Italian Littorio-class battleships – the ultimate guide: During World War II, Italy built a formidable class of battleships packed with firepower. These boats were also recognized as the Vittorio Vento class and were the most modern ships sailed by Italy during the war. This class included her four ships: Littorio, Vittorio Veneto, Roma, and Imperio. However, only the first three ships of this class were completed.
Nazi Germany’s Bismarck and Tirpitz and Imperial Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi are known as some of the most famous battleships of the war, but Italian battleships should not be overlooked either.
History of Littorio-class ships:
In the early 1920s, the Washington Naval Treaty, signed by the major allies of World War I, allowed the signatories to build ships of increased tonnage. Both Italy and France were given an additional 70,000 long tons of gross tonnage for their capital ships.
With this new use, construction of the Littorio ship began. The Ship Projects Committee was tasked with preparing plans for the construction of her two large battleships with modern features. Littorio was officially launched in 1937, followed by Vittorio in 1940, Veneto in 1942, Roma in 1942 and Impero in 1939. The first two ships of this class were slightly shorter in overall length than Roma and Impero.
Vessels of this class also had varying displacements. Roma’s displacement was slightly larger than her sister ships. Impero was never fully completed, so its final move remains a mystery.
In terms of weaponry, Littorio’s ships were extremely deadly. In addition to her twelve 90mm anti-aircraft guns, each ship was equipped with three 371mm guns and four 152mm guns. The class’s primary belt armor was designed to withstand armor-piercing rounds up to 16,000 meters.
Littorio-class performance in World War II:
The Littorio-class ships were built to provide powerful attack power, but ultimately had a limited role during World War II. In 1940, the Royal Navy attacked Littorio Island during the Raid on Taranto. Although the battleship was severely damaged, she rejoined the fleet in 1941.
Vittorio Veneto suffered a similar fate to the leading ships of her class. In 1941 and 1943, she was damaged in a series of Allied air raids on Spezia.
This war probably caused the greatest damage to Roman battleships. After Mussolini’s fall and Italy’s withdrawal from the Axis powers, Nazi Germany became concerned about how the Allies could use these formidable battleships.
The day after the armistice, German Fritz Z radio-controlled bombs were deployed to destroy the ships. Within minutes, the Roma capsized and broke in two. Sadly, less than 600 of her crew of approximately 1,900 survived the attack.
For more than 60 years, the ship’s resting place was not discovered. The situation changed in 2012, when the wreckage of a battleship was discovered about 30 kilometers off Sardinia’s north coast.
About the author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, national security writer for The National Interest, is an analyst at the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levi Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter. @MayaKarlin.