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Capitani Romani-class cruiser

{{short description|Italian class of light cruisers}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=RM-ScipioneAfricano.jpg

|Ship caption=Scipione Africano

}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

|Name=Capitani Romani class

|Builders=

|Operators=* {{navy|Kingdom of Italy|name=Regia Marina}}

  • {{navy|Italy}}
  • {{navy|France}}

|Class before=

|Class after=

|Subclasses={{sclass|San Giorgio|destroyer|4}}

|Cost=

|Built range=1939–1942

|In service range=

|In commission range=1942–1980

|Total ships planned=12

|Total ships completed=4

|Total ships cancelled=8

|Total ships scrapped=4

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship type=Light cruiser

|Ship displacement=* {{cvt|3745|t|LT|lk=on}} (standard)

|Ship length= {{convert|142.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (overall)

|Ship beam= {{convert|14.4|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship draught= {{convert|4.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|Ship propulsion=2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines

|Ship speed={{convert|41|kn|lk=in}}{{cite web |url=http://www.marina.difesa.it/storiacultura/storia/almanacco/Pagine/PQRS/pompeo_magno.aspx |title=Pompeo Magno—Incrociatore leggero |work=Almanacco storico navale |publisher=Marina Militare}}

|Ship range= {{cvt|4350|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|18|kn}}

|Ship power=* 4 water-tube boilers

  • {{cvt|110000|shp|kW|lk=on}}

|Ship complement=418

|Ship sensors=EC-3/ter Gufo radar

|Ship armament=* 4 × twin 135 mm /45 Italian naval gun DP guns

|Ship armour=*Turrets: {{convert|6-20|mm|in|abbr=on}}

|Ship notes=

}}

The Capitani Romani class was a class of light cruisers acting as flotilla leaders for the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} (Italian Navy). They were built to outrun and outgun the large new French destroyers of the {{sclass|Le Fantasque|destroyer|5}} and {{sclass|Mogador|destroyer|5}} classes.{{sfnp|Gardiner & Brown|2004|p=65}} Twelve hulls were ordered in late 1939, but only four were completed, just three of these before the Italian armistice in 1943. The ships were named after prominent ancient Romans ({{lang|it|Capitani Romani}} (lit. Roman Captains)).{{sfnp|Bishop|2002|p=489}}

Design

The Capitani Romani class were originally designed as scout cruisers for ocean operations ("ocean scout", {{lang|it|esploratori oceanici}}), although some authors consider them to have been heavy destroyers.Sadkovich, p. 132 After the war the two units still in service were reclassified as flotilla leaders ({{lang|it|caccia conduttori}}).

The design was fundamentally a light, almost unarmoured hull with a large power plant and cruiser style armament. The original design was modified to sustain the prime requirements of speed and firepower. Given their machinery development of {{convert|93,210|kW|abbr=on}}, equivalent to that of the 17,000-ton cruisers of the {{sclass|Des Moines|cruiser|4}}, the target speed was over {{convert|41|kn|0|lk=in}}, but the ships were left virtually unarmoured. As a result, the three completed warships achieved {{convert|43|kn|km/h|0}} during trials.{{sfnp|Bishop|2002|page=489}} The Capitani Romani-class vessels shipped a main battery of eight 135 mm /45 Italian naval gun DP guns, with a rate of fire of eight rounds per minute and a range of {{convert|19,500|m|yd|abbr=on}}. They also carried eight {{convert|533|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} torpedo tubes. The wartime load dropped the operational speed by {{convert|1|to|5|kn|spell=in}}, depending on the source.{{sfnp|Gardiner & Brown|2004|page=65}}

Operational history

{{Main|Operation Scylla}}

Only Scipione Africano and Attilio Regolo saw combat.

Scipione Africano detected and engaged four British Elco motor torpedo boats during the night of 17 July 1943 en route to Taranto, while passing the Messina straits at high speed off Punta Posso.{{cite journal |title=Scipione: posto di combattimento |first=Maurizio |last=De Pellegrini Dai Coi |journal=Rivista Marittima |publisher=Marina Militare |date=January 2012 |pages=28–40 |language=it}} She sank MTB 316 and heavily damaged MTB 313 between Reggio di Calabria and Pellaro.{{cite book |last=Pope |first=Dudley |title=Flag 4: The Battle of Coastal Forces in the Mediterranean 1939–1945 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |year=1998 |pages=121–122 |isbn=1-86176-067-1}}{{cite book |last=Fioravanzo |first=Giuseppe |title=Le azioni navali in Mediterraneo dal 1° aprile 1941 all'8 settembre 1943 |publisher=Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare |year=1970 |pages=468–469 |language=it}}{{cite book |last=Baroni, Piero |title=La guerra dei radar: il suicidio dell'Italia 1935/1943 |publisher=Greco & Greco |year=2007 |page=187 |isbn=978-8879804318 |language=it}} She laid down four minefields in the Gulf of Taranto and the Gulf of Squillace from 4 to 17 August, together with the old light cruiser {{ship|Italian cruiser|Luigi Cadorna||2}}.{{cite book |last=Cocchia |first=Aldo |title=La Marina italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale, volume 18 |publisher=Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare |year=1966 |page=397}}

Attilio Regolo was torpedoed by the submarine {{HMS|Unruffled|P46|6}} on 7 November 1942, and remained in drydock for several months with her bow shattered.{{cite book |last=Bragadin |first=Marc'Antonio |title=The Italian Navy in World War II |publisher=United States Naval Institute |location=Annapolis |year=1957 |page=241 |isbn=0-405-13031-7}}

Ships

Four of the ships were scrapped before launch. Five were captured by the Germans in September 1943, still under construction. All five were sunk in harbour, one was raised and completed. Three were completed before the Italian armistice.{{sfnp|Bishop|2002|page=489}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+ Construction data

scope="col"|Ship

! scope="col"|Namesake

! scope="col"|Builder Whitley, p. 142

! scope="col"|Laid down

! scope="col"|Launched

! scope="col"|Completed Fraccaroli, pp. 37, 40

! scope="col"| Operational history

scope="row"|{{Interlanguage link|Italian cruiser Attilio Regolo|it|Attilio Regolo (incrociatore)|lt=Attilio Regolo}}

| Marcus Atilius Regulus

| O.T.O., Livorno

| 28 September 1939

| 28 August 1940

| 15 May 1942

| Commissioned in August 1942 and used as a mine-layer until seriously damaged by a torpedo in November. Ceded to France in 1948 renamed Châteaurenault.

scope="row"|{{ship|Italian cruiser|Giulio Germanico||2}}

| Germanicus

| Navalmeccanica, Castellammare di Stabia

| 3 April 1939

| 26 July 1941

| 19 January 1956

| Captured by the Germans in Castellammare di Stabia while under completion, and scuttled by them on 28 September 1943. Raised and completed for the Italian Navy after the war. Renamed San Marco, she served as a destroyer leader until her decommission in 1971.

scope="row"|Pompeo Magno

| Pompey the Great

| CNR, Ancona

| 23 September 1939

| 24 August 1941

| 4 June 1943

| Renamed San Giorgio, served as a destroyer leader until 1963; decommissioned and scrapped in 1980

scope="row"|{{ship|Italian cruiser|Scipione Africano||2}}

| Scipio Africanus

| O.T.O., Livorno

| 28 September 1939

| 12 January 1941

| 23 April 1943

| Ceded to France in 1948 and first renamed S7, then renamed Guichen; scrapped 1979

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+ Uncompleted Capitani Romani–class cruisers

scope="col"|Ship

! scope="col"|Namesake

! scope="col"|Builder Whitley, p. 142

! scope="col"|Laid down

! scope="col"|Launched

! scope="col"| Operational history

scope="row"|Caio Mario

| Gaius Marius

| O.T.O., Livorno

| 28 September 1939

| 17 August 1941

| Captured by the Germans in La Spezia, with only the hull completed; used as a floating oil tank and scuttled in 1944

scope="row"|Claudio Druso

| Nero Claudius Drusus

| Cantiere del Tirreno, Riva Trigoso

| 27 September 1939

| {{n/a}}

| Construction cancelled June 1940, scrapped between 1941 and February 1942

scope="row"|Claudio Tiberio

| Emperor Tiberius

| O.T.O., Livorno

| 28 September 1939

| {{n/a}}

| Construction cancelled June 1940; scrapped between November 1941 and February 1942

scope="row"|Cornelio Silla

| Lucius Cornelius Sulla

| Ansaldo, Genoa

| 12 October 1939

| 28 June 1941

| Captured by the Germans in Genoa while fitting out; sunk in an air raid in July 1944

scope="row"|Ottaviano Augusto

| Emperor Augustus

| CNR, Ancona

| 23 September 1939

| 28 April 1941

| Captured by the Germans in Ancona while under completion; sunk in an air attack on 1 November 1943

scope="row"|Paolo Emilio

| Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus

| Ansaldo, Genoa

| 12 October 1939

| {{n/a}}

| Construction cancelled in June 1940, scrapped between October 1941 and February 1942

scope="row"|Ulpio Traiano

| Emperor Trajan

| CNR, Palermo

| 28 September 1939

| 30 November 1942

| Sunk 3 January 1943 by British human torpedo attack while fitting out in Palermo

scope="row"|Vipsanio Agrippa

| Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

| Cantiere del Tirreno, Riva Trigoso

| data-sort-value="1 October 1939"| October 1939

| {{n/a}}

| Construction cancelled June 1940; scrapped between July 1941 and August 1942

Post-war French service

File:Chateaurenault10.jpg

Attilio Regolo and Scipione Africano were transferred to France as war reparations. They were renamed Chateaurenault and Guichen respectively. The ships were extensively rebuilt for the French Navy by La Seyne dockyard with new anti-aircraft-focused armament and fire-control systems in 1951–1954. The ships were decommissioned in 1961.{{sfnp|Bishop|2002|page=489}}

;General characteristics as rebuilt

  • Displacement
  • Length
  • Beam
  • Draught
  • Machinery - unchanged
  • Armament
  • 6 – 105 mm guns (three twin turrets of German origin)
  • 10 – 57 mm guns (5 twin turrets)
  • 12 – 550 mm torpedo tubes
  • Sensors: Radar DRBV 20 A, DRBV 11, DRBC 11, DRBC 30, Sonar
  • Crew: 353

Post-war Italian service

File:Italian destroyer leader San Marco (D563) 1959.jpg

Giulio Germanico and Pompeo Magno served in the post war Marina Militare, being renamed San Marco (D 563) and San Giorgio (D 562) respectively and reclassified as destroyers. Both ships were extensively rebuilt in 1951–1955 and fitted with American weapons and radar.{{sfnp|Bishop|2002|page=489}} Characteristics included:

;General characteristics as rebuilt

  • Six 5"/38 caliber gun in twin turrets fitted in 'A', 'X' and 'Y' positions, with anti-aircraft capability
  • a Menon anti-submarine mortar fitted in 'B' position
  • fitting of 20 Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60
  • SPS-6 and SG-6B radar, SQS-11 sonar and the Mk37 fire control system for the 127 mm guns

San Marco was further rebuilt as a cadet training ship in 1963–1965 when she was fitted with new CODAG machinery. New {{convert|76|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} guns replaced the 40 mm and 'X' 127 mm mounting. San Marco was decommissioned in 1971, San Giorgio following in 1980.{{cite web | url = https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/san_giorgio_caccia02.aspx | title = San Giorgio (D 562) | publisher = Marina Militare | access-date = 23 February 2021}}

Notes

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite book |title=Warship II|editor1-last=Preston|editor1-first=Antony|year=1978 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-149-1|pages=146–157 |chapter=Capitani Romani: Part 1, Design and Construction|author-last=Ando|author-first=Elio }}
  • {{cite book |title=Warship II |editor1-last=Preston|editor1-first=Antony|publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-149-1 |pages=246–257 |chapter=Capitani Romani: Part 2, Operational History|author-last=Ando|author-first=Elio |date=31 December 1984 }}
  • {{cite book |last=Bishop |first=Chris |title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships, and Submarines |publisher=Sterling Publishing|year=2002 |isbn=1-58663-762-2 }}
  • {{cite book|last=Brescia|first=Maurizio|title=Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regina Marina 1930–45|year=2012|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-544-8}}
  • {{cite book |last=Campbell |first=John|title=Naval Weapons of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |date =1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn =0-87021-459-4}}
  • {{cite book |editor-last=Chesneau |editor-first=Roger |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |year=1980 |isbn=0-85177-146-7 |ref={{SfnRef|All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946}}}}
  • {{cite book |last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo|title=Italian Warships of World War 2 |publisher=Ian Allan Publishing |location=Shepperton, UK |year=1968 }}
  • {{cite book |last1=Gardiner |first1=Robert |last2=Brown |first2=David K. |title=The Eclipse of the Big Gun: The Warship 1906–1945 |date=2004 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press|name-list-style=amp |isbn=0-85177-953-0 |ref={{SfnRef|Gardiner & Brown|2004}}}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Jack |last2=Massignani |first2=Alessandro |title=The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |location=London |year=1998 |isbn=1-885119-61-5|name-list-style=amp}}
  • {{cite book|editor-last=Jordan|editor-first= John |publisher=Conway|location=London |year=2005 |title=Warship 2005|isbn=1-84486-003-5|chapter=The {{lang|fr|Escorteurs Rapides}} Châteaurenault and Guichen|last=Jordan|first=John|pages=136–139}}
  • {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
  • {{cite book |last=Sadkovich |first=James |title=Reevaluating Major Naval Combatants of World War II |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-313-26149-0}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Stille |first1=Mark |title=Italian Cruisers of World War II |date=2018 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-4728-2535-3}}
  • {{cite book |last=Tomlin |first=Barbara |title=With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2004|isbn=0-8131-2338-0}}
  • {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|author-link=Michael J. Whitley|year=1995|title= Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher = Naval Institute Press|location= Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-141-6}}

External links

{{Commons category|Capitani Romani class cruiser}}

  • [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/AttilioRegolo.aspx Classe Capitani Romani] Marina Militare website {{in lang|it}}
  • [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/san_giorgio_caccia02.aspx San Giorgio (D 562)] Marina Militare website {{in lang|it}}
  • [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/san_marco_caccia.aspx San Marco (D 563)] Marina Militare website {{in lang|it}}
  • [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/italian_cruisers.htm Photos of Capitani Romani ships]
  • [http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/captured/index.html Details of Regia Marina ships captured by the Germans]

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Capitani Romani-class cruiser}}

{{WWII Italian ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capitani Romani-class cruiser}}

Category:Cruiser classes

Category:Cruisers of the Regia Marina

Category:World War II cruisers of Italy

Category:Cruisers of the Italian Navy

Category:Ships built in Italy

Category:Ship classes of the French Navy