Ammiraglio di Saint Bon - class battleship The " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " - class was a pair of pre - dreadnought battleship s built for the Italian Navy ( ) during the 1890s . The class comprised two ships : " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " , the lead ship , and " Emanuele Filiberto " . They were armed with a main battery of four guns and were capable of a top speed of . Smaller and less powerfully - armed than most contemporary battleships , they marked a brief departure from Italian battleship design , which had previous emphasized large ships equipped with large guns . Both ships served in the active duty squadron early in their careers , and participated in the Italo - Turkish War of 1911 – 12 . They took part in the Italian offensives in North Africa and the island of Rhodes , but did not see combat with the Ottoman fleet . They were reduced to harbor defense ships by the outbreak of World War I , and they spent the war in Venice . The ships were discarded shortly after the end of the war , both having been stricken in 1920 . Design . The previous Italian battleships , the and the es , marked a period of experimentation on the part of Benedetto Brin , Admiral Simone di Pacoret Saint Bon , and the strategists of the Italian navy . Since the planners had not determined what type of battleship would best suit their strategic needs , the government stepped in and mandated a design smaller than the earlier classes . Following the death of di Saint Bon , Brin took over the design process and proposed a small battleship armed with guns , a weaker main battery than those of contemporary foreign designs . The ships , much smaller than their contemporaries , and slower than cruiser s , were not particularly useful warships . The mistake of building a battleship of only 10 , 000 tons was not repeated in the subsequent , and much more successful , . General characteristics and machinery . The ships of the " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " class were long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of and a maximum draft of . " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " displaced at standard loading and at full combat load , while " Emanuele Filiberto " displaced and , respectively . The ships had a low freeboard of only . " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " had a crew of 557 officers and enlisted men , while " Emanuele Filiberto " had a slightly larger complement of 565 . The ships ' propulsion system consisted of two triple expansion engines ; " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " s were rated at , while " Emanuele Filiberto " s engines only reached . Steam for the engines was provided by twelve coal - fired cylindrical water - tube boilers . The ships ' propulsion system provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . Armament and armor . The ships were armed with four 40 - caliber guns manufactured by Armstrong Whitworth . The guns were placed in two twin gun turret s , one forward and one aft . The ships were also equipped with eight 40 - cal . guns in individual casemate s amidships . These guns were export derivatives of the British QF 6 - inch / 40 gun . " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " was also equipped with eight 40 - cal . guns in shielded pivot mounts directly above the casemate battery and eight guns and two guns . " Emanuele Filiberto " carried six guns and eight guns instead . Both ships also carried four torpedo tube s in deck - mounted launchers . The ships were protected with Harvey steel . The main belt was thick , and the deck was thick . The conning tower was protected by 9 . 8 in of armor plating . The main battery guns had 9 . 8 in thick plating , and the casemates were thick . Service . was built by the Venice Naval Shipyard . She was laid down on 18 July 1893 , launched on 29 April 1897 , and completed on 24 May 1901 , although she had been commissioned on 1 February 1901 . was named after Prince Emanuele Filiberto , Duke of Aosta . She was built by the Castellammare Naval Shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia , Naples . She was laid down on 5 October 1893 , launched on 29 September 1897 , and completed on 16 April 1902 , although she had been commissioned on 6 September 1901 . The ships spend the first several years in the active duty squadron until they were replaced by the new s , which entered service by 1908 . Both ships took part in the Italo - Turkish War in 1911 – 1912 in the 3rd Division with the two s . " Emanuele Filiberto " took part in the attack on Tripoli in October 1911 , though " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " did not see action in the first months of the war . Both ships participated in the seizure of the island of Rhodes , where " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " provided gunfire support to the soldiers ashore . The two ships were slated to be scrapped in 1914 – 15 due to their age , but the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 prevented their disposal . Italy initially remained neutral during the war , but by 1915 , had been convinced by the Triple Entente to enter the war against Germany and Austria - Hungary . Both " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " and " Emanuele Filiberto " were used as harbor defense ships in Venice for the duration of the war , and did not see action there . Neither ship remained in service long after the end of the war . " Emanuele Filiberto " was stricken from the naval register on 29 March 1920 and " Ammiraglio di Saint Bon " was stricken on 18 June . Both ships were subsequently discarded .