Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regia Marina, 1930–1945

By Maurizio Brescia

“A simply magnificent book describing the Italian Navy of the Second World War, profiling all classes of vessels, from battleships . . . [to] submarines.” —Pegasus Archive

This book is a complete guide to the Regia Marina, the navy with which Italy fought the Second World War. Starting with the historical background, it describes how the navy developed, how it was organized, the facilities that supported it, and the operations it conducted both before and after the armistice in 1943. It also details all its ships, with full technical particulars, plans and photos. Furthermore, there are chapters on special topics like camouflage; uniforms, decorations and insignia; and a “who’s who” of important naval personalities; and the reference value of the book is enhanced by a comprehensive bibliography and guide to sources. The illustration is a noteworthy feature of the book as the author’s collection of naval photographs is one of the best in Italy. He is also a fine draughtsman, and his ship plans and color illustrations are both detailed and accurate, adding a particular appeal for modelmakers. Of all the main combatant navies of this era, the Italian is probably the most poorly represented in English publications, so this comprehensive handbook will be especially welcomed by the naval community.

“An overview of the wartime Italian Navy, including its bases and organization, ships and aircraft . . . an enjoyable book.” —Warships International Fleet Review

“A major achievement and a milestone in the renaissance of Italian Naval history . . . [the] book is a gem and is thoroughly recommended.” —The Navy Vol 75

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781473816503

Maurizio Brescia

MAURIZIO BRESCIA serves on the Editorial Board of the monthly Storia Militare. He has published a number of books on Italian warships and provided illustrations for many more. For Seaforth he wrote Mussolini’s Navy published in 2012.

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coverpage

Mussolini’s

NAVY

The battleship Cavour at Genoa, May 1938. On the right, the destroyers Usodimare and Da Noli of the ‘Navigatori’ class and, partially visible on the left, the battleship Cesare. Both Cesare and Cavour were extensively rebuilt in 1933–7. This photograph was taken in late May 1938 when the Italian battle fleet made a visit to Genoa after the ‘H Review’ in the Gulf of Naples on 5 May. (From an original print by Studio Call, Genoa; Author’s collection)

Mussolini’s

NAVY

A REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE

REGIA MARINA 1930–1945

MAURIZIO BRESCIA

COLOUR ARTWORK BY PAOLA ZAIO

Seaforth

PUBLISHING

This book is dedicated to the memory of my maternal grandfather, Giovanni Olivieri (1894–1970), who served with the Regia Marina during the First World War aboard the seaplane tender Europa and who – above all – was instrumental in instilling in me my passion for the study of history and the technical aspects of the ships of the Italian Navy.

Copyright © Maurizio Brescia 2012

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by

Seaforth Publishing

An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street, Barnsley

S Yorkshire S70 2AS

www.seaforthpublishing.com

Email [e-mail]

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP data record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84832 115 1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing of both the copyright owner and the above publisher.

The right of Maurizio Brescia to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Typeset and designed by Ian Hughes, Mousemat Design Ltd

Printed and bound in China through Printworks International, Ltd

Contents

Foreword

Introduction and Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1

The Regia Marina from 1861 to 1939

The Early Years

Among the European Powers

The Regia Marina in the First World War and Naval Operations in the Adriatic

The Regia Marina 1919–1939

CHAPTER 2

Dockyards, Naval Bases, Ports, Shipyards and Coast Defences

Naval Bases

Shipyards

Coast Defences

CHAPTER 3

Fleet Organisation and Operations

The Regia Marina at war 1940–5 – a brief chronology

Convoy Operations

Submarines in the Atlantic

The Black Sea and the Red Sea

CHAPTER 4

Ships in Service 1940–5

Battleships

Aircraft Carriers

Heavy Cruisers

Light Cruisers

Old, Miscellaneous and War Prize Cruisers

Destroyers

Torpedo Boats

Escort Vessels

MAS, MTBs and VAS

Submarines

Miscellaneous Warships

CHAPTER 5

Surface and Underwater Assault Craft

Surface Assault Craft

Underwater Assault Craft

CHAPTER 6

Naval Aviation

CHAPTER 7

Italian Naval Camouflage in the Second World War

Identification Letters and Hull Numbers

Colour Section

CHAPTER 8

Flags

CHAPTER 9

Uniforms, Ranks, Insignia and Decorations

Uniforms

Ranks and Insignia

Decorations

CHAPTER 10

‘Who’s Who’ of the Italian Navy in the Second World War

Flag Officers

Other Personnel

Selected Bibliography

Notes on the Photographic Sources

Index

Foreword

DESPITE THE TITLE OF this volume, the Italian Navy was never particularly fascist. This does not mean that the Regia Marina’s officers and men were opponents of the Mussolini regime, just that they were no more Fascist than the rest of the Italian population, especially in the 1930s – although the traditionally monarchist officer corps was somewhat more critical of the regime. This is perhaps indicated by the fact that only two battleships (Littorio and Impero), two destroyers (Camicia Neva and Squadrista) and a few other minor vessels bore Fascist names.

Between the two world wars, the Italian navy undertook an expansion programme which, despite the strain it imposed on the state finances, brought it almost to the same level as the French navy, its traditional rival, which is to say to fourth or fifth place in the navies of the world. However, when Italy declared war on France and Great Britain on 10 June 1940, this programme was still two years from completion. Nevertheless, on that date, the Regia Marina had two modernised battleships in commission (two similar ships and two modern ‘35,000-ton’ battleships of the Littorio class were fitting out), seven heavy cruisers, twelve light cruisers, almost sixty destroyers and thirty-five modern torpedo boats, as well as a large underwater arm with 115 operational submarines. This was a balanced group of well-built ships, robust and of recent design but the Italian Navy lacked aircraft carriers which, despite studies in the 1920s and 1930s, were never built because of the mistaken estimation (in particular within the navy itself) of their operational effectiveness in the restricted waters of the Mediterranean.

The lack of aircraft carriers – and of an adequate naval aviation arm – was not the Italian Navy’s only shortcoming in this period. Development of radar and sonar equipment had been neglected, the problems this caused being exacerbated by the limited effectiveness of antiaircraft and other guns designed before the mid-1930s. Hull designs and machinery were, however, generally excellent, granting high speeds but at the cost of endurance owing to high rates of fuel consumption. These deficiencies were not solely due to bad planning by the Regia Marina but largely because of problems in Italian industry, not least the almost ‘cottage industry’ state of the electronics sector.

At the same time, the Regia Marina was also expanding and upgrading its dockyards and naval bases both in Italy and the colonies, but shortage of money prevented this expansion from meeting actual requirements. Likewise, coastal defences could not be upgraded to the extent required. On the other hand, the naval training establishments were expanded, providing excellent training for officers and ratings: at the beginning of 1940 the personnel of the Regia Marina reached the considerable number of 140,000 men (officers, petty officers and ratings), similar to the levels at the end of the First World War.

All this – and much more – is addressed in this volume, representing a wide-ranging descriptive analysis of the Italian Navy, its ships and its organisation in the Second World War. All the ships, from battleships to the small yet effective human torpedoes and assault craft, as well as naval bases and major support infrastructure, are described in this book, enhanced with an impressive number of high-quality photographs and specially-commissioned drawings.

This is certainly the first ‘companion’ of this kind presented to English-language readers who have in recent years demonstrated a growing interest in the Italian Navy whose ships and men, despite frequent bad luck and facing superior numbers, fought gallantly between June 1940 and September 1943.

Erminio Bagnasco

Editor of the Italian monthly magazine

STORIA militare

Aboard the battleship Cesare, on the afternoon of 7 July 1940, the ship’s CO, Capt. Angelo Varoli Piazza, and two ensigns carry the battleship’s battle flag and ensign from the officer’s quarters (where they were usually stowed) up to the signal bridge and to the conning tower shortly before the ship’s departure on the mission that would conclude with the Battle of Punta Stilo on 9 July 1940. (E Bagnasco collection)

Introduction and Acknowledgements

THE ACTIVITIES, ORGANISATION AND ships of the Regia Marina in the Second World War have been until recently somewhat neglected – outside Italy – by authors and publishers of books on the naval history of the conflict between 1939 and 1945. Although many often excellent Italian volumes on this subject have been published, beginning soon after the end of the war, foreign publishers had understandably shown less interest in it, largely due to lack of widespread knowledge of Italian – necessary to access the primary sources and the best books available, either published by the Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare (USMM – the Italian Navy’s Historical Dept.) or by several private firms as well.

However, interest in Italian naval affairs has recently increased, particularly in English-speaking countries. An example of this was the publication by Seaforth of E Bagnasco and A De Toro’s The Littorio Class – Italy’s Last and Largest battleships 1937–1948 (published in 2011 as the English translation of the original Le navi da battaglia classe ‘Littorio’ 1937–1948 of 2008) which has been received with undoubted interest by the English-speaking readership and – almost simultaneously – other publishers, albeit with books and pamphlets addressing a less specialised audience, have produced further works relating to the most important ships of the Regia Marina in the Second World War.

However, there was still no general and allencompassing work in English on the key technical, operational and organisational aspects of the Italian Navy covering a period necessarily longer than the war itself, including the preceding decade during which the Regia Marina, despite difficulties and setbacks, reached a strength and size unparalleled in its 150-year history.

In view of all of this, this book’s title – Mussolini’s Navy – could not avoid addressing a particular moment in Italian history (and the individual who affected almost all of its aspects between October 1922 and July 1943) although, as LtCdr. Bagnasco has already highlighted in his lucid introduction, the prevailing sentiment in the Regia Marina was monarchist, and the officers in particular regarded the royal family as an expression of higher authority and national continuity, rather than sharing the political sentiments of the times or firmly embracing the ideals of the Fascist regime.

We have thus tried to create a true ‘companion’, to furnish readers with a comprehensive guide containing information on the ships, dockyards, organisation and activities of the Regia Marina between 1930 and 1945, with additional thumbnails (and perhaps something more…) on camouflage, uniforms, flags, naval aviation and other related subjects. Like all such books, Mussolini’s Navy is an introduction to the subject, and as much information and data as possible has been included: for further detail readers will have to refer to the extensive bibliography at the end of the book, largely relating to works and studies that – although almost all in Italian – have in several cases been published recently or are nevertheless still available.

Of course, such a book as this cannot ignore illustrations, so we decided to accompany this book with the greatest number of carefully selected high-quality images that it was possible to fit in the volume’s format. The over 400 images in the book are, themselves, sometimes even more important than the text or data tables: even a less-than-perfect photograph may often ‘tell’ much more than a written page so, in several cases, it has been decided to couple significant photographs with comprehensive and detailed captions. As will be specified later, all of the images – other than those from the author’s collection – come from the archives of the most important Italian naval researchers and collectors (as well as from several foreign naval enthusiasts) and from Foundations, Institutions and Museums, both public and private.

For the most part, original photographs have been scanned specifically for use in Mussolini’s Navy and – when needed – the files have been appropriately restored and treated with computer graphics software, in order to make the book’s illustrations one of its main features. At the same time, with the book’s introductory and descriptive nature always in mind, the use of footnotes and other similar references has been avoided; nevertheless, the author and the publisher have always intended this book to be comprehensive and – therefore – we do hope that the readers will appreciate this ‘dual approach’ that has been adopted.

The destroyer Espero manoeuvring in the Gulf of La Spezia in the early 1930s; note the Union Jack atop the mast, probably hoisted to salute visiting British ships. (Author’s collection)

* * *

A book of this scope could not have been created without the contributions of many people who have collaborated with the author for more than a year in an effort of continuous and unselfish support which has proved to be both critical and invaluable.

Above all I wish to thank Robert Gardiner of Seaforth Publishing, for having believed – from the beginning – in my project for a possible ‘companion’ to the Regia Marina in the Second World War: he has accepted in toto my ideas, suggesting unquestionably important elements and coordinating the editorial work that has led to the creation and printing of this book.

Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Riccio, US Army, Retired (the knowledgeable and capable translator of the book Le navi da battaglia classe ‘Littorio’ 1937–1948) has worked continuously, showing great friendship, on editing all the chapters of this book, facing the unenviable task of reviewing and correcting the text that I did my best to write straight into English. In more than a year, we exchanged countless e-mails that, not infrequently several times a day, crossed the Atlantic in both directions to hone a sentence, choose the more appropriate term or decide the form and consequences of the language chosen and the literary consistency of the book. Beyond any doubt, I have found in Ralph not only a knowledgeable and careful language and editorial reviewer but also a true ‘friend and colleague’ who I hope one day to be able to meet in person, given the numerous interests (not only in the naval field) that we now share.

LtCdr. Erminio Bagnasco has, for many years, been one of the most prominent and active Italian naval authors and, certainly, the one who has written the greatest number of books, monographs, articles, photographic essays and studies on Italian naval ships of the Second World War. Since 1993, he has been the editor of STORIA militate, a monthly magazine which is a leader in Italy in the field of military history publications, for which I have the honour of being a member of the editorial board. The collaboration with Erminio has proved absolutely fundamental for my ‘training and formation’ as a naval author, and in the specific case of Mussolini’s Navy has always been a primary influence on its structure and content, as only a true friend and teacher provide. Last but not least, several of the images illustrating this volume come from his huge and comprehensive collection.

Very special thanks are due to Paola Zaio, who contributed with dedication and professionalism to the creation of the colour profiles and tables that illustrate the most important forms of Italian naval camouflage for the 1940–5 period; she also proved to be an invaluable collaborator in the management and filing of the large amount of photographs from which those actually used in the book have been chosen.

Ensign Andrea Tirondola (Supply Corps, Italian Navy) helped for the short biographical notes on the most prominent Italian admirals and naval officers of the Second World War.

Finally, I wish to remember with emotion and gratitude Cdr. Aldo Fraccaroli (who unfortunately passed away recently, in March 2010) whose work is well known worldwide: he was not ‘an Italian naval photographer’ but, more properly, ‘the Italian naval photographer’ par excellence: not only a true expert in the field of naval photography, but also a fully prepared naval historian, with a deep and specific knowledge of the world’s navies, and of the naval editorial field, for the last seven decades. A Regia Marina officer (and also an official naval photographer) from 1940–3, he has the great merit of having maintained the continuous and active presence of the ‘Italian school’ of naval photography in a crucial period in twentieth-century history. Many of his beautiful wartime photographs have been included in this book but – even more importantly – his courtesy, skills, preparation, elegance and helpfulness have always helped to focus the research and studies of many ‘new generation’ authors – including myself – in the vast field of naval history and of its related publications.

In addition to photographs coming from the author’s collection, for publication in Mussolini’s Navy several more have been provided – and generously shared – from the following Italian and foreign collectors and researchers: Attilio Albergoni (Palermo), Guido Alfano (Turin), the late Elio Andò, Giorgio Apostolo (Milan), Alessandro Asta (Trapani), Franco Bargoni (Rome), the late Arrigo Barilli, Enrico Buzzo (Genoa), Joseph Caruana (Malta), Mario Cicogna (Trieste), Stefano Cioglia (Cagliari), the Cocchi Family (Santa Margherita Ligure), Zvonimir Freivogel (Berlin), Marco Ghiglino (Genoa), Giorgio Ghiglione (Genoa), Franco Harrauer (Milan) Enrico Leproni (Milan), Bertrand Magueur (Toulon), the late Tullio Marcon, Carlo Martinelli (Genoa), the late Aureliano Molinari, Giorgio Parodi (Genoa), Aldo Petrina (Trieste), Fulvio Petronio (Trieste), Mario Piovano (Bergamo), the late Achille Rastelli, Nicola Siracusano (Messina), Aldo Starace (Trieste), Gianpiero Vaccaro (Piombino), Adm. Giovanni Vignati (Rome), and Evgeni Zelikov (Krasnodarski Kr., Russia).

Finally, I wish to thank the many organisations, museums, institutions, photographic studios, magazines and periodicals that have provided documentation and photographic collections: Archivio Storico Ansaldo (Genoa), Photo Marius Bar (Toulon), Photo De Siati (Taranto), Gruppo di Cultura Navale (Bologna, with its President Gino Chesi), Gruppo ANMI Milano, Gruppo ANMI Savona, Imperial War Museum (London), Istituto Luce (Rome), Life, ‘A. Maj’ Library (Bergamo, custodian of the ‘Occhini Bequest’, run with passion and professionalism by Mario Piovano), Museo Storico Navale (Venice), Naval History and Heritage Command (Washington, D.C.), Rivista Marittima, Società Capitani e Macchinisti Navali (Camogli), STORIA militare, Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare – USMM (Rome), US National Archives (Washington, D.C.), and the USAF Museum (Wright-Patterson AFB, OH).

To all these people and institutions go my thanks and gratitude, and they also should be given great credit for the completion of this volume. Inaccuracies and oversights are of course attributable only to myself, and I will indeed be grateful to readers who will report such errors for their correction in any future edition.

Maurizio Brescia

June 2012

Officers of a Zara class cruiser, probably the Fiume, during a ceremony in the mid-1930s. (Author’s collection)

CHAPTER 1

The Regia Marina from 1861 to 1939

The Early Years

Following the end of the Second War of Independence and the exploits of Garibaldi in Southern Italy in 1860, the Italian Navy was formed by the amalgamation of the former Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Bourbon Navies of Naples and of Sicily and the naval forces of the Papal State and of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The decree promulgated by Garibaldi at Naples on 7 September 1860 sanctioned – at least from a political point of view – the unification of the Sardinian and Bourbon Navies, whose vessels made up 75 per cent of the new Italian Navy.

On 17 March 1861, with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia had already been renamed the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) even though two previous decrees, in November 1860 and in January 1861, had already abolished the Bourbon Navy Ministries at Naples and Palermo. The Count of Cavour (briefly Minister of the Navy from 17 March until 4 June 1861) carried out a series of measures to give the newly-born Regia Marina a skeleton structure. First of all, the Navy Departments at Genoa and Naples were maintained, and a new Department in Ancona, with jurisdiction over the Adriatic, was created; at the same time, it was decided to maintain the Naval Schools of Genoa and Naples and to improve the organisation of the Naval Engineering Corps. Moreover, the Naval Supply Corps was created, along with the Consiglio dell’Ammiragliato (Admiralty Council – an administrative and command structure with duties quite similar to the Royal Navy’s Board of Admiralty).

The process of the creation of the new Regia Marina (given the limited technical and operational value of the Papal and Tuscan navies) had to deal with the difficult situation arising from the need to amalgamate officers and crew from both the Sardinian and Bourbon navies. Antagonisms between officers with different training, personal grudges, conflicting political sentiments (either monarchist, republican, democrat or reactionary) caused unrest and rivalry, enhanced by misguided Cavour’s mistake of replacing the commanding officers of several ships of the dissolved Bourbon Navy with officers from the Sardinian Navy. Another similarly difficult situation was also created when officers of the former Bourbon Navy joined the new Italian Navy with ranks superior to those granted earlier by Garibaldi (unquestionably already too generous and arbitrary) to men of the Sicilian Dictatorial Navy, which was also incorporated into the new Regia Marina.

After the death of Cavour, General Menabrea was appointed as Minister of the Navy, and he planned the construction of twelve sailing ships of the line with auxiliary steam machinery, and the same number of frigates and corvettes: types of ships that were almost ten years out of date by then. Luckily, after the fall of the Rattazzi government, the new Prime Minister Ricasoli appointed as Minister of the Navy Adm. Carlo Pellion di Persano, who gave impetus to a renewal programme for the Regia Marina that – even if only partially – prevented its decline. Between 1861 and 1863 the French armoured iron-built ships of the Maria Pia class were commissioned, among the best Italian ships of that period. At the same time, the steam frigate Principe di Carignano was built in Genoa, but her hull was wooden-built, and the armour was fitted only later. The two ironclads Re d’ltalia and Re di Portogallo were built by the Webb Yard of New York, but with poor machinery and insufficient armour. Before 1866, further orders for ironclads followed: the Palestro and Varese (in France) and the Roma and Messina (in Italian shipyards), and – in Britain – the revolutionary ‘ram’ Affondatore but, except for the latter and the Palestro, none of the other ships were ready for the naval campaign of the ‘Third War of Independence’.

In the years immediately following unification, the Regia Marina mostly used naval bases in the Tyrrhenian Sea, but the changing international situation and growing enmity with Austria increased the importance of the Adriatic theatre. As Taranto was rather remote, the base at Ancona became the main focus for Italian naval planning from 1861 to 1865. However, the events of the ‘Third War of Independence’ exposed the newborn Italian state’s lack of military preparedness, particularly at sea, where the Regia Marina was defeated at the Battle of Lissa on 20 July 1866 by the Austro-Hungarian fleet commanded by Admiral Tegetthoff, losing the ironclads Re d’Italia and Palestro.

On 17 November 1869 the Suez Canal was opened to traffic and consequently Italy’s geo-strategic position changed, its central position in the Mediterranean making it a focus for the major naval powers’ commercial and naval activities. However, until the occupation of Rome in September 1870, Italian naval policy was still suffering from a lack of self-consciousness and national ideals: the occupation of the Papal State prompted a positive course of events that, with renewed priorities in economic and foreign policy, also included a strong impetus for the renewal, reconstruction and expansion of the Regia Marina.

Until 1871, the Italian Navy had to face a decrease in the number of its ships (losing more than twenty vessels), when Augusto Riboty – Minister of the Navy between 1868 and 1873 – was finally able to co-ordinate the construction of new ships, which in number and capabilities were finally adequate for the real needs of the Italian Navy. On 12 March 1873 the Minister of the Navy Admiral de Saint Bon, who took over Riboty’s post at the end of his second term in the Department, presented the designs of the two new battleships Caio Duilio and Enrico Dandolo. These were revolutionary ships that, with a hull 109m long and displacing over 12,000 tons, with 7,710hp reciprocating engines (on two shafts) could steam at a maximum speed of 15 knots, absolutely remarkable for the era when they were built. The main armament consisted of four 17.7in/20 muzzle-loading guns, located in two revolving armoured turrets offset to port and starboard amidships. The design of these two ships, which gave the Regia Marina a position of prominence among naval powers, was due to the Director of the Genio Navale (Naval Engineer Corps) Benedetto Brin, who deserves to be remembered not only for his influence on naval shipbuilding in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, but also for his contribution to the development of Italian naval strategy and doctrine in that period.

The steam frigate Borbona of the Bourbon Navy, laid down in 1857 and launched on 18 January 1860, was incorporated in the Regia Marina in 1861 and renamed Giuseppe Garibaldi. She ended her days serving between Massawa and Assab as a hospital ship, being broken up in 1899. (Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare)

The ironclad Regina Maria Pia in the 1880s. Together with the other ships in the class (Ancona, Castelfidardo and San Martino) she fought at Lissa but, at the time this photograph was taken, only Castelfidardo had been extensively modernised, while the other ships retained much the same appearance as in 1866. (Author’s collection)

The old armoured frigate Formidabile, here at La Spezia in the 1890s serving as a gunnery training ship. Built at the Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (La Seine sur Mer), she fought at Lissa in 1866 but was not stricken and broken up until 1904. (Author’s collection)

The battleship Lepanto at La Spezia in the early 1890s. She took seven years to build (laid down on 4 November 1876 and commissioned on 17 March 1883), so she and her sister-ship Italia were almost obsolete when they finally entered service with the Regia Marina. Nevertheless, they were among the largest battleships of their day and had long service lives, the Lepanto being broken up in 1914 and the Italia not until 1921. (Author’s collection)

The armoured cruiser Varese of the Garibaldi class fitting out at the Orlando Shipyard, Leghorn, on 19 November 1899. The Regia Marina commissioned two other ships in the class (Giuseppe Garibaldi and Francesco Ferruccio), and seven more were sold to foreign countries: four to Argentina (General Garibaldi, General Belgrano, Pueyrredon and San Martin), two to Japan (Kasuga and Nisshin) and one to Spain (Cristobal Còlon). (Author’s collection)

In 1878 Riboty pushed through the Italian parliament the law establishing the Naval Academy that – with the abolition of the Scuole di Marina in Genoa and Naples – would finally unify the training and education of all Regia Marina officers. After no more than three years, on 6 November 1881, the Academy was inaugurated, proving in a few years to be one of the foremost naval schools in Europe.

Later, for almost seven years, from 30 March 1884 until 9 February 1891 Adm. Benedetto Brin held the post of Minister of the Navy, but even before this appointment he had designed important new capital ships for the Regia Marina. In particular, in 1876 the battleships Italia and Lepanto had been laid down, reaffirming the originality of the Italian naval engineering school that began with the Duilios. The main armament consisted of four 16.9in/27 breech-loading guns, again offset to port and starboard in barbettes amidships. Their maximum speed exceeded 18 knots, but it should be noted that developments in gunnery (both in firepower and in rates of fire) very quickly rendered the ships obsolete.

In his seven years as Minister of the Navy, Brin worked at the design of two additional battleship classes: the Ruggero di Laurias and the Re Umbertos. With displacements ranging from the 11,000 tons of the first group of ships to the 15,000 tons of the second, these ships began the trend – characterising most Regia Marina construction for almost half a century, until the late 1930s – that favoured speed over armour protection. Moreover, Brin’s naval programmes allocated considerable funds for the building of several protected cruisers and of large numbers of torpedo boats.

A few figures may help to show the financial burden on the State’s budget of the funds allocated to the Regia Marina in the years when Brin was Minister of the Navy. In 1884, for example, the ordinary appropriations for the Navy rose to 98 million Lira, but the approval of further additional allocations brought the total to 132.6 million Lira; moreover, the 1884 budget also provided 78.4 million Lira to be allocated to the additional expenses of the budgets for 1885, 1886 and 1887.

In the last years of his life, Benedetto Brin returned to his original activity as a naval architect, designing a class of two ships that may be considered the last Italian ‘pre-dreadnoughts’ and, on his death in 1898, by Royal Decree of 29 May that year the first ship of the class, then building at the Castellammare Shipyard, was named after him.

Regarding naval doctrine and strategy, Brin actively participated in the debate that – between 1870 and 1895 – saw the participation of the most qualified representatives of Italian naval thought. His technical and ideological contribution in what was then called the ‘Questione delle Navi’ (‘The Ships Problem’, i.e. the national need for a blue-water Navy, capable of more than just coastal defence) was crucial and – today – makes Benedetto Brin one of the most important Italian naval thinkers and strategists.

Among the European Powers

The fifteen years following the Battle of Lissa allowed the Regia Marina to renew its ships and its technical and organisational structure as well; at the same time, the Kingdom of Italy was consolidating its position in the international arena, taking on a greater political importance in Europe and in the Mediterranean and formulating its own colonial policy.

In 1881, with the French occupation of Tunisia, Italy was for the first time involved in a Mediterranean crisis with a strong naval character, as the importance of the naval base at Bizerte had been enhanced by increased funding granted to the Marine Nationale by the French state since 1878.

The policy of the German Chancellor Bismarck, intended to isolate France in Europe, led to the formation of the Triple Alliance, signed in Vienna on 20 May 1882 between Austria, Germany and Italy. The latter, although angering irredentist anti-Austrian sentiments, pragmatically gave more importance to the confrontation with France in the Mediterranean, in particular because of the defensive aspects of the Alliance between the three powers. At the same time, Anglo-German rivalry led to the Entente Cordiale between Great Britain and France in 1904, and to the birth of the Triple Entente in 1907 which also included Russia. Britain could thus influence both the Franco-Russian policy and institute – if needed – a formidable naval blockade against the continental powers of the Triple Alliance.

Paradoxically, in particular for Italy, the first Naval Convention of the Triple Alliance was not signed until in December 1900, eighteen years after the initial signing of the Treaty. The agreement provided the division of the seas within the ‘substantial interest’ of each party: Germany would control the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Atlantic entrances to the European continent, with the western Mediterranean assigned to Italy and the Adriatic to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The eastern Mediterranean was to be shared between Austria-Hungary and Italy.

The battleship Sicilia in the Gulf of La Spezia, c. 1910, in a photograph taken by Studio Pucci of La Spezia. The three ships in this class (Re Umberto, Sicilia and Sardegna) were commissioned between 1893 and 1895; already obsolete at the beginning of the First World War, they were employed in various second-line duties during the conflict, and were stricken and broken up in 1919–20.

(Photo Pucci, La Spezia; Author’s collection)

A view of the innermost basin of the La Spezia Dockyard in the early 1900s, looking east, with torpedo boats at bottom right, battleships and cruisers. The presence of a Regina Elena class battleship fitting out – in the centre of the image, to right of the chimney – allows this photograph to be dated to between 1906 and 1908, when the two battleships of this class built at La Spezia (Regina Elena and Roma) were being completed. (Author’s collection)

Italy could now devote less resources to its eastern coast, being now able to deploy more freely against France, but the Adriatic continued to be an ever-increasing source of friction between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In particular, in 1908, the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary led to a crisis in relations between Rome and Vienna, and the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12 – with the resulting Italian territorial acquisitions in Libya and in the Aegean – made the Adriatic ‘truce’ between the two powers even more fragile.