battleship class pair pre dreadnought battleships built italian 1890s class comprised ships lead ship armed main battery inch millimetre guns capable speed knots mph smaller armed contemporary battleships marked brief departure italian battleship design previous emphasized large ships equipped large guns ships served active duty squadron early careers participated took italian north_africa island rhodes combat ottoman fleet reduced harbor defense ships outbreak world war spent war venice ships discarded shortly end war having stricken design previous italian capital ships classes ironclad battleships marked period experimentation admiral italian navy planners determined type battleship best suit strategic needs government stepped mandated long ton design smaller earlier classes following death took design process proposed small battleship armed guns weaker main battery contemporary foreign designs ships smaller contemporaries slower cruisers particularly useful warships mistake building battleship tons repeated subsequent successful class general characteristics machinery ships class meters long waterline long overall beam maximum draft displaced metric tons long tons short tons standard loading long tons short tons combat load displaced long tons short tons long tons short tons respectively ships low crew officers enlisted men slightly larger complement ships propulsion system consisted triple expansion engines rated indicated horsepower engines reached ihp steam engines provided coal fired cylindrical water tube boilers ships propulsion system provided speed knots mph range approximately nautical miles knots mph armament armor ships armed caliber guns manufactured guns placed twin gun turrets forward aft ships equipped guns individual casemates amidships guns export derivatives british inch gun equipped guns shielded pivot mounts directly battery guns guns carried guns guns instead ships carried torpedo tubes deck mounted launchers ships protected harvey steel main belt thick deck thick conning tower protected armor plating main battery guns thick plating casemates thick ships class service built laid july launched april completed commissioned february named prince duke built naples laid october launched september completed april commissioned september ships spend years active duty squadron replaced new regina class battleships entered service ships took italo turkish war 3rd division regina class battleships took attack tripoli october action months war ships participated seizure island rhodes provided gunfire support soldiers ashore ships slated scrapped age outbreak world war august prevented disposal italy initially remained neutral war convinced triple enter war germany austria-hungary harbor defense ships venice duration war action ship remained service long end war stricken naval register march stricken june ships subsequently discarded
Ammiraglio di Saint Bon-class battleship