Regia Marina

Regia Marina (RM)
Regia Marina Ensign. The Merchant Navy ships had a similar ensign, without the crown
Active	1861-1946
Country	Kingdom of Italy
Allegiance	Kingdom of Italy
Type	Navy
Engagements	Third Italian War of Independence Seven Weeks War Italo-Turkish War World War I Spanish Civil War Italian invasion of Albania World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Luigi Amedeo Paolo Thaon di Revel Inigo Campioni Arturo Riccardi

The Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic, the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic (Marina Militare).

History

Regia Marina naval jack until 1900.

Origins

The Regia Marina was born on 17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. Just as the Kingdom was a unification of various states in the Italian peninsula, so the Regia Marina was formed from the navies of those states, though the main constituents were the navies of the former kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples. The Regia Marina inherited a substantial number of ships, both sail- and steam-powered, and the long naval traditions of its constituents, especially those of Sardinia and Naples, but also suffered from some major handicaps.

Firstly, it suffered from a lack of uniformity and cohesion; the Regia Marina was a heterogeneous mix of equipment, standards and practice, and even saw hostility between the officers from the various navies. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools at Genoa and Naples, and not fully addressed until the opening of a unified Naval Academy at Livorno in 1881. Secondly, unification occurred during a period of rapid advances in naval technology and tactics, as typified by the launch of La Gloire by France in 1858, and later by the appearance of, and battle between, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia in 1862. These innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. Italy did not possess the shipyards or infrastructure to build the modern ships required, but the then Minister for the Navy, Admiral Carlo di Persano, launched a substantial programme to purchase warships from foreign yards.

Battle of Lissa

The new navy's baptism of fire came on July 20, 1866 at the Battle of Lissa during the Seven Weeks War (also known as the Third Italian War of Independence). The battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. This was one of the few fleet actions of the nineteenth century, and as a major sea battle that involved ramming, it had a profound, though with hindsight a detrimental, effect on warship design and tactics. The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano mustered 12 ironclad and 17 wooden-walled ships, though only one, the Affondatore, was of the most modern turret ship design. Despite a marked disadvantage in numbers and equipment, superior handling by the Austrians under Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff resulted in a severe defeat for the Italians who lost 2 armoured ships and 640 men.

Before World War I

Following the defeat at Lissa the Regia Marina made significant advances towards recovery.

1881, 1882 battleships Duilio and Dandolo commissioned, in their time the most powerful warships in the world
1896 Circumnavigation of the globe by the corvette Magenta
1897 Experiments with Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications
1909 First use of aircraft with the fleet

In 1911 and 1912, the Regia Marina was involved in the Italo-Turkish War against forces of the Ottoman Empire.

World War I

Italy built and maintained six Dreadnought battleships (Dante Alighieri as a prototype, Giulio Cesare, Conte di Cavour and Leonardo da Vinci of Cavour class, Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio of Doria Class), but they did not participate in major naval actions in World War I. For most of the war the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies each kept a relatively passive watch over their counterparts. The Italian fleet lost the pre-dreadnought battleship Benedetto Brin at Brindisi (27 September 1915) and the dreadnought Leonardo da Vinci at Taranto (2 August 1916) due to magazine explosion (although there were rumours of Austrian sabotage). The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italia) attacked with insidious weapons: MAS 21 and MAS 15 sank the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István in the Adriatic Sea on 10 June 1918; an early type of human torpedo (Mignatta) entered the harbour of Pula and sank the Austro-Hungarian flagship Viribus Unitis on 1 November 1918. The battleship Teggetthoff (sister of the former two) was handed over to Italy as war prize in 1919.

Interwar period

During the interwar period, the Italian government decided to enhance its Royal Navy (Regia Marina) with a view to challenging the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. In order to minimize contact with the more experienced British vessels, the Regia Marina based its strategy on fast ships with long-range artillery. Accordingly it had new guns developed which had smaller calibers but longer ranges than their British counterparts; furthermore, in order to allow higher speeds, new Italian ships had designs with thinner armour (see, for example, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere).

Spanish Civil War

Outside of assisting with deployments and patrols in support of the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie), approximately fifty-eight Italian Navy submarines took part in hunting operations against Republican naval forces off of Spain. These submarines were organized as the Submarine Legion (Sottomarini Legionari) and complimented German U-boat operations as part of Operation Ursula.

World War II

An alternate simplified version of the Italian crown was seen used on the Regia Marina's ensign during the Fascist era and World War II.

Mediterranean

Main article: Battle of the Mediterranean

When Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940, the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) was the fourth largest navy in the world. The Italian Navy had a mix of modernized and new battleships. The Italian Navy challenged the Allies, mostly the British Royal Navy, for supremacy of the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian Navy's objectives were to:

Protect sea routes between Italy and Libya, assure uninterrupted movement of convoys between Italy and Tripoli and Benghazi; protect sea routes between Italy and Albania.
Provide coastal protection.
Anti-convoy action against the Allies.

Air support was provided by the Italian Air Force Auxiliary to the Navy (Aviazione Ausiliara per la Marina), the naval air service during wartime. The Air Force Auxiliary was in charge of all land-based aircraft, shore-based hydroplanes amongst of vessel-based aircraft, and hydroplanes of Italian Navy.

Italian warships had a general reputation as well-designed and good-looking. But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour. All Italian warships lacked radar, although the lack of radar was partly offset by the fact that Italian warships were equipped with good rangefinder and fire-control systems. In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion on how to act, Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters (Supermarina). This could lead to action being avoided when the Italians had a clear advantage (e.g., During "Operation Hats" [1]. Italian Naval Headquarters was conscious that the British could replace ships lost in the Mediterranean, whereas Italian Navy resources were limited).

In November 1940, the British attacked the Italian naval base at Taranto. The Battle of Taranto proved to be a very successful attack by carrier-borne aircraft carrying torpedoes against Italian battleships in harbor. This success provided one of the inspirations for the Japanese attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

The Allies gained the upper hand after several actions. A major defeat was inflicted on the Italian Royal Navy at Cape Matapan, where the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy intercepted and destroyed three heavy cruisers (Zara, Pola and Fiume; all of the same class) and two Poeti class destroyers in a night ambush, with the loss of over 2300 seamen. The Allies had Ultra intercepts, which predicted the Italian movements, and radar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the Italian debacle.

HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour surrounded by anti-torpedo nets. Italian Royal Navy divers sank her on 19 December 1940.

The most successful attack performed by the Italian Navy involved divers planting mines on British battleships in Alexandria harbour. On 19 December 1941, HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant were sunk in shallow water by mines planted by Italian divers. It took almost two years before both vessels could be raised and returned to active service.

On the night of 19 December, Force K, comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based at Malta, became stranded in an Italian minefield off Tripoli. "Force K" had accounted for the destruction of some 60,000 tons of Axis shipping in 1941. The Cruiser HMS Neptune and the Destroyer HMS Kandahar were lost. In addition, three other ships were seriously damaged and more than nine-hundred men died. Force K was put out of action and Malta's offensive capabilities were reduced to a minimum.

This sudden series of Allied disasters allowed the Italian Royal Navy to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean. The Axis supply routes from southern Europe to North Africa were almost untouched by the British Royal Navy or its allies for several months.

The Italian fleet took advantage of the situation and went on the offensive. The fleet blocked or decimated at least three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, such as the Second Battle of Sirte, the Battle of Mid-June, Operation Harpoon, Operation Vigorous, and Operation Pedestal. All of thee engagements were favourable to the Axis. Despite this activity, the only real success of the Italian Fleet was the aerial and surface attacks on the Harpoon convoy. These attacks sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six in the convoy reached Malta. This was the only undisputed "squadron-sized" victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.

However, this was only a brief happy time for the Axis. The oil and supplies brought to Malta, despite heavy losses, by Operation Pedestal in August and the Allied landings in North Africa, Operation Torch, in November, turned the fortunes of war against Italy. After years of stalemate, the Axis forces were ejected from Libya and Tunisia in just six months, their supply lines harassed day after day by the overwhelming aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies.

The Italian Royal Navy performed well and bravely ^[1] in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on a speed advantage, but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced her main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany.

Atlantic

From 10 June 1940, submarines of the Italian Navy took part in the Battle of the Atlantic alongside the U-Boats of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). The Italian submarines were based in Bordeaux, France. While more suited for the Mediterranean Sea than the Atlantic Ocean, the thirty-two Italian submarines that operated in the Atlantic sank one-hundred-and-nine Allied ships for a total of 593,864 tons.

Later, the Regia Marina even planned an attack to New York harbour for December 1942, but this plan was delayed for many reasons and was never carried out. [2]

Red Sea

Italian submarine "Archimede" in Bordeaux after sailing from Italian East Africa to occupied France.

From 10 June 1940, the Italian Navy's Red Sea Flotilla, based in Massawa, Eritria, posed a potential threat to Allied shipping between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea during the East African Campaign. The threat was increased after the Italian conquest of British Somaliland in August 1940 allowed the Italians the use of the port of Berbera in British Somaliland. The threat disappeared when Italian East Africa fell in 1941.

Most of the Red Sea Flotilla was destroyed during the first months of war or when the port of Massawa fell in April 1941. However, there were a few survivors. In February 1941, prior to the fall of Massawa, the colonial ship Eritrea and the auxiliary cruisers Ramb I and Ramb II broke out and sailed to Kobe, Japan. While Ramb I was sunk by the New Zealand cruiser Leander off the Maldives, Eritrea and Ramb II made it to Kobe. As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines—Guglielmo, Gauleo Ferraras, Perla, and Archimede—sailed south from Massawa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed to German occupied Bordeaux, France. One or two Italian merchant ships from the Red Sea Flotilla made it to Vichy French-controlled Madagascar.

Black Sea

At German request, in May 1942, the Italian Navy deployed four 24 ton anti-submarine motorboats (Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile, MAS), six CD class submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to the Black Sea. The vessels were transported overland to the River Danube at Vienna, Austria, and then to Constanca, Romania. The flotilla had an active and successful campaign, based at Yalta and Feodonia. Eventually, they were transferred to the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) and ultimately captured by Soviet forces in Constanca in August 1944.

Lake Ladoga

The Italian Navy operated four Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs, or Motoscafo Armato Silurante, or MAS) on Lake Ladoga during the Continuation War (1941-1944). As part of Naval Detachment K, German, Italian, and Finnish vessels operated against Soviet gunboats, escorts and supply vessels during the Siege of Leningrad between June 21 and October 21, 1942. Ultimately the Italian vessels were turned over to the Finns.

Far East

The Italian Navy had a naval base in the concession territory of Tiensin in China. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layer Lepanto and the gunboat Carlotto. During World War II, Italian supply ships, auxiliary cruisers, and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East. The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities like Shanghai, China, and Kobe, Japan.

The auxiliary cruisers were merchant ships equipped with guns that, while still disguised to look like merchant ships, could be used for military purposes like destroying enemy merchant ships.

The Barbarigo, the Cappellini, the Giuliani, and the Torelli were converted by the Italians into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. The name of the Cappellini was changed to Aquilla III.

The Armistice

In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed and the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. Under the terms of this armistice, the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) had to sail its ships to an Allied port. Most sailed to Malta, but a flotilla from La Spezia headed towards Sardinia. They were intercepted and attacked by German aircraft and the Roma was sunk by two hits from Fritz X guided glide-bombs. Among the 1600 sailors killed onboard the Roma was the Italian Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral (Ammiraglio) Carlo Bergamini.[3]

As vessels became available to the new Italian government, the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy was formed to fight on the side of the Allies. Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. Few Italian Royal Navy crews chose to fight for Mussolini's new fascist regime in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI). Mussolini's pro-German National Republican Navy (Marina Nazionale Repubblicana) hardly reached a twentieth the size attained by the co-belligerent Italian fleet. ^[2] In the Far East, the Japanese occupied the Italian concession territory of Tiensin.

There was little use for the surrendered Italian battleships and there was doubt about the loyalties of the crews. So these ships were interned in Egypt. In June 1944, the less powerful battleships (Andrea Doria, Caio Duilio and Giulio Cesare) were allowed to return to Augusta harbour in Sicily for training. The others (Vittorio Veneto and Italia—ex Littorio), remained at Ismaïlia in the Suez Canal until 1947. After the war, the Giulio Cesare was passed to the Soviet Union.

In the Co-belligerency period, until "VE" (Victory in Europe) Day, Italian light cruisers participated in the naval war in the Atlantic Ocean with patrols against German raiders. Smaller naval units (mainly submarines and torpedo boats) served in the Mediterranean Sea. In the last days of war, the issue of whether Italian battleships and cruisers should participate in the Pacific Ocean war was debated by the Allied leaders.

Far East after the armistice

There were Italian Navy units in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The reactions of their crews varied greatly. In general, surface units, mainly supply ships and auxiliary cruisers, either surrendered at Allied ports (Eritrea at Colombo, Ceylon) or, if in Japanese controlled ports, they were scuttled by their own crew (Conte Verde, Lepanto, and Carlotto at Shanghai). Ramb II was taken over by the Japanese in Kobe and re-named Calitea II.

Four Italian submarines were in the Far East at the time of the armistice: Cagni, Cappellini (Aquilla III ), Giuliani, and Torelli. The crew of the Cagni heard of the armistice and surrendered at Durban, South Africa. The Cappellini, Giuliani, and Torelli and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The boats passed to German U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, they continued to fight against the Allies. The German Navy (Kriegsmarine) assigned new officers to the three submarines. The three were re-named U.IT.23, U.IT.24 and U.IT.25 and took part in German war operations in the Pacific. The Giuliani was sunk by the British submarine Tallyho in February 1944. In May 1945, the other two vessels were taken over by the Japanese Imperial Navy when Germany surrendered. About twenty Italian sailors continued to fight with the Japanese. The Torelli remained active until 30 August 1945, when, in Japanese waters, this last Fascist Italian submarine shot down a B-25 Mitchell bomber of the United States Army Air Force.

Ships