Italian battleship Dante Alighieri
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''Dante Alighieri'' was the first
dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
built for 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 ...
'' (Royal Italian Navy) and was completed in 1913. The ship served as a flagship 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 ...
, but saw very little action other than the Second Battle of Durazzo in 1918 during which she did not engage enemy forces. She never fired her guns in anger during her career. ''Dante Alighieri'' was refitted in 1923, stricken from the
Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
five years later and subsequently sold for scrap.


Description

''Dante Alighieri'' was designed by Rear Admiral Engineer Edoardo Masdea, Chief Constructor of the ''Regia Marina'', based on the ideas of General
Vittorio Cuniberti Vittorio Emilio Cuniberti (1854–1913) was an Italian military officer and naval engineer who envisioned the concept of the all big gun battleship, best exemplified by HMS ''Dreadnought''. Life and career Born in Turin, he joined the Genio Na ...
who advocated a battleship with main guns of a single caliber and optimized for broadside fire. In addition, the ship's superstructure and
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 ...
s were to be kept to a minimum. The dreadnought was long at the waterline, and
overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...
. The ship had a beam of , and a
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 vesse ...
of . She displaced at normal load, and at
deep 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 ...
. ''Dante Alighieri'' had two
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 air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...
s, one behind the other, and a crew of 31 officers and 950 enlisted men.Fraccaroli, p. 259 The ship was propelled by four
propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
s driven by
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steam turbines. Steam for the turbines was provided by 23 Blechynden
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gen ...
s, seven of which burned oil and the remaining sixteen burned a mixture of oil and coal. The boilers were widely separated in two compartments, each with two funnels, and the turbines were positioned between the two center turrets.Hore, p. 174 Designed to reach a maximum speed of from ,Preston, p. 175 ''Dante Alighieri'' failed to reach this goal on her
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s, making a maximum speed of only from . The ship could store a maximum of of coal and an unknown quantity of fuel oil that gave her a range of at , and at . ''Dante Alighieri'' had a complete
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
armor belt that had a maximum thickness of . The ship's armored deck was thick. The main turrets were protected by a maximum of 254 millimeters of armor while the secondary turrets and the casemates had of armor. The conning tower had walls 305 millimeters thick.


Armament

''Dante Alighieri''s main armament consisted of a dozen 46- caliber 305-millimeter (12 inch) guns, in four triple-gun turrets positioned on the ship's centerline. None of the turrets were superfiring. While the later classes of battleships and battlecruisers designed for the
Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...
shared the turret layout of the ''Dante Alighieri'', all surviving evidence shows that the Russians decided on this layout for their own reasons. Sources disagree regarding these guns' performance, but naval historian Giorgio Giorgerini claims that they fired
armor-piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many wars ...
(AP) projectiles at the rate of one round per minute and that they had a muzzle velocity of which gave a maximum range of .Giorgerini, pp. 268, 276 The ship's
secondary armament Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
consisted of twenty 50-caliber guns. Eight of these guns were fitted in twin-gun turrets abreast the forward and aft main gun turrets while the remaining 12 guns were mounted in casemates on the sides of the hull. These guns could depress to −10 degrees and had a maximum elevation of +15 degrees; they had a rate of fire of six shots per minute. They could fire a high-explosive projectile with a muzzle velocity of to a maximum distance of . For defense against
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s, ''Dante Alighieri'' carried thirteen 50-caliber guns mounted on the turret tops. These guns had the same range of elevation as the secondary guns, although their rate of fire was higher at 10 rounds per minute. They fired a AP projectile with a muzzle velocity of to a maximum distance of . The ship was also fitted with three submerged
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s, one on each broadside and the third in the stern.


Construction and service

''Dante Alighieri'', named after the medieval Italian poet, was the only battleship ever named for a poet. She was laid down at the naval shipyard in
Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...
on 6 June 1909, launched on 20 August 1910, and completed on 15 January 1913. The ship was used to evaluate Curtiss floatplanes in 1913–14. When Italy entered
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 ...
in May 1915, ''Dante Alighieri'' was the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron based at
Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...
and remained with the squadron through 1916. For the rest of the war, the ship was assigned to the Southern Adriatic and Ionian Sea forces. Under the command of Vice 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 ...
, the ship was positioned to intercept any Austro-Hungarian ships based at
Cattaro Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
if they sortied to attack the Allied ships bombarding Durazzo on 2 October 1918. The Austro-Hungarians remained in harbor and ''Dante Alighieri'' did not fire her guns during the battle. King
Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
entertained delegates to the
Genoa Conference The Genoa Economic and Financial Conference was a formal conclave of 34 nations held in Genoa, Italy, from 10 April to 19 May 1922 that was planned by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to resolve the major economic and political issues faci ...
aboard ''Dante Alighieri'' in 1922. The ship was refitted in 1923 with a tripod foremast and an aircraft flying-off platform on Turret No. 3, and her forward funnels were made taller to reduce smoke interference with the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. She tested a new fire-control system in 1924 at ranges up to ; her new tripod mast was not sturdy enough for the weight of the system, but it was judged to be successful and subsequently installed in the s. That same year, the ship transported Benito Mussolini to
Palermo, Sicily Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its hi ...
. The Italian economy had been weakened by fighting in World War I, and by the late 1920s it could no longer afford to maintain a sizable fleet. As a result, Admiral Giovanni Sechi decided to scrap ''Dante Alighieri'' and the salvaged battleship to reduce the naval budget.Goldstein & Maurer, p. 226 The ship was stricken on 1 July 1928 and was subsequently scrapped.


Notes


Footnotes


References

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External links


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Dante Alighieri
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dante Alighieri Battleships of the Regia Marina World War I battleships of Italy 1910 ships Ships built in Castellammare di Stabia Dante Alighieri