Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship

In 1913, Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel became the Chief of Staff of the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy). With tensions high in Europe and a naval arms race underway, he secured authorization for a huge new construction program, which called for four new battleships, three cruisers, and numerous other warships.[1] Ordered in 1914, the Francesco Caracciolo class was the first type of super-dreadnought battleship designed by the Regia Marina.[2] They were intended to match the new fast battleships being built in foreign navies, such as the British Queen Elizabeth class. Rear Admiral Edgardo Ferrati was responsible for preparing the designs. Ferrati originally called for a ship armed with twelve 381-millimeter guns and twenty 152-millimeter (6 in) secondary guns, but by the time he had finalized the design, he had reduced the main battery to eight guns and the secondary battery to twelve guns.[3]

Characteristics

Line-drawing of the Francesco Caracciolo class; note incorrect aspects such as the single mast and ram bow

The Francesco Caracciolo class was 201.6 m (661 ft) long at the waterline and 212 m (696 ft) long overall. The ships had a beam of 29.6 m (97 ft) and a draft of 9.5 m (31 ft). They would have displaced 31,400 metric tons (30,900 long tons) at normal loading and up to 34,000 t (33,000 long tons) at full load. They were to be equipped with two tripod masts.[3]

The ships were to be powered by four Parsons steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by twenty oil-fired Yarrow boilers. The boilers were trunked into two large funnels. The turbines were rated at 105,000 shaft horsepower (78,000 kW), which was intended to provide a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). At a more economical speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ships were estimated to have a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi).[3]

Francesco Caracciolo and her sisters were to be armed with a main battery of eight 40-caliber Cannone navale da 381/40 guns in four twin gun turrets, all mounted on the centerline in superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure.[3] The guns fired 885-kilogram (1,951 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 700 meters per second (2,300 ft/s)[4] to a range of 19,800 meters (21,700 yd). The secondary armament of the ships would have consisted of a dozen 50-caliber Cannone navale da 152/50 (6 in) guns[5] mounted in casemates clustered amidships.[3] Their 50-kilogram (110 lb) projectiles had a muzzle velocity of 850 meters per second (2,800 ft/s).[5] Anti-aircraft (AA) defense was to be provided by eight 45-caliber Cannone da 102/45 (4 in) guns and a dozen 40-millimeter (1.6 in) guns.[6] The 102 mm guns fired a 13.75-kilogram (30.3 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 850 meters per second (2,800 ft/s).[7] As was typical for capital ships of the period, the ships of the Francesco Caracciolo class were to be armed with eight torpedo tubes, either 450 mm (17.7 in) or 533 mm (21 in) in diameter.[3]

Armor for the class consisted of Krupp cemented steel manufactured by Terni. The main belt armor was 303 mm (11.9 in) thick; horizontal protection consisted of a 50 mm (2 in) thick deck. The main conning tower had 400 mm (16 in) thick sides. The same level of protection was applied to the main battery turrets, while the secondary guns had 220 mm (8.7 in) of armor protection.[3]

Francesco Caracciolo is launched at the Royal Naval Yard, Castellamare di Stabia, on 12 May 1920. She was the only member of her class to be launched, but she was not completed.

Shortages of steel slowed the construction of the ships, and after Italy entered World War I in May 1915, other classes of warships, particularly destroyers, submarines, and other light craft were needed to combat the Central Powers. As a result, work on the ships was suspended in March 1916. Around 9,000 t (8,900 long tons) of steel had been built into the hull for Francesco Caracciolo when work stopped. Cristoforo Colombo was the next furthest along, 12.5 percent of the hull being completed and 5 percent of the machinery assembled. Work on the last two ships had not progressed significantly by the time work on them halted.[3] Two of the heavy guns intended for Cristoforo Colombo were installed aboard the monitor Faà di Bruno.[10] The monitor Alfredo Cappellini received a pair of 381 mm guns from Francesco Morosini,[11] and the two Monte Santo and four Monte Grappa-class monitors were also equipped with spare 381 mm guns.[12] Four guns were converted into Cannone da 381/40 AVS railroad guns[13] and others were emplaced as coast-defense guns.[14]

Work resumed on Francesco Caracciolo in October 1919, but she was not to be completed.[3] That year, the Regia Marina considered converting the ship into a flush-decked aircraft carrier similar to the British HMS Argus.[15] The poor economic situation in Italy in the aftermath of World War I and the heavy expenses of the Italian pacification campaigns in Libya forced severe reductions in the naval budget.[16] As a result, a modern carrier conversion could not be completed. The Ansaldo shipyard proposed converting Francesco Caracciolo into a floatplane carrier, a cheaper alternative. It was nevertheless still too expensive for the Regia Marina.[15]

As well as the budgetary problems, the senior Italian navy commanders could not agree on the shape of the post-war Regia Marina. One faction advocated a traditional surface battle fleet, while a second believed a fleet composed of aircraft carriers, torpedo boats, and submarines would be ideal. A third faction, led by Admiral Giovanni Sechi, argued that a balanced fleet with a core of battleships and carriers was the most flexible option.[17] To secure budgetary space for new construction, Sechi drastically reduced the number of older ships in service; he also cancelled the battleships of the Francesco Caracciolo class.[18] Francesco Caracciolo was sold on 25 October 1920 to the Navigazione Generale Italiana shipping company. The firm planned to convert her into a merchant ship, but the work was deemed too expensive, and so she was temporarily mothballed in Baia Bay outside Naples.[3][19]

By this time, the Regia Marina had returned to the idea of converting the ship into an aircraft carrier. In the ongoing negotiations at the Washington Naval Conference, the proposed tonnage limit for the Regia Marina was to be 61,000 metric tons (60,000 long tons), which was now to include a converted Francesco Caracciolo and two new, purpose-built ships. A new conversion design, featuring an island superstructure, was prepared for Francesco Caracciolo but Italy's chronic budgetary problems prevented the navy building any of these ships.[20] Francesco Caracciolo was subsequently broken up for scrap,[3] starting in late 1926.[21] The other three ships had been dismantled shortly after the war,[3] with some of the machinery from Cristoforo Columbo used in the construction of the ocean liner Roma.[22]

• Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent P. (2007). "Search for a Flattop: The Italian Navy and the Aircraft Carrier 1907–2007". In Preston, Anthony (ed.). Warship. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 61–80. ISBN 978-1-84486-041-8.
• Clerici, Carlo; Robbins, Charles B. & Flocchini, Alfredo (1999). "The 15" (381mm)/40 Guns of the Francesco Caracciolo Class Battleships". Warship International. International Naval Research Organization. 36 (2): 151–157. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
• Goldstein, Erik & Maurer, John H. (1994). The Washington Conference, 1921–22: Naval Rivalry, East Asian Stability and the Road to Pearl Harbor. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-4559-1.
• Ordovini, Aldo F.; Petronio, Fulvio; et al. (2017). "Capital Ships of the Royal Italian Navy, 1860–1918: Part 4: Dreadnought Battleships". Warship International. LIV (4): 307–343. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Romanych, Marc & Heuer, Greg (2017). Railway Guns of World War I. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1639-9.
• Sandler, Stanley (2004). Battleships: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-410-5.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
• Zabecki, David T. (1999). World War II in Europe. New York: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8240-7029-1.