''Faà di Bruno'' was an Italian

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

built during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Completed in 1917, the ship played a small role in the 11th

Battle of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and ...

later that year. She was decommissioned in 1924, but returned to service as the

floating battery A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship. History During the Capture of Mahdia (1550), capture of Mahdia in 1550, Spanish c ...

''GM 194'' at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was towed to

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and where she spent the rest of the war. The ship had her guns disabled when the Royal Navy bombarded Genoa in 1941. ''GM 194'' was captured by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

after the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile ( Italian: ''Armistizio di Cassibile'') was an armistice that was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was made public ...

in 1943 and was turned over to the puppet (Italian Social Republic) that they installed afterward. She was

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

at the end of the war and subsequently

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on i ...

Development and description

''Faà di Bruno'' was built when 40-

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

Cannone navale da 381/40 guns from the s became available after their construction was suspended in 1916. Her guns were built by Ansaldo-Schneider and originally destined for the ''Cristoforo Colombo''. She displaced , with a

length 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 ste ...

of , 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 *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

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 v ...

of . ''Faà di Bruno'' was powered by two surplus

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its f ...

vertical triple-expansion steam engines from discarded

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. One Kess

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

provided enough steam to provide a total of between them. On her

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip 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 op ...

s the ship reached a maximum speed of , but her maximum speed in service was about . The ship's navigation

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

was placed on a prominent

tripod mast The tripod mast is a type of mast used on warships from the Edwardian era onwards, replacing the pole mast. Tripod masts are distinctive using two large (usually cylindrical) support columns spread out at angles to brace another (usually vertic ...

abaft the

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...

. ''Faà di Bruno''s crew consisted of 45 officers and enlisted men.Trawick & Wiltering, p. 297 Her Cannone navale da 381/40 guns could elevate +15° and her twin-gun turret could

traverse Traverse may refer to: Places * Traverse, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Traverse City, Michigan * Traverse County, Minnesota, a county in Minnesota Other * Traverse (climbing), moving horizontally on a climbing or mountaineering route ...

30° to either side. They fired an

armor-piercing Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, and vehicle armour. The first, major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the ...

shell at a

muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately t ...

of . She was fitted with four 40-caliber Ansaldo anti-aircraft (AA) guns. They fired a

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

shell at a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s. The ship also mounted two 39-caliber water-cooled Vickers-Terni 1915/1917 light AA guns. Their shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of . ''Faà di Bruno''s hull was surrounded by a concrete

cofferdam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out or drained. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for constru ...

thick that was strapped to her hull. ''Faà di Bruno''s deck armor had a thickness of . It sloped down from the center and had a peak of . Her guns were mounted in an open-topped turret covered by an armored dome. The

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

sides had a total thickness of in three layers and its

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...

had armor thick.Gardiner & Gray, p. 288

Service

''Faà di Bruno'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 10 October 1915, even before the battleships were officially suspended, by the

Venetian Arsenal The Venetian Arsenal () is a complex of former shipyards and Armory (military), armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Republic of Venice, Venetian ...

to a design by Rear Admiral Giuseppe Rota that was essentially that of a self-propelled

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

as she lacked a bow. The ship was launched on 30 January 1916 and commissioned on 1 April 1917.Ordovini, Petronio; et al., p. 335 Her first action came during the 11th Battle of the Isonzo in August 1917. Together with the Italian monitor and the British monitors and , she bombarded

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

positions with little noticeable effect. She was driven ashore in a storm in November, but was not salvaged for almost a full year.Trawick & Wilterding, p. 298 She was stricken from the Navy List on 13 November 1924, but was placed back into service at the beginning of World War II as the floating battery ''GM 194''. She was towed from

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

to Genoa, where she remained for the rest of the war. When the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

bombarded Genoa on 9 February 1941, she only fired three times at the British ships because one of the first British shells damaged the cables that provided electrical power to her guns. She was captured by the Germans after the Italian armistice and was turned over to the puppet (National Republican Navy).Brescia, p. 181 ''GM 194'' was scuttled in

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

at the end of the war and was subsequently scrapped.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Illustrated description

Faa di Bruno
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Faa Di Bruno 1916 ships Ships built by the Venetian Arsenal World War I naval ships of Italy World War II naval ships of Italy Naval ships of Italy captured by Germany during World War II World War I monitors World War II monitors