WesWorld

Regia Marina Italiano post-dreadnought battleships 1906-1926

Heavy in the mind of Italian naval designers in 1908 were two things, trying to combine the logical progression of fast, lightly-armoured but heavily armed ships that started with Benedetto Brin and yet trying to incorporate dreadnought design evolutions, notably the all big gun armament and steam turbines. Two differing designs were drafted, one with 12x305mm guns and another with 8x343mm guns. Eventually the 12-gun design won out due to the higher numbers of shells that would make use of the primitive fire-control systems. Traditionally innovative, the 305mm guns were grouped into the first ever triple turrets. Completing the armament were 20x100mm/40 guns in 12 casemates and 4 duple turrets, another first. Armour was not greatly improved over the previous Regina Elana class, the 250mm main belt being retained. However the upper and end belts were of increased thickness, 170mm and 100mm respectively. The speed of 23.1knts was equal to that of the new San Marco armoured cruisers, and gave a distinct advantage over the 19-20knt designs found elsewhere. The deck armour thickness was originally 50mm thick, increased to 90mm during Dante Alighieri’s refit post-war.
The next step in naval designs were the 3 Conte di Cavour Class battleships; Conte di Cavour, Giulio Cesare and Leonardo da Vinci. Funding for these ships was approved in 1909, yet they were not laid down until late 1910 due to lack of a design. They were slightly larger than Dante Alighieri, and used this increase in size to mount 13x305mm guns in 3 triple and 2 duple mounts. The duple turrets occupied a superfiring position giving better arcs of fire. The secondary armament was increased to 12x130mm guns, a must given the increased threat of torpedo boats. In many ways the previous design of Dante Alighieri was superior, the new ships being overly cramped and slower. A different design of 25knt 10x305mm gun should have been pursued, but wasn’t due to lack of commonality. A single ship of this class, Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by Austrian sabotage during the war. A planned rebuild of her never materialised.
In a rush to get designs into the water quickly, the next two ships, Caio Duilio and Andrea Doria were heavily based on the previous Cavour design. They were slightly larger and used the extra weight to mount 16x152mm guns and 47mm anti aircraft guns. The midships turret was lowered a deck to save weight. These ships, although similar in appearance to Cavour, were regarded as much superior by the navy.
The next 4 ships of the Caracciolo class were to come the epitome of the Italian design ethos for heavily armed ships with high speed and light armour. Laid down in 1914, they were the most advanced ships in the world, incorporating 28knt speed with 381mm guns whilst keeping to a relatively low displacement. Their definitive turret arrangement was brought about by concerns over torpedo defence, the beam being wider where the innermost turrets and magazines were located. Originally, they were conceived with 50mm deck armour but construction on them stopped in 1916 with the advent of war. They were then extensively redesigned in 1919. The main belt was of 300mm thickness giving extra protection, whilst the upper and end belts were also increased in thickness to 220mm and 150mm respectively. The deck armour was increased in thickness and its location changed. As of 1919, the deck armour in located on the main deck and varies from 90mm-140mm thickness giving hitherto unprecedented protection. The 381mm guns were of 40-calibre length giving them a more destructive weapon. The 381mm gun can penetrate contemporary horizontal and vertical armour at 150hm. Of course, their largest advantage was the 28knt speed, brought about by a cleaner hull form and hugely increased power. Only 2 ships were completed, Francesco Caracciolo and Cristoforto Columbo, and these nearly a decade after they were laid down. The 4th ship in the class, Francesco Morosini was converted to an aircraft carrier early in her construction.
Admiral General Ferrati commissioned a series of designs A-G starting in 1914. Of these, the B-series was the Caracciolo. Designs D-G were radical departures, featuring quadruple 381mm guns. Design G’ was the largest, being of c. 45.000t and carrying 16x381mm guns with a 27knt speed. Armour was innovative, featuring an external 270mm belt, with an internal 150mm belt extending upwards from the TDS. This would have been extremely effective in stopping shells. Following the Treaty of Cleito, the design matured into Lepanto. Speed was decreased to 26knts and armour weakened, the 2-piece belt being discarded. The 16x170mm gun and 24x100mm secondary armament had to be discarded also in vain efforts to save weight and bring the design below 40.000t. Luckily, the design team succeeded and the RMI now has the world’s best battleship, easily capable of defeating other ships in combat. Corners in her design have had to be cut. Her belt is now a shallow 350mm belt, her designers reverting to an “all or nothing” design. She lacks deck armour forward of the citadel, which saved more weight. Her deck armour is made from a single 135mm laminate on the quarterdeck level which should withstand penetration from gunfire well. Her secondary guns are 130mm/50 giving enough punch against torpedo boats. 37mm and 13.7mm guns make up the rest of her comprehensive anti-aircraft outfit.
Designs for a new class of battleship began in early 1926 with various designs being considered. 406mm and 381mm guns were considered but the 381mm had to be developed due to treaty restrictions. Thus OTO developed the 381mm/50 weapon. Firing an 885kg shell at 850m/s which gives excellent penetrative characteristics. By calculations it will penetrate the 360mm belt armour on the MN France/Republique battleships at c. 280hm(~34000yds) which is very, very impressive. By comparison the armour of this new battleship is found to be excellent. A system of decapping plate and main belt yield impressive results. Against a high-velocity 381mm gun(using German 380mm C/34)the holing limit is found to be 207hm(holing limit meaning that shell makes a calibre-width hole in plate) whilst the effective limit is never because the shell shatters(effective limit being that shell penetrates with fuse and explosive filler intact). So effectively, this new battleship will be more or less safe from enemy shells. The designs drawn up are all for 40.000t ships mounting triple turrets with high speed being a priority. It would seem that RMI designers have returned to the battlecruiser concept that they thought up over 30 years ago.

I'll write some more later.

Quite interesting.


Although I noticed they left out the part about the designer of the Duilios being shot...

I wrote some more interesting things for Lepanto and future designs.