Roma class

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The Roma
The Venezia

The Roma class was a two ships class of Italian , steam-powered armored frigates first rank with screw of the Regia Marina ( Royal Italian Navy ) of 1863. They were both the first to be built in the country vessels of this type.

The class consisted of the two ships Roma and Venezia .

history

The two Roma-class ships were the first tank frigates built in Italy . The first four Italian ships of this type of the Regina Maria Pia class were built in France from 1862 . Both the Roma and her sister ship Venezia were the Regia Marina's first ships to be named after the cities of Rome and Venice .

The Roma was put into construction in 1863, launched in 1865, and completed and commissioned in 1868. In 1895 it was damaged after a lightning strike, caught fire and was sunk by the crew themselves a short time later. The ship was lifted and demolished a year later, in 1896.

The Venezia was built in 1863, launched in 1869, and completed and commissioned in 1873. In 1881 she was used as a torpedo training ship and in 1895 it was decommissioned and demolished.

The successors of the Roma class were the two armored frigates of the Principe Amedeo class built from 1865 onwards .

description

The armored frigates had a wooden hull with removable, 150 mm thick side armor made of hardened iron , which could be reinforced if necessary. The armor of the battery deck was 120 mm thick. Its propulsion system consisted of a 3-way expansion steam engine that worked directly on the shaft and propeller without a gearbox . The necessary steam was generated in six coal-fired boilers . They also had three masts and were rigged as full ships . However, the sails were rarely used for propulsion. Their top speed was 13 knots (24 km / h).

The tank frigates of this type turned out to be successful ships, because they were relatively fast for the time and with 17 or 12 cannons with a caliber of 160 mm (other guns or calibers were also used) for a smaller ship Firepower . Their armor, which was 150 and 120 mm thick, offered good protection. Only their range was not particularly high, but more than acceptable for use in the Mediterranean .

commitment

Both tank frigates saw no war effort. They mostly drove in coastal waters, accompanied larger units or patrolled the Tyrrhenian Sea . A number of times they attacked privateers from North Africa and the Ottoman Empire . Some of the ships that offered resistance were sunk after a brief, unequal battle. At times, both tank frigates also drove in the Adriatic .

Technical specifications

  • Type of ship: Armored frigate 1st rank (steam propulsion with screw)
  • Year: 1863
  • Builder: Cantieri Navali Foce , Genoa
  • Displacement: 5814 t normal, 6250 t maximum
  • Dimensions: length 79.6 m, width 17.5 m, draft 7.6 m
  • Propulsion system: 6 coal-fired boilers, a 3-fold expansion steam engine , 1 screw
  • Power: 3670 PSi
  • Speed: 13 kn
  • Bunker stock: 580 t hard coal
  • Range: 1940 nm at 10 kn
  • Armament: 17 × 160 mm cannons (also other calibers)
  • Armor: side armor 150 mm, battery deck 120 mm
  • Crew: 550 men

See also