Regina Maria Pia-class ironclad

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Regina Maria Pia c. 1870
Class overview
NameRegina Maria Pia class
Builders
Operators Regia Marina
Preceded byRe d'Italia class
Succeeded byRoma class
Built1862–1866
In commission1864–1910
Completed4
Retired4
General characteristics [a]
TypeIronclad warship
Displacement
Length81.2 m (266 ft 5 in)
Beam15.24 m (50 ft 0 in)
Draft6.35 m (20 ft 10 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed12.96 knots (24.00 km/h; 14.91 mph)
Range2,600 nmi (4,800 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement480–485
Armament
  • 4 × 203 mm (8 in) guns
  • 22 × 164 mm (6 in) guns
Armor
  • Belt armor: 121 mm (4.75 in)
  • Battery: 109 mm (4.3 in)

The Regina Maria Pia class was a group of four

muzzle loading
guns.

All four ships saw action at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. Regina Maria Pia was badly burned in the battle, but the other three vessels were not seriously damaged. The ships served in a variety of roles for the remainder of their long careers; they were modernized in the late 1880s and thereafter used as a training ships. Regina Maria Pia, San Martino, and Ancona were discarded in 1903–1904, and Castelfidardo joined them in the breaker's yard in 1910.

Design

Following the

Vice Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, then the Italian Navy Minister. These ships were designed by the French builders.[1]

General characteristics and machinery

Plan and profile drawing of Regina Maria Pia in her 1888 configuration

The ships of the Regina Maria Pia class varied in their dimensions. Regina Maria Pia and San Martino, built by the same shipyard, were identical in size, while Castelfidardo and Ancona, though each built by different shipyards, also were identical. The first two ships were 75.48 meters (247.6 ft)

full load, while Castelfidardo displaced 4,191 long tons (4,258 t) normally and 4,527 long tons (4,600 t) at full load. Curiously, Ancona was the lightest ship normally, at 4,157 long tons (4,224 t), but the heaviest at full load, at 4,619 long tons (4,693 t).[2][3]

The ships were constructed with iron

fighting tops.[2][3]

The ships' propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion, two-cylinder

amidships. Her engine produced a top speed of 12.96 knots (24.00 km/h; 14.91 mph) from 2,924 indicated horsepower (2,180 kW). Each ship had a capacity of 485 long tons (493 t) of coal, which allowed them to steam for 2,600 nautical miles (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2][3]

Armament

The Regina Maria Pia class were

muzzle-loading guns and twenty-two 32-pounder rifled 164 mm (6.5 in) muzzle loaders, though their armament changed throughout her career. Most of these guns were placed on the broadside, but two of the 164 mm guns were mounted in an armored bunker forward and a third was placed in a similar mount at the stern, as chase guns. The ships were also fitted with a ram bow that was 3 m (9.8 ft) long.[2][3]

In 1871, all four ships were re-armed with two 220 mm (8.7 in) muzzle-loading guns and eight 8 in muzzle-loading guns, with a ninth 8 in gun added in 1880. Regina Maria Pia and San Martino were later re-equipped with eight 152 mm (6 in) quick-firing (QF) guns, five 120 mm (4.7 in) QF guns, four 57 mm (2.2 in) QF guns, and eight 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon. In 1884, Castelfidardo received the same battery of light guns, though she had a sixth 4.7 in gun. When Ancona was similarly re-armed, she only had two of the 37 mm revolver cannon. All four ships were also equipped with three torpedo tubes, with the exception of Castelfidardo, which received two tubes.[2][3]

Ships

Construction data
Name Builder[2] Laid down[2] Launched[2] Completed[2]
Regina Maria Pia Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée 22 July 1862 28 April 1863 17 April 1864
San Martino 21 September 1863 9 November 1864
Castelfidardo Gouin et Guibert 1 August 1863 May 1864
Ancona Arman Brothers 11 August 1862 17 October 1864 April 1866

Service history

Castelfidardo in Naples in late 1866

All four ships of the class entered service in time to see action during the Third Italian War of Independence against the Austrian Navy in 1866. Persano, now the commander of the Italian fleet, adopted a cautious strategy and conducted only one major offensive operation, which was directed at the island of Lissa.[4] There, the Austrian fleet under Wilhelm von Tegetthoff attacked the Italians. The four Regina Maria Pias all took part in the ensuing Battle of Lissa.[5] Regina Maria Pia had been set on fire and badly burned in the battle, and minor fires were started by Austrian shells aboard San Martino and Castelfidardo, but neither were seriously damaged. Ancona emerged relatively unscathed, with only minor damage to her iron plates.[6]

After the war, the Italian naval budget was slashed; the cuts were so severe that the fleet had great difficulty in mobilizing its ironclad squadron to attack the port of

naval register in 1903–1904, while Castelfidardo lingered on as a torpedo training ship until 1910, when she too was sold for scrapping.[2]

Footnotes

Notes

  1. ^ Figures are for Regina Maria Pia

Citations

  1. ^ Fraccaroli, pp. 335, 339.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fraccaroli, p. 339.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ordovini, Petronio, & Sullivan, p. 342.
  4. ^ Greene & Massignani, pp. 217–222.
  5. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 1–2.
  6. ^ Wilson, p. 245.
  7. ^ Fraccaroli, p. 336.
  8. ^ Ordovini, Petronio, & Sullivan, pp. 343–344.

References

External links
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