page_title: Regina Elena-class battleship
section_title: Armament and armor
hierarchical_section_title: Regina Elena-class battleship / Design / Armament and armor
context_page_description: The Regina Elena class was a group of four pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1901 and 1908. The class comprised four ships: Regina Elena, the lead ship, Vittorio Emanuele, Roma, and Napoli. Designed by Vittorio Cuniberti, they were armed with a main battery of two 12-inch guns and twelve 8 in guns, and were capable of a top speed of 22 knots. They were the fastest battleships in the world at the time of their commissioning, faster even than the British turbine-powered HMS Dreadnought.
  The ships saw service during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 with the Ottoman Empire. They frequently supported Italian ground forces during the campaigns in North Africa and the islands of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. They served during World War I, in which Italy participated from 1915 to 1918, but they saw no combat as a result of the cautious policies adopted by the Italian and Austro-Hungarian navies. All four ships were discarded between 1923 and 1926 and broken up for scrap.
context_section_description: The Regina Elenas were armed with two 12 in (305 mm) 40-caliber guns placed in two single gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The turrets were placed well clear of the superstructure, giving them a wide arc of fire, close to 300 degrees of rotation. Electric power was used for training and elevation of the turrets and ammunition handling. The lighter main battery, compared to other pre-dreadnought type battleships that typically carried twice as many heavy guns, was criticized by some observers, but Dr. Philip Alger writing in Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute noted that "it should be borne in mind that a pair of guns in a turret do not make twice as good shooting as a single gun," and that given the limited displacement of the design, it "was the wisest choice that could be made." Fire control for the guns was provided by Barr and Stroud rangefinders mounted on the conning tower. The ammunition magazines were fitted with refrigeration systems to minimize the risk of accidental explosions.
  The ships were also equipped with twelve 8 in (203 mm) 45-cal. guns in six twin turrets amidships, which also used electrical operation. The central turrets were placed a deck higher than the others to permit them firing directly ahead and astern. Close-range defense against torpedo boats was provided by a battery of sixteen 3 in (76 mm) 40-cal. guns, though Roma and Napoli both had an additional eight guns of this caliber. All four ships were also equipped with two 17.7 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes placed in the hull below the waterline.
  The ships were protected with Krupp cemented steel manufactured in Terni. The main belt was 9.8 in (249 mm) thick amidships, reduced to 6 in (152 mm) abreast of the main battery turrets, and 4 in (102 mm) thick at the bow and stern. The deck was 1.5 in (38 mm) thick. The conning tower was protected by 10 in (254 mm) of armor plating. The main battery guns had 8 in (203 mm) thick plating, and the 8-inch gun turrets had 6 in thick sides.
caption: Vittorio Emanuele's forward gun turret
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