Regia Marina

The Regia Marina (Royal (Italian) Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) in 1861 after Italian unification (il Risorgimento). In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana), the Regia Marina changed its name to Marina Militare, ((Italian) Navy) as it was now the navy of the Italian Republic. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide] *1 Origins
 * 1.1 Seven Weeks War
 * 1.2 Italo-Turkish War
 * 2 World War I
 * 3 Interwar years
 * 3.1 Italo-Ethiopian War
 * 3.2 Spanish Civil War
 * 3.3 Albania
 * 4 World War II
 * 4.1 Mediterranean
 * 4.2 Atlantic
 * 4.3 Red Sea
 * 4.4 Black Sea
 * 4.5 Lake Ladoga
 * 4.6 Far East
 * 4.7 The Armistice of 1943
 * 5 After World War II
 * 6 The Peace Treaty
 * 7 Ships
 * 7.1 Pre–World War I
 * 7.1.1 Battleships
 * 7.2 World War I
 * 7.2.1 Battleships
 * 7.2.2 Cruisers
 * 7.2.3 Destroyers
 * 7.3 World War II
 * 7.3.1 Aircraft carriers
 * 7.3.2 Seaplane carriers
 * 7.3.3 Battleships
 * 7.3.4 Heavy cruisers
 * 7.3.5 Light cruisers
 * 7.3.6 Aviation and Transport Cruisers
 * 7.3.7 Destroyers
 * 7.3.8 Torpedo boats
 * 7.3.9 Submarines
 * 7.3.10 Auxiliary cruisers
 * 8 See also
 * 9 References and notes
 * 10 Sources
 * 11 External links
 * 12 Photos
 * }

[edit] Origins
Regia Marina naval jack until 1900.The Regia Marina was established on 17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. Just as the Kingdom was a unification of various states in the Italian peninsula, so the Regia Marina was formed from the navies of those states, though the main constituents were the navies of the former kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples. The new Navy inherited a substantial number of ships, both sail- and steam-powered, and the long naval traditions of its constituents, especially those of Sardinia and Naples, but also suffered from some major handicaps.

Firstly, it suffered from a lack of uniformity and cohesion; the Regia Marina was a heterogeneous mix of equipment, standards and practice, and even saw hostility between the officers from the various former navies. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools at Genoa and Naples, and were not fully addressed until the opening of a unified Naval Academy at Livorno in 1881.

Secondly, unification occurred during a period of rapid advances in naval technology and tactics, as typified by the launch of La Gloire by France in 1858, and later by the appearance of, and battle between, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia in 1862. These innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. Italy did not possess the shipyards or infrastructure to build the modern ships required, but the then Minister for the Navy, Admiral Carlo di Persano, launched a substantial programme to purchase warships from foreign yards.

[edit] Seven Weeks War
The Sea Battle of Lissa, by Carl Frederik Sorensen, 1868.The new navy's baptism of fire came on 20 July 1866 at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence (parallel to the Seven Weeks War). The battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. This was one of the few fleet actions of the nineteenth century, and as a major sea battle that involved ramming, it had a profound, though with hindsight a detrimental, effect on warship design and tactics.

The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano, mustered 12 ironclad and 17 wooden-hulled ships, though only one, the Affondatore, was of the most modern turret ship design. Despite a marked disadvantage in numbers and equipment, superior handling by the Austrians under Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff resulted in a severe defeat for Italy, which lost two armoured ships and 640 men.

Following the defeat at Lissa the Regia Marina made significant advances towards recovery. In 1881, the battleship  Duilio  was commissioned, followed in 1882 by the battleship  Enrico Dandolo ; at the time these were the most powerful warships in the world. In 1896 the corvette Magenta completed a circumnavigation of the world. The following year the Regia Marina conducted experiments with Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications. 1909 saw the first use of aircraft with the fleet.

[edit] Italo-Turkish War
In 1911 and 1912, the Regia Marina was involved in the Italo-Turkish War against forces of the Ottoman Empire.

[edit] World War I
SMS Szent István low in the water, after being torpedoed by Italian MAS boatsBefore 1914, the Kingdom of Italy built and maintained six dreadnought battleships: (Dante Alighieri as a prototype; Giulio Cesare, Conte di Cavour and Leonardo da Vinci of the Conte di Cavour class; and Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio of the Andrea Doria Class), but they did not participate in major naval actions in World War I.

During the war, the Regia Marina spent its major efforts in the Adriatic Sea, fighting the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The resulting Adriatic Campaign of World War I consisted mainly of Austro-Hungarian coastal bombardments of Italy's Adriatic coast, and wider-ranging German/Hungarian submarine warfare into the Mediterranean. Allied forces mainly limited themselves to blockading the German/Hungarian navies in the Adriatic, which was successful in regards to surface units, but failed for the submarines, which found safe harbours and easy passage into and out of the area for the whole of the war. Considered a relatively minor part of the naval warfare of World War I, it nonetheless tied down significant forces.

For most of the war the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies each kept a relatively passive watch over their adversaries. The Italian fleet lost the pre-dreadnought battleship Benedetto Brin at Brindisi (27 September 1915) and the dreadnought  Leonardo da Vinci  at Taranto (2 August 1916) due to a magazine explosion (although there were rumours of Austrian sabotage). In the last part of the war, the Regia Marina developed new, insidious weapons: the MAS boats, that sank the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István in the Adriatic Sea on 10 June 1918; and an early type of human torpedo (Mignatta) entered the harbour of Pula and sank the Austro-Hungarian flagship SMS Viribus Unitis on 1 November 1918 shortly before the end of hostilities. The battleship SMS Tegetthoff (sister of the former two) was handed over to Italy as a war prize in 1919.

[edit] Interwar years
Amerigo Vespucci, launched in 1931; here in the harbor of New York, 1976.During the interwar period, the Italian government decided to enhance the Regia Marina with a view to challenging the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. In order to minimize contact with the British vessels and their more experienced crews, the Regia Marina based its strategy on fast ships with long-range artillery. Accordingly it had new guns developed which had smaller calibres but longer ranges than their British counterparts; furthermore, in order to allow higher speeds, new Italian ships had designs with thinner armour (such as Giovanni dalle Bande Nere).

In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two school ships to be built following a design by Lieutenant Colonel Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line. The first of these two ships, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.

The second ship of the design was the Amerigo Vespucci. The ship was built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on 22 February 1931, and was put into service in July of that year.

[edit] Italo-Ethiopian War
Cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli during a visit to Australia in 1938The Regia Marina played a limited role in the invasion of Ethiopia. While the Ethiopian Empire was landlocked, the navy was instrumental in delivering and supplying the invasion forces through Somali and Eritrean ports.

[edit] Spanish Civil War
At the time of the Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War, the Regia Marina sent naval units in support of the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie). Approximately 58 Italian submarines took part in operations against Republican naval forces of Spain. These submarines were organized in a Submarine Legion and complemented German U-boat operations as part of Operation Ursula. At least two Republican freighters, one Soviet and another Panamanian were either sunk or forced to run aground by Italian destroyers near the Strait of Sicily.[1] Two light cruisers took part in the shelling of Barcelona and Valencia in 1937, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 civilians.[2]

[edit] Albania
In 1939, the Regia Marina supported the invasion of Albania. All ground forces involved in the invasion had to cross the Adriatic Sea from mainland Italy and the crossings were accomplished without incident.

[edit] World War II
RN Vittorio Veneto at the Battle of Cape Spartivento.Ensign applied to many unitsOn 10 June 1940, the Kingdom of Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom and entered World War II. Italy went to war with the fourth largest navy in the world. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini saw the control of the Mediterranean Sea as an essential prerequisite for expanding his "New Roman Empire" into Nice, Corsica, Tunis, and the Balkans. Italian naval building accelerated during his tenure. Mussolini described the Mediterranean as "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea).[3]

Before the declaration of war, Italian ground and air forces prepared to strike at the beaten French forces across the border with France. By contrast, the Regia Marina prepared to secure the lines of communications between Italy, Libya, and the East African colonies. The Italian High Command (Comando Supremo) did not approve of the plan devised by the Italian Naval Headquarters (Supermarina) to occupy a weakly defended Malta.[4]

At the time that Italy declared war, the Regia Marina consisted of six capital ships. The four most modern of these ships were being re-equipped. Only the two oldest capital ships were in a state of operational readiness. In addition to the six capital ships, the Italians had 19 cruisers, 59 destroyers, 67 torpedo boats, and 116 submarines. Numerically the Italian fleet was strong but there was a large number of obsolete units and the service suffered in general from insufficient training of crews. The shortage of oil precluded extensive operations.[4]

The warships of the Regia Marina had a general reputation as being well-designed. Italian small attack craft lived up to expectations and were responsible for many brave and successful actions in the Mediterranean.[5] But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour and all Italian warships lacked radar, although the lack of radar was partly offset by the fact that Italian warships were equipped with good rangefinder and fire-control systems. In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion on how to act, the actions of Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters.

This could lead to action being avoided when the Italian forces had a clear advantage. For example, during "Operation Hats" the Regia Marina had superior forces at sea, but avoided the opportunity to exploit its advantage. Italian Naval Headquarters was conscious that the British could replace ships lost in the Mediterranean, whereas Italian resources were limited.

The Italian Navy also lacked a proper fleet air arm. The aircraft carriers Aquila and Sparviero were never completed and most air support during the Battle of the Mediterranean was supplied by the land-based Regia Aeronautica.[3]

[edit] Mediterranean
HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour surrounded by anti-torpedo nets. Regia Marina divers sank her on 19 December 1941.The Allies gained the upper hand after several actions. On the night of 11 November 1940, the British carrier HMS Illustrious launched two waves of torpedo-bombers against the Italian Fleet moored at the naval base of Taranto, where they sank three battleships, in what became known as Operation Judgement. Another major defeat was inflicted on the Regia Marina at Cape Matapan, where the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy intercepted and destroyed three heavy cruisers (Zara, Pola and Fiume; all of the same class) and two Poeti class destroyers in a night ambush, with the loss of over 2300 seamen. The Allies had Ultra intercepts, which uncovered the Italian movements, and radar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the Italian debacle.

The most successful attack performed by the Regia Marina was a human torpedoes raid on Alexandria harbour. On 19 December 1941, the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant were sunk in shallow water by limpet mines planted by Italian manned torpedoes. It took almost two years before both warships could be raised and returned to active service. This action brought important strategic consequences.[6]

On the night of 19 December, Force K, comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based at Malta, became stranded in an Italian minefield off Tripoli. Force K had accounted for the destruction of some 60,000 tons of Axis shipping in 1941. The cruiser HMS Neptune and the destroyer HMS Kandahar were lost. In addition, three other ships were seriously damaged and more than 800 men died. Force K was put out of action and Malta's offensive capabilities were reduced to a minimum.

This sudden series of Allied defeats allowed the Regia Marina to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean. The Axis supply routes from southern Europe to North Africa were almost untouched by the British Royal Navy or its allies for several months. HMS Bedouin sinking after Italian naval and aerial attack during Operation HarpoonThe Italian fleet took advantage of the situation and went on the offensive. The fleet blocked or decimated at least three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, such as the Second Battle of Sirte, the Battle of Mid-June, Operation Harpoon, Operation Vigorous, and Operation Pedestal. All of these engagements were favourable to the Axis. Despite this activity, the only real success of the Italian Fleet was the aerial and surface attacks on the Harpoon convoy. These attacks sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six in the convoy reached Malta. This was the only undisputed squadron-sized victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.[7]

However, this was only a brief happy time for the Axis. The oil and supplies brought to Malta, despite heavy losses, by Operation Pedestal in August and the Allied landings in North Africa, Operation Torch, in November, turned the fortunes of war against Italy. After years of stalemate, the Axis forces were ejected from Libya and Tunisia in just six months, their supply lines harassed day after day by the overwhelming aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies. The maritime lane between Sicily and Tunisia became known as the "route of death".

The Regia Marina performed well and bravely [5] in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on a speed advantage, but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced its main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany.

[edit] Atlantic
From 10 June 1940, submarines of the Regia Marina took part in the Battle of the Atlantic alongside the U-Boats of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). The Italian submarines were based in Bordeaux, France at the BETASOM base. While more suited for the Mediterranean Sea than the Atlantic Ocean, the thirty-two Italian submarines that operated in the Atlantic sank one-hundred-and-nine Allied ships for a total of 593,864 tons.

The Regia Marina even planned an attack on New York harbour for December 1942, but this plan was delayed for many reasons and was never carried out.[8]

[edit] Red Sea
From 10 June 1940, the Regia Marina Red Sea Flotilla, based in Massawa, Eritrea, posed a potential threat to Allied shipping crossing the Red Sea between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Initially, the East African Campaign went well for Italy. In August 1940, the threat to Allied passage of the Red Sea was increased after the Italian conquest of British Somaliland. This allowed the Italians the use of the port of Berbera in what had been British Somaliland. In January 1941, British and Commonwealth forces launched a counterattack in East Africa and the threat posed by the Red Sea Flotilla disappeared when Italian East Africa fell.

Much of the Red Sea Flotilla was destroyed by hostile action during the first months of war or when the port of Massawa fell in April 1941. However, there were a few survivors. In February 1941, prior to the fall of Massawa, the colonial ship  Eritrea  and the auxiliary cruisers  Ramb I  and  Ramb II  broke out and sailed to Kobe, Japan. While Ramb I was sunk by the New Zealand cruiser Leander off the Maldives, Eritrea and Ramb II made it to Kobe. As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines—Guglielmo, Gauleo Ferraras, Perla, and Archimede—sailed south from Massawa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed to German occupied Bordeaux, France. One or two Italian merchant ships from the Red Sea Flotilla made it to Vichy French-controlled Madagascar.

On 10 June 1941, the British launched Operation Chronometer and a battalion from the Indian Army was landed at Assab, the last Italian-held harbour on the Red Sea.[9] By 11 June, Assab had fallen. On 13 June, two days after the fall, the Indian trawler Parvati became the last naval casualty of the East African Campaign when it struck a moored mine near Assab.[10]

[edit] Black Sea
Main article: Black Sea Campaigns (1941-44)Camouflaged Italian World War II MAS boat.In May 1942, at German request, the Regia Marina deployed four 24 ton anti-submarine motorboats (Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile, MAS), six CB class midget submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to the Black Sea. The vessels were transported overland to the Danube River at Vienna, Austria, and then transported by water to Constanca, Romania. The flotilla had an active and successful campaign, based at Yalta and Feodosia.

After Italy quit the war, most of the Italian vessels on the Black Sea were transferred to the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). By August 1944, they were ultimately captured by Soviet forces when Constanca was captured. The six submarines were transferred to the Royal Romanian Navy.

[edit] Lake Ladoga
Main article: Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939–1945)The Regia Marina operated four MAS boats on Lake Ladoga during the Continuation War (1941–1944). As part of Naval Detachment K, German, Italian, and Finnish vessels operated against Soviet gunboats, escorts and supply vessels during the Siege of Leningrad between 21 June and 21 October 1942. The Italian vessels were ultimately turned over to Finland.

[edit] Far East
The Regia Marina had a naval base in the concession territory of Tiensin in China. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layer Lepanto and the gunboat Carlotto. During World War II, Italian supply ships, auxiliary cruisers and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East, often in disguise. The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities such as Shanghai, China, and Kobe, Japan.

Seven Italian submarines operating from France were converted by the Italians into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. The Bagnolin, the Barbarigo, the Cappellini, the Finzi, the Giuliani, the Tazzoli, and the Torelli were converted for service with the Monsun Gruppe ( "Monsoon Group") The name of the Cappellini was changed to Aquila III.

Twelve additional Romolo Class blockade running transport submarines were specifically designed for trade with the Far East, but only two of these vessels were completed before Italy quit the war. Both of these submarines were destroyed by Allied action almost as soon as they were launched.

[edit] The Armistice of 1943
In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed and the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. Under the terms of this armistice, the Regia Marina had to sail its ships to an Allied port. Most sailed to Malta, but a flotilla from La Spezia headed towards Sardinia. This was intercepted and attacked by German aircraft and the  Roma  was sunk by two hits from Fritz X guided glide-bombs. Among the 1600 sailors killed on board the Roma was the Italian Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Carlo Bergamini.[11]

As vessels became available to the new Italian government, the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy was formed to fight on the side of the Allies. Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. Few Regia Marina crews chose to fight for Mussolini's new fascist regime in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI). Mussolini's pro-German National Republican Navy (Marina Nazionale Repubblicana) hardly reached a twentieth the size attained by the co-belligerent Italian fleet.[12] In the Far East, the Japanese occupied the Italian concession territory of Tiensin.

There was little use for the surrendered Italian battleships and there was doubt about the loyalties of the crews, so these ships were interned in Egypt. In June 1944, the less powerful battleships (Andrea Doria, Caio Duilio and Giulio Cesare) were allowed to return to Augusta harbour in Sicily for training. The others ( Vittorio Veneto  and Italia—ex  Littorio ), remained at Ismaïlia in the Suez Canal until 1947. After the war, the Giulio Cesare was passed to the Soviet Union.

In the Co-belligerency period, until "VE" (Victory in Europe) Day, Italian light cruisers participated in the naval war in the Atlantic Ocean with patrols against German raiders.Smaller naval units (mainly submarines and torpedo boats) served in the Mediterranean Sea. In the last days of war, the issue of whether Italian battleships and cruisers should participate in the Pacific War was debated by the Allied leaders.

There were also Italian naval units in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The reactions of their crews varied greatly. In general, surface units, mainly supply ships and auxiliary cruisers, either surrendered at Allied ports (Eritrea at Colombo, Ceylon) or, if in Japanese controlled ports, they were scuttled by their own crew (Conte Verde, Lepanto, and Carlotto at Shanghai). Ramb II was taken over by the Japanese in Kobe and renamed Calitea II. Four Italian submarines were in the Far East at the time of the armistice, transporting rare goods to Japan and Singapore: Ammiraglio Cagni, Cappellini (Aquilla III ), Giuliani, and Torelli. The crew of the Ammiraglio Cagni heard of the armistice and surrendered to the Royal Navy off Durban, South Africa. The Cappellini, Giuliani, and Torelli and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The boats passed to German U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, they continued to fight against the Allies. The German Navy assigned new officers to the three submarines.The three were renamed U.IT.23, U.IT.24 and U.IT.25 and took part in German war operations in the Pacific.The Giuliani was sunk by the British submarine  Tally-Ho  in February 1944. In May 1945, the other two vessels were taken over by the Japanese Imperial Navy when Germany surrendered.About twenty Italian sailors continued to fight with the Japanese. The Torelli remained active until 30 August 1945, when, in Japanese waters, this last Fascist Italian submarine shot down a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber of the United States Army Air Forces.[13]

[edit] After World War II
Main article: Marina MilitareAfter the end of hostilities, the Regia Marina started a long and complex rebuilding process. At the beginning of the war, the Regia Marina was the fourth largest navy in the world with a mix of modernised and new battleships. The important combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943 and the subsequent cooperation agreement on 23 September 1943 left the Regia Marina in a poor condition. Much of its infrastructure and bases were unusable and its ports mined and blocked by sunken ships. However, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state. This was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels.

The vessels that remained were: On 2 June 1946, the Italian monarchy was abolished by a popular referendum. The Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) ended and was replaced by the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana). The Regia Marina became the Navy of the Italian Republic (Marina Militare).
 * 2 incomplete and damaged aircraft carriers
 * 5 battleships
 * 9 cruisers
 * 11 destroyers
 * 22 frigates
 * 19 corvettes
 * 44 fast coastal patrol units
 * 50 minesweepers
 * 16 amphibious operations vessels
 * 2 school ships
 * 1 support ship and plane transport
 * various submarine units

[edit] The Peace Treaty
On 10 February 1947, a Peace Treaty was signed in Paris between the Italian Republic and the victorious powers of World War II. The treaty was onerous for the Italian Navy. Apart from territorial and material losses, the following restrictions were imposed: The treaty also ordered Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nations United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and Albania as war compensation: The convoy escort  Ramb III  ultimately became the Yugoslav Navy Yacht Galeb. The Galeb was used by the late President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Marshal Josip Broz Tito on his numerous foreign trips and to entertain heads of state.
 * A ban on owning, building or experimenting with atomic weapons, self-propulsion projectiles or related launchers
 * A ban on owning battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines and amphibious assault units.
 * A ban on operating military installations on the islands of Pantelleria and Pianosa; and the Pelagie Islands.
 * The total displacement, battleships excluded, of the future navy was not allowed to be greater than 67,500 tons, while the staff was capped at 25,000 men.
 * 3 Battleships: Giulio Cesare, Italia, Vittorio Veneto;
 * 5 Cruisers: Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Attilio Regolo, Scipione Africano, Eugenio di Savoia and Eritrea;
 * 7 Destroyers; 5 of the Soldati class, Augusto Riboty and Alfredo Oriani;
 * 6 Minesweepers;
 * 8 Submarines, including three of the "Acciaio" class;
 * 1 Sailing School ship: Cristoforo Colombo.

[edit] Battleships
For more details on this topic, see List of Italian sail battleships.For more details on this topic, see List of Italian steam battleships.===[edit] World War I===

[edit] Battleships
Vittorio Emanuele battleship during WWI*Duilio class: Dandolo
 * Ruggiero di Lauria class: GR104 (ex-Andrea Doria)
 * Re Umberto class:  Sardegna 
 * Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class: Ammiraglio di Saint Bon,  Emanuele Filiberto 
 * Regina Margherita class: Regina Margherita,  Benedetto Brin 
 * Regina Elena class:  Regina Elena ,  Vittorio Emanuele ,  Napoli ,  Roma 
 * Dante Alighieri
 * Conte di Cavour class:  Conte di Cavour ,  Giulio Cesare ,  Leonardo Da Vinci 
 * Andrea Doria class: Andrea Doria, Caio Duilio

[edit] Cruisers

 * Garibaldi class: Giuseppe Garibaldi, Varese, Francesco Ferruccio
 * Vittor Pisani class: Vittor Pisani, Carlo Alberto
 * Pisa class: Pisa, Amalfi
 * Marco Polo class: Marco Polo
 * San Giorgio class: San Giorgio, San Marco
 * Piemonte class: Piemonte
 * Lombardia class: Lombardia, Liguria, Elba, Puglia, Etruria
 * Libia class: Libia
 * Calabria class: Calabria
 * Campania class: Campania, Basilicata

[edit] Destroyers

 * Lampo class: Ostro, Lampo, Euro, Strale, Dardo
 * Nembo class: Nembo, Turbine, Espero, Borea, Aquilone, Zeffiro
 * Soldati Artigliere class: Granatiere, Bersagliere, Garibaldino, Corazziere, Lanciere, Artigliere
 * Soldati Alpino class: Alpino, Fuciliere, Pontiere, Ascaro
 * Indomito class: Impetuoso, Impavido, Insidioso, Irrequieto
 * Ardito class: Ardito, Ardente
 * Audace class: Audace, Animoso
 * Pilo class: Francesco Nullo

[edit] Aircraft carriers

 *  Aquila  (modification of the liner Roma, built but never used)
 *  Sparviero  (modification of the liner Augustus, never completed)

[edit] Seaplane carriers

 * Giuseppe Miraglia (extensively converted merchant ship Citta de Messina for the seaplane carrier role, commissioned as a seaplane transport by 1940)

[edit] Battleships
Roma battleship in 1940* Cavour  class:  Conte di Cavour ,  Giulio Cesare  (modernised World War I battleships)
 *  Andrea Doria  class:  Andrea Doria ,  Caio Duilio  (modernised World War I battleships)
 *  Vittorio Veneto  class: Littorio/Italia,  Vittorio Veneto ,  Roma ,  Impero  (not completed)

[edit] Heavy cruisers

 *  Trento  class:  Trento ,  Trieste ,  Bolzano 
 *  Zara  class:  Zara ,  Fiume ,  Pola ,  Gorizia 
 *  San Giorgio  class:  San Giorgio 

[edit] Light cruisers

 * Condottieri classes
 * Di Giussano class:  Alberto da Giussano ,  Alberico da Barbiano ,  Bartolomeo Colleoni ,  Giovanni dalle Bande Nere 
 * Cadorna class:  Luigi Cadorna ,  Armando Diaz 
 * Duca d'Aosta class:  Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta ,  Eugenio di Savoia 
 * Duca degli Abruzzi class: Luigi Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, Giuseppe Garibaldi
 * Montecuccoli class:  Raimondo Montecuccoli ,  Muzio Attendolo 
 * Capitani Romani class:
 *  Attilio Regolo 
 *  Giulio Germanico 
 *  Pompeo Magno 
 *  Scipione Africano 
 *  Ulpio Traiano 
 * Taranto class:
 *  Taranto 
 *  Bari 
 * Alessandro Poerio class:
 * RN Cesare Rossarol
 * Guglielmo Pepe
 * Alessandro Poerio

[edit] Aviation and Transport Cruisers

 * Bolzano class: Bolzano aviation & transport cruiser (as regular heavy cruiser, extensively damaged by submarine torpedoes and proposed for reconstruction to a hybrid carrier/transport design)

[edit] Destroyers
For more details on this topic, see List of Italian destroyers.Leone class: 3 vessels - 2283 t,  Leone ,  Pantera ,  Tigre 

Navigatori class: 12 vessels - 2010 t, among which  Alvise da Mosto ,  Antonio da Noli ,  Antonio Pigafetta ,  Antoniotto Usodimare ,  Emmanuele Pesagno ,  Giovanni da Verazzano ,  Lanceloto Malocello ,  Leone Pancaldo ,  Luca Tarigo ,  Nicoloso da Recco ,  Nicolo Zeno ,  Ugolino Vivaldi 

Oriani or Poeti class: 4 vessels - 1950 t,  Vittorio Alfieri ,  Giosué Carducci ,  Vincenzo Gioberti ,  Alfredo Oriani  Starboard side view of the Italian Destroyer Artigliere. During the Battle of Cape Passero, the destroyer had been stopped, abandoned, and on fire forward after an engagement with the British Cruiser HMS Ajax. The Artigliere was eventually sunk by the cruiser HMS York on 12 October 1940.Soldati class: 12 vessels (divided into First Soldati or Camicia Nera and Second soldati class) - 1620 t, among which  Alpino ,  Artigliere ,  Ascari ,  Aviere ,  Bersagliere ,  Carabiniere   Corazziere ,  Fuciliere ,  Geniere ,  Granatiere , and  Lanciere 

Maestrale class: 4 vessels - 1449 t,  Grecale ,  Libeccio ,  Maestrale , and  Scirocco 

Dardo class: 4 vessels - 1450 t,  Dardo ,  Fraccia ,  Saetta ,  Strale 

Mirabello class: 2 vessels - 1383 t,  Carlo Mirabello ,  Augusto Riboti 

Folgore class: 4 vessels - 1220 t,  Baleno ,  Folgore ,  Fulmine ,  Lampo 

Borea (Turbine) class: 8 vessels - 1092 t,  Aquilone ,  Borea ,  Espero ,  Euro ,  Nembo ,  Ostro ,  Turbine ,  Zeffiro 

Sauro class: 4 vessels - 1058 t,  Cesare Battisti ,  Daniele Manin ,  Francesco Nullo ,  Nasario Sauro 

Sella class: 2 vessels - 935 t,  Quintino Sella ,  Francesco Crispi 

[edit] Torpedo boats

 * Spica class: 30 vessels
 * R. Pilo class: 7 vessels
 * Audace class: 1 vessel
 * G. Sirtori class: 4 vessels
 * G. La Masa class: 7 vessels
 * Palestro class: 4 vessels
 * Generali class: 6 vessels
 * Curtatone Class: 4 vessels
 * Orsa class: 4 vessels
 * Ciclone class 16 vessels
 * Ariete class 16 vessels

[edit] Submarines

 * 600-Serie Acciaio class: 13 vessels - 715 t,  Acciaio ,  Alabastro ,  Argento ,  Asterio ,  Avorio ,  Bronzo ,  Cobalto ,  Giada ,  Granito ,  Nichelio ,  Platino ,  Porfide  and  Volframio  (ex-"Stronzio")
 * 600-Serie Adua class: 17 vessels - 698 t, coastal submarines, among which  Alagi ,  Ascianghi ,  Axum ,  Dagabur ,  Dessiè , and  Sciré 
 * 600-Serie Argonauta class: 7 vessels - 665 t: among which  Argonauta ,  Salpa 
 * 600-Serie Perla class: 10 vessels - 700 t, among which  Iride  and  Ambra 
 * 600-Serie Sirena class: 12 vessels - 701 t:
 * Archimede class: 2 vessels - 985 t,  Gallileo Ferraris ,  Galileo Galilei 
 * Argo class: 2 vessels - 794 t: Argo ,  Velella 
 *  Balilla  class: 4 vessels - 1450 t,  Balilla , Dominico Millelire, Antonio Sciesa,  Enrico Toti 
 * Bandiera class: 4 vessels - 941 t:Fratelli Bandiera, Luciano Manara, Ciro Menotti, Santore Santarossa,
 * Bragadin class: 2 vessels - 981 t: Marcantonio Bragadin ,  Filippo Corridoni 
 * Brin class: 5 vessels - 1016 t, Brin, Galvani, Guglielmotti, Archimede, and Torricelli
 *  Cagni  class: 4 vessels - 1708 t, Ammiraglio Cagni, Ammiraglio Saint-Bon, Ammiraglio Caracciolo, Ammiraglio Millo
 * Calvi class: 5 vessels - 1550 t, Pietro Calvi, Giuseppe Finzi, Enrico Tazzoli
 *  Classe R  class: 2 vessels - 2210 t
 * Fieramosca class: 1 vessel - 1556 t  Ettore Fieramosca 
 * Flutto - 1st series class: 8 vessels - 958 t
 * Flutto - 2nd series class: 8 vessels - 958 t
 * Foca class: 3 vessels - 1333 t,  Foca ,  Zoea ,  Atropo 
 * Glauco class: 2 vessels - 1055 t, Glauco and Otaria
 * Liuzzi class: 4 vessels - 1187 t, Reginaldo Giuliani,  Console Generale Liuzzi ,  Bagnolini ,  Tarantini 
 * Mameli class: 3 vessels - 830 t:  Goffredo Mameli ,  Pier Capponi ,  Giovanni da Procida ,  Tito Speri 
 * Marcello class: 11 vessels - 1063 t,  Mocenigo ,  Dandolo ,  Veniero ,  Provana ,  Marcello ,  Nani ,  Barbarigo ,  Emo ,  Morosini ,  Cappellini ,  Faà di Bruno 
 * Marconi class: 6 vessels - 1195 t,  Maggiore Baracca ,  Michele Bianchi ,  Alessandro Malaspina ,  Guglielmo Marconi ,  Leonardo da Vinci  and  Luigi Torelli 
 * Micca class: 1 vessel - 1570 t  Pietro Micca 
 * Pisani class: 4 vessels - 880 t, among which  Vettor Pisani , Colonna, Bausan, Des Geneys
 * Settembrini class: 2 vessels - 953 t, among which  Luigi Settembrini ,  Ruggiero Settimo 
 * Squalo class: 4 vessels - 933 t, Squalo, Delfino, Tricheco, Narvalo

[edit] Auxiliary cruisers

 * Ramb class: 4 vessels (only 2 converted to auxiliary cruisers) - 3,667 t, Ramb I, Ramb II

[edit] See also

 * Italy's Mare Nostrum
 * Aviazione Ausiliara per la Marina World War II Italian Navy Air Service
 * Concessions in Tianjin
 * List of all Italian battleships

[edit] References and notes

 * 1) ^ Greene and Masignani, pp. 22-23
 * 2) ^ Greene and Massignani, p. 22
 * 3) ^ a b Mollo, p.94
 * 4) ^ a b Piekalkiewicz, p. 82
 * 5) ^ a b Blitzer, p. 151
 * 6) ^ "Consequently, the Alexandria Fleet remained for many months without any battleships, and it was forced to abandon any further open activity. In fact, Admiral Cunningham wrote that his Fleet now should have to leave it to the Royal Air Force to try if they could dispute the control of the Central Mediterranean with the enemy's fleet.(...) In fact, it opened a period of clear Italian naval supremacy in the east-central Mediterranean". Bragadin, page 152
 * 7) ^ "Clearly this was an Axis victory and a tactical victory for the Italian Navy. Part of the convoy did get through to Malta, but the British suffered far heavier losses than did the Italians and Mussolini would later personally present medals to Da Zara and some of his men for their efforts. It would be the only squadron-sized surface naval victory of the war for Italy." Greene & Massignani, page 238
 * 8) ^ Borghese, p. 262
 * 9) ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen (1992), p. 78
 * 10) ^ Shah, Mian Zahir (2001). Anecdotes of the Pakistan Navy. PN Book Club Publication, pp. 3-6. ISBN 969-8318-03-8
 * 11) ^ Carlo Bergamini, Biography by Pier Paolo Bergamini
 * 12) ^ Mollo, p. 100
 * 13) ^ Willmott, H p (2009). The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894-1922. Indiana University Press, p. 276. ISBN 0253352142

[edit] Sources

 * Blitzer, Wolf; Garibaldi, Luciano. Century of War. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. New York, 2001. ISBN 1-58663-342-2
 * Borghese, Junio Valerio (1952). Sea Devils, translated into English by James Cleugh, with introduction by the United States Naval Institute ISBN 1-55750-072-X
 * Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro (1998). The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943, Chatam Publishing, London. ISBN 1-86176-057-4
 * Mollo, Andrew. "The Armed Forces of World War II". ISBN 0-517-54478-4
 * Piekalkiewicz, Janusz. Sea War: 1939-1945. Blandford Press, London - New York, 1987, ISBN 0-7137-1665-7
 * Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992) [1968 (in German)]. Chronology of the war at sea, 1939-1945 : the naval history of World War Two (2nd, rev. expanded ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.

[edit] External links

 * Almanacco Storico Navale official site of the Italian Navy on the Regia Marina ships <span class="languageicon" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-size: 0.95em; font-weight: bold;">(Italian)
 * History of the Italian aircraft carriers (in Italian)

[edit] Photos

 * Cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli in Venice in 1941
 * Original Maiale (manned torpedo) on display
 * Major Teseo Tesei, inventor of the Maiale, ready to ride one in Malta.
 * Italian Submarine "Adua", sunk on September 1941 near Gibraltar.
 * Destroyer RM Sella, one of the major Italian navy units in the Aegean sea
 * Auxiliary ship Olterra, outfitted as a secret base for manned torpedoes at Algeciras
 * Light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia, Admiral Da Zara's flagship during the battle of Mid-June (1942)