All four Zara-class heavy cruisers built for the Italian Navy were lost during World War II. The ships were deployed in the Mediterranean, and all were sunk in separate engagements. Zara, Fiume, and Pola were lost during the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. The fourth ship, Gorizia, was heavily damaged in an air raid and later sunk by Italian frogmen in 1944. The Zara-class was a class of Italian heavy cruisers built in the early 1930s. They were designed with a focus on heavy armor protect