The Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships were a group of four 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 (15 in) guns and possessing a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), the four ships were intended to be the equivalent of the fast battleships like the British Queen Elizabeth class.
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.
Caracciolo Class Battleship Attribution Balin42632003 at the English WikipediaFrancesco Caracciolo Under ConstructionFrancesco Caracciolo Being LaunchedFrancesco Caracciolo Being LaunchedThe sternpost for Francesco Caracciolo, weighing 22 tonnes, 1915381 mm 40 (15 inch) guns under construction at the Ansaldo Works381 mm Modello 1914 gun Stabilimento Artiglierie Ansaldo (Genoa), 1917381 mm Modello 1914 gun built by Ansaldo, for a Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship381 mm gun built for a never completed Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship, Ansaldo factory, 1917A twin 381 mm turret being built for a Francesco Caracciolo-class battleship, ca. 1915A 381 mm gun built for a Francesco Caracciolo-class is moved up a hill near Genoa381mm Cannone Navale with 37 mm cannon as spotting gun meant for the Francesco Caracciolo381mm turret of the Batteria Amalfi, built near Venice during WWI for coastal defense The guns were originally meant for the Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships381 mm turret of the Batteria Amalfi, built near Venice during WWI for coastal defense The guns were originally meant for the Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships
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