The Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships were a group of four super-dreadnought battleships designed for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in 1913 and ordered in 1914. The first ship of the class, Francesco Caracciolo, was laid down in late 1914; the other three ships, Cristoforo Colombo, Marcantonio Colonna, and Francesco Morosini followed in 1915. Armed with a main battery of eight 381 mm guns and possessing a top speed of 28 kn, the four ships were intended to be the equivalent of the fast battleships like the British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship. The class was never completed due to material shortages and shifting construction priorities after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Only the lead ship was launched in 1920, and several proposals to convert her into an aircraft carrier were considered, but budgetary problems prevented any work being done. She was sold to an Italian shipping firm for conversion into a merchant ship, but this also proved to be too expensive, and she was broken up for scrap beginning in 1926.

Design

In 1913, Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel became the Chief of Staff of the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy). With tensions high in Europe and a naval arms race underway, he secured authorization for a huge new construction program, which called for four new battleships, three cruisers, and numerous other warships. Ordered in 1914, the Francesco Caracciolo class was the first type of super-dreadnought battleship designed by the Regia Marina. They were intended to match the new fast battleships being built in foreign navies, such as the British Queen Elizabeth-class battleship. Rear Admiral Edgardo Ferrati was responsible for preparing the designs. Ferrati originally called for a ship armed with twelve 381-millimeter guns and twenty 152 mm secondary guns, but by the time he had finalized the design, he had reduced the main battery to eight guns and the secondary battery to twelve guns.

Characteristics

The Francesco Caracciolo class was 201.6 m long at the waterline and 212 m long overall. The ships had a beam of 29.6 m and a draft of 9.5 m. They would have displaced 31400 MT at normal loading and up to 34000 MT at full load. They were to be equipped with two tripod masts. The ships were to be powered by four Parsons steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by twenty oil-fired Yarrow boilers. The boilers were trunked into two large funnels. The turbines were rated at 105000 shp, which was intended to provide a top speed of 28 kn. At a more economical speed of 10 kn, the ships were estimated to have a range of 8000 nmi. Francesco Caracciolo and her sisters were to be armed with a main battery of eight 40-caliber Cannone navale da 381/40 guns in four twin gun turrets, all mounted on the centerline in superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure. The guns fired 885 kg projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s to a range of 19800 m. The secondary armament of the ships would have consisted of a dozen 50-caliber Cannone navale da 152/50 (6 in) guns mounted in casemates clustered amidships. Their 50 kg projectiles had a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s. Anti-aircraft (AA) defense was to be provided by eight 45-caliber Cannone da 102/45 (4 in) guns and a dozen 40 mm guns. The 102 mm guns fired a 13.75 kg shell at a muzzle velocity of 850 m/s. As was typical for capital ships of the period, the ships of the Francesco Caracciolo class were to be armed with eight torpedo tubes, either 450 mm or 533 mm in diameter. Armor for the class consisted of Krupp cemented steel manufactured by Terni. The main belt armor was 303 mm thick; horizontal protection consisted of a 50 mm thick deck. The main conning tower had 400 mm thick sides. The same level of protection was applied to the main battery turrets, while the secondary guns had 220 mm of armor protection.

Ships

Construction

Shortages of steel slowed the construction of the ships, and after Italy entered World War I in May 1915, other classes of warships, particularly destroyers, submarines, and other light craft were needed to combat the Central Powers. As a result, work on the ships was suspended in March 1916. Around 9000 MT of steel had been built into the hull for Francesco Caracciolo when work stopped. Cristoforo Colombo was the next furthest along, 12.5 percent of the hull being completed and 5 percent of the machinery assembled. Work on the last two ships had not progressed significantly by the time work on them halted. Two of the heavy guns intended for Cristoforo Colombo were installed aboard the monitor ITALIAN MONITOR Faà di Bruno. The monitor ITALIAN MONITOR Alfredo Cappellini received a pair of 381 mm guns from Francesco Morosini, and the two Monte Santo-class monitor and four Monte Grappa-class monitors were also equipped with spare 381 mm guns. Four guns were converted into Cannone da 381/40 AVS railroad guns and others were emplaced as coast-defense guns. Work resumed on Francesco Caracciolo in October 1919, but she was not to be completed. That year, the Regia Marina considered converting the ship into a flush-decked aircraft carrier similar to the British HMS Argus (I49). The poor economic situation in Italy in the aftermath of World War I and the heavy expenses of the Italian pacification campaigns in Libya forced severe reductions in the naval budget. As a result, a modern carrier conversion could not be completed. The Ansaldo shipyard proposed converting Francesco Caracciolo into a floatplane carrier, a cheaper alternative. It was nevertheless still too expensive for the Regia Marina. As well as the budgetary problems, the senior Italian navy commanders could not agree on the shape of the post-war Regia Marina. One faction advocated a traditional surface battle fleet, while a second believed a fleet composed of aircraft carriers, torpedo boats, and submarines would be ideal. A third faction, led by Admiral Giovanni Sechi, argued that a balanced fleet with a core of battleships and carriers was the most flexible option. To secure budgetary space for new construction, Sechi drastically reduced the number of older ships in service; he also cancelled the battleships of the Francesco Caracciolo class. Francesco Caracciolo was sold on 25 October 1920 to the Navigazione Generale Italiana shipping company. The firm planned to convert her into a merchant ship, but the work was deemed too expensive, and so she was temporarily mothballed in Baia Bay outside Naples. By this time, the Regia Marina had returned to the idea of converting the ship into an aircraft carrier. In the ongoing negotiations at the Washington Naval Conference, the proposed tonnage limit for the Regia Marina was to be 60000 LT, which was now to include a converted Francesco Caracciolo and two new, purpose-built ships. A new conversion design, featuring an island superstructure, was prepared for Francesco Caracciolo but Italy's chronic budgetary problems prevented the navy building any of these ships. Francesco Caracciolo was subsequently broken up for scrap, starting in late 1926. The other three ships had been dismantled shortly after the war, with some of the machinery from Cristoforo Columbo used in the construction of the ocean liner SS Roma (1926).