The Andrea Doria was an Italian battleship, the first named after Andrea Doria

Andrea Doria

Andrea Doria was an Italian condottiere and admiral from Genoa.-Early life:Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related: Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, and Caracosa Doria, of the...

, launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 in 1885. She was the third and final ship of the Ruggiero di Lauria-class

Ruggiero di Lauria class battleship

The Ruggiero di Lauria class was a class of Italian battleships which served in the Regia Marina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

 pre-dreadnoughts, and served in the Regia Marina

Regia Marina

The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

(Italian Royal Navy) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Design

The Ruggiero di Lauria class was designed by Giuseppe Micheli. He chose essentially to repeat the Duilio-class design; he did, however, improve on the Duilio class by giving the Ruggiero di Lauria-class ships breech-loading

Breech-loading weapon

A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....

 17 inches (432 mm) guns (the Duilio class had been armed with 17.7 inches (450 mm) muzzle loaders

Muzzleloader

A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun . This is distinct from the more popular modern designs of breech-loading firearms...

) mounted in barbette

Barbette

A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...

s rather than turrets

Gun turret

A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...

, a high forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

, a better quality of armor, and a better distribution of armor. The main battery was mounted in twin mounts close together en echelon amidships, with the port barbette aft of the starboard one.

Andrea Doria had the second most powerful propulsion machinery of the three ships of her class; she was 0.1 knot (0.195983999843213 km/h) faster than Francesco Morosini

Italian battleship Francesco Morosini (1885)

The first Francesco Morosini was an Italian battleship launched in 1885. She was the second ship of the Ruggiero di Lauria-class pre-dreadnoughts, and served in the Regia Marina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....

, but 0.9 knots (1.8 km/h) slower than Ruggiero di Lauria

Italian battleship Ruggiero di Lauria

Ruggiero di Lauria was an Italian battleship launched in 1884. She was the lead ship of the Ruggiero di Lauria-class pre-dreadnoughts, and served in the Regia Marina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-Design:...

. In 1900, additions were made to her tertiary armament.

Construction

Andrea Doria was under construction for nine-and-a-half years. She was laid down at La Spezia

La Spezia

La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...

 Navy Yard on 7 January 1882 and launched on 21 November 1885. She was not completed for another five-and-a-half years, her construction finally being finished on 16 May 1891. Because of the rapid pace of naval technological development in the late 19th century, her lengthy construction period meant that she was an obsolete design by the time she entered service.

Operational history

After a fairly short operational life, Andrea Doria was stricken on 25 May 1911. After that, she became a depot ship

Depot ship

A depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...

 at Taranto

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

. From 7 April 1915 until after the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, she served as the defensive floating battery

Artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 GR104 at Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

. After the war, she was used as a floating oil tank until she was scrapped in 1929.

See also