Pre-Dreadnought Ironclads: Ruggiero di Lauria Class

[Brian James]

Lead Ship, Ironclad Battleship RM Ruggiero di Lauria pictured c 1890 sporting one of her two A 1882 Model BL 17 inch twin turrets..*Note the sea mines in racks to the right.

[Brian James]

Ruggiero di Lauria Class Ironclad Battleship RN Andrea Doria pictured at Genoa c1900..Armed with a main battery of four 17 inch 27 calibre rifled breechloading guns, mounted in two pairs en echelon in a central barbette. These guns were the A 1882 model, and they fired a 2,000 lb shell at a muzzle velocity of around 1,837 ft/s. Their rate of fire was very slow, taking eight minutes to reload after each shot. They carried a secondary battery of two 6 inch 32-calibre guns, one at the bow and the other at the stern, and four 4.7 inch 32-calibre guns. From 1900, the ships had their secondary battery significantly expanded with two 3 inch guns, ten 2.2 inch 40-caliber guns, twelve1.5 inch guns, five 37 mm revolver cannon, and two machine guns. As was customary for capital ships of the period, they carried five 14 inch torpedo tubes submerged in the hull. The torpedoes carried a 276 lb warhead and had a range of 2,000 ft .She served as a Depot Ship until Italy entered World War I in May 1915, when she was employed as a Guard Ship at Brindisi. After the war, she was converted into an oil storage tank, before being sold for breaking in 1929.