15 happened January 1913: Dante Alighieri enters service

15/01/14

The battleship Dante Alighieri, under the command of the vessel captain Silvio Belleni, entered service in Naples after a long period of preparation, tests and trials lasting three years. Built in the yard of Castellammare di Stabia with setting on the airport the 6 June 1909 was launched the 20 August of the 1910.

Elaboration of an initial project of the armored monocultures of Bettòlo and Cuniberti (later resumed by the Royal Navy for the Drednought plans) by the lieutenant general of the Navy Engineer Edoardo Masdea, in order to reconcile the basic characteristics (high speed and extended protection) he encountered a lot of difficulties in the calculation and editing phase.

Despite the aforementioned difficulties, the project was harmonious in its general lines, well summarizing the basic operational values; In a ship of well 170 m in length, General Masdea managed to place four 305 mm truncated towers along the ship's center, connected by an extended protection of effective thickness contained within a little more than 20% of the weight. orgni vital with a suitable system of vertical and horizontal armor.

Despite being the first experience of the Italian Navy in the construction of "dreadnoughts", the battleship Dante Alighieri could be considered successful. Its short period of service, 15 years, was due essentially to the conviction of the Navy staff that the unit in the 1928 was now superseded by similar and more technologically advanced foreign units and by the emergence of new and advanced means of struggle: the aircraft as an effective offensive antinave means, the submarine and the underwater explosive devices.

Source: Military Navy