Domenico Cavagnari (20 July 1876,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

– 2 November 1966,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) was an Italian admiral and the Chief of Staff of the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

from 1934 until 1940.

Early life and career

Born to a pharmacist, he enrolled in the

Accademia Navale di Livorno The Italian Naval Academy (Italian: ''Accademia Navale'') is a coeducational military university in Livorno, which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy. History The Hospitals The Hospital of St. James ...

in 1889, at an unusually young age of 13; he graduated from it in 1895. He participated in a Far East cruise on the

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

''Vettor Pisani'' from April to December 1903, after which he was named adjutant to the Minister of the Navy Carlo Mirabello. In 1914 he was promoted Capitano di Corvetta. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he commanded the coastal torpedo-boat ''9 PN'', and then the 6th Torpedo-Boat Flotilla; in 1917 he was under the command of Admiral

Paolo Thaon di Revel Paolo Camillo Thaon, Marquess of Revel (10 June 1859 – 24 March 1948), latterly titled with the honorary title of 1st Duke of the Sea, was an Italian admiral of the ''Regia Marina'' during World War I and later a politician. Early life an ...

, then commanding the naval station of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, until April 1918, when he was given command of the destroyer ''Felice Orsini''. During the war he was promoted Capitano di Fregata and gained three Silver Medals of Military Valor. After the war, Cavagnari was promoted

Capitano di Vascello The rank insignia of the Italian Navy are worn on epaulettes of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Rank structure Officers Notes: 1 The rank of ''"ammiraglio"'' (admiral) is assigned to the only naval off ...

in 1922 and given command of the " esploratore" ''Pantera'' and its flotilla, which he led in a goodwill cruise to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

in 1925. Promoted Contrammiraglio in 1927, he was named commander of the Accademia Navale in 1929, and remained as such till 1932; afterwards, he commanded the ''2a Divisione'' (with the heavy cruiser ''Trento'' as his flagship.cit., p. 28-37

Chief of Staff

On 7 November 1933 Benito Mussolini fired the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Giuseppe Sirianni, took up the role of Minister himself and named Cavagnari Chief of Staff of the Regia Marina. As Chief of Staff, he was largely responsible for the expansion and preparation of the Italian Navy in the years before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Cavagnari was a proponent of a large fleet based on battleships (in his tenure, four new ''Littorio''-class battleships were laid down and four older battleships were modernized) and submarines (by 1940, Italy possessed one of the largest submarine fleets of the world); he instead showed little interest in aircraft carriers and new technologies such as

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

After Italy joined the war on 10 June 1940, the Italian Navy's unpreparedness (highlighted in the indecisive engagement of

Punta Stilo Punta Stilo (Italian for "Cape of Columns") is the name of an arcuate headland in Calabria, Italy. It lies immediately north of Monasterace (the site of ancient Caulonia) and constitutes the western coast of the Gulf of Squillace. Pliny the Elde ...

and on the

Battle of Taranto The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces, under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and Italian naval forces, under Admiral Inigo Campioni. The Royal Navy launched ...

, in which three battleships were heavily damaged by British torpedo-bombers) led to his dismissal. He was succeeded by Admiral Arturo Riccardi.

Honours

*Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (25 October 1931) *Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (31 December 1934; Commander: 20 July 1925; Officer: 19 June 1924) *Grand Officer of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy. History The origin o ...

(31 July 1939; Knight: 24 July 1919) *Three awards of the

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

*Allied Victory Medal *Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy *Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915-1918 *Commemorative Medal for the Libyan Campaign

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavagnari, Domenico Italian admirals Italian military personnel of World War I Regia Marina personnel of World War II Admirals of World War II Military personnel from Genoa 1876 births 1966 deaths