Andrea Doria-class battleship
Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Italian Navy between 1912 and 1916. The ships were based in southern Italy during World War I to help ensure that the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s surface fleet would be contained in the Adriatic. Neither vessel saw any combat during the conflict. After the war, they cruised the Mediterranean and were involved in several international incidents, including at Corfu in 1923. In 1937 the ships began a lengthy reconstruction.
About Andrea Doria-class battleship in brief
Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio were a pair of dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Italian Navy between 1912 and 1916. The two ships were based in southern Italy during World War I to help ensure that the Austro-Hungarian Navy’s surface fleet would be contained in the Adriatic. Neither vessel saw any combat during the conflict. After the war, they cruised the Mediterranean and were involved in several international incidents, including at Corfu in 1923. In 1937 the ships began a lengthy reconstruction. The modifications included removing their center main battery turret and boring out the rest of the guns to 320 mm, strengthening their armor protection, installing new boilers and steam turbines, and lengthening their hulls. The reconstruction work lasted until 1940, by which time Italy was already engaged in World War II. Both ships escorted convoys to North Africa in late 1941, including Operation M42, where Andrea Doria saw action at the inconclusive First Battle of Sirte on 17 December. The ships were interned at Malta following Italy’s surrender in September 1943. Italy was permitted to retain both battleships after the war and they alternated as fleet flagship until the early 1950s, when they were removed from active service. Both ships were scrapped after 1956. They were designed by naval architect Vice Admiral Giuseppe Valsecchi and were ordered in response to French plans to build the Bretagne-class battleships.
As built, the ships’ main armament comprised thirteen 46-caliber guns, in five turrets, with a twin-gun turret in fore and aft pairs, and a third triple turret in the amidships. The turrets had an elevation capability of −5 to +20 degrees and the ships could carry 88 rounds for each gun. They could store a maximum of 1,488 long tons of coal and 886 long tons of fuel oil that gave them a range of 4,800 nautical miles at 10 knots at. The ships had two rudders, both on the centerline, and were fitted with three Parsons steam turbine sets, arranged in three engine rooms. They had a crew of 31 officers and 969 enlisted men, They were provided with a complete double bottom and their hulled were subdivided by 23 longitudinal and transverse bulkheads. The ship had a beam of 28 meters, and a draft of 9. 4 meters. They displaced 22,956 long tons at normal load, and 24,729 long ton at deep load. They had three sets of turbines that drove the two inner propeller shafts, each housing one turbine set powering the outer shafts. Steam for the turbines was provided by 20 Yarrow boilers, 8 of which burned oil and 12 ofwhich burned coal sprayed with oil. The ships’ engines were fitted to reach a maximum speed of 22 knots from 32,000 shaft horsepower, neither of the ships reached this goal on their sea trials, only achieving speeds of 21 to 21. 3 knots.
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