- Yes
- No
Hello, I would like to suggest Regina Elena class pre-dreadnoughts to join WT in the Italian Naval Forces Tech Tree. This class of ships along with Regina Margherita class pre-dreadnoughts, San Giorgio and Pisa Armored Cruiser classes should work as transitioning ships between heavy cruisers and battleships in the Italian tech tree (barrlecruisers equivalents compared to other nations).
This suggestion would cover the fastest ship of the class - Napoli.
General information:
Spoiler
Regina Elena battleships class was designed by Italian naval engineer Vittorio Emilio Cuniberti.
The main idea of the class was to be faster than all enemy battleships and stronger than armored cruisers.
Regina Elena class included 4 ships. The first two Regina Elena and Vittorio Emanuele were laid down in 1901, while 2 other Roma and Napoli in 1903.
Regina Elena and Roma were built by Arsenale di La Spezia, while Vittorio Emanuele and Napoli by Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia.
When Regina Elena class ships were built, they were the fastest battleships at its time.
Napoli had the most powerful powerplant of the class, which allowed it to reach the speed of 22 knots.
As built Regina Elena and Napoli both had two masts one of which was later removed.
All ships of the class had main armament of two 305 mm cannons in separate turrets and twelve 203 mm cannons.
Napoli was launched in 1905 and completed in 1908. She started her service carrer in 1910, with all of her sisterships and 2 ships of Regina Margherita class, they were Italy’s front-line battle fleet at the time.
During Italo-Turkish war these battleships were also actively used. Napoli took part in blockade of Tripoli with her sistership Roma and armored cruisers Pisa and Amalfi, then bombarded ottomans in Derna and Benghazi, provided escort to troopships, captured Rhodes and was involved in seizure of several Dodecanese islands.
During WW1, due to a large presence of Austro-Hungarian submarines, capital ships were kept in relatively safer areas, mostly rotating between the bases at Taranto, Brindisi, and Valona, they did not see combat.
There was an episode, when three light cruisers of the Austro-Hungarian Navy raided the Otranto Barrage, Napoli and her sisterships were on the way to help, but Italian commanders refuced to permit to join the battle fearing to lose battleships to submarines.
All 4 ships survived the war, but eventually were put out of service and sold for scrap, Regina Elena and Vittorio Emanuele in 1923, Napoli in 1926 and Roma in 1927.
Specifications:
Spoiler
Displacement:
Normal: 12,833 Tons;
Full load: 14,112 Tons.
Dimensions:
Length: 144.6 ( ft) - 132.6 ( pp.) m;
Beam: 22.4 m;
Draft: 8.4 m.
Engine:
22 boilers;
2 reciprocating engines.
Power: 20,000 HP.
Max speed:
22 knots (41 km/h).
Fuel:
1,000 tons of coal.
Autonomy:
9,000 miles at 10 knots.
Protection:
Vertical: 250 mm;
Horizontal: 100 mm;
Artillery: 250 mm;
Tower: 250 mm.
Armament*:
2 pieces of 305/40 mm.
12 pieces of 203/45 mm
16 pieces of 76 mm.
10 pieces of 47 mm.
2 machine guns
2 450 mm torpedo tubes.
*- auxiliary and anti-aircraft weapons composition differs depending on the source (the data above is from Marina Militare website)
Crew: 700
Photos and Schemes:
Sources:
