Regina Maria Pia or Ancona-class
Venezia of the Roma-class
Part of the Regina Maria Pia-class or also called called Ancona-class broadside ironclads, consisting of the Regina Maria Pia, Ancona, Castelfidardo and San Martino, preceded by the Re d’Italia and succeeded by the Roma-class. Laid down at the Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne, France on 22 July 1862, launched on 28 April 1863, completed on 17 April 1864, rebuilt into a central battery ship after 1866, modernized in 1888-1890 and sold to be broken up in 1904.
General technical class specifications. Displacement 4.201 (normal)-4.527 full load) tons and as dimensions 78,17 (between Perpendiculars)-81,2 (over all) x 15,21 (waterline) x 6,00 (fore)-6,72 (aft) 6,35 metres or 266’5” x 50’0”. Hold 6,26 metres. Ratio length: beam 5.12. Submerged midship section 71,61 square metres. The machinery consisted of 1 singe expansion steam engine and 6 rectangular boilers supplying 2.924 ihp allowing a speed of 12,96 knots (trial). With a coal bunker capacity of 485 tons and a speed of 10 knots was the range 2.600 nautical miles. Sail area 823 square metres. One screw. The original schooner later converted in to a barque rigging was during the modernisation of 1888-1890 removed and replaced by 2 military masts. The armour consisted of a 12,1cm/4.75” thick belt with the battery protected by 10,9cm/4.3”. Their crew numbered 480-495 men. The original armament consisted of 4-20,3cm/8” 72-pd smooth bore muzzle loading Armstrong guns and 22-16,4cm/6”/32pd rifled muzzle loading Armstrong guns mounted in a battery. After 1866 were 2-16,4cm guns mounted in an armoured bunker forward and 1-16,4cm gun was mounted in an armoured bunker astern. After 1866 2-22cm8.7” guns mounted forward and 9-20,3cm/8” guns of which one mounted aft. Finally were the ships armed with a ram lengthening 3 metres/9.8’. After the modernisation of 1888-1890 consisted the armament of 8-15cm/6” guns mounted in the casemate, 5-12cm/4.7” guns, 4-5,7cm/2.2” guns, 8-3,7cm/1.5” Hotchkiss revolver cannon and 3 torpedo tubes.
