Ruggiero di Lauria-class ironclad

Starting in the 1870s, following the Italian fleet's defeat at the Battle of Lissa, the Italians began a large naval expansion program, initially aimed at countering the Austro-Hungarian Navy.Greene & Massignani, p. 394 The program included the {{sclass|Duilio|ironclad|5}} and {{sclass|Italia|ironclad|4}}es, which were both designed by Benedetto Brin. The Ruggiero di Laurias were authorized in the naval program for 1880, and the task of designing them was assigned to Engineering Inspector Giuseppe Micheli. Vice Admiral Ferdinando Acton opposed the very large ironclads designed by Brin, and so he charged Micheli with creating a ship that would not exceed {{convert|10000|LT|sp=us|0|lk=on}}. Micheli chose to base his new design on a cut-down version of Duilio, though he incorporated several improvements, including more modern, breech-loading guns, a more powerful propulsion system, and new, more effective compound armor. Micheli's tenure as the designer for Italian capital ships was short-lived, with Brin returning to create the follow-on {{sclass|Re Umberto|ironclad|4}}, the final members of the second generation of Italian ironclads.Gardiner, pp. 340–342

File:Ruggiero di Lauria class line-drawing.png

The ships of the Ruggiero di Lauria class were {{convert|100|m|sp=us}} long between perpendiculars and {{convert|105.9|m|sp=us}} long overall. They had a beam of {{convert|19.84|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draft of {{convert|8.29|to|8.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. They displaced {{convert|9886|LT|sp=us}} normally and up to {{convert|11145|LT|sp=us|abbr=on}} at full load. The ships were built with a high forecastle to improve sea-keeping over the Duilio class. A single military mast with fighting tops was located amidships; a hurricane deck connected the forward and aft superstructure. Both sections of superstructure was used to store several smaller boats; each section also had a large crane to handle the boats. The ships had a crew of 507–509 officers and men.Gardiner, p. 342

Their propulsion system consisted of a pair of compound marine steam engines, each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by eight coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube boilers. The boilers were trunked into two funnels, one in the forward superstructure and the other in the aft superstructure. Ruggiero di Lauria was the fastest member of the class, reaching a top speed of {{convert|17|kn|lk=in}} at {{convert|10591|ihp|lk=in}}. Francesco Morosini and Andrea Dorea had a top speed of around {{convert|16|kn|abbr=on}}. The ships could steam for {{convert|2800|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.

The Ruggiero di Laurias were armed with a main battery of four {{convert|17|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} 27-caliber rifled breechloading guns, mounted in two pairs en echelon in a central barbette. These guns were the A 1882 model, and they fired a {{convert|2000|lb|adj=on|order=flip|sp=us}} shell at a muzzle velocity of around {{convert|1837|ft/s|order=flip}}. Their rate of fire was very slow, taking eight minutes to reload after each shot.Friedman, p. 231 They carried a secondary battery of two Cannon 152/32 Model 1887 32-caliber guns, one at the bow and the other at the stern, and four {{convert|4.7|in|abbr=on|order=flip}} 32-caliber guns. The 152 mm gun fired a variety of shells, including {{convert|102|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} armor-piercing shells, while the 120 mm guns fired {{convert|36|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} shells.Friedman, pp. 239–240 From 1900, the ships had their secondary battery significantly expanded with two {{convert|75|mm|abbr=on|0}} guns, ten {{convert|57|mm|abbr=on|2}} 40-caliber guns, twelve {{convert|37|mm|abbr=on}} guns, five 37 mm revolver cannon, and two machine guns. As was customary for capital ships of the period, they carried five {{convert|14|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} torpedo tubes submerged in the hull. The torpedoes carried a {{convert|125|kg|abbr=on}} warhead and had a range of {{convert|600|m|abbr=on}}.Friedman, p. 347

The ships' protection scheme consisted of compound armor. The Ruggiero di Laurias had an armored belt that was {{convert|17.75|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} thick; the citadel received the same thickness of steel. They had an armored deck that was {{convert|3|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} thick, and their conning tower was armored with {{convert|9.8|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} of steel plate. The barbette had {{convert|14.2|in|abbr=on|0|order=flip}} of steel armor.

The ships' construction times were very lengthy; by the time they were completed, the United Kingdom had begun building the {{sclass|Royal Sovereign|battleship|1}}s, the first pre-dreadnought battleships, which rendered older ironclad battleships obsolescent. In addition, technological progress, particularly in armor production techniques—first Harvey armor and then Krupp armor—contributed to the ships' rapid obsolescence.Sondhaus (2014), pp. 107–108, 111

File:Italian battleship Andrea Doria (1885).jpg

The three Ruggiero di Laurias served in the Active Squadron for the first several years of their careers, into the mid-1890s. By 1895, Ruggiero di Lauria had been transferred to the Reserve Squadron,Brassey (1896) p. 134 though Andrea Doria and Francesco Morosini remained in the Active Squadron."The Italian Manoeuvres", pp. 131–132 That year, Ruggiero di Lauria and Andrea Doria joined the Active Squadron for a major cruise to Britain and Germany.Neal, p. 155Sondhaus (1994), p. 131 All three ships were assigned to the Active Squadron in 1899.Brassey (1899), p. 72 That year, Ruggiero di Lauria and Andrea Doria took part in a naval review in Cagliari for the Italian King Umberto I, which included a French and British squadron as well.Robinson, pp. 154–155

All three ships had been transferred to the Reserve Squadron by 1905,Brassey (1905), p. 45 and they were quickly discarded. In 1908, the Italian Navy decided to discard Ruggiero di Lauria and Francesco Morosini,Brassey (1908), p. 31 while Andrea Doria remained in service until 1911. Francesco Morosini was expended as a target ship for torpedo experiments in September 1909. Ruggiero di Lauria was converted into a floating oil tank in 1909 and was renamed GM 45; she was sunk in an air raid in 1943 during World War II. Andrea Doria served as a depot ship until Italy entered World War I in May 1915, when she was employed as a guard ship in Brindisi. After the war, she too was converted into an oil tank, before being broken up for scrap in 1929.Gardiner & Gray, pp. 255–256

{{Reflist|20em}}

• Brassey, Thomas A., ed. (1896). The Naval Annual (Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.).
• Brassey, Thomas A., ed. (1899). The Naval Annual (Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.).
• {{cite journal|editor-last=Brassey|editor-first=Thomas A|year=1905|journal=The Naval Annual|title=Comparative Strength|location=Portsmouth|publisher=J. Griffin & Co.|pages=40–57|oclc=937691500}}
• Brassey, Thomas A., ed. (1908). The Naval Annual (Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.).
• {{cite book|last = Friedman|first = Norman|year = 2011|title = Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher = Naval Institute Press|location = Annapolis|isbn = 978-1-84832-100-7}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Gardiner|editor-first=Robert|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|year=1979|location=London|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|isbn=978-0-85177-133-5| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
• {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-0-87021-907-8 |name-list-style=amp | url-access = registration

| url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_z3o0}}

• {{Cite book |last1=Greene|first1=Jack|last2=Massignani|first2=Alessandro|title=Ironclads at War: The Origin and Development of the Armored Warship, 1854–1891|year=1998|location=Pennsylvania|publisher=Da Capo Press |name-list-style=amp|isbn=978-0-938289-58-6}}
• Neal, William George, ed. (1896). The Marine Engineer (London: Office for Advertisements and Publication) XVII.
• {{cite journal|last1=Ordovini |first1=Aldo F. |last2=Petronio |first2=Fulvio |last3=Sullivan |first3=David M.|title=Capital Ships of the Italian Royal Navy, 1860–1918, Part 2: Turret/Barbette Ships of the Duilio, Italia and Ruggerio di Lauria Classes|journal=Warship International |date=2015 |volume=LII |issue=4 |pages=326–349 |issn=0043-0374 |name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite journal|editor-last=Robinson|editor-first=Charles N.|journal=The Navy and Army Illustrated|year=1899|volume=VIII|number=118|location=London|publisher=Hudson & Kearns|title=The French and Italian Fleets at Cagliari|pages=154–155}}
• {{Cite book| last=Sondhaus| first=Lawrence| title=The Naval Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1867–1918| year=1994| location=West Lafayette| publisher=Purdue University Press| isbn=978-1-55753-034-9}}
• {{cite book|last=Sondhaus|first=Lawrence|title=Navies of Europe|year=2014|location=London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-86978-8}}
• {{cite journal|title=The Italian Manoeuvres|journal=Notes on Naval Progress|year=1897|publisher=Office of Naval Intelligence|location=Washington, DC|pages=131–140}}

• {{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo |title=Italian Warships of World War I|location=London|publisher=Ian Allan|year=1970|isbn=978-0-7110-0105-3}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/PQRS/roggerolauria.aspx Ruggero di Lauria (1884)] Marina Militare website

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}

{{Ruggiero di Lauria class battleship}}

{{Italian ironclads}}

{{WWI Italian ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggiero Di Lauria-class battleship}}

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Category:Battleship classes