700-54 AMMIRAGLIO DI SAINT BON 1901

Ammiraglio di Saint Bon was an Italian battleship (the so-called pre-dreadnought) from the beginning of the 20th century and the period of World War I. The keel for this unit was laid in 1893, the launch took place in 1897, and the entry into service took place in 1901. The total length of the ship was 111.8 meters and a width of 21.12 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 10,500 tons and maximum speed to approx. 18-18.5 knots. The ship's deck armament included: four 254 mm cannons, 8 152 mm cannons and 8 112 mm cannons. Ammiraglio di Saint Bon was the leading unit of the class of ships of the same name, which in total consisted of two battleships. The ships were created, on the one hand, to complement the Re Umberto-class ships in the line, and on the other hand, as a result of the Italian navy's hesitations in the direction of the development of line ships that would operate in the Mediterranean basin. These elements were joined by political pressure to create units with lower unit costs than their predecessors for financial reasons. Finally, two units of the Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class were created, which, however, for battleships had very poor armament, and did not compensate for this with extraordinary speed or maneuverability. Generally, it is quite commonly accepted that these units were rather unsuccessful and not very valuable in combat. The battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon took part in the Italian-Turkish war of 1911-1912, supporting, among others, Italian operations on the island of Rhodes. The unit also took a small part in World War I, and from 1916 it served primarily as a training unit. In 1920, the ship was sold for scrap.