Interesting,sunk by Dornier 217's with Fritz-X bombs!
battleship Roma.
Italian battleship Roma (1940) starboard bow view.jpg
Career (Italy)
Name: Roma
Namesake: Rome
Operator: Regia Marina
Ordered: 1937[1]
Builder: Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico[2]
Yard number: 1223[3]
Laid down: 18 September 1938[4][N 1]
Launched: 9 June 1940[3][4]
Commissioned: 14 June 1942[3][4]
In service: 21 August 1942[5]
Fate: Sunk 9 September 1943[4]
General characteristics
Displacement: 37,820 long tons (38,430 t; 42,360 ST) light[5]
40,723 long tons (41,376 t; 45,610 ST) standard[5]
43,797 long tons (44,500 t; 49,053 ST) normal[5]
45,773 long tons (46,508 t; 51,266 ST) full load[5]
Length: 787.728 ft (240.099 m) oa[6]
734.070 ft (223.745 m) pp[6]
Beam: 108.104 ft (32.950 m) maximum beam[6]
106.408 ft (32.433 m) waterline beam[6]
Draft: 34.252 ft (10.440 m) @ 45,473 long tons (46,203 t; 50,930 ST)[6]
Propulsion: 8 Yarrow boilers, 4 shafts, 138,035 shaft horsepower[7]
Speed: 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h)[7]
Range: 3,920 nautical miles (7,260 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)[7]
Complement: 1,920[7]
Armament: 3 × 3 381 mm (15.0 in)/50 caliber Model 1934 guns[8]
4 × 3 152 mm (6.0 in)/55 Model 1934 guns[8]
12 × 2 90 mm (3.5 in)/50 anti-aircraft guns[8]
20 × 2 37 mm (1.5 in)/50 guns[8]
32 × 20 mm (0.79 in)/65 guns[8]
6 × 1 8 mm (0.31 in) guns[8]
Aircraft carried: 3 aircraft (IMAM Ro.43 or Reggiane Re.2000)
Roma, named after two previous ships and the city of Rome, was the fourth Vittorio Veneto-class battleship of Italy's Regia Marina (English: Royal Navy). The construction of both Roma and her sister ship Impero was planned due to rising tensions around the world and the navy's fear that two Vittorio Venetos and the older pre-First World War battleships were not enough to counter the British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As Roma was laid down almost four years after the first two ships of the class, some small improvements were made to the design, including additional freeboard added to the bow.
Roma was commissioned into the Regia Marina on 14 June 1942, but a severe fuel shortage in Italy at that time prevented her from being deployed; instead, along with her sister ships Vittorio Veneto and Littorio, she was used to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of various Italian cities. In this role, she was severely damaged twice in June 1943 from bomber raids on La Spezia. After repairs in Genoa through all of July and part of August, Roma was deployed as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Bergamini in a large battle group that eventually comprised the three Vittorio Venetos, eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Their stated intent was attacking the Allied ships approaching Salerno to invade Italy (Operation "Avalanche") but, in reality, the Italian fleet was sailing to Malta to surrender following Italy's September 8, 1943 armistice with the Allies.
While the force was in the Strait of Bonifacio, Dornier Do 217s of the German Luftwaffe—armed with Fritz X radio-controlled bombs—sighted the force. The first attack failed, but the second dealt Italia (ex-Littorio) and Roma much damage. The hit on Roma caused water to flood two boiler rooms and the after engine room, leaving the ship to limp along with two propellers, reduced power, and arc-induced fires in the stern of the ship. Shortly thereafter, another bomb slammed into the ship which detonated within the forward engine room, causing catastrophic flooding and the explosion of the #2 main turret's magazines, throwing the turret itself into the sea. Sinking by the bow and leaning to starboard, Roma capsized and broke in two, carrying 1253 men—including Bergamini—down with her.
In her 15-month service life, Roma made 20 sorties, mostly in transfers between bases (none were to go into combat), covering 2,492 mi (4,010 km) and using 3,320 tonnes (3,270 LT; 3,660 ST) of fuel oil in 133 hours of sailing.
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