Battleship Andrea Doria (1925 Refit)

[WayOfTheWolk 1,573]

Andrea Doria (1925)

Introduction:

Spoiler

Designed to counter the French Bretagne class battleships the Caio Duilio class was built as an improvement of the preceding Conte de Cavour class. Vice Admiral Valsecchi was the chief designer and he made improvements such as reducing the superstructure by shortening the forecastle deck, lowering the amidships turret and using 6-inch secondary guns over the previous 4.7-inch guns seen on the Conte de Cavour. The Caio Duilio class additionally featured thicker turret and barbette armor as well as new boilers made by Yarrow designed to increase propulsion reliability. Named after the Genoese admiral of the same name she was laid down on march 24, 1912 at the La Spezia shipyard, launched on March 30, 1913 and commissioned on March 13, 1916.

Service History:

Spoiler

Shortly after her commissioning in 1916 the Andrea Doria was sortied into the south Adriatic Sea was part of Italy's blockade to keep the Austro-Hungarian fleet at port. Admiral di Revel believed that this was the best way to preserve Italian control of the seas whilst minimizing damage to the home fleet itself. If the fleet had entered the upper Adriatic it was thought that Austria-Hungary's expensive fleet of submarines and minelayers would hinder the ability of di Revel's capital ships to operate effectively without harm. By November 1918 Andrea Doria was based out of Taranto later sailing to Istanbul on the 9th to oversee the disarmament of Ottoman forces. While most of the fleet was inactive in 1920 to allow Italian crews to man German warships handed over as reparations Andrea Doria remained the only available battleship on call. Shortly after the Treaty of Rapallo was signed on the 12th establishing Yugoslavia rebel Italian forces lead by fascist statesman Gabriele d' Annunzio took over modern day Rijeka (Fiume). Andrea Doria was sent to deal with the Annunzio providing gunfire support against his headquarters and the rebel destroyer Espero. The ship was successful in its mission and Annunzio surrendered days later. In September 1923 the Andrea Doria landed Italian soldiers to occupy the island of Corfu during the Corfu Incident which despite later peaceful resolutions raised tensions between Italy and Greece that played a role in the later Greco-Italian war of 1940. Following a goodwill visit to Portugal on January 16, 1925 to commemorate Vasco de Gama Andrea Doria was taken in for a refit beginning in February ending in June. Key upgrades included the installation of modern anti-aircraft guns, a seaplane with catapult mount and new rangefinders. After her refit the ship was sent to Syria to protect Italian citizens in the wake of civil unrest with a destroyer squadron. By December tensions had eased and Andrea Doria returned to peacetime duties temporarily decommissioned in August 1932. She was placed in reserve for the next five years until March 1937 when it was decided to give her a full-reconstruction instead of dismantlement. The refit began on April 8, 1937 and at the Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico shipyard and lasted until October 1940. Andrea Doria would later serve her World War 2 career with valor and distinction.

Blueprints & Photos:

Spoiler

Andrea Doria Armor Layout

Andrea Doria during WW1

Andrea Doria at steam, May 1926

Andrea Doria from above

Technical Data:

Spoiler

General Specifications:

Displacement: 24729 tonnes

Length: 176.1 m

Beam: 28.0  m

Draft: 9.4 m

Installed Power: 20 x Yarrow boilers,  

Propulsion: 4 x shafts, 4 x Parsons steam turbines (30000 hp)

Speed: 21 knots

Crew: 1233 men

 

Armor (Krupp Cemented Steel):

Belt: 250-80 mm 

Upper Belt: 220 mm

Main deck: 20 mm with 44 mm slopes

Main turrets: 280 mm

Barbettes: 280 mm

Casemates: 130 mm

Conning Tower: 280 mm

 

Armament: 

13 x 305/46 V1909 guns (3 x 3, 2 x 2)

16 x 152/45 A1911 guns

13 x 76/50 V1909 guns

6 x 76/40 V1909 AA guns

2 x 40/39 V1917 AA auto-cannons

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

Sources:

Spoiler

• Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946 . Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
• https://www.navypedia.org/ships/italy/it_bb_duilio.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_battleship_Andrea_Doria

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by WayOfTheWolk

[ItssLuBu 1,798]

Approved and open for discussion. 

[Conte_Baracca 4,547]

I wonder how Gaijin is going to do it.  Give this class as built, 1925, or WW2.  There are only two ships.  Do they then do only two versions?  Anyway, I am all for this configuration.

[EvenManatee887@live 129]

12 minutes ago, Conte_Baracca said:

I wonder how Gaijin is going to do it.  Give this class as built, 1925, or WW2.  There are only two ships.  Do they then do only two versions?  Anyway, I am all for this configuration.

I would imagine they'll have one in its 1925 config, likely the Doria, and then the Duilio in its WW2 config. 

On another note, +1 for me, Italy needs her battleships.

Edited January 16, 2021 by EvenManatee887@live

[Milocat 4,850]

Definite +1 from me, Italy will need every battleship they can get.

[Conte_Baracca 4,547]

3 hours ago, EvenManatee887@live said:

I would imagine they'll have one in its 1925 config, likely the Doria, and then the Duilio in its WW2 config. 
 

I hope so.  But I fear this will not be the case.  We'll get a 1916 version and a WW2 version

 

[John4Plays 70]

It's a +1 from me. ^^

[Artyom_Ascaron 48]

Give us Andrea Doria in  the 1925 configuration and Duilio in the ww2 configuration o7!

[Conte_Baracca 4,547]

3 hours ago, ArTyOm_1807 said:

Give us Andrea Doria in  the 1925 configuration and Duilio in the ww2 configuration o7!

Facts

[CokeSpray 7,272]

Suggestion passed to the developers for consideration.

[leroyonly 4,310]

As Andrea Doria in 1925 refit has been implemented with Update 2.19 Drone Age,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.