Affondatore 1866
Affondatore 1889
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Affondatore | Harrison, Millwall, UK | 11.4.1863 | 3.11.1865 | 6.6.1866 | stricken 10.1907 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
4006 |
|
Displacement full, t |
4307 |
|
Length, m |
89.6 pp 93.8 oa |
|
Breadth, m |
12.2 |
|
Draught, m |
6.35 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 HSE, 8 rectangular boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
2717 |
|
Max speed, kts |
12 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 474 |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | 1647(10) |
|
Armour, mm |
iron; side: 127, turrets: 127, deck: 51 |
|
Armament |
2 x 1 - 229/14 Armstrong 12.6ton MLR |
|
Complement |
309 - 356 |
Project history: The building of this ship was originally contracted with Mare of Millwall on 11.10.1862, but because of the yard's financial difficulties the Italian Government signed a new contract with Harrison, who recast the plans. However, financial problems arose once more; the planned 18 months for the delivery of the ship expired, and the ship eventually sailed from London, uncompleted, on 20 June 1866, the day the halo-Austrian war broke out, since the Italian Government feared a possible sequestration of the ship by the British authorities. The Affondatore joined the Italian fleet off Lissa a few hours before the action. She had an iron hull, a complete iron belt 127mm thick, two single turrets with 228mm Armstrong guns, and was schooner-rigged.
Ship protection: Complete belt was 127mm-thick.
Modernizations: 1883-1885: she was re-engined (3240hp), fitted with one military mast, CT with 127mm sides was installed; - 2 x 1 - 229/14; + 2 x 1 - 254/30 B,
1888-1889: + 6 x 1 - 120/24 Armstrong 1.38ton BLR, 1 x 1 - 75/21 Uchatius 29cwt BL No1, 8 x 1 - 57/40 H, 4 x 5 - 37/20 H
1891: + 2 - 450 TT (beam)
Naval service: She was sunk in a storm off Ancona harbour on 6.8.1866. Refloated, she was rebuilt in 1867-70. Since 1891 Affondatore served as a torpedo TS and, in 1904-7, as the principal ship for the defence of Venice. Removed from the Navy list on 11.10.1907, she served her final years as a floating ammunition depot at Taranto.
© Ivan Gogin, 2014