Italian battleship Regina Margherita Regina Margherita was the lead ship of her class of pre - dreadnought battleship s built for the Italian " Regia Marina " between 1898 and 1904 . She had one sister ship , " Benedetto Brin " . " Regina Margherita " saw action in the Italo - Turkish War of 1911 – 1912 . By the outbreak of World War I in 1914 , the battleship had been reduced to a training ship . She struck two naval mine s on the night of 11 – 12 December 1916 while steaming off Valona . She sank with heavy loss of life : 675 men were killed , and only 270 survived . Design . " Regina Margherita " was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at full combat load . Her propulsion system consisted of two triple expansion engines . Steam for the engines was provided by twenty - eight coal - fired Niclausse boiler s . The ship ' s propulsion system provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . " Regina Margherita " had a crew of 812 officers and enlisted men . As built , the ship was armed with four 40 - caliber guns placed in two twin gun turret s , one forward and one aft . The ship was also equipped with four 40 - cal . guns in casemate s in the superstructure , and twelve 40 - cal . guns , also in casemates in the side of the hull . Close - range defense against torpedo boats was provided by a battery of twenty 40 - cal . guns . The ship also carried a pair of guns , two guns , and two Maxim gun s . " Regina Margherita " was also equipped with four torpedo tube s placed in the hull below the waterline . " Regina Margherita " was protected with Harvey steel manufactured in Terni . The main belt was thick , and the deck was thick . The conning tower and the casemate guns were also protected by 6 in of armor plating . The main battery guns had stronger armor protection , at thick . Service . " Regina Margherita " laid down at the La Spezia shipyard on 20 November 1898 . She was launched on 30 May 1901 in the presence of King Victor Emmanuel , and completed three years later ; she was commissioned into the Italian fleet on 14 April 1904 . Work progressed slowly on the ship in large part due to non - delivery of material , particularly the heavy armor . In July , the ship conducted her speed trials in the Gulf of Genoa . Following her completion , she was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron . The ships in the squadron were typically only on active duty for seven months of the year for training ; the rest of the year they were placed in reserve . In 1907 , the Mediterranean Squadron consisted of " Regina Margherita " , her sister " Benedetto Brin " , and three of the s . The ships participated in the annual maneuvers in late September and early October as the flagship of Vice Admiral Alfonso di Brocchetti . On 29 September 1911 , Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire in order to seize Libya . During the Italo - Turkish War " Regina Mergherita " was assigned to the 1st Division of the 2nd Squadron , along with her sister and the two s . She joined the squadron on 5 October , a week after the war started . On 13 April 1912 , " Regina Margherita " and the rest of the Squadron sailed from Tobruk to the Aegean Sea to rendezvous with the 1st Squadron . The two squadrons met off Stampalia on 17 April . The next day , the fleet steamed into the northern Aegean and cut several Turkish submarine cables . Most of the ships of the Italian fleet then bombarded the fortresses protecting the Dardanelles in an unsuccessful attempt to lure out the Turkish fleet . While they were doing this , " Regina Margherita " , " Benedetto Brin " , and two torpedo boat s were detached to cut additional cables between Rhodes and Marmaris . On 18 May , " Regina Margherita " bombarded Marmaris . While debarking troops on the island of Scarpanto in the Aegean , the ship ' s anchor chain accidentally slipped loose and killed the ship ' s executive officer , Captain Proli ; five other men were injured in the accident . In July , " Regina Margherita " and the rest of the Division had withdrawn to Italy to replace worn - out gun barrels , along with other repairs . In 1912 , the ship had four 3 - inch guns added , increasing her battery from 20 to 24 pieces . Italy declared neutrality after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , but by July 1915 , the Triple Entente had convinced the Italians to enter the war against the Central Powers . The primary naval opponent for the duration of the war was the Austro - Hungarian Navy ; the Naval Chief of Staff , Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel , planned a distant blockade with the battle fleet , while smaller vessels , such as the MAS boats conducted raids . The heavy ships of the Italian fleet would be preserved for a potential major battle in the Austro - Hungarian fleet should emerge from its bases . By this time , " Regina Margherita " was long - since obsolescent , and was reduced to a training ship in the 3rd Division , along with her sister ship . On the night of 11 – 12 December 1916 , while sailing from the port of Valona in heavy sea conditions , she struck two mines laid by the German submarine and blew up . There were 270 survivors and 675 men perished . The ship ' s loss was not announced until January 1917 . Lieutenant General Oreste Bandini , the commander of the Italian Albania Expeditionary Corps , was on the ship and was among those who were killed in the sinking .