Italian battleship Littorio

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For other ships with the same name, see Italian battleship Italia.

Littorio
History
Italy
NameLittorio
NamesakeThe
Italian Fascism[1]
OperatorRegia Marina
Ordered10 June 1934
BuilderAnsaldo, Genoa Sestri Ponente
Laid down28 October 1934
Launched22 August 1937
Sponsored bySignora Teresa Ballerino Cabella
Commissioned6 May 1940
Decommissioned1 June 1948
RenamedItalia
Stricken1 June 1948
FateScrapped at La Spezia 1952–54
General characteristics
Class and typeLittorio-class battleship
Displacement
Length237.76 m (780 ft 1 in)
Beam32.82 m (107 ft 8 in)
Draft9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h)
Range3,920 mi (6,310 km; 3,410 nmi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement1,830 to 1,950
Sensors and
processing systems		EC 3 ter 'Gufo' radar
Armament
Armor
Aircraft carried3 aircraft (
Reggiane Re.2000
)
Aviation facilities1 stern
catapult

Littorio was the lead ship of her class of battleship; she served in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) during World War II. She was named after the Lictor ("Littorio" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman fasces, which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism. Littorio and her sister Vittorio Veneto were built in response to the French battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg. They were Italy's first modern battleships, and the first 35,000-ton capital ships of any nation to be laid down under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. Littorio was laid down in October 1934, launched in August 1937, and completed in May 1940.

Shortly after her commissioning, Littorio was badly damaged during the British

war prize and scrapped at La Spezia
in 1952–54.

Description

Main article: Littorio-class battleship
Line-drawing of the Littorio class

Littorio and her sister

standard displacement of 40,724 long tons (41,377 t), a violation of the 35,000-long-ton (36,000 t) restriction of the Washington Naval Treaty; at full combat loading, she displaced 45,236 long tons (45,962 t). The ship was powered by four Belluzo geared steam turbines rated at 128,000 shaft horsepower (95,000 kW). Steam was provided by eight oil-fired Yarrow boilers. The engines provided a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and a range of 3,920 mi (6,310 km; 3,410 nmi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph). Littorio had a crew of 1,830 to 1,950 over the course of her career.[3][4]

Littorio's main armament consisted of nine

20 mm (0.79 in) /65 guns in eight twin mounts.[5] A further twelve 20 mm guns in twin mounts were installed in 1942. She received an EC 3 bis radar set in August 1941, an updated version in April 1942—which proved to be unsuccessful in service—and finally the EC 3 ter model in September 1942.[6]

The ship was protected by a main

Reggiane Re.2000 fighters.[7]

Service history

Littorio was

bow was modified to lessen vibration and reduce wetness over the bow. Littorio ran a series of sea trials over a period of two months between 23 October 1939 and 21 December 1939. She was commissioned on 6 May 1940, and after running additional trials that month, she transferred to Taranto where she—along with Vittorio Veneto—joined the 9th Division under the command of Rear Admiral Carlo Bergamini.[10]

Littorio maneuvering at speed prior to being torpedoed, summer 1940

On 31 August – 2 September 1940, Littorio sortied as part of an Italian force of five battleships, ten

Operation Hats and Convoy MB.3, but contact was not made with either group due to poor reconnaissance and no action occurred.[6][11] A similar outcome resulted from the movement against British Operation "MB.5" on 29 September - 1 October; Littorio, four other battleships, eleven cruisers, and twenty-three destroyers had attempted to intercept the convoy carrying troops to Malta.[6][12]

Attack on Taranto

Map showing the disposition of the Italian fleet and the British attacks on Taranto
Main article: Battle of Taranto

On the night of 10–11 November, the British

anti-torpedo nets. The first wave struck at 20:35, followed by the second about an hour later.[14]

Damaged Littorio

The planes scored three hits on Littorio, one hit on Duilio, and one on Conte di Cavour.[13] Of the torpedoes that struck Littorio, two hit in the bow and one struck the stern; the stern hit destroyed the rudder and shock from the explosion damaged the ship's steering gear. The two forward hits caused major flooding and led her to settle by the bows, with her decks awash up to her main battery turrets. She could not be brought into dock until 11 December due to a fourth, unexploded torpedo discovered under her keel; removing the torpedo proved to be a painstaking task, as any shift in the magnetic field around the torpedo might detonate its magnetic detonator.[15] Repairs lasted until 11 March 1941.[16]

Convoy operations

After repairs were completed, Littorio participated in an unsuccessful sortie to intercept British forces on 22–25 August. A month later, she led the attack on the Allied convoy in

Enigma code made it increasingly difficult for Axis convoys to reach North Africa. The Italians therefore committed their battle fleet to the convoy effort to better protect the transports.[17] The next day, she took part in the First Battle of Sirte. Littorio, along with the rest of the distant covering force, engaged the escort of a British convoy heading for Malta that happened to run into the M42 convoy late in the day.[16] Littorio opened fire at extreme range, around 35,000 yards (32,000 m), but she scored no hits. Nevertheless, the heavy Italian fire forced the British force to withdraw under cover of a smokescreen and the M42 convoy reached North Africa without damage.[18][19]

On 3 January 1942, Littorio was again tasked with convoy escort, in support of Operation M43; she was back in port by 6 January. On 22 March, she participated in the

fantail.[21] During the battle, Littorio hit and seriously damaged the destroyers HMS Havock and Kingston. She also hit the cruiser Euryalus but did not inflict significant damage. Kingston limped to Malta for repairs, where she was later destroyed during an airstrike while in drydock.[22] Muzzle blast from Littorio's rear turret set one of her floatplanes on fire, though no serious damage to the ship resulted.[20] She fired a total of 181 shells from her main battery in the course of the engagement. Though the Italian fleet was unable to directly attack the convoy, it forced the transports to scatter and many were sunk the next day by air attack.[23]

Three months later, on 14 June, Littorio participated in the interception of the Operation Vigorous convoy to Malta from Alexandria. Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, four cruisers and twelve destroyers were sent to attack the convoy.[24] The British quickly located the approaching Italian fleet and launched several night air strikes in an attempt to prevent them from reaching the convoy, though the aircraft scored no hits.[25] While searching for the convoy the next day, Littorio was hit by a bomb dropped by a B-24 Liberator; the bomb hit the roof of turret no. 1 but caused negligible damage to the rangefinder hood and barbette, along with splinter damage to the deck. The turret nevertheless remained serviceable and Littorio remained with the fleet. The threat from Littorio and Vittorio Veneto forced the British convoy to abort the mission.[24][26] At 14:00, the Italians broke off the chase and returned to port; shortly before midnight that evening, Littorio was struck by a torpedo dropped by a British Wellington bomber, causing some 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) of water to flood the ship's bow. Her crew counter-flooded 350 long tons (360 t) of water to correct the list.[27] The ship was able to return to port for repairs, that lasted until 27 August.[27][24][26] She remained in Taranto until 12 December, when the fleet was moved to La Spezia.[26]

Fate

Littorio was inactive for the first six months of 1943 due to severe fuel shortages in the Italian Navy.[28] Only enough fuel was available for Littorio, Vittorio Veneto and their recently commissioned sister Roma, but even then the fuel was only enough for emergencies.[29] On 19 June 1943, an American bombing raid targeted the harbor at La Spezia and hit Littorio with three bombs.[26][30]

She was renamed Italia on 30 July after the government of Benito Mussolini fell from power. On 3 September, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, ending her active participation in World War II. Six days later, Italia and the rest of the Italian fleet sailed for Malta, where they would be interned for the remainder of the war. While en route, the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) attacked the Italian fleet using Dornier Do 217s armed with Fritz X radio-controlled bombs. One Fritz X hit Italia just forward of turret no. 1; it passed through the ship and exited the hull, exploding in the water beneath and causing serious damage. Roma was meanwhile sunk in the attack.[26][30]

Italia and Vittorio Veneto were then moved, first to

naval register on 1 June 1948 and broken up for scrap at La Spezia.[31]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Whitley, p. 171
  2. ^ Whitley, p. 170
  3. ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 435
  4. ^ a b Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 289
  5. ^ Gardiner & Chesneau, pp. 289–290
  6. ^ a b c Whitley, p. 172
  7. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, p. 48
  8. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 20–21
  9. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 117–119
  10. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 121–125
  11. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 167–169
  12. ^ Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 170–172
  13. ^ a b Rohwer, p. 47
  14. ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 383
  15. ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 396
  16. ^ a b c d e Whitley, p. 175
  17. ^ a b Stille, p. 38
  18. ^ Stille, p. 39
  19. ^ Garzke & Dulin, pp. 398–399
  20. ^ a b Garzke & Dulin, p. 399
  21. ^ Garzke & Dulin, pp. 399–400
  22. ^ Whitley, pp. 175–176
  23. ^ Stille, pp. 39–40
  24. ^ a b c Stille, p. 40
  25. ^ Garzke & Dulin, p. 400
  26. ^ a b c d e Whitley, p. 176
  27. ^ a b Garzke & Dulin, p. 402
  28. ^ Whitley, pp. 168, 176
  29. ^ Stille, p. 41
  30. ^ a b Garzke & Dulin, p. 407
  31. ^ Whitley, p. 177

References

External links

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