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Italia-class ironclad
The Italia class was a class of two ironclad battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1870s and 1880s. The two ships—Italia and Lepanto—were designed by Benedetto Brin, who chose to discard traditional belt armor entirely, relying on a combination of very high speed and extensive internal subdivision to protect the ships. This, along with their armament of very large 432 mm (17 in) guns, has led some naval historians to refer to the Italia class as prototypical battlecruisers.
Despite serving for over thirty years, the ships had uneventful careers. They spent their first two decades in service with the Active and Reserve Squadrons, where they were primarily occupied with training maneuvers. Lepanto was converted into a training ship in 1902 and Italia was significantly modernized in 1905–1908 before also becoming a training ship. They briefly saw action during the Italo-Turkish War, where they provided gunfire support to Italian troops defending Tripoli. Lepanto was discarded in early 1915, though Italia continued on as a guard ship during World War I, eventually being converted into a grain transport. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1921.
Starting in the 1870s, following the Italian fleet's defeat at the Battle of Lissa, the Italians began a large naval expansion program, at first aimed at countering the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The Italias were the second class of the program, which also included the Duilio class, designed in the early-1870s by Insp Eng Benedetto Brin. The Italia class was ordered by Admiral Simone Antonio Saint-Bon, the Italian naval minister, who envisioned an improved version of the Duilio class that also had the ability to carry large numbers of soldiers, as the Navy had been given the responsibility of defending Italy's lengthy coastline.
Brin prepared the initial design in 1875. The need to keep the size of the ships under control, coupled with developments in armor-piercing shell technology, forced him to make significant alterations compared to the Duilio design to incorporate Saint Bon's requirements. It had come to be realized by naval designers in Italy and abroad that armor plate could no longer effectively resist the latest shell designs, so Brin reasoned that the great weight of an armor belt was unwarranted. Armor plate also tended to fragment when struck by shells, creating damage beyond that caused by the projectile itself, further militating against its use. Additionally, fitting belt armor on a ship the size of Italia would cause a prohibitive increase in displacement, and so he discarded it completely in favor of a thin armored deck, unlike foreign capital ship designs.
Brin originally planned for the ships to displace 13,850 long tons (14,070 t), to have a main battery of two 450 mm (17.7 in) guns in individual barbettes, a secondary armament of eighteen 149 mm (5.9 in) guns, and to carry 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) of coal for increased range over that of the Duilio class. Brin opted to use open barbettes over the heavy, enclosed gun turrets of the Duilios to save weight, which permitted the addition of a full upper deck. This, in turn, provided the space to carry a division of 10,000 soldiers according to Saint Bon's requirements.
As the design evolved, developments in related technologies prompted changes to Brin's design. The development of slow-burning propellants led General Rosset, an artillerist in the Italian Army, suggested that slightly smaller, 432 mm (17 in) guns could be built with longer barrels for the same weight as the 450 mm guns. The longer barrels could take advantage of the slow-burning propellant to increase muzzle velocity, giving the guns better penetrating power. After the original guns were bought by Britain during a war scare with the Russian Empire in 1878, Brin altered the design to incorporate Rosset's ideas. The single 450 mm guns were replaced with pairs of 432 mm guns. By that time, he had made other changes, including reducing the 149 mm armament to eight weapons, and the coal capacity to 1,700 long tons (1,700 t), on 15,000 long tons (15,241 t) displacement. The number of 149 mm guns was reduced because it was found that the additional guns could not have been manned when the 432 mm guns were in use.
The ships were authorized in 1875, with funding allocated to begin construction the following year, though design work continued even after they had been laid down in 1876. They were faster and more seaworthy than the preceding Duilio class, owing to their higher freeboard. They were very large and fast warships for their time, displacing over 15,000 tons at full load; Italia could make 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h), while Lepanto could achieve 18.4 knots (34.1 km/h). Other ironclads of the era could not make more than 15 knots (28 km/h). Their high speed, powerful main battery, and thin armor protection has led to some naval historians to characterize the ships as proto-battlecruisers. Designed at a time when the primary threat to capital ships was a slow-firing gun equipped with cast iron shot, the Italias had the poor luck to enter service after quick-firing guns with explosive shells had been developed, rendering their protection scheme useless.
The ships of the Italia class were 122 meters (400 ft 3 in) long between perpendiculars and 124.7 m (409 ft 1 in) long overall. Italia had a beam of 22.54 m (73 ft 11 in), while Lepanto was slightly narrower, at 22.34 m (73 ft 4 in). The ships had a draft of 8.75 m (28 ft 8 in) and 9.39 m (30 ft 10 in), respectively. Italia displaced 13,678 long tons (13,897 t) normally and up to 15,407 long tons (15,654 t) at full load, while Lepanto displaced 13,336 long tons (13,550 t) normally and 15,649 long tons (15,900 t) fully laden. The ships' great size allowed the designers to use very fine hull lines, which gave them high hydrodynamic efficiency and contributed to their speed.
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Italia-class ironclad
The Italia class was a class of two ironclad battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1870s and 1880s. The two ships—Italia and Lepanto—were designed by Benedetto Brin, who chose to discard traditional belt armor entirely, relying on a combination of very high speed and extensive internal subdivision to protect the ships. This, along with their armament of very large 432 mm (17 in) guns, has led some naval historians to refer to the Italia class as prototypical battlecruisers.
Despite serving for over thirty years, the ships had uneventful careers. They spent their first two decades in service with the Active and Reserve Squadrons, where they were primarily occupied with training maneuvers. Lepanto was converted into a training ship in 1902 and Italia was significantly modernized in 1905–1908 before also becoming a training ship. They briefly saw action during the Italo-Turkish War, where they provided gunfire support to Italian troops defending Tripoli. Lepanto was discarded in early 1915, though Italia continued on as a guard ship during World War I, eventually being converted into a grain transport. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1921.
Starting in the 1870s, following the Italian fleet's defeat at the Battle of Lissa, the Italians began a large naval expansion program, at first aimed at countering the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The Italias were the second class of the program, which also included the Duilio class, designed in the early-1870s by Insp Eng Benedetto Brin. The Italia class was ordered by Admiral Simone Antonio Saint-Bon, the Italian naval minister, who envisioned an improved version of the Duilio class that also had the ability to carry large numbers of soldiers, as the Navy had been given the responsibility of defending Italy's lengthy coastline.
Brin prepared the initial design in 1875. The need to keep the size of the ships under control, coupled with developments in armor-piercing shell technology, forced him to make significant alterations compared to the Duilio design to incorporate Saint Bon's requirements. It had come to be realized by naval designers in Italy and abroad that armor plate could no longer effectively resist the latest shell designs, so Brin reasoned that the great weight of an armor belt was unwarranted. Armor plate also tended to fragment when struck by shells, creating damage beyond that caused by the projectile itself, further militating against its use. Additionally, fitting belt armor on a ship the size of Italia would cause a prohibitive increase in displacement, and so he discarded it completely in favor of a thin armored deck, unlike foreign capital ship designs.
Brin originally planned for the ships to displace 13,850 long tons (14,070 t), to have a main battery of two 450 mm (17.7 in) guns in individual barbettes, a secondary armament of eighteen 149 mm (5.9 in) guns, and to carry 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) of coal for increased range over that of the Duilio class. Brin opted to use open barbettes over the heavy, enclosed gun turrets of the Duilios to save weight, which permitted the addition of a full upper deck. This, in turn, provided the space to carry a division of 10,000 soldiers according to Saint Bon's requirements.
As the design evolved, developments in related technologies prompted changes to Brin's design. The development of slow-burning propellants led General Rosset, an artillerist in the Italian Army, suggested that slightly smaller, 432 mm (17 in) guns could be built with longer barrels for the same weight as the 450 mm guns. The longer barrels could take advantage of the slow-burning propellant to increase muzzle velocity, giving the guns better penetrating power. After the original guns were bought by Britain during a war scare with the Russian Empire in 1878, Brin altered the design to incorporate Rosset's ideas. The single 450 mm guns were replaced with pairs of 432 mm guns. By that time, he had made other changes, including reducing the 149 mm armament to eight weapons, and the coal capacity to 1,700 long tons (1,700 t), on 15,000 long tons (15,241 t) displacement. The number of 149 mm guns was reduced because it was found that the additional guns could not have been manned when the 432 mm guns were in use.
The ships were authorized in 1875, with funding allocated to begin construction the following year, though design work continued even after they had been laid down in 1876. They were faster and more seaworthy than the preceding Duilio class, owing to their higher freeboard. They were very large and fast warships for their time, displacing over 15,000 tons at full load; Italia could make 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h), while Lepanto could achieve 18.4 knots (34.1 km/h). Other ironclads of the era could not make more than 15 knots (28 km/h). Their high speed, powerful main battery, and thin armor protection has led to some naval historians to characterize the ships as proto-battlecruisers. Designed at a time when the primary threat to capital ships was a slow-firing gun equipped with cast iron shot, the Italias had the poor luck to enter service after quick-firing guns with explosive shells had been developed, rendering their protection scheme useless.
The ships of the Italia class were 122 meters (400 ft 3 in) long between perpendiculars and 124.7 m (409 ft 1 in) long overall. Italia had a beam of 22.54 m (73 ft 11 in), while Lepanto was slightly narrower, at 22.34 m (73 ft 4 in). The ships had a draft of 8.75 m (28 ft 8 in) and 9.39 m (30 ft 10 in), respectively. Italia displaced 13,678 long tons (13,897 t) normally and up to 15,407 long tons (15,654 t) at full load, while Lepanto displaced 13,336 long tons (13,550 t) normally and 15,649 long tons (15,900 t) fully laden. The ships' great size allowed the designers to use very fine hull lines, which gave them high hydrodynamic efficiency and contributed to their speed.
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