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Italian battleship Roma (1940)
Encyclopedia
Roma, named after two previous ships
and the city of Rome
, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class
battleship
of Italy's Regia Marina
(Royal Navy). The construction of both Roma and her sister ship
was planned due to rising tensions around the world and the navy's fear that two Vittorio Venetos and the older pre-First World War
battleships were not enough to counter the British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As Roma was laid down almost four years after the first two ships of the class, some small improvements were made to the design, including additional freeboard
added to the bow.
Roma was commissioned
into the Regia Marina on 14 June 1942, but a severe fuel shortage in Italy at that time prevented her from being deployed; instead, along with her sister ships Vittorio Veneto
and Littorio
, she was used to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of various Italian cities. In this role, she was severely damaged twice in June 1943 from bomber
raids on La Spezia
. After repairs in Genoa
through all of July and part of August, Roma was deployed as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Bergamini
in a large battle group that eventually comprised the three Vittorio Venetos, eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Their stated intent was attacking the Allied ships approaching Salerno
to invade Italy (Operation "Avalanche"
) but, in reality, the Italian fleet was sailing to Malta
to surrender following Italy's September 8, 1943 armistice with the Allies.
While the force was in the Strait of Bonifacio
, Dornier Do 217
s of the German Luftwaffe
—armed with Fritz X
radio-controlled bombs—sighted the force. The first attack failed, but the second dealt Italia (ex-Littorio) and Roma much damage. The hit on Roma caused water to flood two boiler rooms and the after engine room, leaving the ship to limp along with two propellers, reduced power, and arc
-induced fires in the stern of the ship. Shortly thereafter, another bomb slammed into the ship which detonated within the forward engine room, causing catastrophic flooding and the explosion of the #2 main turret's magazines
, throwing the turret itself into the sea. Sinking by the bow and leaning to starboard, Roma capsize
d and broke in two, carrying 1253 men—including Bergamini—down with her.
In her 15-month service life, Roma made 20 sorties, mostly in transfers between bases (none were to go into combat), covering 2492 mi (4,010.5 km) and using 3320 t (3,267.6 LT; 3,659.7 ST) of fuel oil in 133 hours of sailing.
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
Roma and (English: Empire).
Laid down nearly four years after Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, Roma was able to incorporate a few design improvements. Her bow was noticeably redesigned to give Roma additional freeboard
; partway into construction, it was modified on the basis of experience with Vittorio Veneto so that it had had a finer end at the waterline. She was also equipped with 32 rather than 24, 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in)/65 caliber Breda
guns.
was laid by the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico on 18 September 1938 and she was launched
on 9 June 1940. After just over two years of fitting-out
, the new battleship was commissioned into the Regia Marina
on 14 June 1942. She arrived in the major naval base of Taranto
on 21 August of the same year and was assigned to the Ninth Naval Division.
Although Roma took part in training exercises and was moved to various bases including Taranto, Naples
and La Spezia
, in the next year, she did not go on any combat missions as the Italian Navy was desperately short of fuel. In fact, by the end of 1942, the only combat-ready battleships in the navy were the three Vittorio Venetos because the fuel shortage had caused the four modernized battleships to be removed from service. When combined with a lack of capable vessels to escort the capital ship
s, the combat potential of the Italian Navy was virtually non-existent. On 6 December she was transferred with Vittorio Veneto and Littorio from Taranto to La Spezia, where she became the flagship
of the Regia Marina. They remained here through the first half of 1943 without going on any operations.
During this time, La Spezia was attacked many times by Allied bomber
groups. Attacks on 14 and 19 April 1943 did not hit Roma, but an American raid on 5 June severely damaged both Vittorio Veneto and Roma. B-17 aircraft carrying 908 kg (2,001.8 lb) armor-piercing bombs damaged the stationary battleships with two bombs each. Roma suffered from two near hits on either side of her bow. The starboard-side bomb hit the ship but passed through the side of the hull
before exploding. The ship began taking on water through leaks from frames 221 to 226—an area covering about 32 square foot—and through flooding from the bow to frame 212. The second bomb missed but exploded in the water near the hull. Leaks were discovered over a 30 square foot area ranging from frames 198 and 207. Approximately 2350 LT (2,632 ST; 2,387.7 t) of water entered the ship.
Roma was damaged again by two bombs in another raid on 23–24 June. One hit the ship aft and to starboard of the rear main battery turret and obliterated several staterooms, which were promptly flooded from broken piping. The second landed atop the rear turret itself, but little damage was suffered due to the heavy armor in that location. This attack did not seriously damage Roma or cause any flooding, but she nevertheless sailed to Genoa for repairs. Roma reached the city on 1 July and returned to La Spezia on 13 August once repairs were complete.
on 9 September 1943, a day after the proclamation of the 1943 Italian armistice.
The initial orders were to attack, in a "last mission", the Allied naval forces intended to support the landings, expected in the south-western coast of the Italian peninsula, as their concentration had been sighted, in the morning of September 8, between Palermo and Naples. Admiral Bergamini was not informed by the Italian Navy Command (Supermarina) that the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces has been signed, in great secrecy, at Cassibile, on September 3, but was ordered not to sail until he received further orders, as it had been learned that the Allies wanted to proclam this armistice that very afternoon. After the broadcast, in Algiers, of the proclamation of the Armistice, by General Eisenhower, Admiral Bergamini was informed that, conformingly to the clauses of the Armistice, all the Navy's surface units had to be transferred to Malta. Very reluctant to accept the Armistice arrangements, Admiral Bergamini obtained from Supermarina, to sail for Maddalena, in north of Sardinia, where he would receive other orders if necessary.
As the Fleet, joined by three additional cruisers from Genoa, , , and Attilio Regolo, was steaming west of Corsica and was near to enter in the Strait of Bonifacio
, Admiral Bergamini was warned that it was no longer possible to go to Maddalena, which had fallen in German hands.
In the meantime, the Luftwaffe
had sent, from airfields in the South of France (Nimes-Garons or Istres), Dornier Do 217
s armed with Fritz X
radio-controlled bombs to attack the ships. These aircraft caught up with the force when it was off the Island of Asinara.
The Do 217s trailed the fleet for some time, but the Italian fleet did not open fire upon sighting them; they were trailing the fleet at such a distance that it was impossible to identify them as Allied or Axis, and Bergamini believed that they were the air cover promised to them by the Allies. However, an attack upon Italia and Roma at 15:37 spurred the fleet into action, as the anti-aircraft batteries onboard opened fire and all ships began evasive maneuvers. About fifteen minutes after this, Italia was hit on the starboard side underneath her fore main turrets, while Roma was hit on the same side somewhere between frames 100 and 108. This bomb passed through the ship and exploded beneath the ships' keel
, damaging the hull girder and allowing water to flood the after engine room and two boiler rooms. The flooding caused the inboard propellers to stop for want of power and started a large amount of arcing
, which itself caused many electrical fires in the aft half of the ship.
Losing power and speed, Roma began to fall out of the battle group. Around 16:02, another Fritz X slammed into the starboard side of the Romas deck, between frames 123 and 136. It most likely detonated in the forward engine room, sparking flames, and causing heavy flooding in the magazines
of main battery
turret number two and the fore port side secondary battery turret, and putting even more pressure upon the previously stressed hull girder. Seconds after the initial blast, the number two 15-inch (381-mm) turret was blown over the side by a massive explosion, this time from the detonation of that turret's magazines.
This caused additional catastrophic flooding in the bow, and the battleship began to go down by the bow while leaning more and more to starboard. The ship quickly capsize
d and broke in two. The ship had a crew of 1,849 when she sailed; 596 survived with 1,253 men going down with Roma.
At the first news of the attack on the Italian warships, Supermarina requested Malta to provide air escort, but all Allied planes were covering the Salerno landing, and the Fleet, which was now under Admiral Da Zara orders, was ordered to proceed to Malta. The cruiser Attilio Regolo, three destroyers and an escort vessel rescued the survivors of the Roma and went on Port Mahon, in the Balearic Islands. When the Italian Fleet arrived in Valetta, Malta, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham
sent the following message to the Admiralty : "Please to inform your Lordships that the Italian battle fleet now lies at anchor under the guns of the fortress of Malta."
Italian battleship Roma
Roma was the name of three battleships of the Regia Marina , and may refer to:, a broadside ironclad, the lead ship of the Roma class, completed in 1869 and stricken in 1895, a predreadnought battleship of the Regina Elena class completed in 1908 and stricken in 1927, a dreadnought battleship of...
and the city of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
battleship
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...
of Italy's Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
(Royal Navy). The construction of both Roma and her sister ship
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...
was planned due to rising tensions around the world and the navy's fear that two Vittorio Venetos and the older pre-First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
battleships were not enough to counter the British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As Roma was laid down almost four years after the first two ships of the class, some small improvements were made to the design, including additional freeboard
Freeboard (nautical)
In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...
added to the bow.
Roma was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
into the Regia Marina on 14 June 1942, but a severe fuel shortage in Italy at that time prevented her from being deployed; instead, along with her sister ships 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:...
and Littorio
Italian battleship Littorio
|-External links:...
, she was used to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of various Italian cities. In this role, she was severely damaged twice in June 1943 from bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
raids on La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
. After repairs in Genoa
Genoa
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....
through all of July and part of August, Roma was deployed as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Bergamini
Carlo Bergamini (admiral)
Carlo Bergamini was an Italian admiral.-Early life:Born in San Felice sul Panaro, Bergamini became a Guardiamarina in 1908. He participated in the Italian-Turkish war as an officer on the armoured cruiser Vettor Pisani. During World War I, he was the chief of artillery on the cruiser Pisa...
in a large battle group that eventually comprised the three Vittorio Venetos, eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Their stated intent was attacking the Allied ships approaching Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
to invade Italy (Operation "Avalanche"
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
) but, in reality, the Italian fleet was sailing to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
to surrender following Italy's September 8, 1943 armistice with the Allies.
While the force was in the Strait of Bonifacio
Strait of Bonifacio
The Strait of Bonifacio is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea from the western Mediterranean Sea...
, Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
s of the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
—armed with Fritz X
Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel. Alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400...
radio-controlled bombs—sighted the force. The first attack failed, but the second dealt Italia (ex-Littorio) and Roma much damage. The hit on Roma caused water to flood two boiler rooms and the after engine room, leaving the ship to limp along with two propellers, reduced power, and arc
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...
-induced fires in the stern of the ship. Shortly thereafter, another bomb slammed into the ship which detonated within the forward engine room, causing catastrophic flooding and the explosion of the #2 main turret's magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, throwing the turret itself into the sea. Sinking by the bow and leaning to starboard, Roma capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d and broke in two, carrying 1253 men—including Bergamini—down with her.
In her 15-month service life, Roma made 20 sorties, mostly in transfers between bases (none were to go into combat), covering 2492 mi (4,010.5 km) and using 3320 t (3,267.6 LT; 3,659.7 ST) of fuel oil in 133 hours of sailing.
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...
Roma and (English: Empire).
Laid down nearly four years after Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, Roma was able to incorporate a few design improvements. Her bow was noticeably redesigned to give Roma additional freeboard
Freeboard (nautical)
In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...
; partway into construction, it was modified on the basis of experience with Vittorio Veneto so that it had had a finer end at the waterline. She was also equipped with 32 rather than 24, 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in)/65 caliber Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
guns.
Construction and commissioning
Romas keelKeel
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 by the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico on 18 September 1938 and she was 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 9 June 1940. After just over two years of fitting-out
Fitting-out
Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...
, the new battleship was commissioned into the Regia Marina
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
on 14 June 1942. She arrived in the major naval base of Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
on 21 August of the same year and was assigned to the Ninth Naval Division.
Although Roma took part in training exercises and was moved to various bases including Taranto, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, in the next year, she did not go on any combat missions as the Italian Navy was desperately short of fuel. In fact, by the end of 1942, the only combat-ready battleships in the navy were the three Vittorio Venetos because the fuel shortage had caused the four modernized battleships to be removed from service. When combined with a lack of capable vessels to escort the capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s, the combat potential of the Italian Navy was virtually non-existent. On 6 December she was transferred with Vittorio Veneto and Littorio from Taranto to La Spezia, where she became the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the Regia Marina. They remained here through the first half of 1943 without going on any operations.
During this time, La Spezia was attacked many times by Allied bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
groups. Attacks on 14 and 19 April 1943 did not hit Roma, but an American raid on 5 June severely damaged both Vittorio Veneto and Roma. B-17 aircraft carrying 908 kg (2,001.8 lb) armor-piercing bombs damaged the stationary battleships with two bombs each. Roma suffered from two near hits on either side of her bow. The starboard-side bomb hit the ship but passed through the side of the hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
before exploding. The ship began taking on water through leaks from frames 221 to 226—an area covering about 32 square foot—and through flooding from the bow to frame 212. The second bomb missed but exploded in the water near the hull. Leaks were discovered over a 30 square foot area ranging from frames 198 and 207. Approximately 2350 LT (2,632 ST; 2,387.7 t) of water entered the ship.
Roma was damaged again by two bombs in another raid on 23–24 June. One hit the ship aft and to starboard of the rear main battery turret and obliterated several staterooms, which were promptly flooded from broken piping. The second landed atop the rear turret itself, but little damage was suffered due to the heavy armor in that location. This attack did not seriously damage Roma or cause any flooding, but she nevertheless sailed to Genoa for repairs. Roma reached the city on 1 July and returned to La Spezia on 13 August once repairs were complete.
Loss
Along with many of the principal units of the Italian fleet—including Vittorio Veneto and Italia (the ex-Littorio)—the cruisers , , and , and eight destroyers—Roma sailed from La Spezia as the flagship of Admiral Carlo BergaminiCarlo Bergamini (admiral)
Carlo Bergamini was an Italian admiral.-Early life:Born in San Felice sul Panaro, Bergamini became a Guardiamarina in 1908. He participated in the Italian-Turkish war as an officer on the armoured cruiser Vettor Pisani. During World War I, he was the chief of artillery on the cruiser Pisa...
on 9 September 1943, a day after the proclamation of the 1943 Italian armistice.
The initial orders were to attack, in a "last mission", the Allied naval forces intended to support the landings, expected in the south-western coast of the Italian peninsula, as their concentration had been sighted, in the morning of September 8, between Palermo and Naples. Admiral Bergamini was not informed by the Italian Navy Command (Supermarina) that the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces has been signed, in great secrecy, at Cassibile, on September 3, but was ordered not to sail until he received further orders, as it had been learned that the Allies wanted to proclam this armistice that very afternoon. After the broadcast, in Algiers, of the proclamation of the Armistice, by General Eisenhower, Admiral Bergamini was informed that, conformingly to the clauses of the Armistice, all the Navy's surface units had to be transferred to Malta. Very reluctant to accept the Armistice arrangements, Admiral Bergamini obtained from Supermarina, to sail for Maddalena, in north of Sardinia, where he would receive other orders if necessary.
As the Fleet, joined by three additional cruisers from Genoa, , , and Attilio Regolo, was steaming west of Corsica and was near to enter in the Strait of Bonifacio
Strait of Bonifacio
The Strait of Bonifacio is the strait between Corsica and Sardinia, named after the Corsican town Bonifacio. It is wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea from the western Mediterranean Sea...
, Admiral Bergamini was warned that it was no longer possible to go to Maddalena, which had fallen in German hands.
In the meantime, the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
had sent, from airfields in the South of France (Nimes-Garons or Istres), Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
s armed with Fritz X
Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel. Alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, Kramer X-1, PC 1400X or FX 1400...
radio-controlled bombs to attack the ships. These aircraft caught up with the force when it was off the Island of Asinara.
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...
, damaging the hull girder and allowing water to flood the after engine room and two boiler rooms. The flooding caused the inboard propellers to stop for want of power and started a large amount of arcing
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...
, which itself caused many electrical fires in the aft half of the ship.
Losing power and speed, Roma began to fall out of the battle group. Around 16:02, another Fritz X slammed into the starboard side of the Romas deck, between frames 123 and 136. It most likely detonated in the forward engine room, sparking flames, and causing heavy flooding in the magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
of main battery
Main battery
Generally used only in the terms of naval warfare, the main battery is the primary weapon around which a ship was designed. "Battery" is in itself a common term in the military science of artillery. For example, the United States Navy battleship USS Washington had a main battery of nine guns...
turret number two and the fore port side secondary battery turret, and putting even more pressure upon the previously stressed hull girder. Seconds after the initial blast, the number two 15-inch (381-mm) turret was blown over the side by a massive explosion, this time from the detonation of that turret's magazines.
This caused additional catastrophic flooding in the bow, and the battleship began to go down by the bow while leaning more and more to starboard. The ship quickly capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d and broke in two. The ship had a crew of 1,849 when she sailed; 596 survived with 1,253 men going down with Roma.
At the first news of the attack on the Italian warships, Supermarina requested Malta to provide air escort, but all Allied planes were covering the Salerno landing, and the Fleet, which was now under Admiral Da Zara orders, was ordered to proceed to Malta. The cruiser Attilio Regolo, three destroyers and an escort vessel rescued the survivors of the Roma and went on Port Mahon, in the Balearic Islands. When the Italian Fleet arrived in Valetta, Malta, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....
sent the following message to the Admiralty : "Please to inform your Lordships that the Italian battle fleet now lies at anchor under the guns of the fortress of Malta."