Regia Marina

The Sea Battle of Lissa, by Carl Frederik Sørensen, 1868

The new navy's baptism of fire came on 20 July 1866 at the Battle of Lissa during the Third Italian War of Independence (parallel to the Seven Weeks War). The battle was fought against the Austrian Empire and occurred near the island of Vis in the Adriatic sea. That was one of the few fleet actions of the 19th century and as a major sea battle that involved ramming, it is often considered to have had a profound effect on subsequent warship design and tactics.

The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Persano, mustered 12 ironclad and 17 wooden-hulled ships, though only one, Affondatore, was of the most modern turret ship design. Despite a marked disadvantage in numbers and equipment, superior handling by the Austrians under Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff resulted in a severe defeat for Italy, which lost two armoured ships and 640 men.

After the war, the Regia Marina passed through some difficult years as the naval budget was substantially reduced, thus impairing the fleet's efficiency and the pace of new construction; only in the 1870s, under Simone Pacoret de Saint Bon's ministry, did the situation begin to improve. In 1881, the battleship Duilio was commissioned, followed in 1882 by the battleship Enrico Dandolo; at the time these were the most powerful warships in the world, and signalled the Italian fleet's renewed power. In 1896 the corvette Magenta completed a circumnavigation of the world. The following year the Regia Marina conducted experiments with Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications. 1909 saw the first use of aircraft with the fleet. An Italian naval officer, Vittorio Cuniberti, was the first in 1903 to envision in a published article the all-big gun battleship design, which would be later come to be known as dreadnought.

In 1911 and 1912, the Regia Marina was involved in the Italo-Turkish War against forces of the Ottoman Empire. As the majority of the Ottoman Navy stayed behind the relative safety of the Dardanelles, the Italians dominated the Mediterranean during the conflict winning victories against Ottoman light units at the battles of Preveza and Beirut. In the Red Sea the Italian forces were vastly superior to those of the Ottomans who possessed only a squadron of gunboats there. These were destroyed while attempting to withdraw into the Mediterranean at the Battle of Kunfuda Bay.

Cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli during a visit to Australia in 1938

The Regia Marina played a limited role in the invasion of Ethiopia. While the Ethiopian Empire was landlocked, the navy was instrumental in delivering and supplying the invasion forces through Somali and Eritrean ports.

At the time of the Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War, the Regia Marina sent naval units in support of the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops (Corpo Truppe Volontarie). Approximately 58 Italian submarines took part in operations against the Spanish Republican Navy. These submarines were organized in a Submarine Legion and complemented German Kriegsmarine U-boat operations as part of Operation Ursula. At least two Republican freighters, one Soviet and another Panamanian were either sunk or forced to run aground by Italian destroyers near the Strait of Sicily.[5] Two light cruisers took part in the shelling of Barcelona and Valencia in 1937, resulting in the deaths of more than 30 civilians.[6]

In 1939, the Regia Marina supported the invasion of Albania. All ground forces involved in the invasion had to cross the Adriatic Sea from mainland Italy and the crossings were accomplished without incident.

HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour surrounded by anti-torpedo nets. Regia Marina divers heavily damaged her on 19 December 1941.

The Regia Marina and the Royal Navy engaged in a two-and-a-half-year struggle for control of the Mediterranean. The Regia Marina's primary goal was to support the Axis forces in North Africa while obstructing the supply route to Alexandria and cutting off supplies to Malta. The Royal Navy's major effort was to maintain supply to the military forces and people of Malta, and secondarily to interdict convoy shipments to North Africa.[12][N 1] The first major action occurred on 11 November 1940 when the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious launched two waves of Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers in a surprise raid against the Italian Fleet moored at the naval base of Taranto. The raid came in undetected, and three battleships were sunk. Another major defeat was inflicted on the Regia Marina at Cape Matapan, where the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy intercepted and destroyed three heavy cruisers (Zara, Pola and Fiume; all of the same class) and two Oriani-class destroyers in a night ambush, with the loss of over 2,300 seamen. The Allies had Ultra intercepts, which uncovered the Italian movements, and radar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the Italian debacle.

On 19 December 1941, the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant were damaged by limpet mines planted by Italian frogmen, knocking both out of the conflict for almost two years. This action, coming on the heels of the loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in the South China Sea, significantly weakened the surface strength of the Royal Navy, making it difficult for them to challenge Italian control of the eastern Mediterranean.[N 2]

On the night of 19 December, Force K, comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based at Malta, ran into an Italian minefield off Tripoli. Three cruisers struck mines, with the cruiser HMS Neptune lost, along with the destroyer HMS Kandahar. In addition, another destroyer was seriously damaged. All told 800 seamen were lost, and Force K, which had been effectively interdicting Axis convoys, was put out of action. This series of successes allowed the Regia Marina to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean. Coupled with an intensive bombing campaign against Malta, the Axis supply routes from southern Europe to North Africa were almost untouched by the Royal Navy or its allies for the next several months.

HMS Bedouin sinking after being disabled by Italian cruisers and hit by an aerial torpedo during Operation Harpoon

The Italian fleet went on the offensive, blocking or mauling three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, including the Second Battle of Sirte in March 1942, Operation Harpoon and Operation Vigorous, (known as the "Battle of Mid-June") and Operation Pedestal (the "Battle of Mid-August"). All of these engagements ended favourably for the Axis. Despite this activity, the only real success of the Italian fleet was the surface attack on the Harpoon convoy, supported by Axis aerial forces. These attacks sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six in the convoy reached Malta. This was the only undisputed squadron-sized victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.[N 3]

Despite the heavy losses suffered by the merchantmen and escorting forces of convoy Pedestal, the oil and supplies brought through allowed the near starving island of Malta to continue to hold out. With Allied landings in North Africa, Operation Torch, in November 1942, the fortunes of war turned against the Italians. Their sea convoys were harassed day after day by the aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies. The maritime lane between Sicily and Tunisia became known as the "route of death". After years of back and forth, the Axis forces were forced to surrender in Tunisia, bringing the campaign for North Africa to a close.

The Regia Marina performed well and bravely in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on speed but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced its main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany.[15]

From 10 June 1940, submarines of the Regia Marina took part in the Battle of the Atlantic alongside the U-boats of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The Italian submarines were based in Bordeaux, France at the BETASOM base. While more suited for the Mediterranean Sea than the Atlantic Ocean, the thirty-two Italian submarines that operated in the Atlantic sank 109 Allied ships for a total of 593,864 tons.

The Regia Marina even planned an attack on New York Harbor with midget submarines for December 1942, but this plan was delayed for many reasons and was never carried out.[16]

Initially, Italian forces enjoyed considerable success in East Africa. From 10 June 1940, the Regia Marina's Red Sea Flotilla, based at Massawa, Eritrea, posed a potential threat to Allied shipping crossing the Red Sea between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This threat increased in August 1940 with the Italian conquest of British Somaliland, which allowed the Italians the use of the port of Berbera; in January 1941, however, British and Commonwealth forces launched a successful counterattack in East Africa and the threat posed by the Red Sea Flotilla disappeared.

Much of the Red Sea Flotilla was destroyed by hostile action during the first months of war or when the port of Massawa fell in April 1941. However, there were a few survivors. In February 1941, prior to the fall of Massawa, the colonial ship Eritrea and the auxiliary cruisers Ramb I and Ramb II broke out and sailed to Kobe, Japan. While Ramb I was sunk by the Royal New Zealand Navy cruiser HMNZS Leander off the Maldives, Eritrea and Ramb II made it to Kobe. As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines — Guglielmotti, Galileo Ferraris, Perla, and Archimede—sailed south from Massawa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed to German occupied Bordeaux, France. One or two Italian merchant ships from the Red Sea Flotilla made it to Vichy French-controlled Madagascar.

On 10 June 1941, the British launched Operation Chronometer, landing a battalion of troops from the British Indian Army at Assab, the last Italian-held harbour on the Red Sea.[17] By 11 June, Assab had fallen. Two days later, on 13 June, the Indian trawler Parvati became the last naval casualty of the East African Campaign when it struck a moored mine near Assab.[18]

"Dazzle" painted Italian World War II MAS boat.

In May 1942, at German request, the Regia Marina deployed four 24-ton torpedo motorboats (Motoscafo Armato Silurante, MAS), six CB-class midget submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to the Black Sea. The vessels were transported overland to the Danube River at Vienna, Austria, and then transported by water to Constanța, Romania. The flotilla had an active and successful campaign, based at Yalta and Feodosia.

After Italy quit the war, most of the Italian vessels on the Black Sea were transferred to Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. In early 1944, six MAS boats were transferred to the Royal Romanian Navy.[19] By August 1944, they were ultimately captured by Soviet forces when Constanța was captured.

The five surviving midget submarines were transferred to the Royal Romanian Navy.[20][21][22][23][24]

The Regia Marina operated a squadron of four MAS boats on Lake Ladoga during the Continuation War (1941–1944). As part of Naval Detachment K, German, Italian, and Finnish vessels operated against Soviet gunboats, escorts and supply vessels during the Siege of Leningrad between 21 June and 21 October 1942. The Italian vessels were ultimately turned over to Finland.

The Regia Marina had a naval base in the concession territory of Tientsin in China. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layer Lepanto and the gunboat Carlotto. During World War II, Italian supply ships, auxiliary cruisers and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East, often in disguise. The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities such as Shanghai, China, and Kobe, Japan.

Seven Italian submarines operating from France were converted by the Italians into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan. The submarines Alpino Bagnolini, Barbarigo, Comandante Cappellini, Giuseppe Finzi, Reginaldo Giuliani, Enrico Tazzoli, and Luigi Torelli were converted for service with the Monsun Gruppe ("Monsoon Group"). The name of Comandante Cappellini was changed to Aquila III.

Twelve additional R-class blockade running transport submarines were specifically designed for trade with the Far East, but only two of these vessels were completed before Italy quit the war. Both of these submarines were destroyed by Allied action almost as soon as they were launched.

In 1943, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was deposed and the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. Under the terms of this armistice, the Regia Marina had to sail its ships to an Allied port. Most sailed to Malta, but a flotilla from La Spezia headed towards Sardinia. This was intercepted and attacked by German aircraft and the battleship Roma was sunk by two hits from Fritz X guided glide-bombs. Among the 1600 sailors killed on board Roma was the Italian Naval Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Carlo Bergamini.[25]

As vessels became available to the new Italian government, the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy was formed to fight on the side of the Allies. Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. Few Regia Marina crews chose to fight for Mussolini's new fascist regime in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, RSI). Mussolini's pro-German National Republican Navy (Marina Nazionale Repubblicana) hardly reached a twentieth the size attained by the co-belligerent Italian fleet.[26] In the Far East, the Japanese occupied the Italian concession territory of Tiensin.

There was little use for the surrendered Italian battleships and there was doubt about the loyalties of the crews, so these ships were interned in Egypt. In June 1944, the less powerful battleships (Andrea Doria, Duilio and Giulio Cesare) were allowed to return to Augusta harbour in Sicily for training. The others, Vittorio Veneto and Italia (ex-Littorio), remained at Ismaïlia in the Suez Canal until 1947. After the war, Giulio Cesare was passed to the Soviet Union.

In the Co-belligerency period, until "VE" (Victory in Europe) Day, Italian light cruisers participated in the naval war in the Atlantic Ocean with patrols against German raiders. Smaller naval units (mainly submarines and torpedo boats) served in the Mediterranean Sea. In the last days of war, the issue of whether Italian battleships and cruisers should participate in the Pacific War was debated by the Allied leaders.

There were also Italian naval units in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The reactions of their crews varied greatly. In general, surface units, mainly supply ships and auxiliary cruisers, either surrendered at Allied ports (Eritrea at Colombo, Ceylon) or, if in Japanese controlled ports, they were scuttled by their own crew (Conte Verde, Lepanto, and Carlotto at Shanghai). Ramb II was taken over by the Japanese in Kobe and renamed Calitea II. Four Italian submarines were in the Far East at the time of the armistice, transporting rare goods to Japan and Singapore: Ammiraglio Cagni, Comandante Cappellini (Aquilla III), Reginaldo Giuliani, and Luigi Torelli. The crew of Ammiraglio Cagni heard of the armistice and surrendered to the Royal Navy off Durban, South Africa. Comandante Cappellini, Reginaldo Giuliani, and Luigi Torelli and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The boats passed to German U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, they continued to fight against the Allies. The German navy assigned new officers to the three submarines. The three were renamed UIT-23, UIT-24 and UIT-25 and took part in German war operations in the Pacific. Reginaldo Giuliani was sunk by the British submarine HMS Tally-Ho in February 1944. In May 1945, the other two vessels were taken over by the Japanese Imperial Navy when Germany surrendered. About twenty Italian sailors continued to fight with the Japanese. Luigi Torelli remained active until 30 August 1945, when, in Japanese waters, this last Fascist Italian submarine shot down a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber of the United States Army Air Forces.[27]

Vittorio Emanuele battleship during WWI

• Duilio class:
  • Enrico Dandolo
• Ruggiero di Lauria class:
  • GR104 (ex-Andrea Doria)
• Re Umberto class:
  • Sardegna
• Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class:
  • Ammiraglio di Saint Bon
  • Emanuele Filiberto
• Regina Margherita class:
  • Regina Margherita
  • Benedetto Brin
• Regina Elena class:
  • Regina Elena
  • Vittorio Emanuele
  • Napoli
  • Roma
• Dante Alighieri
• Conte di Cavour class:
  • Conte di Cavour
  • Giulio Cesare
  • Leonardo da Vinci
• Andrea Doria class:
  • Andrea Doria
  • Duilio

• Giuseppe Garibaldi class:
  • Giuseppe Garibaldi
  • Varese
  • Francesco Ferruccio
• Vettor Pisani class:
  • Vettor Pisani
  • Carlo Alberto
• Pisa class:
  • Pisa
  • Amalfi
• Marco Polo class:
  • Marco Polo
• San Giorgio class:
  • San Giorgio
  • San Marco
• Piemonte class:
  • Piemonte
• Regioni class:
  • Lombardia
  • Liguria
  • Elba
  • Puglia
  • Etruria
  • Umbria
• Libia class:
  • Libia
• Calabria class:
  • Calabria
• Nino Bixio class:
  • Nino Bixio
  • Marsala
• Campania class:
  • Campania
  • Basilicata

• Lampo class:
  • Ostro
  • Lampo
  • Euro
  • Strale
  • Dardo
• Nembo class:
  • Nembo
  • Turbine
  • Espero
  • Borea
  • Aquilone
  • Zeffiro
• Soldato class:
  • Granatiere
  • Bersagliere
  • Garibaldino
  • Corazziere
  • Lanciere
  • Artigliere
  • Alpino
  • Fuciliere
  • Pontiere
  • Ascaro
• Indomito class:
  • Impetuoso
  • Impavido
  • Insidioso
  • Irrequieto
• Ardito class:
  • Ardito
  • Ardente
• Animoso class:
  • Audace
  • Animoso
• Rosolino Pilo class:
  • Rosolino Pilo
  • Giuseppe Cesare Abba
  • Pilade Bronzetti
  • Giuseppe Missori
  • Antonio Mosto
  • Ippolito Nievo
  • Francesco Nullo
  • Simone Schiaffino

• Aquila (modification of the liner Roma, built but never used)
• Sparviero (modification of the liner Augustus, never completed)

• Giuseppe Miraglia (extensively converted merchant ship Città di Messina for the seaplane carrier role, commissioned as a seaplane transport by 1940)

Roma in 1940

• Conte di Cavour class (modernised World War I battleships):
  • Conte di Cavour
  • Giulio Cesare
• Andrea Doria class (modernised World War I battleships):
  • Andrea Doria
  • Duilio
• Littorio class:
  • Littorio/Italia
  • Vittorio Veneto
  • Roma
  • Impero (not completed)

• Trento class:
  • Trento
  • Trieste
  • Bolzano
• Zara class:
  • Zara
  • Fiume
  • Pola
  • Gorizia
• San Giorgio class:
  • San Giorgio

• Condottieri classes:
  • Giussano class:
    • Alberto da Giussano
    • Alberico da Barbiano
    • Bartolomeo Colleoni
    • Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
  • Cadorna class:
    • Luigi Cadorna
    • Armando Diaz
  • Duca d'Aosta class:
    • Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta
    • Eugenio di Savoia
  • Duca degli Abruzzi class:
    • Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi
    • Giuseppe Garibaldi
  • Montecuccoli class:
    • Raimondo Montecuccoli
    • Muzio Attendolo
• Capitani Romani class:
  • Attilio Regolo
  • Giulio Germanico
  • Pompeo Magno
  • Scipione Africano
  • Ulpio Traiano
• Taranto class:
  • Taranto
  • Bari

• Bolzano class: Bolzano aviation and transport cruiser (as regular heavy cruiser, extensively damaged by submarine torpedoes and proposed for reconstruction to a hybrid carrier/transport design)

• Leone class: 3 vessels – 2283 t
  • Leone
  • Pantera
  • Tigre
• Navigatori class: 12 vessels – 2010 t
  • Alvise da Mosto
  • Antonio da Noli
  • Antonio Pigafetta
  • Antoniotto Usodimare
  • Emanuele Pessagno
  • Giovanni da Verrazzano
  • Lanzerotto Malocello
  • Leone Pancaldo
  • Luca Tarigo
  • Nicoloso da Recco
  • Nicolò Zeno
  • Ugolino Vivaldi
• Oriani class or Poeti class: 4 vessels – 1950 t
  • Vittorio Alfieri
  • Giosuè Carducci
  • Vincenzo Gioberti
  • Alfredo Oriani

Starboard side view of the Italian destroyer Artigliere. During the Battle of Cape Passero, the destroyer had been stopped, abandoned, and on fire forward after an engagement with the British cruiser HMS Ajax. The Artigliere was eventually sunk by the cruiser HMS York on 12 October 1940.

• Soldati class: 12 vessels (divided into First Soldati or Camicia Nera and Second Soldati class) – 1620 t
  • Alpino
  • Artigliere
  • Ascari
  • Aviere
  • Bersagliere
  • Carabiniere
  • Corazziere
  • Fuciliere
  • Geniere
  • Granatiere
  • Lanciere
• Maestrale class: 4 vessels – 1449 t
  • Grecale
  • Libeccio
  • Maestrale
  • Scirocco
• Freccia class: 4 vessels – 1450 t
  • Dardo
  • Freccia
  • Saetta
  • Strale
• Mirabello class: 2 vessels – 1383 t
  • Carlo Mirabello
  • Augusto Riboty
• Folgore class: 4 vessels – 1220 t
  • Baleno
  • Folgore
  • Fulmine
  • Lampo
• Turbine class: 8 vessels – 1092 t
  • Aquilone
  • Borea
  • Espero
  • Euro
  • Nembo
  • Ostro
  • Turbine
  • Zeffiro
• Sauro class: 4 vessels – 1058 t
  • Cesare Battisti
  • Daniele Manin
  • Francesco Nullo
  • Nazario Sauro
• Sella class: 2 vessels – 935 t
  • Quintino Sella
  • Francesco Crispi

• Spica class: 30 vessels
  • Airone
  • Alcione
  • Aldebaran
  • Altair
  • Andromeda
  • Antares
  • Aretusa
  • Ariel
  • Astore
  • Calipso
  • Calliope
  • Canopo
  • Cassiopea
  • Castore
  • Centauro
  • Cigno
  • Circe
  • Climene
  • Clio
  • Libra
  • Lince
  • Lira
  • Lupo
  • Pallade
  • Partenope
  • Perseo
  • Pleiadi
  • Polluce
  • Sagittario
  • Sirio
  • Spica
  • Vega
• Rosolino Pilo class: 7 vessels
• Audace class: 1 vessel
  • Audace
• Giuseppe Sirtori class: 4 vessels
• La Masa class: 7 vessels
• Palestro class: 4 vessels
  • Palestro
  • Confienza
  • San Martino
  • Solferino
• Generali class: 6 vessels
  • Generale Antonio Cantore
  • Generale Antonio Cascino
  • Generale Antonio Chinotto
  • Generale Carlo Montanari
  • Generale Marcello Prestinari
  • Generale Achille Papa
• Curtatone class: 4 vessels
  • Calatafimi
  • Castelfidardo
  • Curtatone
  • Monzambano
• Orsa class: 4 vessels
  • Pegaso
  • Procione
  • Orione
  • Orsa
• Ciclone class: 16 vessels
  • Aliseo
  • Animoso
  • Ardente
  • Ardimentoso
  • Ardito
  • Ciclone
  • Fortunale
  • Ghibli
  • Groppo
  • Impavido
  • Impetuoso
  • Indomito
  • Intrepido
  • Monsone
  • Tifone
  • Uragano
• Ariete class: 16 vessels
  • Alabarda
  • Ariete
  • Arturo
  • Auriga
  • Balestra
  • Daga
  • Dragone
  • Eridano
  • Fionda
  • Gladio
  • Lancia
  • Pugnale
  • Rigel
  • Spada
  • Spica
  • Stella Polare

• Acciaio class: 13 vessels – 715 t
  • Acciaio
  • Alabastro
  • Argento
  • Asteria
  • Avorio
  • Bronzo
  • Cobalto
  • Giada
  • Granito
  • Nichelio
  • Platino
  • Porfido
  • Volframio (ex-Stronzio)
• Adua class: 17 vessels – 698 t, coastal submarines
  • Alagi
  • Ascianghi
  • Axum
  • Dagabur
  • Dessiè
  • Sciré
  • Adua
  • Aradam
  • Beilul
  • Durbo
  • Gondar
  • Lafolè
  • Macallé
  • Neghelli
  • Tembien
  • Uarsciek
  • Uebi Scebeli
• Argonauta class: 7 vessels – 665 t
  • Argonauta
  • Salpa
• Perla class: 10 vessels – 700 t
  • Ambra
  • Berillo
  • Corallo
  • Diaspro
  • Gemma
  • Iride
  • Malachite
  • Onice
  • Perla
  • Turchese
• Sirena class: 12 vessels – 701 t
• Archimede class: 4 vessels – 985 t
  • Galileo Ferraris
  • Galileo Galilei
  • Archimede
  • Evangelista Torricelli
• Argo class: 2 vessels – 794 t
  • Argo
  • Velella
• Balilla class: 4 vessels – 1450 t
  • Balilla
  • Domenico Millelire
  • Antonio Sciesa
  • Enrico Toti
• Bandiera class: 4 vessels – 941 t
  • Fratelli Bandiera
  • Luciano Manara
  • Ciro Menotti
  • Santorre Santarosa,
• Bragadin class: 2 vessels – 981 t
  • Marcantonio Bragadin
  • Filippo Corridoni
• Brin class: 5 vessels – 1016 t
  • Brin
  • Galvani
  • Guglielmotti
  • Archimede
  • Torricelli
• Cagni class: 4 vessels – 1708 t
  • Ammiraglio Cagni
  • Ammiraglio Saint-Bon
  • Ammiraglio Caracciolo
  • Ammiraglio Millo
• Calvi class: 5 vessels – 1550 t
  • Pietro Calvi
  • Giuseppe Finzi
  • Enrico Tazzoli
• R class: 2 vessels – 2210 t
  • Remo
  • Romolo
• Fieramosca class: 1 vessel – 1556 t
  • Ettore Fieramosca
• Flutto class:
  • 1st series: 8 vessels – 958 t
    • Cernia
    • Dentice
    • Flutto
    • Gorgo
    • Grongo
    • Marea
    • Murena
    • Nautilo
    • Sparide
    • Spigola
    • Tritone
    • Vortice
  • 2nd series: 8 vessels – 958 t
    • Bario
    • Ferro
    • Litio
    • Piombo
    • Potassio
    • Rame
    • Sodio
    • Zinco
• Foca class: 3 vessels – 1333 t
  • Foca
  • Zoea
  • Atropo
• Glauco class: 2 vessels – 1055 t
  • Glauco
  • Otaria
• Liuzzi class: 4 vessels – 1187 t
  • Reginaldo Giuliani
  • Console Generale Liuzzi
  • Alpino Bagnolini
  • Capitano Tarantini
• Mameli class: 3 vessels – 830 t
  • Goffredo Mameli
  • Pier Capponi
  • Giovanni da Procida
  • Tito Speri
• Marcello class: 11 vessels – 1063 t
  • Mocenigo
  • Dandolo
  • Veniero
  • Provana
  • Marcello
  • Nani
  • Barbarigo
  • Emo
  • Morosini
  • Comandante Cappellini
  • Comandante Faà di Bruno
• Marconi class: 6 vessels – 1195 t
  • Maggiore Baracca
  • Michele Bianchi
  • Alessandro Malaspina
  • Guglielmo Marconi
  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Luigi Torelli
• Pietro Micca class: 1 vessel – 1570 t
  • Pietro Micca
• Pisani class: 4 vessels – 880 t
  • Vettor Pisani
  • Marcantonio Colonna
  • Giovanni Bausan
  • Des Geneys
• Settembrini class: 2 vessels – 953 t
  • Luigi Settembrini
  • Ruggiero Settimo
• Squalo class: 4 vessels – 933 t
  • Squalo
  • Delfino
  • Tricheco
  • Narvalo

• Ramb class: 4 vessels (only 2 converted to auxiliary cruisers) – 3,667 t
  • Ramb I
  • Ramb II

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Royal Italian Navy[28]
	Grande ammiraglio		Ammiraglio d'armata	Ammiraglio designato d'armata	Ammiraglio di squadra		Ammiraglio di divisione		Contrammiraglio		Capitano di vascello		Capitano di fregata		Capitano di corvetta		Primo tenente di vascello	Tenente di vascello	Sottotenente di vascello			Guardiamarina			Aspirante guardiamarina

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Royal Italian Navy																																			No insignia
	Capo di Prima Classe						Capo di Seconda Classe	Capo di Terza Classe			Secondo Capo						Sergente										Sottocapo		Comune di 1ª classe						Comune di 2ª classe

• Comune di 2ª classe – Seaman apprentice (historical equivalent in the British Navy, ordinary seaman)
• Comune di 1ª classe – Seaman (historical equivalent in the British Nave, able bodied seaman)
• Sottocapo – Leading seaman
• Sergente – Petty officer 2nd class
• Secondo capo – Petty officer 1st class
• Capo di terza classe – Chief petty officer 2nd class
• Capo di seconda classe – Chief petty officer 1st class
• Capo di prima classe – Warrant officer

• Aspirante – Aspirant (roughly equivalent to midshipman in the British Navy)
• Sottotenente (Sublieutenant) – Second Lieutenant
• Tenente – Lieutenant
• Primo Tenente – First Lieutenant
• Capitano – Captain
• Primo Capitano – First Captain
• Maggiore – Major
• Tenente Colonello – Lieutenant Colonel
• Colonello – Colonel
• Colonello Comandante – Colonel commandant
• Maggiore Generale – Major General
• Tenente Generale – Lieutenant general
• Generale ispettore – General

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