Italian broadside ironclad San Martino 1862-1903

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 21 September 1863, completed on 9 November 1864, rebuilt as a central battery ship after 1866, rearmed and modernized in 1888-1890, stricken on 1903 and broken up.

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 12,00 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.