The Conte di Cavour-class battleships were a group of three dreadnoughts built for the Regia Marina in the 1910s. The ships were completed during World War I, but none saw action before the end of hostilities. Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by a magazine explosion in 1916 and was refloated and repaired over the early 1920s. Conte di Cavour and Giulio Cesare, supported operations during the Corfu Incident in 1923. They were extensively reconstructed between 1933 and 1937 with more powerful guns, additional armor and considerably more speed than before.
Specifications[]
Original Configuration[]
- Type Battleship
- Service Period: 1914-1945
- Characteristics:
- Length: 577 feet 5 inches (176 meters)
- Beam: 91 feet 10 inches (28 meters)
- Draught: 30 feet 6 inches (9.3 meters)
- Displacement: 23,088 tons (Standard); 25,086 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 1,000 (31 officers and 969 enlisted)
- Propulsion: 20 × Water-tube boilers, 4 x steam turbines, 4 x shafts, 30,700–32,800 shp (22,900–24,500 kW)
- Range: 4,800 nautical miles (8,890 kilometers) at 10 knots (18.52 km/h)
- Speed: 21.5 knots (39.82 km/h)
- Armament:
- 13 x 305mm/46-caliber Model 1909 naval guns
- 18 x 120mm/50-caliber Model 1909 naval guns
- 14 x 76.2mm/50-caliber Model 1909 naval guns
- 3 x 450mm torpedo tubes
- Armour:
- Waterline belt: 250–130 mm (9.8–5.1 in)
- Deck: 24–40 mm (0.9–1.6 in)
- Gun turrets: 280–240 mm (11.0–9.4 in)
- Barbettes: 230–130 mm (9.1–5.1 in)
- Conning towers: 280–180 mm (11.0–7.1 in)
1933 Rebuild Configuration[]
- Type Battleship
- Service Period: 1914-1945
- Characteristics:
- Length: 611 feet 7 inches (186.41 meters)
- Beam: 93 feet 10 inches (28.6 meters)
- Draught: 33 feet 6.35 inches (10.22 meters)
- Displacement: 26,140 tons (Standard); 29,100 tons (Full Load)
- Crew: 1,260
- Propulsion: 8 x Yarrow boilers, 2 x Geared steam turbines, 2 x shafts, 75,000 shp (56,000 kW)
- Range: 6,400 nautical miles (11,853 kilometers) at 13 knots (24.08 km/h)
- Speed: 28 knots (51.86 km/h)
- Armament:
- 10 x 320mm/44-caliber Model 1934 naval guns (2x3, 2x2)
- 12 x 120mm/50-caliber Model 1933 naval guns (6x2)
- 8 x 100mm/47-caliber Model 1931 dual purpose naval guns (4x2)
- 12 x 37mm/54-caliber Model 1932 anti-aircraft guns (6x2)
- 12 x 13.2mm/75.7-caliber anti-aircraft guns (6x2)
- Armour:
- Belt: 10-inches (254 mm)
- Deck: 6.5-inches (165.1 mm)
- Turrets: 11-inches (279.4 mm)
- Barbettes: 11-inches (279.4 mm)
- Conning Tower: 11-inches (279.4 mm)
Unit Run[]
- RM Conte di Cavour - sunk in 1941
- RM Giulio Cesare - sunk in 1941
- RM Leonardo da Vinci - decommissioned in 1945, turned into a museum ship