The Ships of Battlegroup: Italy Littorio (BB)

Displacement	40,725 tons	Belt Armor	13.8 inches
Overall Length	779 feet	Deck Armor	6.4 inches
Beam	107.8 feet	Main Turret Armor	13.8 inches
Speed	31 knots	Main Guns	9 × 15″

Laid down on October 28, 1934, launched on August 22, 1937 and commissioned on May 6, 1940, the ship carried its main armament in three triple turrets; two centerline superfiring turrets forward and one aft. The planned four ship class included sister ships Vittorio Veneto, Roma and the never-completed Impero and was designed to answer the French Dunkerque class battlecruisers. The 15 inch guns were substituted for the treaty-allowed 16 inch guns in an attempt to stay near the treaty limit of 35,000 tons though the guns were designed to fire at very high velocity to the extraordinary range of 46,000 yards (this increased barrel wear and reduced gun life to about half that in other battleships). Despite attempts to adhere to the treaty limits, the ships of this class were considerably overweight when completed, although the treaties had lapsed by then. “Littorio” is Italian for “Lictor”, the ancient Roman official who carried the fasces, a symbol of office and, thus, a symbol of Benito Mussolini’s (1883–1945) fascist regime in Italy.

In the British attack on Taranto in November, 1940, Littorio received three torpedo hits (a fourth hit was a dud) that caused extensive damage and required until April 1941 to raise her off the bottom and make repairs. This demonstrated that these otherwise well-designed ships suffered from the same lack of underwater protection as earlier Italian battleships. In September 1941, Littorio became the first Italian battleship to have a primitive radar set fitted. She received minor damage in March 1942 during the Battle of Sirte along with damage from air raids in June 1942 and April 1943. She was renamed the more politically-correct Italia in July 1943, with the fall of the fascist government in Italy. The Italian Navy in World War II had some good ships but timid leadership and many technical shortcomings. The Italian Navy was dependent on their German allies for fuel oil and could only sortie when the Germans gave them enough oil to do so. Even on their newest battleships, they had few radar sets, old fashioned fire control and a communications system so bad that the Allies, via their Ultra radio intercepts and decryptions, sometimes had a better idea of an Italian naval squadron’s location than its assigned air cover from the Italian Air Force. Italia was heavily damaged by a German radio controlled bomb following Italy’s surrender in September 1943. Never returned to service, Littorio/Italia was assigned to the United States as war reparations in 1947 and broken up soon after.

For near contemporary foreign battleships, see: King George V, North Carolina, Richelieu and Washington .

Where did we get all these fascinating historical tidbits and factoids? See the Bibliography for the culprits.