Post by regiamarina1939 on Apr 4, 2017 1:55:06 GMT
Background: When the Talian navy heard of fast battlecruiser projects being discussed in other nations, they immediately went to the drawing board with their own. Concern that they would be dominated by ships like Antara's new fast battlecruisers and the Marxist Commonwealth's fast battleship fleet, they designed a ship that was able to outrun and outgun anything afloat in the Mediterranean and any other potential zone of operation. For this task, it needed to be fast, decently armored, well-armed, and have a long range, all characteristics suitable for a commerce raider. 2 of them were laid down, the Regina Margherita and the Regina Elena. They were 705 feet long, 100 feet wide, had a draft of 25 feet, and displaced 26,500 tons.
Armament: It was determined from the start that these ships needed to fit in logistically with the rest of the fleet. For this, it needed to use the same calibre of main gun used by the majority of the capital ship fleet. This calibre was 15-inches, found in the 15-inch 45 calibre model 1928 gun. Developed originally as an improvement of the 1915 model gun used by the Francesco Caracciolo, this gun was rated one of the best guns in the world. It was also very light compared to many other nation's 16-inch weapons. This made it suitable for a battlecruiser that needed to be nimble and agile in combat. Two main artillery directors were carried, one for the front two turrets and one for the aft. Radar was not fitted for fire control until 1942. Secondary battery was relatively light compared to a battleship of the period, with four triple-gun turrets mounting 50-calibre 6-inch guns. These guns were in widespread use throughout the fleet, both on cruisers and capital ships. They were successfully used against both air and surface targets. Further dual-purpose armament was supplied in the form of 6 x 100-mm twin mountings on either side. Light flak came in the form of 24 x 37-mm guns in 12 twin mountings scattered about the ship, backed up by 12 x twin-mount 13.2-mm heavy machine guns. Two sets of triple 21-inch rotating tubes were carried as additional armament. A revolving catapult was carried aft for a single reconnaissance float plane, which could be retrieved with a crane on the aft part of the vessel.
Armor: Armor was typical in the battlecruiser sense, consisting of a 6-inch main belt angled at 30 degrees. Turrets carried 12-inches of face plating and 3.5-inches of roof armor. Deck armoring was rather comprehensive, with a 1.5-inch deck over the majority of it's surface area, and 2-inches over vital spaces. Conning tower armor consisted of 13.5-inches of plating, far more heavily armored than the rest of the ship. Internal compartments were provided for the whole ship, with watertight doors operated by hydraulic gear. Refrigeration systems were provided for the ammunition lockers and magazines, and all ammunition-handling gear was comprehensively engineered to be fire and explosion-proof.
Propulsion: These ships were designed to go up to 32 knots, a feat that required significant engine power. She had 4 boiler rooms, each with 3 x Yarrow 3-Drum boilers fired by oil fuel and carrying superheating gear. These provided steam for 4 x Belluzzo geared turbines, each driving a shaft with a large-diameter 4-bladed bronze propeller. Oil was pumped with compressed-air pumps from the tanks, electric pumps being avoided due to the excessive risk of fire.
Service History: The ships were commissioned in 1939, and joined the Eastern Task Force in the Aegean Islands. Their mission? To intimidate the Navies of the Black Sea and to support their ally, Remany, in their bid for expansion in the region. New ships coming off the slipways in Novogradia threatened the position of Talia in the region, and these ships served to remind the peoples of the east how much more powerful Talia was than them. When war started for Talia in 1941, the ships went on a 4-day cruise down the Kekistan coastline, sinking 4 allied merchant ships and shelling a coastal port serving allied commerce. They then moved back to the fatherland, firing at a surfaced submarine on the way back. Along with a Trieste-class heavy cruiser and 2 Montecuccoli class light cruisers, they lead a destroyer task force of 8 ships on a mission against the navy of Elles, firing at the outdated armored cruiser Georgios Averoff. They hit the ship 4 times during the encounter, slowing her sufficiently enough for the destroyers to effectively launch torpedoes. Averoff was hit by 2 x 17.7-inch torpedoes in the bow and a 21-inch weapon amidships. This caused her to explode when her AA artillery magazines were ignited. A month later, they were sent on a mission against the channel between Hispania and Francia. This was basically running the gauntlet for them, the straights between the 2 nations being defended by coastal guns and aircraft. Upon entering the channel, they ran past a pair of 6-inch gun mounts that fired 12 shots at them, only 2 of which hit them to little effect. After a third of the way through, Francian torpedo boats attempted to launch their weapons at them, but were sunk by well-handled secondary and DP guns before they could fire. They went to full speed, but 2/3 of the way through came under air attack from 16 Francian torpedo planes and 8 Britanian light bombers. There wasn't enough room to maneuver for them, and before long had been hit by 2 torpedoes and 4 bombs. The torpedoes caused limited flooding in Regina Elena, but the bombs were too light to cause any serious damage to either of them. AA fire claimed 4 Francian and 1 Britanian planes, who turned away in the face of overwhelming fire. They ran past another quartet of 8-inch coastal guns that struck Regina Margherita 4 times and her sister twice. This caused some serious issues on Margherita when her aft gun director was damaged, and she had to slow down to repair. They resumed their cruise 5 hours later, heading to the West Coast of Eire, where they shelled an allied base and sank a pair of surfaced submarines. Their commander, Ammiraglio Vincenzo de Bono set a course for friendly Foestranian ports, and they were on their merry way that night. However, the next morning they encountered an allied convoy escorted by the Britanian battleships King George V and Nelson, as well as a pair of Antaran escort carriers and a light cruiser. They were accompanied by 5 outdated Anataran destroyers and an armed merchant cruiser. The convoy in question consisted of 21 ships, carrying all manner of military freight. De Bono, alarmed at the sudden presence of these ships, was hard-pressed for a decision, he could attempt to run past them and reach the ports earlier, or risk his position being reported and facing enemy forces. He decided to run past them, and reach the safety of Foestranian waters. He went to 28 knots, and crossed the convoys T. He then gave the order to slow to 23 knots, train guns to port, let off a volley, and then go to maximum speed. The convoy began to spread out, and the battleships started to train their forward turrets. The Talians were unaware of the presence of two Anataran oceangoing submarines to their starboard flank, which resulted in Regina Elena taking a crippling pair of 21-inch torpedoes to her side. She listed heavily to port, and started to leak oil. Regina Margherita went to full speed (32 knots) after letting off her volley, attempting to draw the attention of the enemy away from her sister. Meanwhile, Elena repaired the flooding, but could only make 18 knots in her current state. She was losing steam and had only a third of her fuel remaining. Her seaplane was launched to attempt to locate the subs, but all they found was another single torpedo headed directly towards the crippled battlecruiser. She made a hard turn to port, and only barely avoided the torpedo. By this time, however, she had come under attack from the air, with 12 fighter-bombers from the escort carriers dropping 6 x 500-pound bombs that struck her amidships. 2 of these penetrated the deck and caused a massive explosion that broke the ships back. Another 2 blew a 100-mm gun mounting overboard, another struck the turret roof and caused such a shock that it knocked a third of the gun crew unconscious and killed another, but didn't penetrate. She sank in just 15 minutes, while her sister reached Foestranian waters safely. She remained there until the end of the war, when she returned home and stayed in service for 8 years as a training ship before being sold for scrapping to a company in the Netherlands.