RN Dante Alighieri
Contents
Description
The RN Dante Alighieri, 1923 is a rank V Italian battleship with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Red Skies".
General info
Survivability and armour
The RN Dante Alighieri has a crew of 970 sailors, giving the ability to withstand many salvoes of enemy shells. The ship has 100 mm of armour on the citadel in the front, 250 mm on both sides, and only 24 mm in the back, the hull has 25 mm of steel and in the superstructure 16 mm of steel. Thanks to all this, the armour can withstand significant enemy damage.
Mobility
The RN Dante Alighieri is powered by 12 pairs of engines which in turn power 4 propellers generating enough power to bring the ship to a maximum speed of 44 km/h, and 25 km/h in reverse.
Mobility Characteristics | |||
---|---|---|---|
Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
Forward | Reverse | ||
AB | |||
Upgraded | 51 | 29 | |
RB/SB | |||
Upgraded | 44 | 25 |
Modifications and economy
Armament
Primary armament
The primary armament is composed of 4 triple-mount turrets of 305 mm/46 Armstrong model 1909 cannons, equipped with SAP and APHE. The SAP shells are very useful and can cause serious damage to all enemy ships while APHE will cause serious damage if they are used against weak points of the enemy ships.
Secondary armament
Secondary armament is composed of 4 twin-mounted 120 mm/50 Armstrong model 1909 cannons, 12 single 120 mm/50 Armstrong cannons, and 12 x 76 mm/40 Armstrong cannons. The 120 mm are perfect for shooting light ships like destroyers and boats while the 76 mm can be very useful to let the AI use as anti-air weaponry.
Anti-aircraft armament
This ship as anti-aircraft armament has 4 x 76 mm/40 Armstrong cannons and 2 x 40 mm/39 Vickers-Terni, the 40 mm have HE-TF but do not have great potential against aircraft, while the 76 mm have only APHE, which is useful against small ships but will not do much as an anti-aircraft weapon.
Usage in battles
Being a dreadnought, the RN Dante Alighieri can cause great damage to both small ships and enemy BBs with its 305 mm cannons, while the secondary 120 mm cannons can cause serious damage to light ships. It also carries a small anti-aircraft suite unlike other dreadnoughts, made up of 76 mm and 40 mm cannons, though it is somewhat ineffective.
In battle, use the SAP shells because they cause serious damage to enemy ships, easily setting enemy ships alight and reducing their crew in a short time. The APHE can be used against other BBs or against ships where you know the exact position of their ammo racks.
When aiming with the main cannons at an enemy, traverse to the side to make a full salvo against the enemy, and after firing begin to zigzag to avoid enemy shots.
The secondary 120 mm cannons are perfect for destroying destroyers or small fast approaching ships, for the simple fact that they are present on the belt of the ship and are also equipped with SAP shells causing incendiary damage to enemies.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Devastating firepower
- Very good SAP and AP of the main cannons
- Very good survivability (970 crew members)
- Sizeable crew complement
- Better AA protection than other dreadnoughts
- Good armour
- Very good speed and manoeuvrability compared to other battleships
Cons:
- Mediocre anti-aircraft versus fast planes
- Low amount of AA
- Armament potential only when sideways (ship must have main turrets turned towards the side of the ship to make a full salvo)
History
After the construction of HMS Dreadnought, several nations tried to build similar ships which were then classified as dreadnoughts, because HMS Dreadnought marked the beginning of the first battleships.
The Italian Navy was still engaged in the construction of the Vittorio Emanuele-class fast battleships, which was unsuccessful despite being promoted by a senior officer.
The first Italian dreadnought was the RN Dante Alighieri, launched in 1910 and designed by the Naval Engineer Edoardo Masdea.
This ship demonstrated numerous technical innovations, among which the arrangement of the 12 x 305 mm main cannons in triple turrets. To ensure maximum performance of each system, the turrets were arranged longitudinally; the system of superfiring towers was not adopted because at that time there were doubts about the system that was used by the Americans and British.
In the end, the RN Dante Alighieri can be considered as a prototype for the development of the following Conte di Cavour and Duilio classes.
Media
See also
External links
Royal Dockyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia) | |
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Corvettes | |
Albatros-class | Albatros · Alcione |
Battleships | |
Unique Ships | RN Dante Alighieri |
Duilio-class | RN Duilio |
Francesco Caracciolo-class | RN Francesco Caracciolo |
Italy battleships | |
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RN Dante Alighieri* | |
Conte di Cavour-class | RN Conte di Cavour · RN Leonardo da Vinci |
Duilio-class | RN Duilio · RN Andrea Doria |
Francesco Caracciolo-class | RN Francesco Caracciolo |
* = Unique ship |