Italian battleship Francesco Morosini (1885)
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| Career (Italy) | Ensign of the Italian Navy |
|---|---|
| Name: | Francesco Morosini |
| Namesake: | Francesco Morosini (1619-1694), a Venetian general and Doge of the Republic of Venice (1688-1694) |
| Operator: | Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) |
| Builder: | Venice Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | 4 December 1881 |
| Launched: | 30 July 1885 |
| Completed: | 21 August 1889 |
| Struck: | August 1909 |
| Fate: |
Sunk as target in shallow water 15 September 1909 Wreck scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Ruggiero di Lauria-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: |
9,886 long tons (10,045 t) normal 11,145 long tons (11,324 t) full load |
| Length: |
328 ft 1 in (100.0 m) between perpendiculars 347 ft 5 in (105.9 m) length overall |
| Beam: | 65 ft 1 in (19.8 m) |
| Draft: | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) |
| Installed power: | 10,000 ihp (7,457 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shafts compound engine, 8 oval boilers |
| Speed: | 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 2,800 nautical miles (5,186 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 507, later 509 |
| Armament: |
As built: *4 × 17-inch (432 mm)/27 guns (2x2) *2 × 6-inch (152 mm)/32 guns *4 × 14-inch (356 mm) submerged torpedo tubes Added in 1900: *2 × 75mm guns *10 × 57mm/40 quick-firing guns *12 × 37mm guns *5 × 37mm/20 revolvers *2 × machine guns |
| Armor: |
Steel armor Side: 17 in (431.8 mm) Deck: 3 in (76.2 mm) Citadel: 14.2 in (361 mm) Barbettes: 14.2 in (361 mm) Conning tower: 9.8 in (249 mm) |
The first Francesco Morosini was an Italian battleship launched in 1885. She was the second ship of the Ruggiero di Lauria-class pre-dreadnoughts, and served in the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]
Design
Eng Insp Giuseppe Micheli designed the Ruggiero di Lauria class ships. He chose essentially to repeat the Duilio-class design; he did, however, improve on the Duilio class by giving the Ruggiero di Lauria-class ships breech-loading 17-inch (432 mm) guns (the Duilio class had been armed with 17.7-inch (450 mm) muzzle loaders) mounted in barbettes rather than turrets, a high forecastle, a better quality of armor, and a better distribution of armor. The main battery was mounted in twin mounts close together en echelon amidships, with the port barbette aft of the starboard one.[1]
Francesco Morosini was the only ship of the class with oval boilers (her sister ships both had cylindrical boilers) and had the least powerful propulsion machinery of the three ships of her class; she was 0.1 knot slower Andrea Doria and a full knot slower than Ruggiero di Lauria. In 1900, additions were made to her tertiary armament.[1]
Construction
Francesco Morosini was under construction for nearly eight years. She was laid down at Venice Navy Yard on 4 December 1881 and launched on 30 July 1885. She was not completed for another four years, her construction finally being finished on 21 August 1889. Because of the rapid pace of naval technological development in the late 19th century, her lengthy construction period meant that she was an obsolete design by the time she entered service.[1]
Operational history
After a fairly short operational life, Francesco Morosini was stricken in August 1909. Less than a month later, she was used as a target during torpedo experiments, during which she was sunk in shallow water at La Spezia on 15 September 1909. Her wreck was scrapped.[1][2]
Notes
References
- Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1979. ISBN 0831703024.
- Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870219073.
See also
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