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Hello!
I would like to present a suggestion for an addition to the Italian bluewater tree, the pre-dreadnought battleship Emanuele Filiberto. I believe that this ship would be a balanced addition to the game as it is essentially an armoured cruiser and as such would fit in at a lower BR than proper battleships and make for a good lineup with potential future armoured cruiser additions.
General Information:
Spoiler
Following the commissioning of the Re Umberto-class ironclads, the Regia Marina found itself finally reaching the “big leagues” in the European naval arms race. While these ships were not spectacular in comparison with ships from, for example, the Royal Navy, they made up for their lesser armour thickness with their armament and speed: two twin 13.5" turrets complimented by 8x 6" guns and a variety of smaller weaponry and a top speed of 18.5 knots. However, progression by Britain and France made these ships nearly instantly obsolete and due to the immense cost of these ships, this gained the attention of the government towards the design of their successors.
This left the designing phase of the class in a particularly difficult situation, as it was necessary to keep up with the newest ships being designed by other navies of Europe but also keep costs within a budget that the government could actually afford. They implemented a requirement that the ships must be within the range of a maximum tonnage of 10,000 long tons, which was much less than previous ships built (for example, Re Umberto was about 15,000 long tons). In 1892 the namesake of Filiberto’s sister, Admiral Simone Antonio Pacoret de Saint-Bon, began work towards what he believed would be a modern but balanced battleship. Unfortunately that same year he would die and the project would pass on to Giacinto Pullino.
As you can imagine with the given restrictions, this resulting ships were not spectacular for a class supposed to be a modern battleship. Their main armament was exceptionally small for such a ship with only 4x 10 inch guns and their armour belt was on the low side of contemporary ships. However, this class would not be alone in these characteristics as the British Centurion-class also sported the same calibre but had more armour at 229-305 mm compared to the Filibertos’ maximum of 250 mm. Due to these characteristics, some have considered the Filibertos to be a form of armoured cruiser rather than proper battleships.
Neither ship would have a particularly impressive service career. Filiberto would be commissioned in 1901 and would primarily participate in fleet maneuvers around the Italian peninsula. Following a brief trip to the Middle East in 1907, she would be put into reserve in 1908 until she was recommissioned in 1911 and eventually participated in the Italo-Turkish War. During the war she would assist land units with shore bombardment, but was part of some interesting missions including cutting telegraph cables and sinking an Ottoman gunboat during the battle around the port of Vathy. During WWI, she was affected by the Regia Marina’s strategy of keeping their capital ships safe in friendly waters from Austrian submarines and would mainly sit out the war as consequence. She was sent for scrap in 1920.
Characteristics:
Spoiler
Displacement:
9800 tonn. (normal)
10250 tonn. (full load)
Dimensions:
Length: 111.8 m (LOA)
Beam: 21.1 m
Draft: 7.5 m
Engines:
12x boilers with a power of 13,522 hp
2x triple-expansion steam engines paired to 2 propellers
Armament:
2x turrets with twin 10" (254 mm) guns
8x 6" (152 mm) guns
8x 120 mm guns
6x 76 mm guns
8x 47 mm guns
4x 450mm torpedo tubes
Protection:
Vertical armour: 250 mm
Horizontal armour: 80 mm
Turrets: 250 mm
Casemates: 150 mm
Conning tower: 250 mm
Crew: 28 officers and 503 enlisted
Pictures:
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Layout Scheme and my Drawing in Shipbucket Scale:
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Sources:
Giorgerini, G. & Nani, A. Le Navi di Linea Italiane. (1966). Ufficio Storico Marina Militare, 2E.
Franco, G. Le Navi della Marina Militare Italiana. (1978). Stabilimento di Arti Grafiche Luigi Salomone
Giorgerini, G. & Nani, A. Almanacco Storico delle Navi Militari Italiane 1861-1995. (1996). Ufficio Storico Marina Militare
