''Re d'Italia'' (King of Italy) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the

armored frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s built in the United States for the Italian ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

'' (Royal Navy) in the early 1860s. She was laid down at the

William H. Webb William Henry Webb (June 19, 1816 – October 30, 1899) was a 19th-century New York City shipbuilder and philanthropist, who has been called America's first true naval architect. Early life William Henry Webb was born in New York on June ...

Shipyard in New York in November 1861, was launched in April 1863, and was completed a year later in September 1864; the two ''Re d'Italia''-class ships were the only Italian ironclads built in the United States. The ships were

broadside ironclad An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. T ...

s, armed with a battery of six 72-pounder guns and thirty-two guns. ''Re d'Italia'' initially served as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of the Italian fleet, though she was replaced by the

turret ship Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement. Background Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, ...

shortly before the Battle of Lissa in 1866. During that battle, ''Re d'Italia'' was at the center of the melee. After her rudder was disabled by an Austrian vessel, the Austrian flagship, rammed her and tore a large hole in her hull. ''Re d'Italia'' quickly rolled over and sank, taking some 400 of her crew with the ship, including her captain,

Emilio Faà di Bruno Emilio Faà di Bruno (7 March 1820 – 20 July 1866) was an Italian naval officer. He was born in the Kingdom of Sardinia and was a key figure in the unification of Italy and the creation of the Regia Marina, Royal Italian Navy. Between 1863 and 18 ...

Design

''Re d'Italia'' was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

; she had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and an average

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of . She displaced normally and up to at

full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. Her hull was built from

green wood Green wood is wood that has been recently cut and therefore has not had an opportunity to season (dry) by evaporation of the internal moisture. Green wood contains more moisture than seasoned wood, which has been dried through passage of time or ...

. She had a crew of 565. The ship's propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion

marine steam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...

that drove a single

screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. Steam was supplied by four coal-fired, rectangular

fire-tube boiler A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...

s, which were vented through a single

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

located

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

. Her engine produced a top speed of from . She could steam for about at a speed of . For long-distance travel, ''Re d'Italia'' was fitted with three masts and was

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

-rigged. ''Re d'Italia'' was a

, and she was armed with a

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...

of six 72-pounder guns and thirty-two rifled muzzle-loading guns. The ship was equipped with a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

-shaped

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

at the bow. The ship's hull was sheathed with

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

armor that was thick. Her

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

and propellers, however, were not protected by her armor.

Service history

''Re d'Italia'' was built by

at his

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was laid down on 21 November 1861 and launched on 18 April 1863. The ship arrived in Italy in April 1864 and was commissioned into the Italian fleet on 18 September 1864. Less than two years later, in June 1866, Italy declared war on Austria, as part of the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in ...

, which was fought concurrently with the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

. The Italian fleet commander, Admiral

Carlo Pellion di Persano Count Carlo Pellion di Persano (11 March 1806 – 28 July 1883) was an Italian naval officer and politician, who was commander of the ''Regia Marina'' fleet at the 1866 Battle of Lissa. Persano was born at Vercelli in the Kingdom of Sardinia ...

, initially adopted a cautious course of action; he was unwilling to risk battle with the

Austrian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

, despite the fact that the Austrian fleet was much weaker than his own. Persano claimed he was simply waiting on the ironclad ram , ''en route'' from Britain, but his inaction weakened morale in the fleet, with many of his subordinates openly accusing him of cowardice. Rear Admiral

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (23 December 18277 April 1871) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian admiral. He commanded the fleet of the North Sea during the Second Schleswig War of 1864, and the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. He is often considered by some A ...

brought the Austrian fleet to

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

on June 27, in attempt to draw out the Italians. At the time, many of the Italian ships were in disarray; several ships did not have their entire armament, and several others had problems with their engines. ''Re d'Italia'' had a fire burning in her coal bunkers. Persano held a council of war aboard the ironclad to determine whether he should sortie to engage Tegetthoff, but by that time, the Austrians had withdrawn, making the decision moot. The Minister of the Navy,

Agostino Depretis Agostino Depretis (31 January 181329 July 1887) was an Italian statesman and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Italy for several stretches between 1876 and 1887, and was leader of the Historical Left parliamentary group for more than a de ...

, urged Persano to act and suggested the island of Lissa, to restore Italian confidence after their defeat at the Battle of Custoza the previous month. On 7 July, Persano left Ancona and conducted a sweep into the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, but encountered no Austrian ships and returned on the 13th.

Battle of Lissa

On 16 July, Persano took the Italian fleet out of Ancona, bound for Lissa, where they arrived on the 18th. With them, they brought troop transports carrying 3,000 soldiers; the Italian warships began bombarding the Austrian forts on the island, with the intention of landing the soldiers once the fortresses had been silenced. In response, the Austrian Navy sent the fleet under Tegetthoff to attack the Italian ships. At that time, ''Re d'Italia'' was Persano's flagship in the 2nd Division, along with the ironclad and the

coastal defense ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of Littoral (military), coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized ...

. After arriving off Lissa on the 18th, Persano sent most of his ships to bombard the town of Vis, but he was unable to effect the landing. Sinking of the italian ironclad Re d'Italia

Sinking of the italian ironclad Re d'Italia

The next morning, Persano ordered another attack; four ironclads would force the harbor defenses at Vis while ''Re d'Italia'' and the rest of the fleet would attempt to suppress the outer fortifications. This second attack also proved to be a failure, but Persano decided to make a third attempt the next day. ''Re d'Italia'' and the bulk of the fleet would again try to disable the outer forts in preparation for the landing. Before the Italians could begin the attack, the

dispatch boat Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...

arrived, bringing news of Tegetthoff's approach. Persano's fleet was in disarray; the three ships of Admiral Giovanni Vacca's 1st Division were three miles to the northeast from Persano's main force, and three other ironclads were further away to the west. Persano immediately ordered his ships to form up with Vacca's, first in

line abreast Galley tactics were the dominant form of naval tactics used from antiquity to the late 16th century when sailing ships began to replace oared ships as the principal form of warships. Throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages until the 16th century, ...

formation, and then in

line ahead The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

formation. ''Re d'Italia'' was the fourth ship in the Italian line, behind only Vacca's ships. Shortly before the action began, Persano decided to leave ''Re d'Italia'' and transfer to ''Affondatore'', though none of his subordinates on the other ships were aware of the change. They were thus left to fight as individuals without direction. More dangerously, by stopping ''Re d'Italia'', he allowed a significant gap to open up between Vacca's three ships and the rest of the fleet. Tegetthoff took his fleet through the gap between Vacca's and Persano's ships, though he failed to ram any Italian vessels on the first pass. The Austrians then turned back toward Persano's ships, and took ''Re d'Italia'', ''San Martino'', and ''Palestro'' under heavy fire. The Austrian ships concentrated their fire on ''Re d'Italia'', paying particular attention to her stern. In their attempts to ram her, one of the Austrian ships destroyed ''Re d'Italia''s rudder, leaving her unmaneuverable. ''Re d'Italia''s captain,

, attempted to escape from the melee, but he could only steer his ship using her engines. Blocked by another Austrian ironclad, Faà di Bruno ordered his ship to reverse course. She was almost stopped when she was rammed by the Austrian flagship, . The Austrian ship's ram tore a gaping hole in ''Re d'Italia''s hull. She quickly rolled over to port and sank. Out of her crew, only 166 men were saved; the remaining 400 went down with the ship, including Faà di Bruno.

Notes

References

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External links