An item reported that the 4 new Italian battleships of around 26.000 tons were to be armed with 8-38,1cm guns in four turrets amidships. The secondary armament consisted of 16-15,2cm guns. The magazine Moniteur de la Flotte remarked that the triple turret principle was not used. The magazine Marine Rundschau reported that also that the naval commission proposed to use twin turrets, something the minister van navy immediately accepted. The reason for using triple turrets was nobody wanted to be responsible for the technical gamble while using 38,1 cm guns. The fact that the British Royal navy and the German navy still hold on to twin turrets seemed to have highly influenced this decision.. Vice-admiral Duke of the Abruzzi (2) en pointed this out from the start. The new design was a battleship with a speed of 25 miles, 32cm thick armour belt and an main armament of 4x2-38,1cm guns and a secondary armament of 15,2 and 7,6cm guns.
Notes
1. This must be the Francesco Caracciolo-class designed between 1912-1913 and ordered in 1914 of which the lead hip was laid down in November 1914, followed by the other three ships in 1915. None was ever completed as a battleship. The conversion of the lead ship into a merchant ship was ended due to the high costs. Next was a conversion planned into an aircraft carrier but lacking budgets was she broken up in 1926.
2. Prince Luigo Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi (29 January 1873 Madrid, Spain-18 March 1933 Italian Somaliland, later known as Jowhar), member of the royal House of Savoy and son of the Spanish king Amadeo) and cousin of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III. In the First World War he was commander in chief of the Italian navy between 1914 and 1917 and was dismissed under pressure of the British and French governments.
