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Regia Marina

 

Regia Marina


The Royal Italian Navy, Regia Marina, was created after the Italian unification. With the birth of the Italian Republic (1946), it changed its name to Marina Militare Italiana.

History

Pre-World War I

July 20, 1866: Sea battle against Austrian fleet (Battle of Lissa), near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. It was the last major seabattle that involved ramming.

World War I


About 4 Dreadnought battleships were built, but were not involved in major naval actions. For most of the war the Italian and Austrian navy kept a passive watch on their counter-parts. However, some actions were taken, by both parts. The Austrian successfully sabotaged and sank battleships Benedetto Brin (Brindisi, 27 September 1915) and Leonardo da Vinci (Taranto, 2 August 1916). Regia Marina attacked the harbour of Pola, sinking the battleship Viribus Unitis, 1 November 1918.

After World War I


The fascist government decided to enpower the Regia Marina, in the foreseeable struggle against British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. It was decided to base the strategy on fast, long shooting ships, in order to minimize contact with better experienced British fleet. Therefore, new guns were developed, which had smaller caliber but longer range than British counterparts; furthermore, in order to allow higher speeds, Italian new ships were designed with thinner protections (see, for example, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere).

World War II


The navy had, at this time, a mix of modernised and new battleships. It challenged the British Royal Navy for supremacy of the Mediterranean. Morally the Royal Navy gained the upper hand after several clashes. The British attack at the naval base of Taranto (Battle of Taranto) was a very successful attack by carrier-borne aircrafts carrying torpedoes against Italian battleships in harbor. This is considered to be one of the inspirations for the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. The most successful attack performed by the Italian navy was by divers planting mines on British battleships in harbor at Alexandria. Italian ships were generally regarded as well-designed and good-looking, but proved to be rather deficient in anti-aircraft armament and radar.

Ships

Pre-World War I

Battleships

Re Umberto class:
  • in Venice: Sardegna

    Saint Bon class:

  • in Venice: Ammiraglio di Saint Bon, Emanuele Filiberto

    Regina Margherita class:

  • in Taranto: Regina Margherita, Benedetto Brin

    Regina Elena class:

  • in Taranto: Regina Elena, Vittorio Emanuele, Napoli, Roma

    Dante Alighieri class:

  • in Taranto: Dante Alighieri

    Cavour class:

  • in Taranto: Conte di Cavour, Giulio Cesare, Leonardo Da Vinci

    Cruisers

    Garibaldi class:
  • in Brindisi: Giuseppe Garibaldi, Varese, Francesco Ferruccio

    Vettror Pisani class:

  • in Brindisi: Vettor Pisani

    Pisa class:

  • in Taranto: Pisa, Amalfi

    San Giorigio class:

  • in Taranto: San Giorgio, San Marco

    Piemonte class:

  • in Taranto: Piemonte

    Lombardia class:

  • in Brindisi: Lombardia, Liguria, Elba, Puglia

    Libia class:

  • in Brindisi: Libia

    Destroyers

    Lampo class:
  • in Tripoli: Ostro, Lampo
  • in Tobruk: Euro, Strale
  • in Valona: Dardo

    Nembo class:

  • in Brindisi: Nembo, Turbine, Espero, Borea, Aquilone
  • in Venice: Zeffiro

    Soldati Artigliere class:

  • in Taranto: Granatiere
  • in Venice: Bersagliere, Garibaldino, Corazziere, Lanciere, Artigliere

    Soldati Alpino class:

  • in Venice: Alpino, Fuciliere, Pontiere, Ascaro

    Indomito class:

  • in La Spezia: Impetuoso
  • in Taranto: Impavido, Insidioso, Irrequieto

    Ardito class:

  • in Brindisi: Ardito, Ardente

    Audace class:

  • in Brindisi: Audace, Animoso

    Pilo class:

  • in Brindisi: Francesco Nullo

    World War II

    Aircraft carriers

    Aquila (modification of the liner Roma, built but never used) and Sparviero (modification of the liner Augustus, never completed)

    Battleships

    Cavour class: Conte di Cavour, Giulio Cesare (extensively modernised WWI battleships) - guns 10 x 320 mm, 27 knots, 25000 t

    Duilio class: Andrea Doria, Caio Duilio (extensively modernised WWI battleships) - guns 10 x 320 mm, 27 knots, 25000 t

    Vittorio Veneto class: Littorio/Italia, Vittorio Veneto, Roma, Impero (not completed) - guns 9 x 381 mm, 30 knots, 45000 t

    Heavy cruisers

    Trento class: Trento, Trieste, Bolzano - guns 8 x 230 mm, 36 knots, 10000 t

    Zara class: Zara, Fiume, Goriza, Goriza - guns 8 x 230 mm, 36 knots, 10000 t

    Light cruisers

    Condottieri (or di Giussano) class: Alberto di Giussano, Alberico da Barbiano, Bartolomeo Colleoni, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere

    Cadorna class: Luigi Cadorna, Armando Diaz

    Duca d'Aosta class: Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Eugenio di Savoia

    Duca degli Abruzzi class: Luigi Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, Giuseppe Garibaldi

    Montecuccoli class: Raimondo Montecuccoli, Muzio Attendolo

    Capitani Romani class: Attilio Regolo, Giulio Germanico, Pompeo Magno, Scipione Africano

    Taranto, San Giorgio, Bari

    Destroyers

    Leone class: 3 vessels - 2283 t

    Navigatori class: 12 vessels - 2010 t

    Oriani class: 4 vessels - 1950 t

    Soldati class: 12 vessels (divided into First Soldati or Camicia Nera and Second soldati class) - 1620 t, among which Artigliere and Lanciere

    Grecale class: 4 vessels - 1449 t

    Dardo class: 4 vessels - 1450 t

    Mirabello class: 2 vessels - 1383 t

    Folgore class: 4 vessels - 1220 t

    Borea class: 8 vessels - 1092 t

    Sauro class: 4 vessels - 1058 t

    Sella class: 2 vessels - 935 t

    Submarines

    600-Serie Acciaio class: 13 vessels - 715 t, among which Bronzo and Cobalto

    600-Serie Adua class: 17 vessels - 698 t, coastal submarines, among which Alagi, Ascianghi, Axum, Dessiè, and Sciré

    600-Serie Argonauta class: 7 vessels - 665 t, among which Salpa

    600-Serie Perla class: 10 vessels - 700 t, among which Iride

    600-Serie Sirena class: 12 vessels - 701 t

    Archimede class: 2 vessels - 985 t

    Argo class: 2 vessels - 794 t

    Balilla class: 4 vessels - 1450 t, among which Enrico Toti

    Bandiera class: 4 vessels - 941 t

    Bragadin class: 2 vessels - 981 t

    Brin class: 5 vessels - 1016 t

    Cagni class: 4 vessels - 1708 t

    Calvi class: 5 vessels - 1550 t

    Classe R class: 2 vessels - 2210 t

    Fieramosca class: 1 vessel - 1556 t

    Flutto - 1st series class: 8 vessels - 958 t

    Flutto - 2nd series class: 8 vessels - 958 t

    Foca class: 3 vessels - 1333 t

    Glauco class: 2 vessels - 1055 t

    Liuzzi class: 4 vessels - 1187 t, among which Bagnolini

    Mameli class: 3 vessels - 830 t

    Marcello class: 11 vessels - 1063 t

    Marconi class: 6 vessels - 1195 t

    Micca class: 1 vessel - 1570 t

    Pisani class: 4 vessels - 880 t, among which Vittor Pisani

    Settembrini class: 2 vessels - 953 t

    Squalo class: 4 vessels - 933 t

    Major events

    Battle of Lissa (1866)

    World War II

  • Battle of Punta Stilo (9 July 1940), also known as Battle of Calabria.
  • Battle of Cape Spada (19 July 1940), Bartolomeo Colleoni is sunk by torpedoes.
  • The Night of Taranto (11 November 1940), also known as Operation Judgement.
  • Battle of Cape Teulada (27 November 1940), also known as Battle of Cape Spartivento.
  • Attack to the British base of Suda bay, Crete: HMS York and two oil tanks sunken (26 March 1941).
  • Battle of Cape Matapan, Pola, Zara, Fiume, Vittorio Alfieri and Giosué Carducci sunken (27 March 1941)
  • First Battle of Sirte (1941)
  • Sinking of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant in Alexandria Harbor, by Italian frogmen (19 December 1941)
  • Second Battle of Sirte (22 March 1942)
  • Battle of Mid-June (1942), also known as Operation Harpoon.
  • Battle of Mid-August (1942), also known as Operation Pedestal.

    External links

  • Italian Navy from www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk - 10 pages of photos;
  • Regia Marina Italiana from www.regiamarina.net - the Regia Marina in the WWII.
  • Almanacco Storico Navale official site of the Italian Navy on the Regia Marina ships - in Italian
  • ''Trento in Cina - Database of the Italian warships in World War II - both Italian and English



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