class ironclad class pair ironclad warships built italian regia marina royal_navy 1870s 1880s culmination major naval construction program designed italy powerful fleet ironclads ships italian ironclads feature sailing wooden hulls armed battery inch guns capable speed excess knots mph ships uneventful careers spending italy colonial empire late 1880s withdrawn service employed secondary roles headquarters ships harbor defenses converted depot ship discarded training ship scrapped design italian government prime minister naval minister decision build fleet ironclad warships italian fleet acquired pair small french built armored frigates class vessels class ordered united_states ironclads ordered foreign shipyards wooden steam frigates construction converted armored ships ironclads ordered italian shipyards class ships generation italian ironclads design prepared inspector initially planned entirely wooden hulls ships changed composite wood iron construction time ships laid general characteristics machinery ships differed slightly size meters long perpendiculars long beam draft beam measured draft ships displaced metric tons long tons short tons normally displaced long tons short tons load reached long tons short tons crew officers men ships propulsion system consisted single expansion steam engine drove single screw propeller steam supplied coal fired cylindrical fire tube boilers boilers single funnel lead ship engine produced speed knots mph indicated horsepower mph horsepower steam nautical miles speed knots mph ships barque rigged supplement steam engine sister rigged ironclad built italy ships sail area square feet armament armor armed main battery guns mounted differently ship carried single armored located amidships guns mounted armored casemates located forward bow second placed close stern ship ships carried gun mounted forward bow later career received secondary battery guns machine guns torpedo tubes ships protected iron belt armor thick extended entire length hull casemates protected iron plating small conning tower thick iron plates ships service history ship particularly career completed late final stages wars italian unification instead assigned italian colonial empire occasional main italian fleet took naval demonstration attempt force ottoman_empire comply terms treaty berlin turn town montenegro following year involved collision ironclad hurricane ship damaged late 1880s ships withdrawn service employed headquarters ships defense taranto stricken naval register ammunition depot ship taranto sold scrap employed training ship stricken register broken
Principe Amedeo-class ironclad