Italia class battleship

The Italia-class battleships were a class of two Italian battleships which served in the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were the largest and fastest warships in the world for several years after they entered service, and in many ways were the forerunners of the battlecruisers that appeared in the early 20th century.^[1]

Technical characteristics

Insp Eng Benedetto Brin (1833–1898) designed the Italia-class battleships in the 1870s. They were faster and more seaworthy than the Duilio-class battleships that had preceded them, and Brin intended them to be capable of fighting successfully against any foreign warship in commission.^[4] They were very large and fast warships for their time, displacing over 15,000 tons at full load; Italia could make 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h), while Lepanto could achieve 18.4 knots (34.1 km/h)^[1] in an era when no other ironclad in the world could make better than 15 knots (28 km/h).^[5]

Reflecting the thinking of the time that modern guns could penetrate any armor, Brin designed the Italia-class ships without any side armor, instead employing a cellular raft design; he did, however, design them with steel armor for their decks, citadels, and conning towers.^[1] The armored deck sloped downward to meet the ships' sides at a point 6 feet (1.8 m) above the waterline and combined with two bulkheads that ran the entire length of the ships, set back several feet from the side, and numerous other bulkheads interspaced among the two main bulkheads; the resulting cellular raft of small compartments was designed to detonate shells before they could penetrate very far into the ships and contain or dampen the effects of the resulting explosion by confining it to small compartments.^[6]

An unusual feature of the Italia class was the ability of each ship to carry an entire infantry division of 10,000 men, allowing them to play a strategic role in deploying Italian troops.^[1]

Italia and Lepanto each carried a main armament of four 17-inch (432 mm) guns which fired a 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) shell with a muzzle velocity of 1,755 feet (535 m) per second;^[1] each gun could fire one round every five minutes.^[7]The guns were mounted in pairs en echelon amidships in a single, large, diagonal, oval barbette, with one pair of guns on a turntable to port and the other to starboard; the port pair was mounted aft of the starboard pair. The barbette had 19 inches (483 mm) of compound armor. The magazine was below the armored deck, and ammunition was brought up to the main guns via an armored trunk.^[8] The ships had 25 feet (7.6 m) of freeboard, allowing the main guns to be mounted 33 feet (10 m) above the waterline, and the design and location of the barbette and turntables gave the guns good fields of fire.^[9]

Brin originally planned for the ships to displace 13,850 tons (14,066 tonnes), to have a secondary armament of eighteen 6-inch (152-mm) guns, and to carry 3,000 tons (3,047 tonnes) of coal for increased range over that of the Duilio class; in the end, however, the 6-inch (152-mm) armament was reduced to eight 6-inch (152-mm) and the coal capacity to 1,700 tons (1,727 tonnes) on 15,000 tons (15,237 tonnes) displacement. ^[10] The number of 6-inch (152-mm) guns was reduced because it was found that the additional guns could not have been manned when the 17-inch (432-mm) guns were in use.^[11]

The two ships differed in many significant ways. Italia's hull was constructed of iron and steel covered by wood, which in turn was covered by zinc, while Lepanto's hull was made entirely of steel. Lepanto's main battery was uniform, consisting of four 26-caliber Model 431C guns weighing 102.5 tons each, while Italia had a heterogenous main battery of three Model 431C guns and one 27-caliber Model 431B gun weighing 103.5 tons which fired the same round at the same muzzle velocity as the Model 431C. Their secondary and tertiary armament differed as well, and changed in differing ways during their careers.^[1]

Built with six funnels and one central mast, Italia underwent a refit between 1905 and 1908 in which her funnels were reduced to four and her mast was replaced by two new masts; Lepanto always had four funnels. Lepanto had a significantly more powerful propulsion plant than Italia, giving her a maximum speed 0.6-knot (1.1 km/h) higher than that of Italia.^[1]

Naming

Italia was named after Italy itself. Lepanto was named for the Battle of Lepanto, a Holy League naval victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1571 in which Italians played a major role.

Construction

Both ships were laid down in 1876 and underwent protracted construction periods; it took nearly 10 years to build Italia and nearly 11 to build Lepanto. Not launched until 1880, Italia was not completed until 1885; it took until 1883 to launch Lepanto, and she was not finished until 1887.^[1]

During the lengthy construction of the Italia-class ships, advances Brin could not have foreseen in the development of quick-firing guns and high-explosive shells rendered them obsolete as battleships before they could be completed. They soon became the functional equivalent of enormous protected cruisers because of their lack of side armor.^[12]

Operational history

The Italia-class ships remained in front-line service until just after the turn of the 20th century, when both were reduced to training and other subsidiary roles. Lepanto was sold for scrapping in 1915 just before Italy entered World War I, but Italia was retained for wartime service as a defensive floating battery and was not discarded until 1921.^[1][13]

Ships of the class

Italia

Italia was laid down in 1876, launched in 1880, and completed in 1885. After a major 1905-1909 refit, she served as a training ship until 1912, then as a harbor defense ship until stricken in 1914. Reinstated in 1915, she served during World War I as a defensive floating battery from 1915 until 1917. Converted into a cereal carrier between the end of 1917 and mid-1919, she served under the Italian State Railways from then until being returned to the Regia Marina in 1921. She was discarded in 1921 and scrapped.^[1][13]

Lepanto

Lepanto was laid down in 1876, launched in 1883, and completed in 1887. She served as a training ship from 1902 until 1910, then as a depot ship until stricken in 1912. Reinstated in 1913, she served as a "first-class auxiliary" for a year until stricken again in 1914. She was sold for scrapping in 1915.^[1][13]

Notes

References

• Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, eds., Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. London: Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Gibbons, Tony. The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. London: Salamander Books, Ltd., 1983. ISBN 0 86101 142 2.

External links