Italian Ironclad Caio Duilio
Caio Duilio was the lead ship in a class of two ironclad battleships built in Italy for the Regia Marina in the 1870s. A revolutionary design fitted with the largest guns available, 100-ton 450 mm calibre muzzle-loading guns, she and her sister ship were regarded as the most powerful warships afloat in their day.
On March 1873, Italian minister of the navy Admiral Simone Antonio Saint-Bon announced the construction of three new battleships for the Regia Marina, which would be the most powerful in the world. The naval architect Benedetto Brin was asked to design them. The first to be launched was Caio Duilio, named after the Roman Consul Gaius Duilius. Constructing these ships greatly stretched the infant Italian ship industry but, at the same time, helped the country to develop towards a modern industrial economy. Only two ships were constructed.
Read more about Italian Ironclad Caio Duilio: Design, Accident, British Response
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