Caracciolo class battleship
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Built: | 1914–1920 |
| Building: | 4 |
| Completed: | 0 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 34,000 tons |
| Length: | 210 m (689 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 29 m (95 ft 2 in) |
| Draft: | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: | 4-shaft, 20 boilers 105,000 shp |
| Speed: | 28 kn (52 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 1,480 |
| Armament: | 8 × 380 mm (15 in) guns 12 × 150 mm (5.9 in) guns 12 × 40 mm (1.6 in) guns |
| Armor: | Belt: 300 mm (12 in) Turrets: 400 mm (16 in) Conning Tower: 350 mm (14 in) Deck: 35 mm (1.4 in) |
The Caracciolo class battleships were designed for the Italian Regia Marina in 1912-1913, and ordered in 1914, but never completed. The four ships of the class were intended to be the equivalent of the British Queen Elizabeth class and the answer to the Austro-Hungarian Ersatz Monarch class.
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[edit] Design
The class was intended to carry eight 15-inch guns on a displacement of 32,800 tons. Four oil-fired steam turbines would propel them to 25 knots, slightly faster than the British Queen Elizabeths which were themselves faster than most battleships. Armour - a 300 mm main belt, tapering to a 250 mm upper belt, with an additional 150 mm on the sides at the upper deck level around the secondary armament, a 35 mm armoured deck and two torpedo bulkheads - was not much different from other ships of the same generation.
The initial secondary armament was eighteen 6-inch and twenty-four 3-inch guns, but the final design featured twelve 6-inch and an anti-aircraft armament.
[edit] Fate
All four ships were laid down between October 1914 and June 1915. Work was suspended in 1916, by which stage only the first ship, Francesco Caracciolo, had significant work completed. She was restarted in 1919 and launched in 1920 to clear the slipway she was built on. A plan to convert her to an aircraft carrier was considered and rejected as the Italian Navy had no interest in carriers. The other three ships were cancelled and dismantled. The heavy guns intended for the class were assigned to monitors.
The hull of Francesco Caracciolo was sold after launching to Navagazione Generale Italiana in October 1920, who intended to turn her into a merchant ship, but this work was cancelled.
[edit] Ships
- Francesco Caracciolo: laid down 12 October 1914, launched 12 May 1920 - Royal Naval Yard, Castellamare di Stabia
- Francesco Morosini: laid down 27 June 1915 - Orlando, Livorno
- Cristoforo Colombo: laid down 14 March 1915 - Ansaldo, Genoa
- Marcantonio Colonna: laid down 3 March 1915 - Odero, Sestri Ponente
[edit] Sources
- Breyer, S. Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, London, Macdonald 1973. P.381
