''Roma'' was an ironclad warship built for the Italian '' Regia Marina'' in the 1860s; she was the lead ship of the s. Armed with a main battery of five and twelve guns in a broadside arrangement, ''Roma'' was obsolescent by the time she entered service. As a result, her career was limited. In 1880, she took part in an international naval demonstration off

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

to enforce the Treaty of Berlin. In November 1881, she collided with the ironclad in a storm in Naples, but she was not damaged. ''Roma'' was reduced to a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

in 1890 and then to a depot ship in 1895. In July 1896, she was scuttled to save the ship from a fire caused by a lightning strike. She was thereafter raised and broken up for scrap.

Design

''Roma'' was

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

; 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 of . She displaced normally and up to at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

that drove a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by six coal-fired, cylindrical

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 that were vented through a single funnel. Her engine produced a top speed of from . She could steam for at a speed of . The ship was barque-rigged to supplement the steam engine. She had a crew of 549–551 officers and men. ''Roma'' was a broadside ironclad, and she was armed with a main battery of five guns and twelve guns. The ship was protected by iron belt armor that was thick and extended for the entire length of the

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

at the waterline.

Service history

The keel for ''Roma'' was laid down at the Cantiere della Foce shipyard in Genoa in February 1863. She was launched on 18 December 1865, and fitting-out work was finished by May 1869. By the time she entered service, other navies had begun to build

casemate ship The central battery ship, also known as a centre battery ship in the United Kingdom and as a casemate ship in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1860s, given a substantial boost due t ...

s, rendering ''Roma'' obsolescent almost immediately after she was completed. In addition, the Italian naval budget was drastically reduced following the defeat at Lissa in 1866, which reflected a stark decrease in the government's confidence in the fleet. As a result, she saw little use during her career; indeed the budget was reduced so significantly that the fleet had great difficulty in mobilizing its ironclad squadron to attack the port of Civitavecchia in September 1870, as part of the wars of Italian unification. Instead, the ships were laid up and the sailors conscripted to man them were sent home. In 1873, the ship was assigned to the 1st Division of the main Italian fleet unit, the Permanent

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

, where she 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 Admiral Enrico Di Brocchetti. The other vessels of the division were the ironclads and . Together with the ships of the 2nd Division, the entire squadron cruised in the Mediterranean that year. In 1874–1875, the ship's armament was revised to eleven 10-inch guns. In November 1880, ''Roma'' and the ironclad took part in a naval demonstration off

in an attempt to force the Ottoman Empire to comply with the terms of the Treaty of Berlin and turn over the town of Ulcinj to Montenegro. In early November 1881, ''Roma'' was moored in Naples when a severe storm tore the ship from her anchors. The heavy winds drove her into the ironclad , but neither ship was damaged in the collision. During the annual fleet maneuvers held in 1885, ''Roma'' served in the 2nd Division of the "Western Squadron"; she was joined by the ironclad and five torpedo boats. The "Western Squadron" attacked the defending "Eastern Squadron", simulating a Franco-Italian conflict, with operations conducted off Sardinia. The ship had her guns replaced again in 1886, this time with eleven guns. In 1890, ''Roma'' was removed from front-line service and tasked with the defense of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

; while there, she served as the

of the local defense forces. While serving as a

, her armament was reduced to five 8-inch guns. The ship was stricken on 5 May 1895 and thereafter used as an ammunition depot ship based in La Spezia. The ship was accidentally set on fire by a lightning strike on 28 July 1896; her crew scuttled the ship to prevent her from being burned completely. ''Roma'' was refloated the following month and then broken up for scrap immediately thereafter.

Notes

References

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External links

Roma
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Roma 1865 ships

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Ships built in Genoa