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''Littorio'' was the lead ship of her class of battleship and she served in the Italian ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) during World War II. She was named after the Lictor ("''Littorio''" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman ''fasces'', which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism. ''Littorio'' and her sister were built in response to the French battleships and . They were Italy's first modern battleships, and the first 35,000-ton capital ships of any nation to be laid down under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. ''Littorio'' was laid down in October 1934, launched in August 1937, and completed in May 1940. Shortly after her commissioning, ''Littorio'' was badly damaged during the British air raid on Taranto on 11 November 1940, which put her out of action until the following March. ''Littorio'' thereafter took part in several sorties to catch the British Mediterranean Fleet, most of which failed to result in any action, the notable exception being the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942, where she damaged several British warships. ''Littorio'' was renamed ''Italia'' in July 1943 after the fall of the Fascist government. On 9 September 1943, the Italian fleet was attacked by German bombers while it was on its way to internment. During this action, which saw the destruction of her sister , ''Italia'' herself was hit by a Fritz X radio-controlled bomb, causing significant damage to her bow. As part of the armistice agreement, ''Italia'' was interned at Malta, Alexandria, and finally in the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal, where she remained until 1947. ''Italia'' was awarded to the United States as a war prize and scrapped at La Spezia. ==Description== (詳細はlong overall, had a beam of and a draft of . She was designed with a standard displacement of , a violation of the restriction of the Washington Naval Treaty; at full combat loading, she displaced . The ship was powered by four Belluzo geared steam turbines rated at . Steam was provided by eight oil-fired Yarrow boilers. The engines provided a top speed of and a range of at . ''Littorio'' had a crew of 1,830 to 1,950 over the course of her career.〔Garzke & Dulin, p. 435〕〔Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 289〕 ''Littorio''s main armament consisted of nine in three triple turrets; two turrets were placed forward in a superfiring arrangement and the third was located aft. Her secondary anti-surface armament consisted of twelve /55 Model 1934/35 guns in four triple turrets amidships. These were supplemented by four /40 Model 1891/92 guns in single mounts; these guns were old weapons and were primarily intended to fire star shells. ''Littorio'' was equipped with an anti-aircraft battery that comprised twelve /50 Model 1938 guns in single mounts, twenty /54 guns in eight twin and four single mounts, and sixteen /65 guns in eight twin mounts.〔Gardiner & Chesneau, pp. 289–290〕 A further twelve 20 mm guns in twin mounts were installed in 1942. She received an EC 3 bis radar set in August 1941, an updated version in April 1942—which proved to be unsuccessful in service—and finally the EC 3 ter model in September 1942.〔Whitley, p. 172〕 The ship was protected by a main armored belt that was thick with a second layer of steel that was thick. The main deck was thick in the central area of the ship and reduced to in less critical areas. The main battery turrets were thick and the lower turret structure was housed in barbettes that were also 350 mm thick. The secondary turrets had 280 mm thick faces and the conning tower had thick sides.〔 ''Littorio'' was fitted with a catapult on her stern and equipped with three IMAM Ro.43 reconnaissance float planes or Reggiane Re.2000 fighters.〔Bagnasco & de Toro, p. 48〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Italian battleship Littorio」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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