Roma-class ironclad
![]() Roma at anchor in September 1870
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Class overview | |
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Name | Roma class |
Builders | Cantiere della Foce |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | Regina Maria Pia class |
Succeeded by | Affondatore |
Built | 1863–1873 |
In commission | 1869–1895 |
Completed | 2 |
Retired | 2 |
General characteristics [a] | |
Type | Ironclad warship |
Displacement |
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Length | 79.67 m (261 ft 5 in) |
Beam | 17.33 m (56 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 7.57 m (24 ft 10 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Range | 1,940 nmi (3,590 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 549–551 |
Armament |
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Armor | Belt armor: 150 mm (5.9 in) |
The Roma class was a pair of
Design
The Roma class was designed by Insp. Eng.
General characteristics and machinery
The ships of the Roma class had wooden
The ships' propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion
Armament and armor
Roma was a broadside ironclad, and she was armed with a main battery of five 254 mm (10 in) guns and twelve 203 mm (8 in) guns. Venezia was completed as a central battery ship, with a battery of eighteen 254 mm guns placed in an armored casemate. Both ships had their armament revised throughout their careers. In 1874–75, the ships' batteries were replaced with eleven 254 mm guns for Roma and eight 254 mm and one 220 mm (8.7 in) for Venezia. From 1886, Roma carried eleven 220 mm guns; four years later her armament was reduced to five 8 in guns. Venezia was converted into a training ship in 1881, and was equipped with four 75 mm (3 in) guns and four 57 mm (2.2 in) guns.[1]
Both ships were protected by wrought iron belt armor that was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick and extended for the entire length of the hull at the waterline. Venezia's casemate had 121 mm (4.75 in) of wrought iron protecting the guns.[1]
Ships
Name | Builder[1] | Laid down[1] | Launched[1] | Completed[1] |
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Roma | Cantiere della Foce | February 1863 | 18 December 1865 | May 1869 |
Venezia | 21 January 1869 | 1 April 1873 |
Service history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Venezia_pirofregata_corazzata.jpg/220px-Venezia_pirofregata_corazzata.jpg)
The two ships, completed too late to see action in the Third Italian War of Independence, had uneventful careers. Roma was obsolescent by the time she entered service, having been superseded by more advanced central battery ships.[3][4] Venezia was modified during construction into a central battery ship, but the changes necessitated lengthy delays. Ironically, by the time she was completed, the Italian navy had moved on to yet further advanced turret ships like the Duilio class.[1][5] Roma was mobilized during the Franco-Prussian War, during which Italy took advantage of the French defeat to seize Rome. Roma and the rest of the fleet was to attack the port of Civitavecchia, but the fleet was unable to assemble sufficient forces for the operation.[6]
In 1880, Roma took part in a naval demonstration off
Footnotes
Notes
- ^ Figures are for Roma
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Fraccaroli, p. 339.
- ^ Sondhaus 1994, p. 44.
- ^ Sondhaus 1994, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Ordovini, Petronio, & Sullivan, p. 348.
- ^ Sondhaus 2001, p. 112.
- ^ Fraccaroli, p. 336.
- ^ London News, p. 278.
- ^ "Stray Foreign Facts" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 November 1881.
References
- Fraccaroli, Aldo (1979). "Italy". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 334–359. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Ordovini, Aldo F.; Petronio, Fulvio & Sullivan, David M. (December 2014). "Capital Ships of the Royal Italian Navy, 1860–1918: Part I: The Formidabile, Principe di Carignano, Re d'Italia, Regina Maria Pia, Affondatore, Roma and Principe Amedeo Classes". ISSN 0043-0374.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1994). The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-55753-034-9.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.
- "The Naval Demonstration in the Adriatic". The Illustrated London News. London: George C. Leighton. 18 September 1880. p. 278.
External links
- Classe Roma Marina Militare website (in Italian)