Shipbucket

Italy, Gaius Duilius class


Italy, R.N. Cristoforo Colombo


The Gaius Duilius class, was a class of battleships of the Regia Marina, composed of 5 ships: Gaius Duilius, Cristoforo Colombo, Donatello, Giogione and Sandro Botticelli, of which the first three ships of the class were completed. Built between 1941 and 1945, they were the most modern battleships used by Italy during World War II. They were developed in response to the French Super-Alsace-class battleships, and were armed with 427-millimeter guns and had a top speed of 31 knots (56 km / h; 35 mph).

Displacement
52,000 t
54 560 t apc
Length 272 meters
Beam 27.7 meters
Draft 9.6 m maximum

Armament
• 12 guns of 427 mm
• 18 guns of 155 mm
• 12 cannons of 90 mm
• 104 AA 13.2mm guns
• 14 AA 20mm guns
• 17 AA 37mm guns

Propulsion
10 Yarrows boilers
4 Belluzzo turbines
4 propellers

Power 150,000 hp (124 MW)
Speed ​​31 knots (56 km / h)
Range 5320 nautical miles at 18 knots
Crew 2466
Aircraft 5 seaplanes

Aircraft equipment
• 1 catapult
• hangar

Italy, RN Ferdinando Cassone (1941)



This is an alternative study concept to the RN Ferdinando Cassone (Design 1937), With an innovative design with interesting features, Cassone's Battleship would have been one of the most powerful battleships in the world, but unfortunately it remained just a model. The ship's main armament is composed of 4 turrets with dual 456mm / 46 cannons, which is the largest caliber ever installed on an Italian ship. The secondary ones are made up of 152mm / 55 guns that serve as normal anti-aircraft guns and 8 90mm / 53 guns, which are both used as dual-purpose guns. And lastly, the AA armament is made with 37mm / 54 autocannons. The ship also possesses ship characteristics such as armor and engine power, they were specified by engineer Cassone and they are quite impressive. The armor belt is 456/350/150 mm, and the deck is 50 + 120 mm, quite similar to battleships like the Montana. The engine power is 216000 HP, which in the original project would have given a maximum speed of 35-40 knots, but it was also estimated that the original project would reach a weight of 45000 tons, other sources claim 57000 t, but considering the new Technology and added the new structures, I opted for a weight similar to that of ships like G. Kurfurst and Montana, 65000 t, and for a maximum speed of 31 knots, a good speed for a battleship of this type.

Displacement
65,000 t
Length 274,75 m
Beam 40.0 m
Draft 16.4 m maximum

Armament
• 4x2 guns of 456 mm
• 6x3 guns of 152 mm
• 16 cannons of 90 mm
• 48 AA 37mm guns
• 12 AA 13.2mm guns

Propulsion
10 Yarrows boilers
4 Belluzzo turbines
4 propellers

Power 216,000 hp
Speed 31 knots
Crew 2320

Italy, RN-Roma (1943)



Roma was an Italian Littorio-class battleship (known in some countries as Vittorio Veneto) that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was completed in the middle of 1942, so she hardly saw any action during the war.

History
She was the flagship of the fleet commander, Admiral Carlo Bergamini. The ship's commander was Adone Del Cima. The fleet included two other battleships; the Vittorio Veneto and the Italia (formerly Littorio), three cruisers and eight destroyers (other ships joined during the voyage).

The next day, the ships were intercepted near Asinara Island (north of Sardinia) by 12 German Dornier Do 2K-2s from the III Group of KG100, which was based at Istres, near Marseille. All of them carried anti-ship guided bombs called Fritz X.

Pietro Badoglio ordered to open fire only after the attack on them had begun. Although when the fleet finally opened anti-aircraft fire, the German planes were already out of Italian gun range (5000m). Although such an altitude seems unusual, the Fritz X required a minimum altitude of 4,000 m to be successfully radio controlled to the target.

The first ship to be hit by the new weapons was the RN Italia, although she did not have serious consequences.

The RN Roma was subsequently hit twice by Fritz X bombs, a weapon unknown to the Italians at the time. The first hit, amidships, between two 90mm anti-aircraft mounts, tore through the deck and side of the ship and exploded underwater, slowing the battleship to just 10 knots. The second impact was fatal and occurred between tower number 2 and the command bridge, causing an explosion in the turret that affected the boilers and initiated the detonation of the magazine of the 381 mm ammunition, the command tower it broke off and was thrown towards the sea with all its occupants.

Admirals Carlo Bergamini, Del Cima, 86 officers, and some 1,264 crew, died at 16:12; time the ship exploded, she broke in two and sank. Only 596 severely burned survivors could be rescued.1 She was the first capital ship sunk by a guided missile.

Italy, RN-Regina Maribel

Italy, Abruzzi-Class



R.N. Luigi di Savoia Duca degli AbruzzI (1944)

Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi was an Italian Duca degli Abruzzi-class light cruiser, which served in the Regia Marina during World War II. After the war, she was retained by the Marina Militare and decommissioned in 1961. She was built by OTO in La Spezia and was named for her by Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, an Italian explorer and admiral of the First World War. The Duca degli Abruzzi class cruisers were the final version of the Condottieri class and were larger and better protected than their predecessors. Armament was also increased with two additional 152mm guns, triple turrets replacing twins in the "A" and "Y" positions, thus making them Italy's most heavily armed light cruisers during World War II. The machinery was also revised, leading to these ships having a slightly slower top speed than their predecessors.

After 1945, her torpedo launchers were removed and replaced with two 4-inch anti-aircraft guns. From 1953 she was equipped with an AN/SPS-6 2D air search radar.
The ship was completed in 1937 and formed the 8th Cruiser Division with her sister ship Giuseppe Garibaldi, at the Battle of Calabria, where she led a squadron of light cruisers that fired the first salvos of the battle and on September 1, 1940: part of the fleet that tried to intercept the Hats convoy in the battle of Cape Matapan, on September 24, 1941: it was part of the fleet that tried to intercept the Halberd convoy headed for Malta however it was damaged by an aircraft torpedo on September 22 November 1941 but repaired, she was interned by the Allies after the Italian Armistice and later served with the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy in the South Atlantic on operations against would-be German invaders.

At the end of 1953, during the negotiations that ended with the handover of Trieste to Italy, the cruiser was transferred from Taranto to Venice, in order to strengthen the Italian position at the negotiating table. where Finally, on October 26, 1954, the Duca degli Abruzzi was the flagship of the Italian naval force that took possession of the Trieste port facilities and served in the post-war Marina Militare until 1961.
General Characteristics

Displacement
• 11,350 t (11,735 Full)

Length
• 187 m
Sleeve
• 18.9 m
Draft
• 6.9 m

Armament
• 10 x 152 mm / 55 caliber (6 in)
• 4 x 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns
• 8 x 37 mm (1.5 in) 54-cal. guns
• 2 x 20 mm (1 in)/65 caliber
• 6 x 533 mm torpedo tubes
• 2 x anti-submarines mortars

Propulsion
• 6x boilers
• 2 propeller shafts

Speed
• 34 knots (63 km/h)
Range
• 4,125 nmi (7,640 km) at 13 kn (24 km/h)

Crew
• 640 sailors

Italy, Zara-Class



R.N. Zara (1940)

The Zara class was a group of four heavy cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The class comprised the Zara, Fiume, Gorizia and Pola vessels, the latter of which it was completed with a slightly different design. The ships were a substantial improvement over previous Trento-class cruisers, incorporating significantly heavier armor protection at the cost of the Trentos' very high speed. They carried the same main battery of eight 203mm guns and had a top speed of 32 knots. Among the best-protected heavy cruisers built by any navy in the 1930s, heavy armor was procured only in violation of the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited cruiser displacement to 10,000 long tons (10,160 t).

All four ships served with the main fleet in the interwar period, where they were primarily occupied with training exercises and fleet reviews. During the Spanish Civil War, Gorizia evacuated Italian citizens and Pola participated in non-intervention patrols. All four ships supported the Italian invasion of Albania in April 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. After Italy joined the wider conflict in 1940, all four ships saw extensive action in the Mediterranean Sea against British forces. The ships participated in the battles of Calabria and Cape Matapan, and in the latter engagement Zara, Pola and Fiume were sunk in a one-sided night action with three British battleships.

Gorizia continued in service, seeing further action at the First and Second Battles of Sirte. American heavy bombers badly damaged her in April 1943 and she was towed to La Spezia, where she was still under repair when Italy surrendered in September. Germany seized the ship when they occupied the port, and Italian commandos tried unsuccessfully to scuttle her in June 1944. In poor condition at the end of the war, the post-war Italian Navy decided to sell the ship for scrap in 1947.

General Characteristics

Displacement
• 13.580 t (14.530t full)

Length
• 182,8 m
Sleeve
• 20,6 m
Draft
•7,2 m

Armament
• 8 × 203 mm (8 in) / 53 caliber guns
• 16 × 100 mm (3.9 in) / 47 caliber guns
• 4 × 40 mm (1.6 in) / 39 caliber anti-aircraft guns (early)
• 8 × 37 mm (1.5 in) / 54 caliber anti-aircraft guns (late)
• 14 × 20 mm (0.79 in) / 65 caliber anti-aircraft guns (Gorizia only)
• 8 × 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns


Propulsion
• 8 × Thornycroft boilers -95,000 shp (71,000 kW)
• 2 propeller shafts

Speed
• 32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
• 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km)

Crew
• 841 sailors

Aircraft:
• 2x planes

Italy, Cadorna-Class



R.N. Luigi Cadorna (1933 , Type 2 Design)
Italian light cruiser, ordered 29 Oct 1929, laid down at CRDA, Trieste (Adriatic coast) 19 Sep 1930, launched a year later 30 Sep 1931 but completed 11 August 1933, approximately a three-year construction period. which was slightly above average. She was named after Italian Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna, Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army. Today widely criticized for the conduct of operations and failures of him, but at that time, the honorable generalissimo of the Italian army. Cadorna's first years of service were during the Spanish Civil War, patrolling maritime trade routes in conjunction with other nations and supporting the Italian contingent that was sent here. In April 1939 he participated in the occupation of Albania, covering the landings. They were sent to deal with the port of Durrës, destroying what little naval force the Albanians had and covering the landings.

When World War II broke out, she was part of the 4th Cruiser Division. Her first mission was to lay mines on June 9, 1940 off the island of Lampedusa. She was part of the Italian line at the Battle of Calabria, fending off a submarine torpedo attack but repelling Allied aircraft and assisting the Armando Diaz plagued by boiler problems. In February 1941, Luigi Cadorna was placed in reserve because the Admiralty deemed the class too fragile to take part in future operations. However, the pressing situation forced Admiration to withdraw them when the Axis supply route in North Africa was threatened. Luigi Cadorna kept an eye on the convoys heading to North Africa. In between, he made a sortie to try to intercept British convoys to Malta. In From November to December 1941 he transported fuel and ammunition to Libya.

From January 1942 she was sent to Pola as a training ship. She received a brief refit in May-June 1942 and joined the 8th Cruiser Division. She until the end of June she led troops to Albania. On July 3, 1942, she sailed to her new base at Taranto and from there began a series of five minelaying missions. The goal was to create defensive minifields in the Gulf of Taranto. She was assisted by the brand new Scipione Africano, a light cruiser also called a "super destroyer", which has just entered service.

The armistice came on September 8, 1943. At the time, Luigi Cadorna was still stationed in Taranto. Like the rest of the fleet, she sailed to Malta to hand over the 9, as per surrender negotiations. However, on September 14 she was transferred to Alexandria and later, in October 1944, she returned to Taranto, to be used as a transport ship for the Allies, also repatriating Italian troops from various theaters of operations. Under the Peace Treaty of February 10, 1947, she was not offered as spoils of war, but remained in the Italian Navy and served as a training ship until May 1951. She was subsequently struck down and scrapped, the only surviving early Condotierre cruiser. to the war.

General Characteristics

Displacement
• 7,113 t (7,001 Full)

Length
• 169.3 m
Sleeve
• 15.5 m
Draft
•5.3 m

Armament
• 8 × 152 mm (6 in) /53 guns (4×2)
• 6 × 100 mm (4 in) / 47 caliber guns (3×2)
• 2 × 37 mm (1.5 in)/54 guns (2×1)
• 8 × 13.2 mm guns (4×2)
• 4 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes

Propulsion
• 8 × Thornycroft boilers
• 2 propeller shafts

Speed
• 37 knots (69 km/h)
Range
• 2,930 nmi (5,430 km) at 16 kn

Crew
• 507 sailors

Italy, Di Giusano-Class



R.N. Alberto Di Giusano (1938-AA Conversion)

By the late 1930s, weaknesses in the designs of the four Alberto di Giussano-class cruisers (the first iteration of what is today called the "Condottieri" series) were becoming increasingly apparent; designed to counter French contrarpilleurs, their lack of any form of ballistic protection, degrading speed performances, and outdated main armament made them ships of questionable fighting power at best.

Inspired by British achievements in this area (with their conversions of several former C9-class cruisers), plans were drawn up in March 1938 to convert all four ships to anti-aircraft cruisers. The project provided for the removal of all pre-existing weapons, the landing of two boilers, from the plane's catapult and from the hangar, sixteen 90-mm anti-aircraft guns would be installed, along with twenty 20-mm guns.

Plans were modified somewhat in June 1938, when the armament was changed to twelve more reasonable 90mm guns, eight 37mm and sixteen 20mm guns, with four 135mm guns giving these cruisers some anti-ship capability.

While such a plan could have given these obsolete ships a new lease on life, it could not be realized, mainly because resources were already being consumed by the construction or reconstruction of six battleships, among those planned. ocean explorers" and the continued construction of new submarines.

General Characteristics

Displacement
• 6,570 t (6,470 t Full)

Length
• 169.3 m
Sleeve
• 15.5 m
Draft
•5.3 m

Armament
• 4 × 135 mm
• 12 × 90 mm
• 8 × 37 mm
• 16 × 20 mm

Propulsion
• 6 × Thornycroft boilers
• 2 propeller shafts

Speed
• 37 knots (69 km/h)
• 3,800 nmi (7,000 km) at 18 kn)
Crew
• 507 sailors

Italy, Indomito-Class



R.N. Impetuoso (D-558)

The Impetuous class were the first post World War II destroyers built for the Italian Navy. The two ships were ordered in February 1950, entered service in 1958, and were retired in the early 1980s.

The Impetuous-class hull design was based on the incomplete World War II Comandanti Medaglie d'Oro-class destroyer. The ships' electronics and sensors consisted of an SPS-6 air search radar, an SG-6B surface search radar, an SPG-25 and SPG-34 fire control radar, and an SQS-11 search sonar. , which was later replaced by the SQS-4 sonar. As of 1980, Impetuoso was equipped with the noise jamming WLR-1 electronic support measure system, while Indomito appears to be equipped with no electronic warfare system at all.

General Characteristics

Displacement
• 2.820 t (3.870 t)

Length
• 127,6 m
Sleeve
• 13,2 m
Draft
•4,5 m

Armament
• 2x2 5-inch (127 mm)/38
• 4x4 16 Bofors 40 mm/60
• 1x2 Menon 305 mm (underwater mortar)
• 2x2 533-millimeter (21 in) torpedo tubes


Propulsion
• 4 Foster Wheeler boilers
• 2 propeller shafts

Speed
• 34 knots (63 km/h)
• 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km)

Crew
• 315 sailors

Italy, Piemonte-Class



R.N. Campania (1939)

In the early 1930s, Italy’s most powerful destroyers were the twelve Navigatori-class units, which were reasonably well armed and very fast, but had severe stability issues. These could be remedied by widening their hulls and re-distributing weight, at the cost of reducing their design speed by ten knots (from 38 to 28 knots), rendering them useless for fleet work. This left Italy with no effective equivalent to France’s powerful contre-torpilleurs; to make things worse, the Brits started building the successful Tribal-class with twice the gunnery of Italy’s remaining fleet destroyer classes per hull, just when the Navigatori’s were under refit. Something needed to be done. Fortunately for Italy, the reopening of the Sirte oil fields in 1933 – they had been closed down during the Senusi rebellion, which was brutally put down in 1932 – provided the fascist state with direly needed hard currency, and therefore the means to pay for a substantial fleet building programme. Under the 1935 supplementary programme, two aircraft carriers and twelve very large destroyers were approved; they were initially labeled scouts (esploratori), but downrated to destroyers before the first of them was complete. The design process lasted mere days; OTO had sold the very big destroyer Tashkent to the Soviets in 1935, which was considered to be well adaptable to the RM’s needs, and it was adopted with minimal modifications.

The Italian version of Tashkent was slightly heavier than its Soviet pendant, in an attempt to provide some reserve stability for future upgrades. Externally, both designs were vitually identical, and they also had the same engine plant. At 110.000 shp, it was more powerful than the one installed in the contemporary Sicilia-class aircraft carriers; design speed of the new esploratori was fourty knots. Trial figures ranged from 44,4 knots (Campania) to 40,3 knots (Molise); the last six were not pushed to the limit on trials, as the war had already started. To provide firepower worthy of a ship of this size, eight 120mm guns in fully enclosed mounts with mechanical loading assistance were to be installed. With a sustainable ROF of 12 rpm per barrel, these mounts enabled the new esploratori to outgun the slower firing French contre-torpilleurs (except the Mogadors) and meet the Tribals on even terms (more than that if the engagement was prolonged, as the Tribal’s guns were manually loaded). No less than 400 rpg were provided, emphasizing how the Italians planned to rely on ROF over individual shell weight. Torpedoes were very much a secondary armament, and no more than the standard two triple tubes (with 8 reserve torpedoes) were provided. These big ships were the first Italian destroyers with 37mm AA guns; four heavy twin mounts were provided, grouped around the second funnel. Upon completion, eight HMGs were added for close defence. Fire control was provided by a main and a secondary director; for the 37mm guns, two small directors were mounted on the aft superstructure.

Being an OTO design, half the ships were contracted to OTO’s Livorno yard; the others were divided up between smaller yards (Cantieri Navali Riuniti in Ancona and Palermo, and Cantieri dell‘ Tirreno at Riva Trigoso). Due to their designed role as scouts, they received traditional cruiser names, being named after Italian provinces. All twelve were laid down during 1937; OTO built their share somewhat faster than the smaller yards. By 1939, it was evident that Ansaldo would not be able to deliver the new 120mm semi-automatic mounts prior to mid-1940. With war looming, OTO substituted traditional open 120mm twin destroyer mounts as main armament. As they were not only much less effective, but also much lighter, a fifth mount was added and the aft superstructure was cut down and moved astern to accomodate it. This required moving the secondary director abaft the funnel, and two of four 37mm twins had to be deleted. The same redesign was applied to one of the CNR-built ships.

Five of the class were completed before the war started; four of them had ten 120mm mounts oft he standard destroyer type: Campania, Basilicata, Umbria and Liguria.

General characteristics

Displacement-
• 2.950 ts standard / 3.450 ts full load
Length
• 129,3 m pp / 134,5 m cwl /139,5 m oa
Beam
• 13,7 m
Draught
• 4,1 m standard / 5,1 m deep load

Machinery
• 2-shaft geared Belluzzo turbines
• 4 Yarrow boilers
• 110.000 shp
Speed
• 40 knots designed; 35 knots max deep and dirty; 32 knots sustainable; best trial speed 44,4 knots at 129.447 shp
Range
• 5.250 nm, 20 knots
Complement:
• 275 (OTO vessels); 260 (others)

Armament:
• 5x1 120mm L/50 OTO Modello 1936
• 2x2 37mm L/54 Breda Modello 1938
• 6x1 12,7mm HMG
• 2x3 533mm torpedo tubes,
• 1 depth charge rack (12 charges)
• rails for 60 mines