Re Umberto-class ironclad
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Re Umberto |
| Builders | Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia |
| Operators |  Regia Marina |
| Preceded by | Ruggiero di Lauria class |
| Succeeded by | Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class |
| Subclasses | Sardegna |
| Built | 1884–1895 |
| In commission | 1893–1918 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Scrapped | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ironclad battleship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 418 ft 7.5 in (127.6 m) |
| Beam | 76 ft 10.5 in (23.4 m) |
| Draft | 30 ft 6 in (9.3 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) |
| Range | 4,000–6,000 nmi (7,408–11,112 km) |
| Complement | 733 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
The Re Umberto class were a group of three
All three ships served in the Active Squadron for the first decade of their careers, which proved to be uneventful. They were transferred to the Reserve Squadron in 1905, and by the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War in 1911, they were serving as training ships. They provided fire support to Italian troops fighting in Libya during the conflict and took part in the seizure of several Ottoman ports, including Tripoli. During World War I, Sardegna was used as a guard ship in Venice, while Re Umberto served as a floating battery in Brindisi and Sicilia was reduced to a depot ship. All three ships survived the war and were broken up for scrap in the early 1920s.
Design
Starting in the 1870s, following the Italian fleet's defeat at the
General characteristics and machinery
The three ships of the class differed slightly in their dimensions; Re Umberto and Sicilia were the same length and width but Sardegna was longer. The ships had an
The propulsion system for Re Umberto and Sicilia consisted of a pair of horizontal
Armament and armor
The ships of the Re Umberto class were armed with a
They carried a
The ships were lightly armored for their size; the savings in weight allowed for the high top speed, which was typical for Italian capital ships of the period. This was especially true of those designed by Brin, who argued that armor technology of the time could not defeat contemporary heavy guns.[7] The ships' armor consisted of steel manufactured by Schneider-Creusot. They were protected by belt armor that was 102 mm (4 in) thick, with an armored deck that was 76 mm (3 in) thick. Their forward conning towers were armored with 300 mm (11.8 in) of steel plate on the sides. Their main battery turrets had 4 in thick faces and the supporting barbettes had 349 mm (13.75 in) thick steel. The secondary guns had 51 mm (2 in) thick gun shields.[2]
Construction
| Name | Builder[2] | Laid down[2] | Launched[2] | Completed[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Re Umberto | Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia | 10 July 1884 | 17 October 1888 | 16 February 1893 |
| Sicilia | Venetian Arsenal | 3 November 1884 | 6 July 1891 | 4 May 1895 |
| Sardegna | Arsenale di La Spezia | 24 October 1885 | 20 September 1890 | 16 February 1895 |
Service history
For their first decade in service, all three ships saw duty in the Active Squadron of the Italian fleet, though their early careers were uneventful. Re Umberto and Sardegna made visits to Britain and Germany in 1895, the latter for the opening of the
The three ships saw significant action during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, primarily conducting operations in support of Italian troops fighting in Libya. From October to December 1911, the ships were stationed off Tripoli, where they bombarded Ottoman defenses to prepare for the initial landing and then provided fire support to Italian forces after they had seized the city. After returning to Italy for resupply,[13] the ships were tasked with escorting troop convoys to attack other ports in Libya from June to August 1912.[14]
After the war, Sicilia became a depot ship for the new dreadnought Giulio Cesare in Taranto, and Re Umberto became a depot ship in Genoa. After Italy entered World War I in 1915, Sardegna was stationed in Venice as the flagship of the naval forces defending the port and Re Umberto returned to service as a floating battery in Brindisi. After the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Caporetto in November 1917, Sardegna was withdrawn from Venice to Brindisi,[15][16] and later to Taranto. In 1918, Re Umberto was converted into an assault ship for the planned attack on the main Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola, but the war ended before the attack could be carried out. She was stricken in 1920 and broken up for scrap; Sicilia and Sardegna followed in 1923.[15]
Footnotes
- ^ Greene & Massignani, p. 394
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gardiner, p. 342
- ^ Neal, p. 109
- ^ Gardiner, pp. 340–342
- ^ Friedman, pp. 232–233
- ^ Friedman, p. 347
- ^ Gardiner, pp. 341–342
- ^ Neal, p. 155
- ^ Sondhaus, p. 131
- ^ Robinson, p. 187
- ^ Brassey, p. 45
- ^ Gardiner, p. 343
- ^ Beehler, pp. 19–20, 47–48
- ^ Beehler, pp. 81, 90–91
- ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 256
- ^ Sondhaus, pp. 312–313
References
- Beehler, William Henry (1913). The History of the Italian-Turkish War: September 29, 1911, to October 18, 1912. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute. OCLC 1408563.
- Brassey, Thomas A, ed. (1905). "Comparative Strength". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 40–57. OCLC 937691500.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Annapolis: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro (1998). Ironclads at War: The Origin and Development of the Armored Warship, 1854–1891. Pennsylvania: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0938289586.
- Neal, William George, ed. (1890). "The Engines of the Italian Armour-Clad Sicilia". The Marine Engineer. XI. London: Office for Advertisements and Publication: 109.
- Robinson, Charles N., ed. (1897). The Navy and Army Illustrated (London: Hudson & Kearns) III (32).
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1994). The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-55753-034-9.
Further reading
- Fraccaroli, Aldo (1970). Italian Warships of World War I. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0105-3.
External links
- Re Umberto (1888) Marina Militare website
