Caracciolo class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Caracciolo class battleship
s were designed for the Italian Regia Marina
in 1912-1913, and ordered in 1914, but never completed. The four ships of the class were intended to be the equivalent of the British and the answer to the Austro-Hungarian .
s would propel them to 28 kn (54.9 km/h; 34.1 mph), slightly faster than the British Queen Elizabeths which were themselves faster than most battleships at the time. Armor — a 30 cm (11.8 in) main belt, tapering to a 25 cm (9.8 in) upper belt, with an additional 15 cm (5.9 in) on the sides at the upper deck level around the secondary armament, a 3.5 cm (1.4 in) armored deck and two torpedo bulkheads — was not much different from other ships of the same generation.
The initial secondary armament was eighteen 6-inch and twenty-four 3-inch guns, but the final design featured twelve 6-inch and an anti-aircraft armament
.
was considered and rejected, as the Regia Marina had no interest in carriers. The other three ships were cancelled and dismantled. The heavy guns intended for the class were assigned to monitors
.
The hull of Francesco Caracciolo was sold after launching to Navagazione Generale Italiana in October 1920, who intended to turn her into a merchant ship, but this work was cancelled.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s were designed for the Italian Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
in 1912-1913, and ordered in 1914, but never completed. The four ships of the class were intended to be the equivalent of the British and the answer to the Austro-Hungarian .
Design
The class was intended to carry eight 15-inch guns on a displacement of 32800 LT (33,326.4 t). Four oil-fired steam turbineSteam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s would propel them to 28 kn (54.9 km/h; 34.1 mph), slightly faster than the British Queen Elizabeths which were themselves faster than most battleships at the time. Armor — a 30 cm (11.8 in) main belt, tapering to a 25 cm (9.8 in) upper belt, with an additional 15 cm (5.9 in) on the sides at the upper deck level around the secondary armament, a 3.5 cm (1.4 in) armored deck and two torpedo bulkheads — was not much different from other ships of the same generation.
The initial secondary armament was eighteen 6-inch and twenty-four 3-inch guns, but the final design featured twelve 6-inch and an anti-aircraft armament
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
.
Fate
All four ships were laid down between October 1914 and June 1915. Work was suspended in 1916, by which stage only the first ship — Francesco Caracciolo — had significant work completed. She was restarted in 1919 and launched in 1920 to clear the slipway she was built on. A plan to convert her to an aircraft carrierAircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
was considered and rejected, as the Regia Marina had no interest in carriers. The other three ships were cancelled and dismantled. The heavy guns intended for the class were assigned to monitors
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
.
The hull of Francesco Caracciolo was sold after launching to Navagazione Generale Italiana in October 1920, who intended to turn her into a merchant ship, but this work was cancelled.
Ships
- Francesco Caracciolo: laid down 12 October 1914, launched 12 May 1920 - Royal Naval Yard, Castellamare di Stabia
- Francesco Morosini: laid down 27 June 1915 - Orlando, Livorno
- Cristoforo Colombo: laid down 14 March 1915 - Ansaldo, Genoa
- Marcantonio Colonna: laid down 3 March 1915 - Odero, Sestri Ponente
Sources
- Breyer, S. Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, London, Macdonald 1973