Francesco Caracciolo - class battleship The " Francesco Caracciolo " - class battleship s were designed for the Italian " Regia Marina " in 1912 – 1913 and ordered in 1914 ; the first ship of the class , " Francesco Caracciolo " , was laid down that year . The other three ships , " Cristoforo Columbo " , " Marcantonio Colonna " , and " Francesco Morosini " were all laid down in 1915 . Armed with a main battery of eight guns and possessing a top speed of , the four ships of the class were intended to be the equivalent of the British . They were never completed , however , due to material shortages and shifting construction priorities after the outbreak of World War I in 1914 . Only the lead ship was launched , and several proposals to convert her into an aircraft carrier were considered , but budgetary problems prevented any work being done . She was sold to an Italian shipping firm for conversion into a merchant ship . This too proved to be too expensive , and so she was broken up for scrap . Design . In 1913 , Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel became the Chief of Staff of the " Regia Marina " ( Royal Navy ) . He secured authorization for a huge new construction program , which called for four new battleships , three cruisers , and numerous other warships . The " Francesco Caracciolo " class was the first type of super - dreadnought battleship designed by the " Regia Marina " . They were intended to match the new fast battleship s being built in foreign navies , such as the British . Rear Admiral Edgardo Ferrati was responsible for preparing the designs . He originally called for a ship armed with twelve guns and twenty secondary guns , but by the time he had finalized the design , he had reduced the main battery to eight guns and the secondary battery to twelve guns . Characteristics . The " Francesco Caracciolo " class was long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of and a draft of . They would have displaced at normal loading and up to at full combat load . They were to be equipped with two tripod masts . The ships would have been powered by four Parsons steam turbines , with steam provided by twenty oil - fired Yarrow boilers . The boilers were trunked into two large funnels . The engines were rated at , which provided a top speed of . At a more economical speed of , the ships could have cruised for . Armament . " Francesco Caracciolo " and her sisters were to be armed with a main battery of eight 381 mm 40 - caliber guns in four twin gun turret s , all mounted on the centerline in superfiring pairs fore and aft . They had a secondary battery of twelve 152 mm 45 - caliber guns mounted in casemate s clustered amidships . These were supplemented by eight 45 - caliber guns . Anti - aircraft defense was to be provided by twelve autocannon . As was typical for capital ship s of the period , the ships of the " Francesco Caracciolo " class were to be armed with eight torpedo tube s , either or in diameter . Armor for the class consisted of Krupp cemented steel manufactured by Terni . The main belt armor was thick ; horizontal protection consisted of a thick deck . The main conning tower had thick sides . The same level of protection was applied to the main battery turrets , while the secondary guns had of armor protection . Construction . " Francesco Caracciolo " was laid down at the Castellammare shipyard on 16 October 1914 . " Marcantonio Colonna " was laid down on 3 March 1915 at the Odero Shipyard in Sestri Ponente . " Cristoforo Columbo " followed on eleven days later on the 14th , at the Ansaldo shipyard in Genoa . The last member of the class , " Francesco Morosini " , was laid down at the Orlando Shipyard in Livorno on 27 June 1915 . " Francesco Caracciolo " was the only member of the class to be launched , on 12 May 1920 . Shortages of steel slowed the construction of the ships , and after Italy entered World War I , other classes of warships , particularly destroyer s , submarine s , and other light craft were needed to combat the Central Powers . As a result , work on the ships was suspended in March 1916 . Around of steel had been built into the hull for " Francesco Caracciolo " when work stopped . " Cristoforo Columbo " was the next furthest along ship , with 12 . 5 percent of the hull completed and 5 percent of the machinery assembled . Work on the last two ships had not progressed significantly by the time work on them halted . Two of the heavy guns intended for " Cristoforo Colombo " were installed aboard the monitor . The monitor received a pair of 381 mm guns from " Francesco Morosini " , and the two and four s were also equipped with spare 381 mm guns . Another pair of guns was installed in Venice as " Batteria Amalfi " to protect the harbor . Work resumed on " Francesco Caracciolo " in October 1919 , but she was not to be completed . That year , the " Regia Marina " considered converting " Francesco Caracciolo " into a flush - deck aircraft carrier similar to the British . The poor economic situation in Italy in the aftermath of World War I , and the heavy expenses of the Italian pacification campaigns in Libya , forced severe reductions in the naval budget . As a result , a modern carrier conversion could not be completed . Ansaldo proposed converting " Franceso Caracciolo " into a floatplane carrier , a cheaper alternative . It was nevertheless still too expensive for the " Regia Marina " . In addition to the budgetary problems , the senior Italian navy commanders could not agree on the shape of the post - war " Regia Marina " . One faction advocated a traditional surface battle fleet , while a second believed a fleet composed of aircraft carriers , torpedo boat s , and submarines would be ideal . A third faction , led by Admiral Sechi , argued that a balanced fleet with a core of battleships and carriers was the most flexible option . In order to secure budgetary space for new construction , Sechi drastically reduced the number of older ships in service ; he also cancelled the battleships of the " Francesco Caracciolo " class . " Francesco Caracciolo " was sold on 25 October 1920 to the " Navigazione Generale Italiana " shipping company . The firm planned to convert her into a merchant ship , but the work was deemed too expensive , and so she was temporarily mothballed in Baia Bay outside Naples . By this time , the " Regia Marina " had returned to the idea of converting the ship into an aircraft carrier . In the on - going negotiations Washington Naval Conference , the proposed tonnage limits for the " Regia Marina " was to be , which was now to include a converted " Francesco Caracciolo " and two new , purpose - built ships . A new conversion design for " Francesco Caracciolo " was prepared , with an island superstructure , but Italy ' s chronic budgetary problems prevented the navy from building any of these ships . " Francesco Caracciolo " was subsequently broken up for scrap , starting in the fall of 1926 . The other three ships had also been dismantled shortly after the end of the war .