Coordinates: 41°9′28″N 8°17′35″E

Italian battleship Roma (1940)

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Roma, named after two previous ships and the city of

Rome,[N 1] was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class battleship of
Italy's Regia Marina (Royal Navy). The construction of
both Roma and her sister ship Impero was due to rising
tensions around the world and the navy's fear that only two
Vittorio Venetos, even in company with older pre-First
World War battleships, would not be enough to counter the
British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As Roma was laid
down almost four years after the first two ships of the class,
some small improvements were made to the design,
including additional freeboard added to the bow. History

Roma was commissioned into the Regia Marina on 14 June Kingdom of Italy
1942, but a severe fuel shortage in Italy at that time Name: Roma
prevented her from being deployed; instead, along with her
sister ships Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, she was used to Namesake: Rome
bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of various Italian cities. In Ordered: 1937
this role, she was severely damaged twice in June 1943 Builder: Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico
from bomber raids on La Spezia. After repairs in Genoa
through all of July and part of August, Roma was deployed Laid down: 18 September 1938
as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Bergamini in a large battle Launched: 9 June 1940
group that eventually comprised the three Vittorio Venetos, Commissioned: 14 June 1942
eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Their stated intent was
In service: 21 August 1942
attacking the Allied ships approaching Salerno to invade
Italy (Operation "Avalanche") but, in reality, the Italian fleet Fate: Sunk 9 September 1943
was sailing to Malta to surrender following Italy's 8
General characteristics
September 1943 armistice with the Allies.
Class and type: Littorio-class battleship
While the force was in the Strait of Bonifacio, Dornier Do
Displacement: Full load: 45,485 long tons (46,215 t)
217s of the German Luftwaffe's specialist wing KG 100—
armed with Fritz X radio-controlled bombs—sighted the Length: 240.7 m (790 ft)
force. The first attack failed, but the second dealt Italia (ex- Beam: 32.9 m (108 ft)
Littorio) and Roma much damage. The hit on Roma caused Draft: 9.6 m (31 ft)
water to flood two boiler rooms and the after engine room,
leaving the ship to limp along with two propellers, reduced Installed 8 × Yarrow boilers
power, and arc-induced fires in the stern of the ship. Shortly power: 128,000 shp (95,000 kW)
thereafter, another bomb slammed into the ship which Propulsion: 4 × steam turbines, 4 × shafts
detonated within the forward engine room, causing
Speed: 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
catastrophic flooding and the explosion of the #2 main
turret's magazines, throwing the turret itself into the sea. Complement: 1,920
Sinking by the bow and listing to starboard, Roma capsized Armament: 3 × 3 381 mm (15.0 in)/50 cal
and broke in two, carrying 1,393 men—including guns
Bergamini—down with her. 4 × 3 152 mm (6.0 in)/55 cal
guns
4 × 1 120 mm (4.7 in)/40
Contents guns for illumination
12 × 1 90 mm (3.5 in)/50 anti-
1 Background aircraft guns
2 Description
 3 Service history 20 × 37 mm (1.5 in)/54 guns
3.1 Loss (8 × 2; 4 × 1)
4 Wreck discovery
10 × 2 20 mm (0.79 in)/65
5 Notes
6 Footnotes guns
7 References Armor: Main belt: 350 mm (14 in)
Deck: 162 mm (6.4 in)
Turrets: 350 mm
Background Conning tower: 260 mm
(10 in)
For additional information, see Littorio- Aircraft 3 aircraft (IMAM Ro.43 or Reggiane
class battleship carried: Re.2000)

The Italian leader Benito Mussolini did not authorize any Aviation 1 stern catapult
large naval rearmament until 1933. Once he did, two old facilities:
battleships of the Conte di Cavour class were sent to be
modernized in the same year, and Vittorio Veneto and Littorio were laid down in 1934. In May 1935, the Italian
Naval Ministry began preparing for a five-year naval building program that would include four battleships,
three aircraft carriers, four cruisers, fifty-four submarines, and forty smaller ships. In December 1935, Admiral
Domenico Cavagnari proposed to Mussolini that, among other things, two more battleships of the Littorio class
be built to attempt to counter a possible Franco-British alliance—if the two countries combined forces, they
would easily outnumber the Italian fleet. Mussolini postponed his decision, but later authorized planning for the
two ships in January 1937. In December, they were approved and money was appropriated for them; they were
named Roma and Impero ("Empire").[2][3]

Laid down nearly four years after Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, Roma was able to incorporate a few design
improvements. Her bow was noticeably redesigned to give Roma additional freeboard; partway into
construction, it was modified on the basis of experience with Vittorio Veneto so that it had had a finer end at the
waterline. She was also equipped with thirty-two rather than twenty-four 20 mm (0.79 in)/65 caliber Breda
guns.[4][5][N 2]

Description
Roma was 240.68 meters (789.6 ft) long overall and had a beam of
32.82 m (107.7 ft) and a draft of 9.6 m (31 ft). She was designed with a
standard displacement of 40,992 long tons (41,650 t), a violation of the
35,000-long-ton (36,000 t) restriction of the Washington Naval Treaty;
at full combat loading, she displaced 45,485 long tons (46,215 t). The
ship was powered by four Belluzo geared steam turbines rated at
Line-drawing of the Littorio class 128,000 shaft horsepower (95,000 kW). Steam was provided by eight
oil-fired Yarrow boilers. The engines provided a top speed of 30 knots
(56 km/h; 35 mph) and a range of 3,920 mi (6,310 km; 3,410 nmi) at 20
knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Roma had a crew of 1,830 to 1,950 if she had been completed.[7][8]

Roma's main armament consisted of nine 381-millimeter (15.0 in) 50-caliber Model 1934 guns in three triple
turrets; two turrets were placed forward in a superfiring arrangement and the third was located aft. Her
secondary anti-surface armament consisted of twelve 152 mm (6.0 in) /55 Model 1934/35 guns in four triple
turrets amidships. These were supplemented by four 120 mm (4.7 in) /40 Model 1891/92 guns in single
mounts; these guns were old weapons and were primarily intended to fire star shells. Roma was equipped with
an anti-aircraft battery that comprised twelve 90 mm (3.5 in) /50 Model 1938 guns in single mounts, twenty
37 mm (1.5 in) /54 guns in eight twin and four single mounts, and sixteen 20 mm (0.79 in) /65 guns in eight
twin mounts.[9]
The ship was protected by a main armored belt that was 280 mm (11 in) with a second layer of steel that was
70 mm (2.8 in) thick. The main deck was 162 mm (6.4 in) thick in the central area of the ship and reduced to
45 mm (1.8 in) in less critical areas. The main battery turrets were 350 mm (14 in) thick and the lower turret
structure was housed in barbettes that were also 350 mm thick. The secondary turrets had 280 mm thick faces
and the conning tower had 260 mm (10 in) thick sides.[8] Roma was fitted with a catapult on her stern and
equipped with three IMAM Ro.43 reconnaissance float planes or Reggiane Re.2000 fighters.[10]

Service history
Roma's keel was laid by the Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico on 18 September 1938 and she
was launched on 9 June 1940. After just over two years of fitting-out, the new battleship was commissioned
into the Regia Marina on 14 June 1942. She arrived in the major naval base of Taranto on 21 August of the
same year and was assigned to the Ninth Naval Division.[3] Although Roma took part in training exercises and
was moved to various bases including Taranto, Naples and La Spezia, in the next year, she did not go on any
combat missions as the Italian Navy was desperately short of fuel. In fact, by the end of 1942, the only combat-
ready battleships in the navy were the three Vittorio Venetos because the fuel shortage had caused the four
modernized battleships to be removed from service. When combined with a lack of capable vessels to escort
the capital ships, the combat potential of the Italian Navy was virtually non-existent.[11][12]

CG rendering of Roma
Roma and her two sisters were moved from Taranto to Naples on 12
November in response to the Allied invasion of North Africa; while en
route, the three battleships were attacked by the British submarine
HMS Umbra, though no hits were made.[13] On 4 December, the United
States launched a major air raid on Naples in an attempt to destroy the
Italian fleet; one cruiser was destroyed and two others were damaged in
the attack, as were four destroyers.[14] Two days later, Roma was
transferred with Vittorio Veneto and Littorio to La Spezia, where she
became the flagship of the Regia Marina. They remained here through
the first half of 1943 without going on any operations.[11][12]

During this time, La Spezia was attacked many times by Allied bomber
groups. Attacks on 14 and 19 April 1943 did not hit Roma, but an American raid on 5 June severely damaged
both Vittorio Veneto and Roma. B-17 aircraft carrying 908 kg (2,002 lb) armor-piercing bombs damaged the
stationary battleships with two bombs each. Roma suffered from two near hits on either side of her bow. The
starboard-side bomb hit the ship but passed through the side of the hull before exploding. The ship began taking
on water through leaks from frames 221 to 226—an area covering about 32 square feet (3.0 m2)—and through
flooding from the bow to frame 212. The second bomb missed but exploded in the water near the hull. Leaks
were discovered over a 30 sq ft (2.8 m2) area ranging from frames 198 and 207. Approximately 2,350 long tons
(2,630 short tons; 2,390 t) of water entered the ship.[15]

Roma was damaged again by two bombs in another raid on 23–24 June. One hit the ship aft and to starboard of
the rear main battery turret and obliterated several staterooms, which were promptly flooded from broken
piping. The second landed atop the rear turret itself, but little damage was suffered due to the heavy armor in
that location. This attack did not seriously damage Roma or cause any flooding, but she nevertheless sailed to
Genoa for repairs. Roma reached the city on 1 July and returned to La Spezia on 13 August once repairs were
complete.[3]

Loss

Along with many of the principal units of the Italian fleet—including Vittorio Veneto and Italia (the ex-
Littorio)[N 3]—the cruisers Eugenio di Savoia, Raimondo Montecuccoli, and Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta,
and eight destroyers—Roma sailed from La Spezia with Adone Del Cima as captain and also as the flagship of
Admiral Carlo Bergamini on 9 September 1943,
a day after the proclamation of the 1943 Italian
armistice. Joined by three additional cruisers
from Genoa, Duca degli Abruzzi, Giuseppe
Garibaldi, and Attilio Regolo, the fleet first
sailed towards Salerno in a deliberate diversion
to convince the Germans that they were going
to attack the Allied ships sailing to invade Italy
as part of Operation "Avalanche". However, the
Italian fleet was actually intending to break
course and steam towards the British island of
Malta to surrender. When Germany learned of
the defection, the Luftwaffe sent Dornier Do
217s armed with Fritz X radio-controlled bombs to attack the ships. These aircraft caught up with the force
when it was in the Strait of Bonifacio.[12][17][18]

The Do 217s trailed the fleet for some time, but the Italian fleet did not
open fire upon sighting them; they were trailing the fleet at such a
distance that it was impossible to identify them as Allied or Axis, and
Bergamini believed that they were the air cover promised to them by the
Allies. However, an attack upon Italia and Roma at 1537 spurred the
fleet into action, as the anti-aircraft batteries onboard opened fire and all
ships began evasive maneuvers. About fifteen minutes after this, Italia
was hit on the starboard side underneath her fore main turrets, while
Roma was hit on the same side somewhere between frames 100 and
A Fritz X radio-controlled bomb
108. This bomb passed through the ship and exploded beneath the keel,
damaging the hull girder and allowing water to flood the after engine
room and two boiler rooms. The flooding caused the inboard propellers to stop for want of power and started a
large amount of arcing, which itself caused many electrical fires in the aft half of the ship.[19]

Losing power and speed, Roma began to fall out of the battle group. Around 16:02, another Fritz X slammed
into the starboard side of Roma's deck, between frames 123 and 136. It most likely detonated in the forward
engine room, sparking flames, and causing heavy flooding in the magazines of main battery turret number two
and the fore port side secondary battery turret, and putting even more pressure upon the previously stressed hull
girder. Seconds after the initial blast, the number two 15 in turret was blown over the side by a massive
explosion, this time from the detonation of that turret's magazines.[19]

This caused additional catastrophic flooding in the bow, and the battleship began to go down by the bow while
listing more and more to starboard. The ship quickly capsized and broke in two. According to the official
inquest conducted after the sinking, the ship had a crew of 1,849 when she sailed; 596 survived with 1,253 men
going down with Roma.[20] According to naval historian Francesco Mattesini, who cites the research of Pier
Paolo Bergamini, the son of Admiral Bergamini, around two hundred men from Bergamini's staff were aboard
Roma, and were mistakenly not included in the official inquiry. These men increased the total number aboard to
2,021 and the total fatalities to 1,393.[21][22] In her 15-month service life, Roma made 20 sorties, mostly in
transfers between bases (none were to go into combat), covering 2,492 mi (4,010 km) and using 3,320 tonnes
(3,270 long tons; 3,660 short tons) of fuel oil in 133 hours of sailing.[23]

Wreck discovery
The sunken vessel was found in June 2012 by the underwater robot 'Pluto Palla', designed by Italian engineer
Guido Gay. It was discovered about 30 km (19 mi) off the northern coast of Sardinia at a depth of around
1,000 m (3,281 ft). On 10 September 2012 a memorial ceremony was held on an Italian frigate over the spot
where Roma went down. Giampaolo Di Paola, himself a former naval officer and at the time defence minister,
at the ceremony described the dead sailors as "unwitting heroes who found their place in history because they
carried out their duty right until the end".[24]

Notes
1. In Latin and Italian, the city's name is Roma. Italian pronunciation: [ˈroːma].
While nominally the battleship were named for the ships and the city , Wikimedia Commons has
Whitley claims that the name was also motivated by symbolism; when media related to Roma (ship,
together, the choice of "Roma" and "Impero" (Empire) for the new 1942).
battleships was meant to commemorate theKing of Italy's crowning as the
Emperor of Ethiopia in 1936 after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.[1]
2. Whitley states that Roma was completed with 28 20 mm guns and the other two were originally equipped with 16, but
Garzke & Dulin give 32 and 24.[5][6]
3. Littorio had been renamed on 25 July 1943 soon after thefall of Mussolini and the Fascist Party.[16]

Footnotes

1. Whitley, p. 171
2. Knox, p. 20
3. Garzke & Dulin, p. 404
4. Garzke & Dulin, pp. 418–419, 426, 428
5. Whitley, pp. 171–172
6. Garzke & Dulin, pp. 418–419
7. Garzke & Dulin, p. 435
8. Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 289
9. Gardiner & Chesneau, pp. 289–290
10. Bagnasco & de Toro, p. 48
11. Garzke & Dulin, pp. 392, 404
12. Whitley, p. 178
13. Rohwer, p. 212
14. Rohwer, p. 217
15. Garzke & Dulin, pp. 392, 403–404
16. Garzke & Dulin, p. 403
17. Garzke & Dulin, p. 405
18. Wade, p. 225
19. Garzke & Dulin, p. 407
20. Bagnasco & De Toro, pp. 273, 344
21. Mattesini, pp. 529–530
22. "Corazzata Roma: nel giorno del ricordo, la Marina commemora i marinai scomparsi in mare" (http://www.marina.difes
a.it/conosciamoci/notizie/Pagine/2014-09-09-Roma.aspx) . marina.difesa.it. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
23. Garzke & Dulin, p. 410
24. Squires, Nick (13 September 2012) "Massive Luftwaf fe plane wreck 'found off Sardinian coast'". The Telegraph.

References
Garzke, William H.; Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II.
Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-101-3. OCLC 12613723.
Haworth, R.B. "Search results for "6114073" (Roma)" (Click on link for ship data) . Miramar Ship Index.
New Zealand Ship & Marine Society (Inc). Retrieved 21 November 2009.
Knox, MacGregor (1982). Mussolini Unleashed, 1939-1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last
War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23917-6. OCLC 7775314.
Mattesini, Francesco (2002). La Marina e l'8 settembre. Roma: Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare.
OCLC 61487486.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two.
Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
 Whitley, M.J. (1998). Battleships of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis,
Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-184-X. OCLC 40834665.
Wade, Frank (2005) [1994]. A Midshipman's War: A Young Man in the Mediterranean Naval War 1941–
1943. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-7069-4. OCLC 64344050.

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Categories: Littorio-class battleships World War II battleships of Italy Battleships sunk by aircraft
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