ability is far more powerful when the initiative has been won, as the opponents move may activate this ability

Plastic Figure Notes:

Bolzano.jpg
page revision: 11, last edited: 18 Dec 2015 09:43
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