All Topics  
Italian battleship Littorio

 
Italian Battleship Littorio

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Italian battleship Littorio
 
 
  Topics Italian battleship Littorio Topic Home

Littorio was an Italian Vittorio Veneto class battleship
Battleship

A battleship is a large, heavily armour warship with a main artillery battery consisting of the largest calibre of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed, and better armored than cruisers and destroyers....
 that served in the Regia Marina
Regia Marina

The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. She was named after the Lictor
Lictor

The lictor, derived from the Latin ligare , was a member of a special class of Rome civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire who held imperium; essentially, a bodyguard....
 ("Littorio" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman fasces
Fasces

Fasces symbolize summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity".The traditional ancient Rome fasces consisted of a bundle of white birch rods, tied together with a red leather ribbon into a cylinder, and often including a bronze axe amongst the rods, with the blade on the side, projecting from the bundle....
, which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism
Fascism

Fascism is a Political radicalism, Authoritarianism Nationalism ideology that aims to create a single-party state with a government led by a dictator who seeks national unity and development by requiring individuals to subordinate self-interest to the collective interest of the nation or Race ....
.

keel was laid down in 1934 at the Ansaldo
Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993....
 shipyards in Genoa
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
; she was launched in 1937, and her construction was completed in 1940, after Italy entered in war against France and United Kingdom.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Italian battleship Littorio'
Start a new discussion about 'Italian battleship Littorio'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Littorio was an Italian Vittorio Veneto class battleship
Battleship

A battleship is a large, heavily armour warship with a main artillery battery consisting of the largest calibre of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed, and better armored than cruisers and destroyers....
 that served in the Regia Marina
Regia Marina

The Regia Marina Italiana dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification . In 1946, with the birth of the Italy , the Royal Navy changed its name as it was now the Navy of the Italian Republic ....
 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. She was named after the Lictor
Lictor

The lictor, derived from the Latin ligare , was a member of a special class of Rome civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire who held imperium; essentially, a bodyguard....
 ("Littorio" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman fasces
Fasces

Fasces symbolize summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity".The traditional ancient Rome fasces consisted of a bundle of white birch rods, tied together with a red leather ribbon into a cylinder, and often including a bronze axe amongst the rods, with the blade on the side, projecting from the bundle....
, which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism
Fascism

Fascism is a Political radicalism, Authoritarianism Nationalism ideology that aims to create a single-party state with a government led by a dictator who seeks national unity and development by requiring individuals to subordinate self-interest to the collective interest of the nation or Race ....
.

Construction

Her keel was laid down in 1934 at the Ansaldo
Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993....
 shipyards in Genoa
Genoa

Genoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000....
; she was launched in 1937, and her construction was completed in 1940, after Italy entered in war against France and United Kingdom. With the fall of Fascism, she was renamed Italia. After the war she was taken by the United States as war compensation, but was scrapped in 1948.

Vittorio Veneto class was designed by General Umberto Pugliese, and was the first class of battleship to exceed the limits of the Washington Treaty
Washington Treaty

The Treaty of Washington may refer to:* Treaty of Washington , between the Federal government and the Creek * Treaty of Washington , between the Federal government and the Creek led by Opothleyahola....
 (35,000 tons of displacement).

Actions

On 1 September 1940, Littorio participated in Operation Hats, followed by Operation MB 5 on 29 September. The battleship was in Taranto harbour during the Battle of Taranto
Battle of Taranto

The naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November 1940 – 12 November 1940 during World War II. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italy fleet at harbour in Taranto....
 on 11 November 1940, during which she received three torpedo hits, which caused relatively minor damage.

After repairs, Littorio participated in the attack of the Allied convoy Albert on 27 September 1941. The convoy was transporting supplies to the island of Malta
Malta

Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed country European microstates microstate in the European Union....
. On 17 December, she took part in the First Battle of Sirte
First Battle of Sirte

The First Battle of Sirte was a naval battle between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina during the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II....
. She was assigned to the distant covering force for the convoy M42, which was bound for North Africa, carrying supplies for Rommel's
Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous Germany Generalfeldmarschall of World War II. He was the commander of the Afrika Korps and became known for the skillful military campaigns he waged on behalf of the Wehrmacht in North Africa....
 Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps

The German Afrikakorps was the original German blocking force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II. The force was kept as a distinct formation and became the main German contribution to Panzer Army Africa which evolved into the German-Italian Panzer Army and Army Group Africa....
. Littorio, along with the rest of the distant covering force, engaged a British flotilla of surface raiders, and drove them off.

On 3 January 1942, Littorio was again tasked with convoy escort, in support of M 43. On 22 March, she participated in the Second Battle of Sirte
Second Battle of Sirte

The Second Battle of Sirte was a naval battle between most of the escorting warships of a British convoy and the bulk of an Regia Marina squadron....
, as the flagship for an Italian force attempting to destroy a British convoy bound for Malta. During the battle, Littorio struck the destroyers HMS Havock
HMS Havock (H43)

HMS Havock was an G and H class destroyer destroyer of the British Royal Navy laid down by William Denny, Brothers and Company, Limited, of Dumbarton in Scotland on 15 May 1935, launched on 7 July 1936 and commissioned on 18 January 1937....
 and Kingston
HMS Kingston (F64)

HMS Kingston was a J and K class destroyer destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down by J. Samuel White and Company at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on 6 October 1937, launched on 9 January 1939 and commissioned on 14 September 1939....
 with her main guns, nearly destroying the Kingston, which managed to limp back to Malta the following morning. Three months later, on 15 June, Littorio participated in the interception of the Vigorous
Operation Vigorous

Operation Vigorous was a World War II Allied operation to deliver a supply convoy that sailed from Haifa and Port Said on 12 June 1942 to Malta....
 convoy to Malta. During the return to port, Littorio was struck by a torpedo dropped by a British Wellington
Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a United Kingdom twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R....
 bomber, but the ship was able to return to port for repairs.

On 30 July 1943, Littorio was renamed to Italia. After the 8 September armistice, she was stationed in the Great Bitter Lake
Great Bitter Lake

The Great Bitter Lake is a salt water lake between the north and south part of the Suez Canal. It is adjoined by the Small Bitter Lake . Together, the Bitter Lakes have a surface area of about 250 km?....
 in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 until the end of the war. The ship, along with the rest of the Italian fleet, was formally surrendered to the Allies the following day, on 9 September.

Littorio participated in 46 war missions, 9 of which were enemy hunting and 3 were as an escort.

External links