Caio Duilio

The story of Caio Duilio

Dreadnoughts reigned supreme for a period of supremacy in naval history, an era ushered in by the introduction of the HMS dreadnought to the Royal Navy in 1906. The ship outperformed all other ships at the time due to the "full cannon" main armament and steam propulsion system.

Such a revolution is a warship in which all previous models are obsolete worldwide and are therefore classified as "pre-dreadnoughts".

Before the arrival of the First World War in Europe, the Italian Navy began to build two dreadnoughts under the name of the Andrea Doria class - "Andrea Doria" as the pilot ship and its sister ship "Caio Duilio". The team would succeed the Conte di Cavour class, built between 1910 and 1915, and consisted of a total of three warships. The Andrea Doria ships themselves were built from 1912 to 1916 and commissioned in 1915 (World War I began in 1914).

Caio Duilio saw her keel laid on 24 February 1912 and launched on 24 April 1913. It was completed on May 10, 1915.

When built, the Caio Duilio has a displacement of 27,260 tons (short), a length of 577 feet, a beam of 92 feet, and a draft of 31 feet. Her propulsion scheme centers on 20 boilers, powering 4 Parsons steam turbines, producing 30,000 hp on 4 shafts under the stern.

A speed of 21 knots is achieved in ideal conditions, and a range of 4,800 nautical miles is achieved at 10 knots. There were 35 officers and 1,998 soldiers on board.

Equipment was at the heart of every warship at the time. The Caio Duilio used a 13 x 12" (305 mm) gun as the main gun, mounted in a total of 5 turrets, 2 forward, 2 rear and 1 midship. The forward and rearmost turrets each had three guns, with internal pairing showing two guns.

The central turret was in a three-gun arrangement. The 6-inch (152 mm) guns are distributed throughout the ship as auxiliary weapons, mainly around the front and rear superstructures. The 13 x 3 in (76 mm) gun was also used for short-range operations.

Additional 6 x 76 mm guns were used to retain the point against aircraft attack, and 3 x 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes were installed, as were the ships of the time.

Armor protection ranges from 10" on the belt to 11" on the main turret. The deck is protected by nearly 4 inches of armor, and the conning tower has 11 inches of armor plates.

With the outbreak of war, the Italian navy was called upon to protect Italian and Allied interests throughout the Mediterranean, with particular attention to the Austro-Hungarian fleet. However, since the enemy fleet had little inclination to abandon their safe havens, Caio Duilio made only four patrols and had no direct action throughout the war.

The ship's next notable service was participation in the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). Before returning to Taranto, she sailed across the Black Sea in support of the "Belarusians". Once there, it was placed in reserve and not reactivated until 1920. In late 1923, one of her No.

3 turret magazines exploded, forcing repairs at La Spezia, with work suspended until April 1928. From March to June 1930, the Caio Duilio was refitted and returned to the reserve in August 1932, becoming the flagship of the Italian reserve fleet the following year.

It was later rebuilt to modernize the design, a work that lasted from March 1937 to July 1940.

With World War II ravaged Europe, Caio Duilio will prove to be a key part of Italy's capabilities in the Mediterranean. Her first war patrol was on 31 August 1940, and several attempts to crush the British failed, so she fled to Taranto. On 10-11 November 1940, Caio Duilio was present in the port when the British fleet launched a raid (Battle of Taranto).

She brought the torpedo to her side but was rescued when the boat was pushed to level ground. She was floated and transferred to Genoa for repairs in January 1941. The port of Genoa was then attacked by the British, but Caio Duilio was spared. She returned to work on 16 May 1941 (Taranto).

Several escort support missions followed, but shortages of marine fuel and oil meant she was placed in reserve in 1942. She remained in the port of Taranto until Italy's surrender in September 1943, when she was transferred to Malta with the rest of the Italian fleet. She returned to Italian waters in June 1944, but had no further effect on the war. Caio Duilio ended her career in the Italian Navy shortly after the war. She retired in 1953 and was removed from the Naval Register in September 1956.

Unfit for war, its hull was scrapped in 1957.

Specification

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