Andrea Doria-class battleship
Andrea Doria during World War II
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Class overview | |
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Operators | |
Preceded by | Conte di Cavour class |
Succeeded by |
|
Built | 1912–1916 |
In service | 1915–1953 |
Completed | 2 |
Scrapped | 2 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Type | Dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | 24,729 long tons (25,126 t) ( deep load ) |
Length | 176 m (577 ft 5 in) (o/a) |
Beam | 28 m (91 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range | 4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
|
Armor |
|
General characteristics (after reconstruction) | |
Displacement | 28,882–29,391 long tons (29,345–29,863 t) (deep load) |
Length | 186.9 m (613 ft 2 in) |
Beam | 28.03 m (92 ft 0 in) |
Draft | 10.3 m (33 ft 10 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Complement | 1,520 |
Armament |
|
The Andrea Doria class (usually called Duilio class in Italian sources) was a pair of
The two ships were based in southern Italy during World War I to help ensure that the
The two ships were moored in Taranto on the night of 11/12 November 1940 when the British launched a carrier strike on the Italian fleet. In the resulting Battle of Taranto, Duilio was hit by a torpedo and forced to beach to avoid sinking. Andrea Doria was undamaged in the raid; repairs for Duilio lasted until May 1941. Both ships escorted convoys to North Africa in late 1941, including Operation M42, where Andrea Doria saw action at the inconclusive First Battle of Sirte on 17 December. Fuel shortages curtailed further activities in 1942 and 1943, and both ships were interned at Malta following Italy's surrender in September 1943. Italy was permitted to retain both battleships after the war, and they alternated as fleet flagship until the early 1950s, when they were removed from active service. Both ships were scrapped after 1956.
Design and description
The Andrea Doria-class ships were designed by
General characteristics
The ships of the Andrea Doria class were 168.9 meters (554 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
The ships were fitted with three
Armament
As built, the ships' main armament comprised thirteen 46-
The secondary armament on the two ships consisted of sixteen 45-caliber
Armor
The Andrea Doria-class ships had a complete waterline armor belt with a maximum thickness of 250 millimeters (9.8 in) that reduced to 130 millimeters (5.1 in) towards the stern and 80 millimeters (3.1 in) towards the bow.[11] Above the main belt was a strake of armor 220 millimeters (8.7 in) thick that extended up to the lower edge of the main deck. Above this strake was a thinner one, 130 millimeters thick, that protected the casemates. The ships had two armored decks: the main deck was 24 mm (0.94 in) thick in two layers on the flat that increased to 40 millimeters (1.6 in) on the slopes that connected it to the main belt. The second deck was 29 millimeters (1.1 in) thick, also in two layers. Fore and aft transverse bulkheads connected the belt to the decks.[12]
The frontal protection of the
Modifications and reconstruction
During World War I, a pair of 50-caliber 76-millimeter guns on high-angle mounts were fitted as
By the early 1930s, the Regia Marina had begun design work on the new Littorio-class battleships, but it recognized that they would not be complete for some time. As a stop-gap measure in response to the new French Dunkerque-class battleships, the navy decided to modernize its old battleships; work on the two surviving Conte di Cavours began in 1933 and the two Andrea Dorias followed in 1937.[14] The work lasted until July 1940 for Duilio and October 1940 for Andrea Doria. The existing bow was dismantled and a new, longer, bow section was built, which increased their overall length by 10.91 meters (35 ft 10 in) to 186.9 meters (613 ft 2 in) (on the Cavour-class the new bow had been grafted over the existing one, instead). Their beam increased to 28.03 meters (92 ft 0 in)[15] and their draft at deep load increased to 10.3 meters (33 ft 10 in).[16] The changes made during their reconstruction increased their displacement to 28,882 long tons (29,345 t) for Andrea Doria and 29,391 long tons (29,863 t) for Duilio at deep load.[11] The ships' crews increased to 70 officers and 1,450 enlisted men.[16]
Two of the propeller shafts were removed and the existing turbines were replaced by two sets of Belluzzo geared steam turbines rated at 75,000 shp (56,000 kW). The boilers were replaced by eight
The center turret and the torpedo tubes were removed and all of the existing secondary armament and AA guns were replaced by a dozen 135-millimeter (5.3 in) guns in four triple-gun turrets and ten
The deck armor was increased during reconstruction to a total of 135 millimeters (5.3 in). The armor protecting the secondary turrets was 120 millimeters (4.7 in) thick.
These modernizations have been criticized by some naval historians because these ships would eventually prove to be inferior to the British battleships they were meant to face (namely the Queen Elizabeth class, since by the time the decision to proceed was taken a war between Italy and the United Kingdom seemed more likely). In addition, the cost of the reconstruction would be not much less than the cost of building a brand new Littorio-class battleship; moreover, the reconstruction work caused bottlenecks in the providing of steel plates, that caused substantial delays in the construction of the modern battleships, which otherwise might have been completed at an earlier date.[23]
Ships
Ship | Namesake | Builder[5] | Laid down[5]
|
Launched[5] | Completed[2] | Fate |
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Andrea Doria | Admiral Andrea Doria[24] | Arsenale di La Spezia, La Spezia
|
24 March 1912 | 30 March 1913 | 13 March 1916 | Scrapped, 1961[24] |
Duilio | Gaius Duilius[25] | Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia, Castellammare di Stabia | 24 February 1912 | 24 April 1913 | 10 May 1915 | Scrapped, 1957[26] |
Service history
Both battleships were completed after Italy entered World War I on the side of the
Andrea Doria and Duilio both cruised in the eastern Mediterranean after the war, and both were involved in postwar disputes over control of various cities. Duilio was sent to provide a show of force during a dispute over control of İzmir in April 1919 and Andrea Doria assisted in the suppression of Gabriele D'Annunzio's seizure of Fiume in November 1920. Duilio cruised the Black Sea after the İzmir affair until she was replaced in 1920 by the battleship Giulio Cesare. Andrea Doria and Duilio were present during the Corfu incident in 1923. In January 1925, Andrea Doria visited Lisbon, Portugal, to represent Italy during the celebration marking the 400th anniversary of the death of explorer Vasco da Gama. The two ships performed the normal routine of peacetime cruises and goodwill visits throughout the 1920s and early 1930s; both were placed in reserve in 1933.[29]
Both Andrea Doria and Duilio went into drydock in the late 1930s for extensive modernizations; this work lasted until October and April 1940, respectively. By that time, Italy had entered World War II on the side of the
In the meantime, Andrea Doria participated in several operations intended to catch British convoys in the Mediterranean, including the
Both ships were interned at Malta following
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Giorgerini, p. 278
- ^ a b Fraccaroli, p. 260
- ^ Giorgerini, pp. 270, 272
- ^ Giorgerini, pp. 272–73, 278
- ^ a b c d Preston, p. 179
- ^ Friedman, p. 234
- ^ Giorgerini, pp. 268, 276, 278
- ^ Friedman, pp. 233–34
- ^ Friedman, p. 240
- ^ Giorgerini, pp. 268, 277–78
- ^ a b Whitley, p. 162
- ^ a b Giorgerini, p. 271
- ^ Whitley, p. 164
- ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 379
- ^ Whitley, pp. 162, 164
- ^ a b c d e Brescia, p. 62
- ^ Whitley, pp. 158, 164–65
- ^ Campbell, p. 324
- ^ Campbell, p. 322
- ^ a b Whitley, p. 165
- ^ Campbell, p. 343
- ^ Whitley, p. 158
- ^ De Toro, Augusto. "Dalle "Littorio" Alle "Impero" – Navi da battaglia, studi e programmi navali in Italia nella seconda metà degli anni Trenta" (PDF). Marina Militare. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ a b Silverstone, p. 294
- ^ Silverstone, p. 297
- ^ Silverstone, p. 296
- ^ a b Halpern, p. 150
- ^ Halpern, pp. 141–142
- ^ Whitley, pp. 165–167
- ^ a b c Whitley, pp. 166–168
- ^ Rohwer, p. 47
- ^ Ireland, p. 64
- ^ Whitley, p. 166
- ^ Royal Australian Navy. "H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action in WWII". www.navy.gov.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- ^ Woodman, pp. 285–286
- ^ Whitley, pp. 167–168
References
- Bagnasco, Ermino & de Toro, Augusto (2021). Italian Battleships: Conti di Cavour and Duilio Classes 1911–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9987-6.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Fraccaroli, Aldo (1985). "Italy". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 252–290. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Garzke, William H. & Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0.
- Giorgerini, Giorgio (1980). "The Cavour & Duilio Class Battleships". In Roberts, John (ed.). Warship IV. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 267–279. ISBN 0-85177-205-6.
- ISBN 1-55750-352-4.
- ISBN 1-84415-047-X.
- Ordovini, Aldo F.; Petronio, Fulvio; et al. (December 2017). "Capital Ships of the Royal Italian Navy, 1860–1918: Part 4: Dreadnought Battleships". Warship International. LIV (4): 307–343. ISSN 0043-0374.
- ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- ISBN 1-55750-184-X.
- Woodman, Richard (2000). Malta Convoys 1940–1943. London: ISBN 0-7195-6408-5.
Further reading
- Brescia, Maurizio (2012). Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regia Marina 1930–45. Annapolis, Maryland: ISBN 978-1-59114-544-8.
- Cernuschi, Ernesto & ISBN 978-1-84486-110-1.
- Fraccaroli, Aldo (1970). Italian Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0105-3.
- Stille, Mark (2011). Italian Battleships of World War II. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-831-2.
External links
- Andrea Doria (1913) Marina Militare website