Re Umberto-class battleship

The Re Umberto class were a group of battleships built for the Italian Navy in the 1880s. All three ships of the class saw service during World War I in secondary roles.

Description
The first two ships of the class used vertical compound steam engines. They had three funnels, but, unusually, the two forward funnels were side-by-side. ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Sardegna, the last ship of the class, slightly larger than her sisters and she was the first Italian ship to use vertical triple expansion steam engines.

Armament
The guns were British-made of the same type as fitted to the s

Re Umberto
ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Re Umberto was named after King Umberto I of Italy. She was built by the Castellammare Naval Shipyard. She was laid down on 10 July 1884, launched on 17 October 1888, and completed on 16 February 1893. She was laid up in Genoa in 1912 and became a depot ship. Towed to La Spezia in June 1915, after having been stricken from the Navy List on 10 May 1914, she became a depot ship for the dreadnought ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Andrea Doria. She was reinstated on 9 December 1915 and became a floating battery at Brindisi and, later, Valona, Albania. In 1918 Re Umberto was tasked to lead the planned assault on the primary Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola and modified for the role by the removal of her armament and the addition of eight 3-inch guns with gun shields as well as a number of trench mortars. A special saw and cutters were also installed to deal with the harbor boom and net defenses. The war ended before the Italians could carry out the attack and she was stricken on 4 July 1920.

Sicilia
ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Sicilia was named after the island of Sicily. She was built by the Venice Naval Shipyard. She was laid down on 3 November 1884, launched on 6 July 1891, and completed on 4 May 1895. She was stricken on 9 July 1914 and became a depot ship at Taranto before becoming a repair ship during the war. She was stricken again in 1923.

Sardegna
ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Sardegna was named after the island of Sardinia. She was built by the La Spezia Naval Shipyard. She was laid down on 24 October 1885, launched on 20 September 1890, and completed on 16 February 1895. She was stricken on 4 January 1923.