Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1115

 DEFENCE

993

III. Navy. The Italian navy estimates for financial years ending June 30 were :- £ £

1911- 1910-

12

11

7,802,488 6,950,988

1909-10

1908-09

6,685,440 6,335,880

The naval administration, under the Minister of Marine, is thus organised. An assistant secretary ; a vice-admiral as Chief of the Staff ; a Superior Board composed of two vice-admirals, the lieutenant-general of the Genio Navalc (naval architect), the major-general of engineers' corps, a captain as secretary, and a civil member ; a general surgeon at the head of the sanitary service ; a colonel of the Genio Militare (military architect) at the head of a section having charge of the engineering works of the naval stations ; a general paymaster directing the sections of account. A rear-admiral is chief of a special depart- ment administering matters concerning the personnel, (officers) ; another rear- admiral the personnel (men) ; a major-general of the Genio Navale of that dealing with naval construction, and a rear-admiral of that devoted to ordnance and equipment. A civil officer administers the department of the merchant marine, which is under the direction of the assistant secretary for the navy. For purposes of local naval administration and defence the Italian littoral is divided into three departments : 1, Spezia ; 2, Naples ; 3, Venice. The vessels are apportioned, for administrative purposes, between the three departments. There are torpedo stations all round the Italian coasts, the head stations being at Genoa, Spezia, Maddalena, Gaeta, Messina, Taranto, Brindisi, Ancona, and Venice. Summary of the Italian navy : —

Completed at end of

1912

1913

1914

" Dreadnoughts " Pre-Dreadnoughts Armoured cruisers Protected cruisers Torpedo gunboats, etc. Destroyers. Torpedo boats Submarines.

1 14 10 11 10 35 111 IS

4 11 (V) 10 12 10

(?) Ill

32

6 11

9

13 (?) (?) (?) (?)

Some ships of no fighting value are excluded from the above table.

The tables which follow of the Italian armour-clad fleet and first-class cruisers are arranged chronologically, after the manner of other similar tables in this book, though it should be remembered that in Italian official classifica- tion the usual line between battleships and armoured cruisers does not exist.

Battle Fleet.

Name

Displace- ment.

Armoiir

Principal Armament

o

Indicated orse-power

=2^

4^

m

a.

Max. speed

£

s

1

1 .a

.

Dreadnoughts.

knots

1909

Dante Alighieri (Gonte di Gavour ■! Oiulio Cesare . {Leonardo da Vinci.

19,000

n

9^

12r2in.; 20 4 -Tin.

—

34,0001

24

1910

}21,500

y.?

9^

13 12in.; 18 4-7in.

—

24,0001

22-5

/

1912

(Duilio {Andrea Doria

1 21,500

n

1'^

13 12iii.; 18 6in.

—

—

—

^ s