2022 Venice, Italy – The Armstrong – Mitchell crane in the Venice Arsenale

The need for a large-capacity crane in the Venice arsenal was induced in 1881 by the decision to build the battleship Francesco Morosini, the first large warship built in Venice with a metal hull, on which 4 breech-loading cannons were to be placed 106 ton Armstrong. In 1883 the crane was commissioned directly by the Navy from Armstrong, Mitchell & Co., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who already had supplies of the ordnance for the ships under construction on order. The crane remained in operation for about 30 years, until the outbreak of the First World War, when it suffered the first damage. In the 1950s it completely ceased to operate.
Expin carried out a campaign of diagnostic investigations on the metal structure in order to characterize the state of conservation, homogeneity and mechanical characteristics of the cast iron used for the construction of the crane.