N07-160-398 ITALIAN BATTLESHIP CAIO DUILIO 1941

Caio Duilio is an Italian battleship, the keel of which was laid in 1912, launched in April 1913, and commissioned in 1915. The total length of the ship was 186.9 meters and a width of 28 meters. Full displacement slightly exceeded to about 28,000 tons, and the maximum speed was around 26-27 knots. The on-board armament, after the modernization of the 1930s, included, among others: 10 320 mm guns, 12 135 mm guns, 10 90 mm anti-aircraft guns or 19 AA guns. cal. 37 mm. Caio Duilio was one of two battleships of the Andrea Doria class. Units of this type were built based on the design of Conde Di Cavour units, and the main differences between the two classes were the medium artillery used, slightly different shape of superstructures and slightly changed armor. The unit was built, like other Italian ships of that time, to operate primarily in the Mediterranean Sea, with particular emphasis on the Adriatic Sea. Caio Duilio served in this area throughout the Great War, but did not take part in major sea battles. Until the mid-1930s, the ship was not modernized or thoroughly repaired. It was only in 1937 that the unit underwent a thorough modernization, as a result of which the configuration of the weapons, the shape and structure of the superstructures were completely changed, and the propulsion system was properly built and configured from the beginning. There was also a significant interference with the armor. You can risk saying that an almost completely new ship has been built! Caio Duilio was stationed in Taranto on the night of November 11-12, 1940, when the British launched their attack on the base. As a result, the ship was hit by a torpedo, and the damage was repaired by April 1941. In May of this course, the battleship returned to the line. In December 1941, he took part in the so-called And the sea battle at Sirte. In January 1942, he was still protecting convoys headed to Libya. As a result of the lack of fuel, Caio Duilio in 1942 and the first half of 1943 did not take any action, and after the ceasefire in 1943, he surrendered to the Allies. After 1945, the battleship remained in the Italian fleet as a training ship until 1956, when it was withdrawn from the line.