700-23 RN DANTE ALIGHIERI (1913) ITALY NAVY BATTLESHIP

Dante Alighieri was an Italian battleship (the so-called dreadnought) from the First World War and the interwar period. The keel for the vessel was laid in 1909, and its launch took place in 1910. Entry into service in the Regia Marina took place in the same year. The length of the ship was 168.1 meters and a width of 26.6 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 21,600 tons, and the maximum speed - at the time of launching - to approx. 21-22 knots. The deck armament, at the time of the launch, consisted of, among others: 12 305 mm guns, 12 120 mm guns or 13 76.2 mm guns. Dante Allighieri was the first - according to the year of the keel laying - a dreadnought in the history of Regia Marine, and its designer was vice admiral engineer Edoardo Masdea. The ships used the ideas of another Italian officer and engineer - Vittorio Cuniberti, who called for the use of main artillery on the new battleship, consisting of guns of one, possibly large caliber, positioned so that they could simultaneously fire a broadside salvo. He also proposed to limit the ship's superstructures to a minimum. Dante Allighieri, shortly after entering service, served as the flagship of the Italian Navy. However, he took a very limited part in World War I, and spent the lion's share of it in the port. He took part in action against the Austro-Hungarian fleet in 1918. Exactly ten years later, Dante Allighieri was removed from the fleet list.