The Capitani Romani class were originally designed as scout cruisers for ocean operations ("ocean scout", Italian: esploratori oceanici), although some authors consider them to have been heavy destroyers.[1] After the war the two units still in service were reclassified as flotilla leaders (Italian: caccia conduttori).
The design was fundamentally a light, almost unarmoured hull with a large power plant and cruiser style armament. The original design was modified to sustain the prime requirements of speed and firepower. Given their machinery development of 93210kW, equivalent to that of the 17,000-ton cruisers of the, the target speed was over 41kn, but the ships were left virtually unarmoured. As a result, the three completed warships achieved 43kn during trials. The Capitani Romani-class vessels shipped a main battery of eight 135mm DP guns, with a rate of fire of eight rounds per minute and a range of 19500m (64,000feet). They also carried eight 533abbr=onNaNabbr=on torpedo tubes. The wartime load dropped the operational speed by 1kn5kn, depending on the source.
See main article: Operation Scylla. Only Scipione Africano and Attilio Regolo saw combat.
Scipione Africano detected and engaged four British Elco motor torpedo boats during the night of 17 July 1943 enroute to Taranto, while passing the Messina straits at high speed off Punta Posso.[2] She sank MTB 316 and heavily damaged MTB 313 between Reggio di Calabria and Pellaro.[3] [4] [5] She laid down four minefields in the Gulf of Taranto and the Gulf of Squillace from 4 to 17 August, together with the old light cruiser .[6]
Attilio Regolo was torpedoed by the submarine on 7 November 1942, and remained in drydock for several months with her bow shattered.[7]
Four of the ships were scrapped before launch. Five were captured by the Germans in September 1943, still under construction. All five were sunk in harbour, one was raised and completed. Three were completed before the Italian armistice.
| Ship | Namesake | Builder [8] | Laid down | Launched | Completed [9] | Operational history | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Atilius Regulus | O.T.O., Livorno | 28 September 1939 | 28 August 1940 | 15 May 1942 | Commissioned in August 1942 and used as a mine-layer until seriously damaged by a torpedo in November. Ceded to France in 1948 renamed Châteaurenault. | ||
| Germanicus | Navalmeccanica, Castellammare di Stabia | 3 April 1939 | 26 July 1941 | 19 January 1956 | Captured by the Germans in Castellammare di Stabia while under completion, and scuttled by them on 28 September 1943. Raised and completed for the Italian Navy after the war. Renamed San Marco, she served as a destroyer leader until her decommission in 1971. | ||
| Pompeo Magno | Pompey the Great | CNR, Ancona | 23 September 1939 | 24 August 1941 | 4 June 1943 | Renamed San Giorgio, served as a destroyer leader until 1963; decommissioned and scrapped in 1980 | |
| Scipio Africanus | O.T.O., Livorno | 28 September 1939 | 12 January 1941 | 23 April 1943 | Ceded to France in 1948 and first renamed S7, then renamed Guichen; scrapped 1979 |
| Ship | Namesake | Builder [10] | Laid down | Launched | Operational history | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caio Mario | Gaius Marius | O.T.O., Livorno | 28 September 1939 | 17 August 1941 | Captured by the Germans in La Spezia, with only the hull completed; used as a floating oil tank and scuttled in 1944 | ||
| Claudio Druso | Nero Claudius Drusus | Cantiere del Tirreno, Riva Trigoso | 27 September 1939 | Construction cancelled June 1940, scrapped between 1941 and February 1942 | |||
| Claudio Tiberio | Emperor Tiberius | O.T.O., Livorno | 28 September 1939 | Construction cancelled June 1940; scrapped between November 1941 and February 1942 | |||
| Cornelio Silla | Lucius Cornelius Sulla | Ansaldo, Genoa | 12 October 1939 | 28 June 1941 | Captured by the Germans in Genoa while fitting out; sunk in an air raid in July 1944 | ||
| Ottaviano Augusto | Emperor Augustus | CNR, Ancona | 23 September 1939 | 28 April 1941 | Captured by the Germans in Ancona while under completion; sunk in an air attack on 1 November 1943 | ||
| Paolo Emilio | Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus | Ansaldo, Genoa | 12 October 1939 | Construction cancelled in June 1940, scrapped between October 1941 and February 1942 | |||
| Ulpio Traiano | Emperor Trajan | CNR, Palermo | 28 September 1939 | 30 November 1942 | Sunk 3 January 1943 by British human torpedo attack while fitting out in Palermo | ||
| Vipsanio Agrippa | Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa | Cantiere del Tirreno, Riva Trigoso | data-sort-value="1 October 1939" | October 1939 | Construction cancelled June 1940; scrapped between July 1941 and August 1942 |
Attilio Regolo and Scipione Africano were transferred to France as war reparations. They were renamed Chateaurenault and Guichen respectively. The ships were extensively rebuilt for the French Navy by La Seyne dockyard with new anti-aircraft-focused armament and fire-control systems in 1951–1954. The ships were decommissioned in 1961.
Giulio Germanico and Pompeo Magno served in the post war Marina Militare, being renamed San Marco (D 563) and San Giorgio (D 562) respectively and reclassified as destroyers. Both ships were extensively rebuilt in 1951–1955 and fitted with American weapons and radar. Characteristics included:
San Marco was further rebuilt as a cadet training ship in 1963–1965 when she was fitted with new CODAG machinery. New 76abbr=onNaNabbr=on guns replaced the 40 mm and 'X' 127 mm mounting. San Marco was decommissioned in 1971, San Giorgio following in 1980.[11]