Italian battleship Impero
Encyclopedia
The Impero was an Italian battleship
built for Italy's Regia Marina
during the Second World War
. She was the fourth ship of her class and was named after the Italian word for "empire," in this case referring to the newly (1936) conquered Italian Empire
in East Africa (Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia territories) as a result of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
. She was constructed under the order of the 1938 Naval Expansion Program, along with her sister ship Roma.
Had she been completed with her projected displacement of 46,215 tons and length of 240.7 meters, the Impero would have been slightly larger than any of two of her three sisters: the Vittorio Veneto
, the Littorio
. The Roma
, launched a year later, was also constructed due to the 1938 Naval Expansion Program, and thus had the same characteristics as Impero.
After Italy surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943, the rest of the Italian Navy steamed to Sardinia
to rendezvous with their American contemporaries. Impero was still incomplete in Trieste and was captured by the Germans. Sunk by Allied bombers in February 1945, she was refloated in 1947 and scrapped in Venice from 1948-1950.
The Italian leader Benito Mussolini
did not authorize any large naval rearmament until 1933. Once he did, two old battleships of the were sent to be modernized in the same year, and and were laid down in 1934. In May 1935, the Italian Naval Ministry began preparing for a five-year naval building program that would include four battleships, three aircraft carrier
s, four cruisers, fifty-four submarines, and forty smaller ships. In December 1935, Admiral Domenico Cavagnari
proposed to Mussolini that, among other things, two more battleships of the Vittorio Veneto class be built to attempt to counter a possible Franco-British alliance—if the two countries combined forces, they would easily outnumber the Italian fleet. Mussolini postponed his decision, but later authorized planning for the two ships in January 1937. In December, they were approved and money was appropriated for them; they were named
and Impero.
Unlike her sister ship
s Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, Impero and Roma were to have had a slightly larger displacement, length, and subsequently, a larger beam
and draft
, which was due to a naval program launched in 1938 to prepare Italian naval defenses for another war. She also would have been about 600 long tons (609.6 t) heavier than either of her earlier sisters, and also would have been about 3 metres (9.8 ft) longer due to the adding of a deck to the freeboard at the stem, or bow. Her beam was to have been 32.9 metres (107.9 ft) and her draft was to have been 9.6 metres (31.5 ft).The ship was planned to be manned by 1,920 sailors. The differences in weight were due to tests on Vittorio Veneto and Littorio which found that their bow was poorly built and caused hull vibration whenever the ships struck large waves. Impero was outfitted with the new hull. Another difference was that Roma and Impero could carry three reconnaissance planes on their quarterdeck, which was the result of a statement in the 1938 proposal.
, Imperos keel
was laid down on 14 May 1938 and launched
on 15 November 1939. With Genoa being in bombing range of France, and war now a definite possibility, Impero was moved to Brindisi
on 8 June 1940. Trieste
was considered a better location, but Roma was fitting out there and the shipyard could not handle two battleships at one time. Despite the intent, Brindisi was still hit by Allied bombers, but Impero was not hit; however, as escorts for merchant convoys were desperately needed, and needed parts for ships were in short supply, construction of Impero was delayed to expedite those ships. The only work done was the fitting of the engines and some gun mountings.
Fitted with small-caliber anti-aircraft and anti-surface weaponry, Impero was sailed—using her own propulsion—to Venice
on 22 January 1942. At some later time, she was moved again to Trieste. After Italy's capitulation to the Allies, Impero was seized by the Germans, who prepared to scrap
her. This was evidently never completed, as the hulk was discovered by Allied forces in Trieste
after the war half-sunk, as the Germans had used her as a target ship
and the Allies had damaged her during an air attack on 20 February 1945. Impero was struck on 27 March 1947. The hulk was raised sometime in 1947 and towed to Venice, where she was moored and scrapped
from 1948 to 1950.
At the time of the capitulation, Imperos hull was 88% complete, the engines were 76% complete, and, overall, the ship was only 28% percent complete; it would have required about 18 more months of full work to be finished. Key features like the armament, electrical wiring and a reworking of the bridge had still not been completed.
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...
built for Italy's Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was the fourth ship of her class and was named after the Italian word for "empire," in this case referring to the newly (1936) conquered Italian Empire
Italian Empire
The Italian Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved...
in East Africa (Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia territories) as a result of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
. She was constructed under the order of the 1938 Naval Expansion Program, along with her sister ship Roma.
Had she been completed with her projected displacement of 46,215 tons and length of 240.7 meters, the Impero would have been slightly larger than any of two of her three sisters: the Vittorio Veneto
Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto
Vittorio Veneto was the lead ship of her class of battleships that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after the Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto, during World War I.-Construction:...
, the Littorio
Italian battleship Littorio
|-External links:...
. The Roma
Italian battleship Roma (1940)
Roma, named after two previous ships and the city of Rome, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class battleship of Italy's Regia Marina...
, launched a year later, was also constructed due to the 1938 Naval Expansion Program, and thus had the same characteristics as Impero.
After Italy surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943, the rest of the Italian Navy steamed to Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
to rendezvous with their American contemporaries. Impero was still incomplete in Trieste and was captured by the Germans. Sunk by Allied bombers in February 1945, she was refloated in 1947 and scrapped in Venice from 1948-1950.
Background
- For additional information, see Vittorio Veneto class battleship
The Italian leader Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
did not authorize any large naval rearmament until 1933. Once he did, two old battleships of the were sent to be modernized in the same year, and and were laid down in 1934. In May 1935, the Italian Naval Ministry began preparing for a five-year naval building program that would include four battleships, three aircraft carrier
Aircraft 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...
s, four cruisers, fifty-four submarines, and forty smaller ships. In December 1935, Admiral Domenico Cavagnari
Domenico Cavagnari
Domenico Cavagnari was an Italian admiral and the chief of staff of the Italian Royal Navy until 1940. He was succeeded by Admiral Arturo Riccardi....
proposed to Mussolini that, among other things, two more battleships of the Vittorio Veneto class be built to attempt to counter a possible Franco-British alliance—if the two countries combined forces, they would easily outnumber the Italian fleet. Mussolini postponed his decision, but later authorized planning for the two ships in January 1937. In December, they were approved and money was appropriated for them; they were named
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
and Impero.
Design
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, Impero and Roma were to have had a slightly larger displacement, length, and subsequently, a larger beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
and draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
, which was due to a naval program launched in 1938 to prepare Italian naval defenses for another war. She also would have been about 600 long tons (609.6 t) heavier than either of her earlier sisters, and also would have been about 3 metres (9.8 ft) longer due to the adding of a deck to the freeboard at the stem, or bow. Her beam was to have been 32.9 metres (107.9 ft) and her draft was to have been 9.6 metres (31.5 ft).The ship was planned to be manned by 1,920 sailors. The differences in weight were due to tests on Vittorio Veneto and Littorio which found that their bow was poorly built and caused hull vibration whenever the ships struck large waves. Impero was outfitted with the new hull. Another difference was that Roma and Impero could carry three reconnaissance planes on their quarterdeck, which was the result of a statement in the 1938 proposal.
History
Authorized to be built by Ansaldo of GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Imperos keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid down on 14 May 1938 and launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 15 November 1939. With Genoa being in bombing range of France, and war now a definite possibility, Impero was moved to Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
on 8 June 1940. Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
was considered a better location, but Roma was fitting out there and the shipyard could not handle two battleships at one time. Despite the intent, Brindisi was still hit by Allied bombers, but Impero was not hit; however, as escorts for merchant convoys were desperately needed, and needed parts for ships were in short supply, construction of Impero was delayed to expedite those ships. The only work done was the fitting of the engines and some gun mountings.
Fitted with small-caliber anti-aircraft and anti-surface weaponry, Impero was sailed—using her own propulsion—to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on 22 January 1942. At some later time, she was moved again to Trieste. After Italy's capitulation to the Allies, Impero was seized by the Germans, who prepared to scrap
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
her. This was evidently never completed, as the hulk was discovered by Allied forces in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
after the war half-sunk, as the Germans had used her as a target ship
Target ship
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...
and the Allies had damaged her during an air attack on 20 February 1945. Impero was struck on 27 March 1947. The hulk was raised sometime in 1947 and towed to Venice, where she was moored and scrapped
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
from 1948 to 1950.
At the time of the capitulation, Imperos hull was 88% complete, the engines were 76% complete, and, overall, the ship was only 28% percent complete; it would have required about 18 more months of full work to be finished. Key features like the armament, electrical wiring and a reworking of the bridge had still not been completed.