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| Regia Marina (RM) | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of theRegia Marina | |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Type | Navy |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Chief of Staff of the Navy |
| Notable commanders | |
| Insignia | |
| Naval Ensign | _crowned.svg) |
| Naval Jack | .svg) |
TheRegia Marina (Italian for 'Royal Navy',pronounced[ˈrɛːdʒamaˈriːna]) (RM) orRoyal Italian Navy was anavy of theKingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with thebirth of the Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana), theRegia Marina changed its name toMarina Militare ("Military Navy").[1][2][3]
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TheRegia Marina was established on 17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of theKingdom of Italy. Just as the Kingdom was a unification of various states in theItalian peninsula, so theRegia Marina was formed from the navies of those states, though the main constituents were thenavies of the former kingdoms ofSardinia andNaples. The new Navy inherited a substantial number of ships, both sail- and steam-powered, and the long naval traditions of its constituents, especially those of Sardinia and Naples, but also suffered from some major handicaps.
Firstly, it suffered from a lack of uniformity and cohesion; theRegia Marina was a heterogeneous mix of equipment, standards and practice, and even saw hostility between the officers from the various former navies. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools atGenoa andNaples, and were not fully addressed until the opening of a unifiedNaval Academy atLivorno in 1881.
Secondly,unification occurred during a period of rapid advances in naval technology and tactics, as typified by the launch ofGloire byFrance in 1858, and later by the appearance of, and battle between,USS Monitor andCSS Virginia in 1862. These innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. Italy did not possess the shipyards or infrastructure to build the modern ships required, but the then Minister for the Navy, AdmiralCarlo di Persano, launched a substantial programme to purchase warships from foreign yards.
The new navy's baptism of fire came on 20 July 1866 at theBattle of Lissa during theThird Italian War of Independence (parallel to theSeven Weeks War). The battle was fought against theAustrian Empire and occurred near the island ofVis in theAdriatic Sea. That was one of the few fleet actions of the 19th century and as a major sea battle that involvedramming, it is often considered to have had a profound effect on subsequent warship design and tactics.
The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano, mustered 12ironclad and 17 wooden-hulled ships, though only one,Affondatore, was of the most modernturret ship design. Despite a marked disadvantage in numbers and equipment, superior handling by the Austrians under AdmiralWilhelm von Tegetthoff resulted in a severe defeat for Italy, which lost two armoured ships and 640 men.
After the war, theRegia Marina passed through some difficult years as the naval budget was substantially reduced, thus impairing the fleet's efficiency and the pace of new construction; only in the 1870s, underSimone Pacoret de Saint Bon's ministry, did the situation begin to improve. In 1881, the battleshipDuilio was commissioned, followed in 1882 by the battleshipEnrico Dandolo; at the time these were the most powerful warships in the world, and signalled the Italian fleet's renewed power. In 1896 the corvetteMagenta completed a circumnavigation of the world. The following year theRegia Marina conducted experiments withGuglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications. 1909 saw the first use of aircraft with the fleet. An Italian naval officer,Vittorio Cuniberti, was the first in 1903 to envision in a published article the all-big gun battleship design, which would be later come to be known asdreadnought.
In 1911 and 1912, theRegia Marina was involved in theItalo-Turkish War against forces of theOttoman Empire. As the majority of theOttoman Navy stayed behind the relative safety of theDardanelles, the Italians dominated the Mediterranean during the conflict winning victories against Ottoman light units at the battles ofPreveza andBeirut. In the Red Sea the Italian forces were vastly superior to those of the Ottomans who possessed only a squadron of gunboats there. These were destroyed while attempting to withdraw into the Mediterranean at theBattle of Kunfuda Bay.
Before 1914, the Kingdom of Italy built sixdreadnought battleships: (Dante Alighieri as a prototype;Giulio Cesare,Conte di Cavour andLeonardo da Vinci of theConte di Cavour class; andAndrea Doria andDuilio of theAndrea Doria class), but they did not participate in any major naval actions inWorld War I.
During the war, theRegia Marina spent its minor efforts in theAdriatic Sea, opposing theAustro-Hungarian Navy. The resultingAdriatic Campaign of World War I consisted mainly of Austro-Hungarian coastal bombardments of Italy's Adriatic coast, and wider-ranging German/Austro-Hungarian submarine warfare into the Mediterranean. Allied forces mainly limited themselves to blockading the Austro-Hungarian navy inside the Adriatic, which was successful with regards to surface units, but failed for the submarines, which found safe harbours and easy passage into and out of the area for the whole of the war. Considered a relatively minor part of thenaval warfare of World War I, it nonetheless tied down significant forces.
In December 1915, and January 1916, when the Serbian army was driven by the German forces under General von Mackensen toward the Albanian coast, 138,000 Serbian infantry and 11,000 refugees were ferried across the Adriatic and landed in Italy in 87 trips by theConte di Cavour and other shps of the Italian Navy under the command of Admiral Conz. These ships also carried 13,000 cavalrymen and 10,000 horses of the Serbian army to Corfu in 13 crossings from the Albanian port of Vallons.[4]
For most of the war the Italian navy avoided wherever possible the Austro-Hungarian navy. The Italian fleet lost the destroyerTurbine in 1915 to an Austro-Hungarian fleet sortie; the armoured cruiserAmalfi was sunk by Austrian submarine U-26 on 7 July 1915; the armoured cruiserGiuseppe Garibaldi, sunk by Austrian submarine U-4 on 18 July 1915, the pre-dreadnought battleshipBenedetto Brin atBrindisi (27 September 1915) and the dreadnoughtLeonardo da Vinci atTaranto (2 August 1916) due to a magazine explosion (although there were rumours of Austrian sabotage). The Austrians also sank the Italian armed merchant cruiser SS Principe Umberto on 8 June 1916. While transporting troops in the Adriatic, the ship was sunk by Austro-Hungarian U-boat U-5 with the loss of 1,926 men. It was the worst naval disaster of World War I in terms of human lives lost.
In the last part of the war, the Regia Marina developed theMAS boats, that, by chance, managed to sink the Austro-Hungarian battleshipSMS Szent István in theAdriatic Sea on 10 June 1918; and an early type ofhuman torpedo (codenamedMignatta, or "leech") carrying two men, which entered the harbour ofPola and planted two magnetic mines during the early hours of the morning which exploded sinking theAustro-HungarianflagshipSMS Viribus Unitis, with considerable loss of life, on 1 November 1918, shortly after the entire navy had been turned over to the newly founded neutral State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The battleshipSMS Tegetthoff (sister of the former two) was handed over to Italy as a war prize in 1919.
During the interwar years the Italian government set about modernizing theRegia Marina in a way that could enable it to reach dominance over the Mediterranean Sea. Italian naval planners also wanted a force capable of taking on theBritishRoyal Navy, especially after theFascist takeover. The British response to theCorfu incident leftBenito Mussolini and his military advisors convinced that Italy was "imprisoned in the Mediterranean" through British bases inGibraltar, theSuez Canal,Malta, andCyprus.[5] Italian naval construction was limited by theWashington Naval Conference. The 1922 treaty required a parity in naval forces between the Italian and French navies, with equality in total displacement in battleships and carriers. The treaty influenced the development of the Italian fleet over the years between the two world wars. Between the late twenties and early thirties a construction program began, focusing first on cruisers up to 10,000 tons, followed by the building of destroyers and submarines, and lastly the construction of the newLittorio-class battleships; plans were also put in place to modernize theConte di Cavour-class andAndrea Doria-class battleships. Much of these new naval units were responses to French naval constructions, as theMarine nationale was seen until the mid-1930s as the most likely enemy in a hypothetical conflict.
TheRegia Marina chose to build fast ships armed with longer ranged guns to give the Italian vessels the ability to minimize close contact with vessels of the Royal Navy, whose crews were more experienced. In theory this would allow them to engage or break off at their own choosing, and would allow them to hit the enemy when he could not yet hit back. New guns were developed with longer ranges than their British counterparts of similar caliber. Speed was emphasized in their new construction. Italian cruisers built in the 1920s, such asGiovanni delle Bande Nere were built with a newly designed and relatively thin armour. This would have a decisive role in a number of naval battles, including theBattle of Cape Spada. Later classes, such as theZara andRaimondo Montecuccoli classes, were built to a more balanced design with thicker armor.
The modernization work on the four Great War era battleships turned into a significant reconstruction project, with only 40% of the original structures being left. The ship's guns were upgraded in main armament, going from 13 guns of 305 mm diameter, to 10 guns of 320 mm diameter. The middle turret and the vessel's central tower were eliminated. To increase speed the coal-fired boilers were replaced with modern oil-fired boilers and ten meters were added to the ship's length to improve thecoefficient of fineness. Though the ships were improved, they still were not an equal match for theQueen Elizabeth-class battleships and theRenown-class battlecruisers, both of which carried larger guns and heavier armour.
Though scientific research on tracking devices such as radar and sonar was being conducted in Italian universities and military laboratories by men such asUgo Tiberio andGuglielmo Marconi, the conservative Italian leadership had little interest in these new technologies, and did not use them to improve the effectiveness of the Italian vessels. This was mainly due to the influence of AdmiralDomenico Cavagnari, whom Mussolini appointed as Chief of Staff of the Navy in 1933, and whom he later promoted to Secretary of the Navy. Likewise technological advancement in radio range finders and gunnery control devices for night combat were not incorporated. Regarding such devices, Cavagnari emphasized "not wanting traps in your way". Writing to Admiral Iachino, he wrote "procedere con estrema cautela nell'accettare brillanti novità tecniche che non siano ancora collaudate da una esperienza pratica sufficientemente lunga", which can be translated to "proceed with extreme caution regarding brilliant technical innovations that have not yet been tested or with which there is no practical experience". Thus, the Italian navy entered the Second World War with a marked technical inferiority to theBritish Royal Navy.Albert Kesselring, overall commander of Axis forces in the Mediterranean, observed that the Italian navy was "a good weather" force, unable to operate effectively at night or in heavy seas.
Two training ships were built during this period, in addition to the effort to modernize and re-equip the combat vessels of the navy. These were square rigged school ships theRegia Marina ordered in 1925. The sailing ships followed a design by Lieutenant ColonelFrancesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, reminiscent ofships of the line from theNapoleonic era. The first of these two ships,Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy for training until 1943. AfterWorld War II, this ship was handed over to theSoviet Union as part ofwar reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned. The second ship of the design wasAmerigo Vespucci. The ship was built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard ofCastellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on 22 February 1931, and was put into service in July of that year. She is still being used to this day.
In 1928, the unified command of the "Armata Navale" was abolished, and the fleet was divided in twosquadrons (Squadre navali), one based at La Spezia and the other based at Taranto.
TheRegia Marina played a limited role in theinvasion of Ethiopia. While theEthiopian Empire was landlocked, the navy was instrumental in delivering and supplying the invasion forces throughSomali andEritrean ports.
At the time of the Italian intervention in theSpanish Civil War, theRegia Marina sent naval units in support of the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie). Approximately 58 Italian submarines took part in operations against theSpanish Republican Navy. These submarines were organized in a Submarine Legion and complemented GermanKriegsmarineU-boat operations as part ofOperation Ursula. At least twoRepublican freighters, oneSoviet and anotherPanamanian were either sunk or forced to run aground by Italian destroyers near theStrait of Sicily.[6] Two light cruisers took part in the shelling ofBarcelona andValencia in 1937, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 civilians.[7]
In 1939, theRegia Marina supported theinvasion of Albania. All ground forces involved in the invasion had to cross theAdriatic Sea from mainland Italy and the crossings were accomplished without incident.
On 10 June 1940, after the Germaninvasion of France,Italy declared war onFrance and theUnited Kingdom and entered World War II. Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini saw the control of theMediterranean Sea as an essential prerequisite for expanding his "New Roman Empire" intoNice,Corsica,Tunis and theBalkans. Italian naval building accelerated during his tenure. Mussolini described the Mediterranean as "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea).[8]
Before the declaration of war, Italian ground and air forces had prepared to strike at the beaten French forces across the border in theItalian invasion of France. By contrast, theRegia Marina prepared to secure the lines of communications between Italy,Libya and theEast African colonies. The Italian High Command (Comando Supremo) did not approve of the plan devised by the Italian Naval Headquarters (Supermarina) to occupy a weakly defendedMalta,[9] which proved a crucial mistake. British High Command, thinking that Malta could not be defended because of the proximity ofRegia Aeronautica air bases inItaly,Sicily, andLibya, had put little effort into bolstering the islands' defences. Thus, at the outset of the war there were only 42 anti-aircraft guns on the island and twelveGloster Sea Gladiators, half sitting in crates at the wharf.[10]
Entering the war, theRegia Marina was operating under a number of limitations. Though significant assets were available to challenge the Royal Navy for control of the Mediterranean, there had been a lack of emphasis on the incorporation of technological advances such asradar andsonar. This meant that in night engagements or foul weather, the Italian ships were unable to detect the approach of their British adversaries. When engaged, they could only range their guns if they were able to visually locate their targets.
TheRegia Marina had six battleships with which to contend for control of the Mediterranean, the four most modern of which were being re-fitted at the outbreak of the war. In addition to the six capital ships, the Italians had 19 cruisers, 59 destroyers, 67 torpedo boats, and 116 submarines. Though theRegia Marina had a number of fast new cruisers with good range in their gunnery, the older classes were lightly built and had inadequate defensive armor. Numerically the Italian fleet was formidable, but there were a large number of older vessels, and the service suffered in general from insufficient time at sea for crew training.
Italy's lack of raw materials meant that it would have great difficulty building new ships over the course of the war.[citation needed] Thus, the assets that it had were handled with caution bySupermarina. Allied commanders at sea had a fair degree of autonomy and discretion to fight their vessels as circumstance allowed, but Italian commanders were required to confer with their headquarters before committing their forces in an engagement that might result in their loss.[citation needed] That led to delays in arriving at decisions and actions being avoided even when the Italians had a clear advantage.[citation needed] An example occurred during "Operation Hats" in which theRegia Marina had superior forces but failed to commit them to take advantage of the opportunity.[11]
A further key disadvantage in the convoy support and interception battles that dominated theBattle of the Mediterranean was the intelligence advantage granted to the British in interceptingGermanUltra and, through this, the key information on Italian convoy routes, times of departure, time of arrival, and make up of the convoy.[citation needed]
The warships of theRegia Marina had a general reputation as being well-designed. Italian small attack craft lived up to expectations and were responsible for many successful actions in the Mediterranean. Though Italian warships lackedradar, that was partly offset in fair weather by good opticalrangefinder andfire-control systems.[12]
The Italian Navy lacked a fleet air arm.[citation needed] The High Command had reasoned that since the Italian navy would be operating solely in the Mediterranean, their vessels would never be far from an airfield and so the time and the resources needed to develop a naval air arm could be directed elsewhere. This proved problematic on a number of occasions. The Italians had the aircraft carriersAquila andSparviero under construction at the start of the war, but neither was ever completed.[8] Lastly, the lack of natural oil reserves and subsequent shortage of oil precluded extensive fleet operations.[9]
TheRegia Marina and the Royal Navy engaged in a two-and-a-half-year struggle for control of the Mediterranean. TheRegia Marina's primary goal was to support the Axis forces inNorth Africa while obstructing the supply route toAlexandria and cutting off supplies to Malta. The Royal Navy's major effort was to maintain supply to the military forces and people of Malta, and secondarily to interdict convoy shipments to North Africa.[13][N 1] The first major action occurred on 11 November 1940 when the British aircraft carrierHMS Illustrious launched two waves ofFairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers in asurprise raid against the Italian Fleet moored at the naval base ofTaranto. The raid came in undetected, and three battleships were sunk. Another major defeat was inflicted on theRegia Marina atCape Matapan, where the Royal Navy and theRoyal Australian Navy intercepted and destroyed three heavy cruisers (Zara,Pola andFiume; all of the same class) and twoOriani-class destroyers in a night ambush, with the loss of over 2,300 seamen. The Allies hadUltra intercepts, which uncovered the Italian movements, andradar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the Royal Navy'sFleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the Italian debacle.
On 19 December 1941, the battleshipsHMS Queen Elizabeth andHMS Valiant were damaged bylimpet mines planted by Italianfrogmen, knocking both out of the conflict for almost two years. Thisaction, coming on the heels of the loss of thePrince of Wales andRepulse in the South China Sea, significantly weakened the surface strength of the Royal Navy, making it difficult for them to challenge Italian control of the eastern Mediterranean.[N 2]
On the night of 19 December,Force K, comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based atMalta, ran into an Italian minefield offTripoli. Three cruisers struck mines, with thecruiserHMS Neptune lost, along with thedestroyerHMS Kandahar. In addition, another destroyer was seriously damaged. All told 800 seamen were lost, and Force K, which had been effectively interdicting Axis convoys, was put out of action. This series of successes allowed theRegia Marina to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean. Coupled with an intensive bombing campaign against Malta, the Axis supply routes from southern Europe to North Africa were almost untouched by the Royal Navy or its allies for the next several months.
The Italian fleet went on the offensive, blocking or mauling three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, including theSecond Battle of Sirte in March 1942,Operation Harpoon andOperation Vigorous, (known as the "Battle of Mid-June") andOperation Pedestal (the "Battle of Mid-August"). All of these engagements ended favourably for the Axis. Despite this activity, the only real success of the Italian fleet was the surface attack on the Harpoon convoy, supported by Axis aerial forces. These attacks sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six in the convoy reached Malta. This was the only undisputed squadron-sized victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.[N 3]
Despite the heavy losses suffered by the merchantmen and escorting forces of convoy Pedestal, the oil and supplies brought through allowed the near starving island of Malta to continue to hold out. With Allied landings in North Africa,Operation Torch, in November 1942, the fortunes of war turned against the Italians. Their sea convoys were harassed day after day by the aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies. The maritime lane between Sicily and Tunisia became known as the "route of death". After years of back and forth, the Axis forces were forced to surrender in Tunisia, bringing the campaign for North Africa to a close.
TheRegia Marina performed well and bravely in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on speed but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour, as happened in thebattle of Cape Spada. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced its main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany.[16]
From 10 June 1940, submarines of theRegia Marina took part in theBattle of the Atlantic alongside the U-boats ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine. The Italian submarines were based inBordeaux,France at theBETASOM base. While more suited for the Mediterranean Sea than theAtlantic Ocean, the thirty-two Italian submarines that operated in the Atlantic sank 109 Allied ships for a total of 593,864 tons.[citation needed]
TheRegia Marina even planned an attack onNew York Harbor with midget submarines for December 1942, but this plan was delayed for many reasons and was never carried out.[17]
Initially, Italian forces enjoyed considerable success in East Africa. From 10 June 1940, theRegia Marina'sRed Sea Flotilla, based atMassawa,Eritrea, posed a potential threat to Allied shipping crossing theRed Sea between theIndian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This threat increased in August 1940 with theItalian conquest of British Somaliland, which allowed the Italians the use of the port ofBerbera; in January 1941, however, British andCommonwealth forces launched a successfulcounterattack in East Africa and the threat posed by the Red Sea Flotilla disappeared.
Much of the Red Sea Flotilla was destroyed by hostile action during the first months of war or when the port of Massawa fell in April 1941. However, there were a few survivors. In February 1941, prior to the fall of Massawa, the colonial shipEritrea and theauxiliary cruisersRamb I andRamb II broke out and sailed toKobe,Japan. WhileRamb I was sunk by theRoyal New Zealand Navy cruiserHMNZS Leander off theMaldives,Eritrea andRamb II made it to Kobe. As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines—Guglielmotti,Galileo Ferraris,Perla, andArchimede—sailed south from Massawa, rounded theCape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed toGerman occupiedBordeaux,France. One or two Italian merchant ships from the Red Sea Flotilla made it toVichy French-controlledMadagascar.
On 10 June 1941, the British launched Operation Chronometer, landing a battalion of troops from theBritish Indian Army atAssab, the last Italian-held harbour on the Red Sea.[18] By 11 June, Assab had fallen. Two days later, on 13 June, the Indian trawlerParvati became the last naval casualty of the East African Campaign when it struck a moored mine near Assab.[19]
In May 1942, at German request, theRegia Marina deployed four 24-ton torpedo motorboats (Motoscafo Armato Silurante,MAS), sixCB-classmidget submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to theBlack Sea. The vessels were transported overland to theDanube River atVienna,Austria, and then transported by water toConstanța,Romania. The flotilla had an active and successful campaign, based atYalta andFeodosia.
After Italy quit the war, most of the Italian vessels on the Black Sea were transferred toNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine. In early 1944, six MAS boats were transferred to theRoyal Romanian Navy.[20] By August 1944, they were ultimately captured by Soviet forces whenConstanța was captured.
The five surviving midget submarines were transferred to the Royal Romanian Navy.[21][22][23][24][25]
TheRegia Marina operateda squadron of four MAS boats onLake Ladoga during theContinuation War (1941–1944). As part ofNaval Detachment K, German, Italian, and Finnish vessels operated against Soviet gunboats, escorts and supply vessels during theSiege of Leningrad between 21 June and 21 October 1942. The Italian vessels were ultimately turned over to Finland.
TheRegia Marina had a naval base in theconcession territory ofTientsin inChina. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layerLepanto and the gunboatCarlotto. During World War II, Italian supply ships, auxiliary cruisers and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East, often in disguise.[citation needed] The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities such asShanghai, China, andKobe,Japan.
Seven Italian submarines operating from France were converted by the Italians into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. The submarinesAlpino Bagnolini,Barbarigo,Comandante Cappellini,Giuseppe Finzi,Reginaldo Giuliani,Enrico Tazzoli, andLuigi Torelli were converted for service with theMonsun Gruppe ("Monsoon Group"). The name ofComandante Cappellini was changed toAquila III.
Twelve additionalR-classblockade running transport submarines were specifically designed for trade with the Far East, but only two of these vessels were completed before Italy quit the war. Both of these submarines were destroyed by Allied action almost as soon as they were launched.[citation needed]
In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed and the new Italian government agreed to anarmistice with the Allies. Under the terms of this armistice, theRegia Marina had to sail its ships to an Allied port. Most sailed to Malta, but a flotilla fromLa Spezia headed towardsSardinia. This was intercepted and attacked by German aircraft and the battleshipRoma was sunk by two hits fromFritz X guided glide-bombs. Among the 1600 sailors killed on boardRoma was the Italian Naval Commander-in-Chief, AdmiralCarlo Bergamini.[26]
As vessels became available to the new Italian government, theItalian Co-Belligerent Navy was formed to fight on the side of the Allies.[citation needed] Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. FewRegia Marina crews chose to fight for Mussolini's new fascist regime in northern Italy, theItalian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI). Mussolini's pro-German National Republican Navy (Marina Nazionale Repubblicana) hardly reached a twentieth the size attained by the co-belligerent Italian fleet.[27] In the Far East, the Japanese occupied the Italian concession territory of Tiensin.
There was little use for the surrendered Italian battleships and there was doubt about the loyalties of the crews, so these ships were interned in Egypt.[citation needed] In June 1944, the less powerful battleships (Andrea Doria,Duilio andGiulio Cesare) were allowed to return toAugusta harbour inSicily for training. The others,Vittorio Veneto andItalia (ex-Littorio), remained atIsmaïlia in theSuez Canal until 1947. After the war,Giulio Cesare was passed to the Soviet Union.
In the Co-belligerency period, until"VE" (Victory in Europe) Day, Italian light cruisers participated in the naval war in the Atlantic Ocean with patrols against German raiders. Smaller naval units (mainly submarines and torpedo boats) served in the Mediterranean Sea. In the last days of war, the issue of whether Italian battleships and cruisers should participate in thePacific War was debated by the Allied leaders.[citation needed]
There were also Italian naval units in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies.[citation needed] The reactions of their crews varied greatly.[citation needed] In general, surface units, mainly supply ships and auxiliary cruisers, either surrendered at Allied ports (Eritrea atColombo,Ceylon) or, if in Japanese controlled ports, they were scuttled by their own crew (Conte Verde,Lepanto, andCarlotto atShanghai).Ramb II was taken over by the Japanese in Kobe and renamedCalitea II. Four Italian submarines were in the Far East at the time of the armistice, transporting rare goods to Japan and Singapore:Ammiraglio Cagni,Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III),Reginaldo Giuliani, andLuigi Torelli. The crew ofAmmiraglio Cagni heard of the armistice and surrendered to the Royal Navy offDurban,South Africa.Comandante Cappellini,Reginaldo Giuliani, andLuigi Torelli and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The boats passed to German U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, they continued to fight against the Allies.[citation needed] The German navy assigned new officers to the three submarines. The three were renamedUIT-23,UIT-24 andUIT-25 and took part in German war operations in the Pacific.Reginaldo Giuliani was sunk by the British submarineHMS Tally-Ho in February 1944. In May 1945, the other two vessels were taken over by theJapanese Imperial Navy when Germany surrendered. About twenty Italian sailors continued to fight with the Japanese.Luigi Torelli remained active until 30 August 1945, when, in Japanese waters, this last Fascist Italian submarine shot down aNorth American B-25 Mitchell bomber of theUnited States Army Air Forces.[28]
After the end of hostilities, theRegia Marina started a long and complex rebuilding process. At the beginning of the war, theRegia Marina was the fourth largest navy in the world with a mix of modernised and new battleships. The important combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943 and the subsequent cooperation agreement on 23 September 1943 left theRegia Marina in a poor condition. Much of its infrastructure and bases were unusable and its ports mined and blocked by sunken ships. However, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state. This was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels.
The vessels that remained were:[citation needed]
On 2 June 1946, the Italian monarchy was abolished by a popular referendum. The Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) ended and was replaced by theItalian Republic (Repubblica Italiana). TheRegia Marina became the Navy of the Italian Republic (Marina Militare).
On 10 February 1947, apeace treaty was signed inParis between the Italian Republic and the victorious powers of World War II. The treaty was onerous for the Italian Navy. Apart from territorial and material losses, the following restrictions were imposed:
The treaty also ordered Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nationsUnited States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France,Greece,Yugoslavia, and Albania as war compensation:[citation needed]
The convoy escortRamb III ultimately became the Yugoslav Navy yachtGaleb.Galeb was used by the latePresident of theSocialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaMarshalJosip Broz Tito on his numerous foreign trips and to entertain heads of state.
_starboard_bow_view.jpg)
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Royal Italian Navy[29] | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) .svg) | .svg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grande ammiraglio | Ammiraglio d'armata | Ammiraglio designato d'armata | Ammiraglio di squadra | Ammiraglio di divisione | Contrammiraglio | Capitano di vascello | Capitano di fregata | Capitano di corvetta | Primo tenente di vascello | Tenente di vascello | Sottotenente di vascello | Guardiamarina | Aspirante guardiamarina | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Italian Navy | .svg)  | .svg)  | .svg)  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capo di Prima Classe | Capo di Seconda Classe | Capo di Terza Classe | Secondo Capo | Sergente | Sottocapo | Comune di 1ª classe | Comune di 2ª classe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leadership | |
|---|---|
| Ships | |
| Schools | |
| History and traditions | |
| Related | |
