Regia Marina

(Royal Navy)

Naples, Mussolini hails the Italian Fleet during the 1938 naval
review in Hitler's visit occasion

The period between the two world wars

After the conclusion of the Great War, a strong economical depression, and in Italy also political overthrown, followed. The main naval powers victorious in the conflict meet in the famous 1921-22 Washington conference to put, at least this was the declared objective, some limitations upon the naval armaments. Effectively, apart from the heavy and prohibitive expenses that continuing on the even greater super-dreadnaughts took, the just concluded conflict had put on the table strong doubts over the uselfulness of such ships compared with new weapons the war had shown: the airplane and the submarine.

In Washington a "naval holiday" in fact of buildings new battleships, most for giving to the technicians the time to study new solutions, and, important political fact, the naval parity, in fact of capital ships, between France and Italy.

From then and for all the twenties and thirties, the Italian naval buildings politicy was dictated more on the anxiety to counterbeat the most recent and dangerous French ships then on a logical program: this took the conseguence of obtaining an important but not well balanced in her components fleet. It was cleany overstimated the importance of speed over other characteristics, and, at the same time, some categories of ships were ignored, such as air carrier (thought not useful in the mediterranean sea) and, perhaps more dangerously, the much cheaper anti-submarine ships.

About the carriers

After the completion, between the 1923-27, of a hydroplanes carrier, the slow 5,400 tons Giuseppe Miraglia, recovered from a scrapped merchant-ship, many carrier projects were proposed: from the transformation of the uncompleted battleship Caracciolo to the vary studies of Rota in 1925, Pugliese in 1936, etc. As it is note, they all remained on the drawing tables. Only in 1941 after the brilliant performances of the British Royal Navy in more than an occasion, it was started the transformation of two big passengers-transports (20,000 tons unloaded), the Roma and the Augustus in two carrier, the Aquila (for Eagle) and the Sparviero (for Bird of prey).

The works started by Ansaldo industries on the Aquila, following the plans of the Comitato Progetti Navi (Ships Designing Commitee) directed by General of the Navy Engineers Carlo Sigismondi, were suspended with the ship almost ready (it did also the sea provings) in June 1943 when, with lost of the North Africa, the dooms of the Italian war seemed irremediately signed. Also if never took to completion this big unit is an interesting realization, from the powefull 150,000hp engine used (from the two cancelled light cruisers Paolo Emilio and Cornelio Silla) to sub-water defences, etc. The Sparviero was never launched.

On December 31st 1942 an order was laid down for equipping the Aquila with 50 O.R. (Organizzazione Roma) Reggiane Re. 2001 fighters: after the cancellation of the program, 26 fighters were transferred to the Air force to serve as night fighters.

Carrier Aquila (28,000 tons) in Genova during Summer 1943

Re-building a Navy

The first units of a certain relevance put in construction after the end of the Great War were the two big cruisers Trento and Trieste, which reached at the 1929-30 sea-provings a speed of over 35 knots with 150,000hp on four axes. Designed by General of the Navy Engineers Filippo Bonfiglietti and armed with eight 203mm L50 guns, of Italian design and realization, were well built ships, still not immune to the grave defects wich characterized all ships of the so-called type Washington, that is came from the papers signed at the Washington conference: standard displacement of 10,000 tons, maximum gun caliber of 203mm. Between these limits it was able to get fast speeds only by renouncing to an effective protection. Infact the two "Trento", as all the other "10,000 tons" of the other navies resulted to be unsufficiently protected.

Heavy cruiser Trieste (13,540 tons and 35 knots) in 1932

After the two "Trento", four other type Washington cruisers followed in 1929-32 (Zara, Fiume, Pola and Gorizia) on which, by reducing the speed of a few knots, the armor was wisely increased. The result was some splendid ships, more balanced in their characteristics, to which however followed, with only few improvements, a third Trento, the Bolzano in 1933, which maintained the weak protection (and was immediately defined "a mistake magnificently executed").

Heavy cruiser Zara (14,600 tons and 32 knots) in a mid thirties picture

In 1928 the Regia Marina deced to answer to the realization of a French 3,000 tons super-destroyers group ("Jaguar" and "Lion" classes, armed with 130mm and 138mm guns) with the building of four super-fast 6,500 tons light cruisers, armed with eight 152mm guns on the project of Generals Giuseppe Rota and Giuseppe Vian. It was the "Da Barbiano" class (Alberico da Barbiano, Alberto da Giussano, Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni dalle Bande Nere), first and less guessed expression of Italian cruisers class "Condottieri" in which, to the predominat element of speed, which reached the record rate of 38-42 knots, almost all was sacrified: from the inexistent protection, to the strength of the structures and good sea qualities. They had a discrete fire-power (eight 152mm L53 guns, six 100mm L47 and four 533mm torped launchers) but were particularly fragile, absolutely not able to counter true light cruisers, as the future experiences will tragically demonstrate.

To the two "Da Barbiano", two years later, the two "Cadorna" followed (Luigi Cadorna and Armando Diaz), with analogue characteristics, also if slightly improved in structure's strength. It was only with the successive Raimondo Montecuccoli and Muzio Attendolo, over 8,700 tons full loaded, started in the 1931-33 and completed in 1935, that the Regia Marina fronted in more armonic and less esaxperated manner the light cruisers' building. Designed by General of NE Umberto Pugliese with the help of col. Leonardo Fea, a better protection was provided compared to the previous ones, of which conserved the entity and positionings of main armament (eight 152mm L53 guns), while getting a good speed. Reproduct with a few improvements after two years in two other units (Eugenio di Savoia and Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta), these four units went to form the VII cruisers division which operated intensively and with satisfaction by all the Second World War.

The Regia Marina's light cruisers category however reached its maximum quality with the next Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi and Giuseppe Garibaldi, entered in service in 1937, whose plans were layed down by the Comitato Progetti Navi in 1933. Two splendid ships, by over 11,000 tons full loaded and 34 knots, fair protected (130 mm) and with a powerfull armament (10 152mm L55 guns in binary and trinary turret) which survived to the conflict and remanined in service for more years later. Both "Montecuccoli/Aosta" and "Abruzzi" unveiled to be well balanced and strong units, capable to copy with much battle damage (expecially torpedoes) during the war. The true, diffused, problem for the twenties and thirties' Italian ships was the artilleries.

For many causes, to the total freedom of the Italian weapons industry from external bindings, came with the Ansaldo in 1925 and followed by Odero Terni Orlando, a period in which artilleries embarked on Italian ships were affected by strong salvos' dispersion, and definetely, poor precise and reliable, followed. The major causes were inexperience and some wrong decisions (search for even faster initial speeds, use of the unique cradle to save weight, etc.), united to ammunitio defects.

The AA weapons need a separated speech, although being also negative: good guns had limited preformances due to inadeguated carriages (i.e. ex-Skoda 100mm L47 on binary carriage model 1928). AA machine guns, the choice of using rigid carriages instead of deformable ones, influenced the hitting precision (due to visible vibrations), limiting (until new weapons were at disposal, such as the Breda 37mm L54 single, etc.), the maximum number of light weapons embarked, yet more on the light units due to their weight and need of strong supporting structures. Enough unfairly resulted the performances of many fire direction stations, but moreover were completely absent the ligh gyroscopics stations for conductions of light arms' fire, largely present on the Anglo-American units. Excellent were instead the torpedoes.

Battleships launched ...

As said before, the Washington Conference has established an holiday in what concerning new battleships until 1931, terms reduced for Italy and France to 1927. For political opportunity motives, both Nations did not make use of such a possibility up to 1932, when as answer to German building of the pocket battleships type Deautschland (a little more than 10,000 tons and six 280mm guns), French layed down the first Dunkerque class battle cruiser (26,500 tons, then resulted to be over 35,000 full loaded, 31 knots and eight 330mm guns). To answer to the French move, Regia Marina started in 1933 the radical rebuilding of the two Cavour class battleships still in service (Conte di Cavour and Giulio Cesare).

From this expensive rebuild, which many criticized the economical convenience, by brilliant technical and architectonical solutions, two almost completely new vessels came out, armed with ten 305mm L46 guns, re-piped to 320mm L44, and a 28 knots speed but conserving an unfair protection for a modern battleship (250mm).

Battleship Conte di Cavour (29,000 tons and 28 knots) in 1940

Lastly, in 1934, after French had announced the building of a new Dunkerque (named Strasbourg), the Italian Navy replied with the two well more powerful and already designed Littorio and Vittorio Veneto battleships (Littorio class). Built following the limitations of 35,000 tons established by the Washington conference (but both were well heavier) these two ships , and the other two which followed, were realized upon General Umberto Pugliese's plans and went on the sea respectively in Genova (Ansaldo shipyards) and Trieste (San Marco shipyards, owned by C.R.D.A.) in 1937. Armed with nine 381mm L50 guns in trinary turrets and twelve 152mm L55 gun, they were the first battleships after the Duilio (1876) to carry an adeguated protection of 350mm (vertical) and 207mm (horizontal), and for the effective anti-torpedoes protection (still designed by General Pugliese).

One of the 381mm L50 guns built by Ansando industries for the Littorio-class battleships

Capable of developing a maximum speed of 30 knots with over 140,000 hp power, these units, for the good balance in their characteristicsand the set of performances displayed during the war, not lastly the strongness demonstrated in more than an occasion, can be considerated between the more succesful "35,000 tons", as the British King George V, the American Washington and French Richelieu. Then the more powerful German Bismarck, Japanese Yamato and American Missouri appeared, but these were bigger ships.

Battleship Littorio (45,410 tons and 30 knots) in Taranto harbour, Summer 1942

Littorio and Vittorio Veneto entered in service only at the end of Summer 1940, with the war already started, followed by the Duilio and Andrea Doria, also them being radically modernized with a program more marked (and equally discussed) than that used for the previous "Cavour".

Battleship Andrea Doria (29,000 tons and 28 knots) at Pola harbor, Summer 1940

Two successive "35,000 tons", Roma and Impero, were layed in construction in 1938 and launched in 1939-40, but due to war starting, only the former could be readied for the 1942, going unfortunately lost the year later.

Battleship Roma (46,200 tons and 30 knots) just after it has entered in service,
late Summer 1942

Her sinking, due to explosion of the forward ammunition depot after being hit by two German tele-guided bombs off of Sardinia on September 9th 1943, cannot be imputed to the design flaws, also because Italia (ex-Littorio) got herself one of these high piercing bombs, while remaining intact in its combat capabilites.

Minor units

In the minor surface and subwater vessels' sector, the Navy registered a period of noticeable qualitative development. For what regards the formers, after the building of some destroyer classes ("Palestro", "Curtatone", etc), which derived from the previous War's destroyers with just a few enhancements, in 1922-23 four Sella-class units were started in the shipyards, followed then by the better Sauro and Turbine classes (respectively four and eight units), which started, along with the following Freccia class (four plus four 1,600 tons units), that medium size, very fast destroyer (over 40 knots) thought expecially as torpedo boat, an idea the Regia Marina was oriented to use in line services.

Replicated with many and progressive enhancements in the Maestrale (four units), Oriani (four units) and Soldati (or Artigliere) classes (twelve units) until 1939, these twenty-eight 1,600-1,800 tons modern destroyers formed the escort for the capital and cruiser ships during the conflict but were often used as escort for the slow North Africa headed convoys, a purpose they were not designed to fit.

Destroyer Geniere, Soldati-class (1,700 tons and 38 knots) in Autumn 1942

More convoy-escort oriented were the twelve big Navigatori or Da Mosto class destroyers. Designed by General Rota in the second '20s half, they entered in service between 1929 and 1931 as light explorers. They resulted to be very fast (during the provings they surpassed the 40 knots with 2,000 tons displacement)and well armed (six 120mm L50 guns in binary plantings instead of the normal four in the standard Italian destroyer) but also being a little unstable were turning at full speed. After afew years of service they went under modification works (hull's enlarging and lengthening), from which slower but more balanced vessels came out. In other words, the Regia Marina has got with the Navigatori class the way of the big destroyers, World War Two's factotum units soon began to be build by all the other navies.

Between 1935 and 1938, over General Gustavo Bozzoni (of the Comitato progetto Navi) design, 32 light torpedo boats were built, going to form the Spica class of about 800 tons and 34 knots. Other four similar units, bigger (about 1,100 tons) and slower, were designed to fit the convoy's escort duties: the Orsa class. While the formers revealed to be too light for line services and then being sent to escort duties, the latters were barticularly guessed ships and they were resumed in the building programs during the war.

Torped boat Calliope in La Spezia harbor, September 1942
Employed for convoy's escort these units were the first to be equipped with an
ASDIC device, while their weaponry was powered,

Between the surface vessel a relevant place must be awarded to the Capitani Romani class light explorers (then light cruisers). In the second half of '30s, after a big cooperation work of the Italian shipyards with the Soviet Union (with the approvation of the Fascist government), many interesting design came out, the most being the 3,200 tons Taskent, which, with a 110,000 hp power, surpassed the 45 knots.

After the studies upon this ship, General Pugliese and General Ignazio Alfano, derived the guessed design of a new fast light cruiser of about 5,400 tons full loaded as answer to the French Le Terrible and Mogador super-destroyer classes: twelve were ordered but only Attilio Regolo, Scipione Africano and Pompeo Magno entered in service in the 1942-43.

Light cruiser Pompeo Magno, Capitani Romani-class (5,400 tons and a speed of
37-40 knots) in September 1943

They were three valid units, very fast and, while lacking armor (they were mostly big destroyers than light cruisers), they were of very strong building. With a good offensive powere, based upon the excellent new models 35mm L45 guns in four binary turrets and eight 533mm torpedo launchers in quad plantings (the first and unique employed by the Marina, they could operate at 37-40 knots speed.