laststandonzombieisland

Here at LSOZI, we are going to take out every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the  1859-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week.

– Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday,  December 26

Here we see the beautiful legacy dreadnought Caio Duilio as she appeared in WWII. Caio Duilio was an Italian Andrea Doria-class battleship that served in the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II. She was named after the First Punic War Roman fleet commander Gaius Duilius, winner of the  Battle of Mylae in 260 BC.

Ordered in 1911 she was completed in 1916. Even though this was in the middle of WWI, the Duilio didn’t see much active service as from 1916-18 naval combat in the Med was largely restricted to patrolling the barrage line in the Adriatic to keep the Austro-Hungarian fleet bottled up while avoiding both German and Austrian U-boats (Captain Von Trapp!).

Between the wars the ship was modernized. Originally a 22,000-ton coal-fired battleship with a baker’s dozen 305mm guns (in three triple and two double turrets) that could make, she became a 30,000-ton oil-fired (which more than doubled her horsepower) battleship with ten 320mm guns that could make 27-knots. It was in this configuration that she entered WWII.

During the war she fought, as Italy did, first with the Axis (1939-43) then with the Allies (1943-45). She was assigned to convoy duty between Italy and Libya to supply Axis troops fighting in the North African Front. She took a torpedo from a Swordfish in her bow during the Battle of Taranto but was quickly repaired. In the First Battle of Sirte in 1941, she was the flagship of the Close covering force under Rear Admiral Raffaele de Courten (on Duca d’Aosta) as he slugged it out with a force of British cruisers and destroyers. The battle, like most of the naval combat in the Med during WWII, was inconclusive with a few rounds fired from extreme range and much maneuverings done but few ships on either side hit. After Italy came over to the Allies she spent the rest of the War cooling her heels in Malta.

After the war she was retained in service for another decade. She was the flagship of the Italian Navy 1947 to 1949 and after that was retained as a training vessel and ceremonial duties ship for senior personnel. She was stricken in 1956 and scrapped the following year after more than forty years of honorable service. Her sister-ship, Andrea Doria, was scrapped two years later and was the last Italian battleship.

Caio Duilio didn’t have the most impressive legacy of sea service, having never sunk another ship in combat through two world wars. Still, she was one of the handful of warships planned before 1914 that served in both world wars to one extent or another and survived to see NATO service in the twilight of the battleship.

In 1962 the Missile cruiser Caio Duilio was commissioned and had a 30-year career of her own which celebrated the elder Gaius Duilius as well as the former battleship. In 2009, an Orizzonte-class destroyer was commissioned with the same name, ensuring that there will be a Caio Duilio in the Italian navy for generations yet to come.

Specs:
Displacement:     As built:
22,956 tons normal
24,729 tons full load
As modernized:
26,434 tons normal
29,391 tons full load
Length:     168.96 m (554.3 ft)
Beam:     28.03 m (92.0 ft)
Draft:     8.58 m (28.1 ft)
Propulsion:     As built:
Steam turbine system
20 boilers
4 shafts
30,000 shp
As modernized:
Steam turbine system
8 Yarrow type boilers
2 shafts
75,000 shp
Speed:     As built: 21 knots (39 km/h)
As modernized: 27 knots (50 km/h)
Complement:     As built: 1,233
As modernized: 1,485
Armament:     As built:
13 × 305 mm (12 in) guns (Three triple and two double turrets)
16 × 152 mm (6 in) guns
13 × 76 mm (3 in) guns
6 × 76 mm anti-aircraft guns
3 × 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes
As modernized:
10 × 320 mm (12.6 in) guns (Two triple and two double turrets)
12 × 135 mm (5.3 in) guns (Four triple turrets)
10 × 90 mm (3.5 in) anti-aircraft guns
15 × 37 mm anti-aircraft guns
16 × 20 mm anti-aircraft guns
Armor:     Belt: 254 mm
Turrets: 280 mm
Decks: 98 mm

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