Principe di Carignano-class ironclad

Principe di Carignano in Naples in 1867
Class overview
Name: Principe di Carignano class
Builders:
Operators:  Regia Marina
Preceded by: Formidabile class
Succeeded by: Re d'Italia class
Built: 1861–1871
In commission: 1865–1880
Completed: 3
Retired: 3
General characteristics [1]
Type: Ironclad warship
Displacement:
  • Normal: 3,446 long tons (3,501 t)
  • Full load: 3,912 t (3,850 long tons; 4,312 short tons)
Length: 72.89 m (239 ft 2 in)
Beam: 15.10 m (49 ft 6 in)
Draft: 7.18 m (23 ft 7 in)
Installed power:
  • 8 rectangular boilers
  • 1,968 ihp (1,468 kW)
Propulsion: One single-expansion steam engines
Speed: 10.4 knots (19.3 km/h; 12.0 mph)
Range: 1,200 nmi (2,200 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 572
Armament:
  • 10 × 8 in (203 mm) guns
  • 12 × 164 mm (6 in) guns
Armor: Belt armor: 4.75 in (121 mm)

The Principe di Carignano class was a group of three ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1860s. The class comprised the ships Principe di Carignano, Messina, and Conte Verde.

Design

The first two vessels of the Principe di Carignano class were initially ordered as steam frigates by the Sardinian Navy shortly before the unification of Italy. While they were on the stocks, the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) of the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy decided to convert the ships into ironclads. A third ship, Principe Umberto, was too far advanced in her construction to allow for conversion, and so she was completed as a wooden vessel. These ships had been designed by Inps. Eng. Felice Mattei.[2] A fourth ship, Conte Verde, was built to a modified design created by Inps. Eng. Giuseppe De Luca. These ships came as part of a major naval expansion program that was designed to prepare a fleet of ironclad warships capable of defeating the Austrian Navy. Italy considered the Austrian Empire to be its main rival, since it controlled predominantly Italian areas, including Venice.[3]

General characteristics and machinery

The ships of the Principe di Carignano class varied slightly in their dimensions. Principe de Carignano was 72.98 meters (239.4 ft) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 15.1 m (50 ft) and an average draft of 7.18 m (23.6 ft). She displaced 3,446 metric tons (3,392 long tons; 3,799 short tons) normally and up to 3,912 t (3,850 long tons; 4,312 short tons) at full load. The second ship, Messina, was 72.8 m (239 ft) between perpendiculars; she had a beam of 15.1 m (50 ft) and an average draft of 7.27 m (23.9 ft). At normal loading, she displaced 3,868 t (3,807 long tons; 4,264 short tons), and she reached 4,245 t (4,178 long tons; 4,679 short tons) with a full load. Conte Verde was 73.7 m (242 ft) long between perpendiculars and her beam was 15.3 m (50 ft). She had a draft of 6.5 m (21 ft), and displaced 3,514 t (3,459 long tons; 3,874 short tons) normally and up to 3,866 t (3,805 long tons; 4,262 short tons) at full load. The ships had a crew of 572.[4]

Their propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion steam engine that drove a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by six coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube boilers. The boilers were trunked into a single funnel. Their engines produced a top speed of 10.2 to 11.4 knots (18.9 to 21.1 km/h; 11.7 to 13.1 mph), with Conte Verde being the fastest member of the class, from 1,968 indicated horsepower (1,468 kW). They could steam for about 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). To supplement her steam engine, the ship was barquentine-rigged with three masts.[4]

Armament and armor

The Principe di Carignano-class ships were broadside ironclads; the lead ship was armed with a main battery of ten 72-pounder 8 in (200 mm) guns and twelve 164 mm (6.5 in) rifled muzzle-loading guns Messina and Conte Verde instead carried four 8 in guns and eighteen 164 mm guns. The ships were equipped with a spur-shaped ram at the bow. In 1870, the ships' armament was revised; Principe di Carignano retained four of her 8 in guns, with the other four being replaced by 164 mm guns. Messina lost ten of her 164 mm guns and gained a pair of 10 in (250 mm) guns, while Conte Verde was reequipped with six 10 in guns and one 8 in gun.[4]

The first two ships' hulls were sheathed with wrought iron armor that was 4.75 in (121 mm) thick. Unlike her two sisters, Conte Verde did not have complete iron armor on her sides. She instead had wrought iron armor that covered only parts of her bow and stern. The rest of the ship received traditional timber armor.[4]

Ships

NameBuilder[4]Laid down[4]Launched[4]Completed[4]
Principe di Carignano Cantiere della Foce January 1861 15 September 1863 11 June 1865
Messina Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia 28 September 1861 20 December 1864 February 1867
Conte Verde San Rocco 2 March 1863 29 July 1867 December 1871

Notes

  1. ↑ Figures are for Principe di Carignano
  2. ↑ Ordovini et al., p. 334
  3. ↑ Gardiner, pp. 335, 338
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gardiner, p. 338

References

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