The ship joined the 7th Cruiser Division.
Duca ''d'Aosta'' took part actively of the Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War, when the cruiser shelled the port of
Valencia on 15 February 1937. In 1938 departed on a
circumnavigation with her sister-ship, . The deteriorating world political situation caused this to be cut short after visits to the Caribbean and South America, and the ships returned
La Spezia in March 1939.
World War II At the Italian entry into the war, ''Duca d'Aosta'' was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and participated in the
Battle of Punta Stilo between 6–10 July. In addition, she protected North Africa convoys, took part in a fleet sortie against British cruisers and bombarded
Corfu on 18 December. During 1941, ''Duca d'Aosta
served mostly with the 8th Cruiser Division, laying minefields off North Africa and protecting convoys. One of the convoy duties, in December, led to the First Battle of Sirte, in which Duca d'Aosta'' took part. Her duties in 1942 were much as before, but with aggressive actions against Allied convoys, including the Operations
Harpoon and
Vigorous, in June, to resupply the British controlled island of
Malta. She sailed in August to intercept the critical
Pedestal convoy, but this sortie was abandoned due to poor air cover. On 13 June 1942, ''Duca d'Aosta'' survived a torpedo attack by the British submarine , while south of
Sardinia with the . In 1943,
Duca ''d'Aosta'' was inactive due to fuel shortages for most of the remainder of the year, but in August, she attempted, unsuccessfully, a bombardment of Allied positions around
Palermo. ''Duca d'Aosta'' was a "lucky ship" in that she never was damaged in any of the naval actions in which she participated nor was she ever damaged by air attack or submarine attack.
Allied service After the
Italian Armistice, ''Duca d'Aosta'' had a minor refit at
Taranto and in October 1943, with the cruisers and , she sailed to the South Atlantic, to serve with the Allies on shipping
blockade duties, based at
Freetown. There were seven patrols between November 1943 and February 1944; she returned to Italy in April and, thereafter, was used only for transport.
Postwar ''Duca d'Aosta
was transferred to the Soviet Union on 2 March 1949 and served as Kerch
in the Black Sea Fleet. The cruiser became a training ship in February 1956. Kerch'' was stricken on 20 February 1959 and scrapped. ==Citations==