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BB Littorio Punta Stilo/Calabria Question


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#1 Dave Franklin

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Posted 31 May 2016 - 02:52 PM

I was looking at doing a Punta Stilo/Calabria “what if” scenario, where the Italian fleet is augmented by the battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto.

 

I know they were still working up, and there is a sentence on page 69 of The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943 by Jack Greene & Alessandro Massignani that says “But there had been an electrical fire in one of Littorio’s main turrets the previous day, killing one civilian worker and causing damage which would need a month’s work to repair.” 

 

My question is, which turret?  Anyone have a source that identifies it?

 

Unfortunately the endnote in The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943 seems to focus on a subsequent sentence on how it was likely the ships could have been able to reach the fleet in time.



#2 Lonnie Gill

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Posted 31 May 2016 - 07:52 PM

G' Day Dave,

 

Page 165 and 166 of The Littorio Class by E. Bagnasco and A deToro gives the particulars.  The fire took place on 7 July in turret # 1 and required replacement of wiring and cables along with several plates in the central hoist shaft.  Repairs were made quickly, but her # 1 turret was still out of action during the 18 July 1940 gunnery practice.  Turret # 2 was also out of action for a few days due to flooding during a violent storm and not available on 9 July if she had actually sailed to take part in the battle.

 

In addition, the power rammers on both ships had problems during work up and replacements wren't complete until late September.  These and other problems delayed completion of main gun calibration until October 1940.  These kinds of problems were pretty normal for new ships - especially new designs - and their work up was actually pretty rapid given the pressures of war time.

 

The RMI did consider sailing the two new battleships in case of an extreme emergency, but the Battle of Punta Stilo (Calabria) did not require such extreme measures.   

 

Your scenario would thus have to assume that these problems did not take place, but certainly would make for quite an interesting "what if" battle. Exploring these is one of the great advantages of our hobby.   Let us know how it turns out!

 

LL GILL



#3 Dave Franklin

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Posted 02 June 2016 - 08:55 AM

Lonnie,

 

Thanks for the info.  I personally can't see the Italians committing Littorio with only her stern turret operable, so unless Vittorio Veneto had specific issues too, I'm leaning towards just including Vittorio Veneto, with some rules similar to what I would use to simulate Prince of Wales problems against Bismarck.

 

Or as you indicated, maybe part of the "what if" will be that both ships had completed their working up…

 

Dave






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