Cristoforo Colombo in Italian service
History
Italy
Name	Cristoforo Colombo
Namesake	Christopher Columbus
Laid down	15 April 1926
Launched	4 April 1928
Commissioned	1 July 1928
Fate	Ceded to the Soviet Union as war reparation, March 1949
Name	Dunay
Acquired	1949
Stricken	1959
Fate	Destroyed by fire in 1963
General characteristics
Displacement	4.146 t (4 long tons) standard
Length	100.5 m (329 ft 9 in)[citation needed]
Beam	15.5 m (50 ft 10 in)[citation needed]
Draught	7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Propulsion	sail
Speed	10 knots
Complement	400

Dunay was a tall ship serving with the Soviet Navy, first launched as Cristoforo Colombo, laid at the Castellammare yards on 15 April 1926. It was destroyed in a fire in 1963.^[1]

History

In 1925, the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) ordered two school ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-gun ships of the line. The first, Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Regia Marina until 1943. After World War II, the ship was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of the war reparations demanded by the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, and was decommissioned in 1959.

The second ship was Amerigo Vespucci, launched in 1931 and still in service.