Vittorio Veneto was the second member of the that served in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) during World War II. The ship's keel was laid down in October 1934, launched in July 1937, and readied for service with the Italian fleet by August 1940. She was named after the Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto during World War I, and she had three sister ships: , , and , though only Littorio and Roma were completed during the war. She was armed with a main battery of nine guns in three triple turrets, and could steam at a speed of .
Vittorio Veneto saw extensive service during the war. The ship escaped undamaged during the British raid on Taranto in November 1940. Early in the war, she participated in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in November 1940 and the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 where she was damaged by a torpedo bomber, and then she was torpedoed by the British submarine in December 1941. She spent 1941 and early 1942 attempting to attack British convoys to Malta, but crippling fuel shortages in the Italian fleet curtailed activity thereafter. Vittorio Veneto was among the Italian ships that were surrendered to the Allies in September 1943 after Italy withdrew from the war, and Vittorio Veneto with the rest of the Italian fleet was taken into internment, spending the following three years under British control in Egypt. After the war, she was allocated as a war prize to Britain and subsequently broken up for scrap.
Description
Vittorio Veneto was long overall and 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 . Vittorio Veneto had a crew of 1,830 to 1,950 over the course of her career.Garzke and Dulin, p. 435Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 289
Vittorio Venetos main armament consisted of nine 50-caliber Model 1934 guns 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 placed at the corners of the superstructure. 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. Vittorio Veneto was equipped with an anti-aircraft battery that comprised twelve /53 Model 1939 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 An EC 3 ter Gufo radar, which could detect surface targets at a range of and aircraft at , was installed in July 1943.Bagnasco & De Toro, pp. 100–102
The ship was protected by a main armor 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. Vittorio Veneto 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
Service history
Construction Vittorio Veneto was ordered under the 1934 construction program, and was named for the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, a decisive Italian victory over the Austro-Hungarian Empire in October–November 1918 during World War I.Whitley, p. 171 Her keel was laid down on 28 October 1934 at Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in Trieste, the same day as her sister ship . Vittorio Veneto was launched on 25 July 1937, and major construction was completed by October 1939. The fitting-out process was greatly delayed due to repeated changes to the design and shortages of heavy armor plate. Before she could begin sea trials, Vittorio Veneto was moved to Venice on 4 October to have her bottom cleaned of the fouling that had accumulated during the long fitting-out period, since the Venice Arsenal had the only drydock in Italy long enough to accommodate a ship the size of the Littorio class.Bagnasco & De Toro, pp. 118–119
On 17 October, with the cleaning completed, the dockyard personnel flooded the drydock to conduct stability tests. The new battleship moved to Trieste on 19 October, and her trials began on 23 October. The trials, which also included tests for the ship's weaponry, lasted until March 1940, after which some additional fitting-out work was completed.Bagnasco & De Toro, pp. 119–120 She was delivered on 28 April, though she was not yet complete. On 1 May, Vittorio Veneto was sent to La Spezia for final fitting-out work, escorted by the destroyers and . On 6 May, she was loaded with shells for her main battery; the loading work for the main and secondary guns lasted until 20 May. Later that day, she was transferred to Taranto, escorted by the destroyers and , where she joined the 9th Division of the Italian fleet. The following month, Italy joined the war against Britain and France, though it wasn't until 2 August that Vittorio Veneto and Littorio were formally declared operational.Whitley, pp. 169, 172Bagnaso & De Toto, p. 123
World War II
On 31 August – 2 September 1940, Vittorio Veneto sortied as part of an Italian force of five battleships, ten cruisers, and thirty-four destroyers to intercept British naval forces taking part in Operation Hats and Convoy MB.3, but contact was not made with either group due to poor aerial reconnaissance and no action occurred.Whitley, p. 172Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 167–169Rohwer, p. 38 In addition, British aerial reconnaissance detected the oncoming Italian fleet and was able to escape. On 6 September, the fleet sortied again to attack a British force that had been reported leaving Gibraltar, but the British ships instead steamed south into the Atlantic.Garzke & Dulin, p. 382 A similar outcome resulted from the movement against British Operation "MB.5" on 29 September - 1 October; Vittorio Veneto, four other battleships, eleven cruisers, and twenty-three destroyers had attempted to intercept the convoy carrying troops to Malta.Bagnasco & de Toro, pp. 170–172 In this operation, the Italian Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) did locate the convoy, but the British were able to evade the Italian fleet.Rohwer, p. 43
On the night of 10–11 November, the British Mediterranean Fleet launched an air raid on the harbor in Taranto. Twenty-one Swordfish torpedo bombers launched from the aircraft carrier attacked the Italian fleet in two waves. The Italian base was defended by twenty-one 90 mm anti-aircraft guns and dozens of smaller 37 mm and 20 mm guns, along with twenty-seven barrage balloons. The defenders did not possess radar, however, and so were caught by surprise when the Swordfish arrived. The first wave struck at 20:35, followed by the second about an hour later.Garzke & Dulin, p. 383 Vittorio Veneto was undamaged in the attack, but three other battleships were hit, two of which were severely damaged.Rohwer, p. 47 The morning after the Taranto raid, Vittorio Veneto led the Italian fleet to Naples. There, she took over the role of fleet flagship, under the command of Admiral Inigo Campioni.
Battle of Cape Spartivento
On 17 November, Vittorio Veneto and —the only operational Italian battleships—participated in an attempt to intercept the British Operation White convoy to Malta, though the forces made no contact.De La Sierra, p. 148 On 26 November, the Italian fleet made another attempt to attack a British convoy, Operation Collar, which resulted in the Battle of Cape Spartivento (known as the Battle of Cape Teulada to the Italians). Vittorio Veneto, Giulio Cesare, six cruisers, and fourteen destroyers attempted to catch a convoy steaming to Malta. The British escort included the aircraft carrier , the battleship , and the battlecruiser ; Italian aerial reconnaissance detected the escorts but exaggerated their strength and Campioni, under orders to not risk his two operational battleships against equal or stronger opponents, broke off the engagement shortly after it began. Vittorio Veneto briefly engaged several British cruisers at the extreme range 27,000 metres (17 miles). Vittorio Veneto fired 19 rounds in seven salvos from long range and slightly damaged the light cruiser Manchester; that was enough for the now outgunned British cruisers, which turned back at the fourth salvo.Garzke & Dulin, pp. 383–384Rohwer, p. 50 During the engagement, Ark Royal launched torpedo bombers against Vittorio Veneto, but the latter successfully evaded the torpedoes.
Repeated British air attacks on Naples, one of which damaged the cruiser , prompted the high command to move Vittorio Veneto and the rest of the major warships of the fleet to Sardinia on 14 December. They were returned to Naples six days later, however, after the high command concluded that removing the fleet to Sardinia would allow British convoys from Alexandria to reach Malta with relative ease.Garzke & Dulin, p. 384 On the night of 8–9 January 1941, the British launched an air raid with Vickers Wellington bombers on the Italian fleet in Naples, but the aircraft again failed to hit Vittorio Veneto; Giulio Cesare was slightly damaged by several near misses. Both ships were moved to La Spezia the next day, with Vittorio Veneto providing cover for Giulio Cesare. Vittorio Veneto was now the only operational battleship in the fleet.Rohwer, p. 55 Giulio Cesare was back in service by early February, as was . The three battleships, along with eight destroyers, attempted to intercept Force H on 8 February, which was en route to bombard Genoa. The two forces did not encounter each other, and the Italian fleet returned to La Spezia.
Battle of Cape Matapan
Vittorio Veneto returned to Naples on 22 March, and four days later led an attempt to attack British shipping off Greece, in company with eight cruisers and nine destroyers. The fleet would be supported by the Regia Aeronautica and the German Fliegerkorps X (10th Air Corps). This operation resulted in the Battle of Cape Matapan; the engagement began when the Italian 3rd Division—comprising the two heavy cruisers and and commanded by Vice Admiral Luigi Sansonetti—encountered the British 15th Cruiser Squadron. Iachino attempted to maneuver Vittorio Veneto to the east of the British cruisers while they were distracted with Sansonetti's cruisers, but spotted the battleship before she could close the trap. Vittorio Veneto immediately opened fire and quickly found the range, but only inflicted splinter damage on Orion, which fled to the south, back toward the main British fleet. Misfires in Vittorio Venetos forward-most turret forced her to cease firing temporarily. The Italian gunners quickly returned the guns to action, however, and resumed their bombardment of the British cruisers. Poor visibility and smokescreens hampered the accuracy of Vittorio Venetos gunners and they scored no hits, though they straddled the cruisers several times. In the course of this phase of the battle, she had fired 92 rounds from her main battery.O'Hara, pp. 86–90