Atilius Regulus, Gaius Marius, Claudius Drusus, Claudius Tiberius, Cornelius Sulla, Julius Germanicus, Octavian Augustus, Paulus Aemilius, Pompey the Great, Scipio Africanus, Ulpius Trajan, Vipsanius Agrippa.
Of the twelve planned units, only three entered service, taking part in the Second World War: theAttilius Regulus, lo Scipione Africano and the Pompeo MagnoThe others were never completed.
They were laid down in 1939 to counter the destroyers of the Mogador e capricious of the French Navy, with the requirement that they could reach a speed of 41 knots (these classes of French destroyers could reach 40 knots). For this purpose, a propulsion system with a power of over 100.000 hp. was installed, which allowed them to meet this requirement.
The main armament consisted of eight 8/135 mm guns in twin turrets with 45° elevation, a range of 45 km, a rate of fire of 19,6 shots per minute, capable of very accurate shots, but still lacking a satisfactory anti-aircraft capability.
Other weapons included 8 torpedo tubes, 8 37/54 mm machine guns and 20 65/XNUMX mm guns. Their design was questionable: built as a response to a threat that no longer existed. The anti-aircraft armament was good by Italian standards, but not up to the level of their Allied counterparts. The poor autonomy, a typical defect of Italian ships, did not help them either for the defense of the naval squadron, or for independent and offensive actions. The lack of protective armor also made them vulnerable to fire from even light units, such as enemy destroyers, even if the better heavy armament should have allowed them to destroy them.
THEUlpius Trajan was sunk in the port of Palermo on January 3, 1943, while it was in the early stages of fitting out. The cruiser was the victim of a British raid: assault ships penetrated the port and managed to place a powerful explosive charge under the hull, which exploded and broke the ship in two (pictured, after its recovery in 1948).
At the armistice, the Caius Marius,Ottaviano Augusto, Cornelius Sulla, under construction on the docks, and the Julius Germanicus, in an advanced stage of preparation, were captured by the Germans. The'Octavian Augustus and the Cornelius Sulla, were sunk in an air raid on 1 November 1943 and in July 1944 respectively. In January 1943 the Caius Marius had only the hull completed to be used as a depot ship. Requisitioned by the Germans, it was scuttled in 1944, in the port of La Spezia.
1) Attilio Regolo, built in the OTO shipyard in Livorno. Entered into service on 14 May 1942, on the following 7 November, while returning from a mine-laying mission, it was hit by a torpedo from the English submarine Unruffled which completely removed its bow (photo). After managing to reach Messina it was towed to La Spezia, where the bow of the Caius Marius still under construction.
Returning to service on 3 September 1943, five days later, following the armistice events, he set sail with the rest of the squadron to head for Malta and was among the ships that during the transfer recovered the shipwrecked men of the battleship. Rome after the tragic sinking, transporting the shipwrecked to the Balearics, where, having lost contact with the naval formation, it was interned with the entire crew.
After the war, according to the clauses of the peace treaty, it was among the units that Italy had to give up as reparations for war damages. On 27 July 1948 it was then given to France together with its twin Scipione AfricanoThe two units constituted the Marine Nationale class “Chateaurenault” and were rearmed with ex-German 105 mm guns, the same ones that constituted the anti-aircraft armament of the German cruisers of the “Hipper”.
THEAttilio Regolo was renamed Chateaurenault and reclassified as a destroyer, she was assigned the serial number D 606. Laid up on 1 January 1962, she was converted into a training ship.
2) Pompeo Magno, was one of the few units of this class to enter active service in the Royal Navy before the armistice.
Its construction took place at the Cantieri Navali Riuniti in Ancona, where its hull was laid down on 3 September 1939.
Assigned to the Taranto base, it carried out some mine-laying missions and at the armistice it headed for Malta. After the war it was among the units that, according to the clauses of the peace treaty, were left to Italy.
In 1950, she was laid up for reconstruction as a destroyer and, renamed St. George, at the end of the works in 1955, returned to service in the Italian Navy, forming with its twin Saint Mark the class “Saint George".
Subjected to further modification work from 1963 to 1965, the St. George It was transformed into a training ship for students of the Naval Academy of Livorno, serving until 1980, when it was decommissioned.
3) Scipione Africano, entered service in March 1943, carrying out exercises on the high seas.
During a transfer from Taranto to Naples, in the Strait of Messina, on the night of 16 July 1943, she engaged in a clash with four English motor torpedo boats, sinking MTB-316 and seriously damaging another.
After the invasion of Sicily the Scipio had the task of sowing mines in the Adriatic Sea. At the armistice of 8 September 1943 it was made to leave the port of Taranto in the direction of Trieste. During the voyage it was revealed to the crew that the cruiser was sailing to carry out a very dangerous mission. Off the coast of Pescara the unit went to meet the corvette Bayonet which carried King Victor Emmanuel III and his court, fleeing from Rome.
After this mission under the autonomous Italian command, the Scipio he returned to Brindisi.
The cruiser later came under Allied command and its main mission was to transport troops across the Mediterranean, especially on the Taranto-Malta-Alexandria route.
In the post-war period, according to the peace treaty, the Scipione Africano It was among the units that Italy had to make available as reparations for war damages and on 9 August 1948, it was handed over to France together with the RegulusThe unit was renamed Guichen and reclassified as a destroyer, she was assigned the serial number D 607. Laid up on 1961 April 1976, she was decommissioned in June 1979 and scrapped in XNUMX.
4) Julius Germanicus, the ship, on 8 September 1943, was practically ready in Castellammare di Stabia, with the crew already on board and Lieutenant Commander Domenico Baffigo in command (assumed in April 1941), assisting in the launching, which took place on 26 July of the same year and taking care of all the stages of the fitting out.
The events following the armistice were particularly tragic for the Julius Germanicus. The former German allies, having learned the news of the armistice, reacted immediately by implementing Operation 'Achse', or the military occupation of the entire Italian peninsula. Upon arrival at Castellammare di Stabia, the German forces attempted to occupy the port and the shipyard, where other units in an advanced state of construction were located and constituted precious booty. Domenico Baffigo took over the defense of the shipyard, and the sailors and carabinieri who rushed to defend the port facilities repelled all the attacks.
After three days of furious fighting, the commander of the Germanic he was invited for a negotiation, but was instead captured and shot by the occupiers in Naples on September 11. The unit fell into German hands who scuttled it inside the port of Castellammare di Stabia, on September 28, 1943, when they were forced to abandon the city.
Commander Domenico Baffigo, whose body was never found, was awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor posthumously.
In the post-war period the Julius Germanicus It was recovered from the Castellammare di Stabia shipyards and, starting in 1950, was rebuilt as a destroyer.
At the end of the reconstruction it was renamed Saint Mark (photo), entering service in the Italian Navy at the beginning of 1956 with the serial number D 563. The Saint Mark was decommissioned in 1971.
With a top speed of 39 knots, the Saint Mark and the St. George They were among the fastest ships of the Italian Navy, thanks to a 110.000 HP propulsion system, over 50% more powerful than that of the missile cruisers. Vittorio Veneto, Andrea Doria e Caio Duilio.
Photo: Royal Navy / Navy / US Navy / web
