Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was the second ship of the Luigi di Savoia Duca Degli Abruzzi-class of light cruisers, which was the last subclass of the Condotierri-class designed for operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

Commissioned in 1937 for the Regia Marina, Giuseppe Garibaldi saw active service in the Mediterranean Sea against the Allies, participating in several major battles such as the Battle of Calabria, the Battle of Cape Matapan, and the siege of Malta. When Italy surrendered to the Allies with the signing of the Armistice of Cassibile in 1943, Giuseppe Garibaldi served together with Allied ships in patrol duty in the South Atlantic. In 1953, Giuseppe Garibaldi was decommissioned and reconstructed into Europe's first guided missile cruiser, and became the Marina Militaire's flagship upon completion of her refits in 1961.

Giuseppe Garibaldi has the unique distinction of being the only surface warship in the world (re)built with the ability to launch nuclear ballistic missiles, and was initially designed and tested to carry the US-made UGM-27 Polaris missile in 4 specially-designed vertical launch tubes. Giuseppe Garibaldi never carried these missiles in service however due to the United States not providing the missiles for political reasons amidst Cold War tensions at the time. She would be decommissioned in 1971, and scrapped the year after.

Trivia

 * Giuseppe Garibaldi was named after the famous General Giuseppe Garibaldi, who is considered to be one of the greatest modern generals, having contributed greatly to the Italian unification and the founding of the Kingdom of Italy. A legend associated with the general is the red shirts worn by his volunteers instead of uniforms, which is referenced by the shipgirl's red shirt.
 * *Refers to her sister ship Duca Degli Abruzzi  as "Aneki".