Dante Alighieri

[WayOfTheWolk 1,573]

Dante Alighieri 

Introduction:

Spoiler

Dante Alighieri originally was an Italian poet who lived in the mid 13th century over 700 years ago. In 1909 an Italian dreadnought, the first of its kind in Italy was named after him which happened to be the only time a poet took name of an Italian warship. The "Dante Alighieri" was a project of Rear Admiral Edoardo Masdea based on the visions of General Cuniberti who imagined a dreadnought with main guns of one caliber and enlightened broadside fire. The battleship would be rather agile for its size making up for its lack of armor with speed. Dante Alighieri's construction started at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on June 6, 1909 with her launching commencing on August 20, 1910. Dante Alighieri was commissioned on January 15, 1913.

Service History:

Spoiler

Right after her commissioning in 1913  Dante Alighieri was tested by the Regia Marina for the potential usage of ship based seaplanes. Upon Italy's entering World War 1 the ship was the flagship of the 1st Battle Aquadron assigned to the south Adriatic and Ionian seas for the duration of the war. Dante Alighieri only took part in one battle during the entire conflict at Durazzo in October 1918 keeping watch for Austro-Hungarian vessels coming out of Cattaro. She did not fire a single shot and then after was sent to Venice to support the occupation of the newly acquired Dalmatian coast. Her postwar career was marked by peacetime duties and refits. In 1922 the ship hosted King Emmnauel III and guests destined for the Genoa Conference of that year. A refit occurred in 1923 mounting a tripod foremast, launch catapult on Turret no. 3 and heightening the funnels. Weapon changes included removing 8 older 76mm guns replaced by two 40mm Vickers AA guns. In 1924 Dante Alighieri tested an experimental fire-control system mounted on her tripod mast and while found to be unsuitable for the ship was deemed successful for newer battleships. By the late 1920s it became apparent Italy could not longer afford to retain its extensive fleet on a broke economy and need to make some cuts. The admiralty determined that Dante Alighieri was beyond its operational life and was retired on July 1, 1928.

Diagrams & Photographs:

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Dante Alighieri Color Drawing

Dante Alighieri Firing Broadside 

Dante Alighieri Color

Ship Front

Dante Alighieri In Taranto

Technical Data:

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Specifications:

Displacement: 19552 tonnes

Length: 158.4 m

Beam: 26.6 m 

Draught: 8.80 m

Installed Power: 23 x Blechynden boilers (32190 hp)

Propulsion: 4 x shafts, 4 x Parsons geared steam turbines

Speed: 22.8 knots

Crew: 981 men

 

Armor (Krupp Cemented Armor):

Belt: 250-76 mm

Deck: 50 mm with 50 mm slopes

Main Turrets: 250 mm

Secondary Turrets: 100 mm

Battery: 100 mm

Conning Tower: 280 mm

 

Armament (1923):

12 x 305/46 A1909 guns (4 x 3)

8 x 120/50 A1909 guns (4 x 2)

12 x 120/50 A1909 guns (12 x 1)

8 x 76/40 Mod.1916 guns

4 x 76/40 Mod.1916 AA guns

2 x 40/39 V1917 AA auto-cannons

3 x 450mm torpedo tubes (1 bow, 2 beam)

Sources:

Spoiler

• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
• Breyer, Siegfried. Battleships And Battle Cruisers 1905-1970. Doubleday & Company Inc. 1973
• https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww1/Italy/dante-alighieri
• http://www.navypedia.org/ships/italy/it_bb_dante_alighieri.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_battleship_Dante_Alighieri

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Private_Wolk

[leroyonly 4,311]

Open for discussion. 

[Nicholas_Concu 2,634]

+1, lets get some more ships!

Edited May 19, 2020 by Nicholas_Concu

[Conte_Baracca 4,547]

It has no real anti-aircraft armament.  Italy has plenty of battleships that actually do.  I do not think this ship belongs in the game.

[WayOfTheWolk 1,573]

29 minutes ago, Conte_Baracca said:

It has no real anti-aircraft armament.  Italy has plenty of battleships that actually do.  I do not think this ship belongs in the game.

Honestly it's about the armor that really counts nowadays especially with the additions of modern ASMs. No amount of AA could have saved the Roma from the Fritz X or other similar munitions. The few 40mm "pom poms" and 76mm guns should be appropriate for dealing with the aircraft that appear in naval battles. 

[Z3r0_ 4,128]

On 19/05/2020 at 14:42, Conte_Baracca said:

It has no real anti-aircraft armament.  Italy has plenty of battleships that actually do.  I do not think this ship belongs in the game.

 

Incorrect.  It has AA armament, even if it'd be anemic by WWII standards.  Keep in mind that we do have at least one ship with WWI-era AA armament in-game, specifically USS Clemson.

 

In any event, this was Italy's first dreadnought, predating the Conte Di Cavours (one of which I've suggested).  I guess it deserves a place provided it's in its refitted configuration with AA weaponry.

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Z3r0_

[Guest]

On 19/05/2020 at 23:42, Conte_Baracca said:

It has no real anti-aircraft armament.  Italy has plenty of battleships that actually do.  I do not think this ship belongs in the game

I think most of its AA armament is represented in this fit by secondary cannons (like cruisers).

[ironcell26 252]

+1 those central turrets make it really a unique design that deserves to be in game

 

[Z3r0_ 4,128]

Screencap from the latest trailer.  Confirmed maybe?

[WayOfTheWolk 1,573]

42 minutes ago, Z3r0_ said:

Screencap from the latest trailer.  Confirmed maybe?

From the photo I can't tell if it has a tripod mast or not, this is crucial as if it does not it likely will not have the updated refit with AA capabilities. I still have doubts if it's the Alighieri, maybe a Russian Imperator Nikolai or Izmail class battlecruiser.  

Edited October 24, 2020 by WayOfTheWolk

[zeffleLance 0]

+1 Having the world's first triple guns and being able to point 12 30.5cm guns at the ship's side is a big deal, and it's obviously going to be a great gaming experience.

[Milocat 4,857]

+1 now that we're getting other early battleships.

[Conte_Baracca 4,547]

I would also say if they give it the AA armament it has in this post it will be one of the best defended.  Which would be GREAT.

 

Hopefully the AA armament is right on this.  Is it @_Condottiero_ ????

[Охраняет-Камни 6,650]

14 hours ago, Conte_Baracca said:

I would also say if they give it the AA armament it has in this post it will be one of the best defended.  Which would be GREAT.

 

Hopefully the AA armament is right on this.  Is it @_Condottiero_ ????

I'm not an expert) Marina Militare says this:

https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/ABCD/alighieri.aspx

[CokeSpray 7,274]

Suggestion passed to the developers for consideration.

[leroyonly 4,311]

As the Dante Alighieri has been implemented with update 2.7 Red Skies,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.