Italian Battleship Impero - History

History

Authorized to be built by Ansaldo of Genoa, Impero's keel was laid down on 14 May 1938 and launched on 15 November 1939. With Genoa being in bombing range of France, and war now a definite possibility, Impero was moved to Brindisi on 8 June 1940. Trieste was considered a better location, but Roma was fitting out there and the shipyard could not handle two battleships at one time. Despite the intent, Brindisi was still hit by Allied bombers, but Impero was not hit; however, as escorts for merchant convoys were desperately needed, and needed parts for ships were in short supply, construction of Impero was delayed to expedite those ships. The only work done was the fitting of the engines and some gun mountings.

Fitted with small-caliber anti-aircraft and anti-surface weaponry, Impero was sailed—using her own propulsion—to Venice on 22 January 1942. At some later time, she was moved again to Trieste. After Italy's capitulation to the Allies, Impero was seized by the Germans, who prepared to scrap her. This was evidently never completed, as the hulk was discovered by Allied forces in Trieste after the war half-sunk, as the Germans had used her as a target ship and the Allies had damaged her during an air attack on 20 February 1945. Impero was struck on 27 March 1947. The hulk was raised sometime in 1947 and towed to Venice, where she was moored and scrapped from 1948 to 1950.

At the time of the capitulation, Impero's hull was 88% complete and the engines were 76% complete, but overall the ship was only 28% complete; it would have required about eighteen more months of full work to be finished. Key features such as the armament, electrical wiring and a reworking of the bridge had still not been completed.