Marina Militare

File:Naval Jack of Italy.png

Marina Militare naval jack

Marina Militare (the Italian Navy) is one of the four branches of the military forces of Italy. It was born in 1946, as the Navy of the Italian Republic, from the ashes of the Regia Marina. Marina Militare celebrates on 10 June, on the anniversary (1918) of the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István.

Structure

Marina Militare is divided into five corps:

• Armi Navale (naval ordnance corps);
• Genio Navale (naval combat engineering)
• Commissariato Militare Marittimo (commissariat)
• Corpo Sanitario (sanitary service)
• Capitanerie di Porto (coast guard).

Ensign

File:Naval Ensign of Italy.png

Ensign of the Marina Militare. Merchant navy adopts a similar ensign, with the crown removed.

The ensign of the Marina Militare is the Italian tricolour with Marina Militare emblem on the white third. The emblem is composed by a shield, whose four parts are reference to Medieval Italian Thalassocracies (Italian: Repubbliche Marinare):

• 1st quarter: on red, a golden winged lion wielding a sword (Republic of Venice);
• 2nd quarter: on white field, red cross (Republic of Genoa);
• 3rd quarter: on blue field, white cross (Republic of Amalfi);
• 4th quarter: on red field, white cross (Republic of Pisa).

The shield has a golden crown, that distinguish military vessels from merchant: the crown, "Corona rostrata", was proposed in 1939 by Admiral Cavagnari to the Government, as an acknowledge of the Italian Navy's origin since the Roman times. In the proposal, Adm. Cavagnari wrote that "in order to recall the common origin [of the Navy] from the Roman sailorship, the Insignia will be surmounted by the towered Crown with rostrums, the emblem of honour and valour the Roman Senate awarded to the leaders of naval victories, conquerors of lands and cities across the seas". Another difference with the merchant vessels flag is that the lion symbolizing the Republic of Venice has the book in its paw closed (the Mark's Gospel, that on the Republic Insignia is open on the words "Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus", Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist) and it is wielding a sword.

History

The Marina Militare Italiana was born as Regia Marina on 17 March 1861, after the proclamation of the Italian Kingdom

See: Regia Marina

After World War II

At the end of World War II, Italy was as a devastated nation after five years of war. After the end of hostilities the Regia Marina, which at the beginning of the war was the fourth largest navy in the world with a mix of modernised and new battleships, started a long and complex rebuilding process. The important combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943 and the subsequent cooperation agreement on 23 September 1943 left the Regia Marina in a poor condition, with much of its infrastructures and installations unusable and its ports mined and blocked by sunken ships. However a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state, which was due to the conflict and the old age of many vessels. They vessels that remained were:

• 2 Aircraft carries
• 5 Battleships
• 9 Cruisers
• 11 Destroyers
• 22 Frigates
• 19 Corvettes
• 44 Fast Coastal Patrol units
• 50 Minesweepers
• 16 Amphibious operations vessels
• 2 School ships, one of these was the sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci
• 1 support ship and plane transport
• various Submarine units

The peace Treaty

The peace Treaty signed on 10 February 1947 in Paris was onerous for the Marina. Apart from territorial and material losses, also the following restrictions were imposed:

• A ban to own, to build or to experiment with atomic weapons, self-propulsion projectiles or relative launchers, etc…
• A ban to own Battleships, Aircraft carriers, Submarines and Amphibious Assault units.
• A ban to operate military installations on the islands of Pantelleria, Pianosa and on the archipelago of Pelagie Islands.

The treaty also ordered Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nations United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, Greece and Jugoslavia and Albania as war compensation:

• 3 Battleships: Giulio Cesare, Italia, Vittorio Veneto;
• 5 Cruisers: Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Attilio Regolo, Scipione Africano, Eugenio di Savoia and Eritrea;
• 7 Destroyers, 5 of the "Soldati" class and Augusto Riboty and Alfredo Oriani;
• 6 Minesweepers: like Aliseo and Fortunale;
• 8 Submarines: 3 of the "Acciaio" class;
• 1 Sailing School ship: Cristoforo Colombo.

The total displacement, battleships excluded, of the future navy was not allowed to be greater than 67,500 tons, while the staff was capped at 25.000 men.

The adhesion to the NATO

The great changes in the international political situation convinced Great Britain and the United States to cease the process of handing in of the navy's large ships, which had been dismantled in La Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the flagship aircraft carrier "Aquila". The Soviet Union, instead, claimed the handing in of the warship "Giulio Cesare" and much of units to her attributed. The cruisers "Attilio Regolo" and "Scipione Africano" became the French "Chateaurenault" and "Guichen", while the "Eugenio di Savoia" became the Greek "Helli". So only a small part of the fleet, that which was not transferred or demolished, could be reinserted in the Marina.

As US attention turned to the Soviets and the Mediterranean Sea it transformed Italian seas in one of the main places of confrontation between the two superpowers, contributing to the re-emergence of Italy’s importance and of its ports thanks to her strategic geographical position.

With the new elections in 1948, the Kingdom of Italy became the Italian Republic, and the Regia Marina (‘’”Royal Navy”’’) took on the name of Marina Militare Italiana. In full Marshall Plan and in a context where Europe was going to be divided in two set against blocks, Italy began to entertain talks with the United States aimed to obtain adequate safety guarantee. The government in Washington, greatly interested to keep its own installations on the peninsula, loosened peace Treaty bonds by inserting the Italian nation into the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme (MDAP).

On 4 April 1949, Italy joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), corroborating her impossibility to contributing actively in the organization: that lead to the definitive repeal of the peace Treaty bonds by the end of 1951, with the consent of all of Western nations.

The Development of the fleet

Within NATO, the Marina Militare was assigned the control of the Adriatic Sea and Strait of Otranto, as well sa the defence of the naval routes through the Tyrrhenian Sea. To ensure these tasks was carried out a "Studio sul potenziamento della Marina italiana in relazione al Patto Atlantico" (Study about the Development of the Italian navy with reference to the Atlantic Pact) was undertaken, which researched the structures and the methods for the development of the Marina Militare.

This solution required a great economic effort aimed at the rebuilding and transformation of the fleet; it also required aid from the United States to reach the necessary standard. However the program carried on slowly both due to the economic pressures on Italy due to the post-war period rebuilding process and by the obstacles placed by some of European governments who were concerned at seeing an Italian Navy capable of rivalling the Western naval forces.

Present Day Marina Militare

Today's Marina Militare is a modern navy with ships of every type, such as aircraft carriers, destroyers, modern frigates, submarines, amphibious ships and plenty of other smaller ships, including oceanographic research ships. The fleet is in continuous evolution; the Marina Militare is now equipping herself with a bigger aircraft carrier (the Cavour), new destroyers, submarines and multipurpose frigates.In modern times, the Marina Militare, being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations. The "Marina Militare" is considered the sixth strongest navy of the world.

Ships

Currently Active

Aircraft carriers (CVS-ASW)

• Giuseppe Garibaldi (C 551)

Destroyers

De la Penne class

• Luigi Durand De la Penne (D 560) (formerly Animoso)
• Francesco Mimbelli (D 561) (formerly Ardimentoso)

Amphibious transport dock ships

San Giorgio class

• San Giorgio (L 9892)
• San Marco (L 9893)
• San Giusto (L 9894)

Frigates

Maestrale class

• Maestrale (F 570)
• Grecale (F 571)
• Libeccio (F 572)
• Scirocco (F 573)
• Aliseo (F 574)
• Euro (F 575)
• Espero (F 576)
• Zeffiro (F 577)

Soldati class

• Artigliere (F 582)
• Aviere (F 583)
• Bersagliere (F 584)
• Granatiere (F 585)

Corvettes - Patrol Ships

Minerva class - 1st series

• Minerva (F 551)
• Danaide (F 553)
• Urania (F 552)
• Sfinge (F 554)

Minerva class - 2nd series

• Driade (F 555)
• Chimera (F 556)
• Fenice (F 557)
• Sibilla (F 558)

Cassiopea class

• Cassiopea (P 401)
• Libra (P 402)
• Spica (P 403)
• Vega (P 404)

Comandanti class (NUMC)

• Comandante Cigala Fulgosi (P 490)
• Comandante Borsini (P 491)
• Comandante Bettica (P 492)
• Comandante Foscari (P 493)

Cassiopea 2 class (NUPA)

• Sirio (P 409)
• Orione (P 410)

Esploratore class

• Esploratore (P 405)
• Sentinella (P 406)
• Vedetta (P 407)
• Staffetta (P 408)

Mine Warfare Vessels

Lerici class - 1st series

• Lerici (M 5550)
• Sapri (M 5551)
• Milazzo (M 5552)
• Vieste (M 5553)

Lerici class – 2nd series

• Gaeta (M 5554)
• Termoli (M 5555)
• Alghero (M 5556)
• Numana (M 5557)
• Crotone (M 5558)
• Viareggio (M 5559)
• Chioggia (M 5560)
• Rimini (M 5561)

Ponza class

• Ponza (A 5364)
• Levanzo (A 5366)
• Tavolata (A 5367)
• Palmaria (A 5368)
• Procida (A 5383)

Submarines

U212A class

• C.te Salvatore Todaro (S 526)
• Sciré (S 527)

Sauro IV class

• Primo Longobardo (S 524)
• Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia (S 525)

Sauro III class

• Salvatore Pelosi (S 522)
• Patricio (Pato) Prini (S 523)

Sauro class

• Leonardo da Vinci (S 520)

Auxiliaries

Squadron Replenishment Ships

• Etna (A 5326)
• Stromboli (A 5327)
• Vesuvio (A 5329)

Gasoline Tankers

• Panarea (A 5370)
• Linosa (A 5371)
• Favignana (A 5372)
• Salina (A 5373)

Water Transports

• Ticino (A 5376)
• Tirso (A 5377)

Vehicle Transport Ships

• Gorgona (A 5347)
• Tremiti (A 5348)
• Caprera (A 5349)
• Pantelleria (A 5351)
• Lipari (A 5352)
• Capri (A 5353)

Weapons Test Ships

• Carabiniere ( F 581) (Frigate size)
• Raffaele Rossetti (A 5315)
• Vincenzo Martellotta (A 5320)

Others

• Anteo (A 5309): Submarine Rescue and Salvage Ship
• Elettra (A 5340): Electronic Warfare Ship

Training ships

• Palinuro (A 5311)
• Amerigo Vespucci (A 5312)

Corsaro class

• Stella Polare (A 5313)
• Corsaro II (A 5316)

Decommissioned Ships

Submarine Evangelista Torricelli (S-512), former USS Lizardfish (SS-373).

• Andrea Doria class cruisers (1964 - 1991): 2 vessels
• Vittorio Veneto class cruisers (1969 - 2003): 1 vessel
• Audace class destroyers: 2 vessels
• Lupo class frigates: 4 vessels
• Submarines: Alfredo Cappellini (S-507) Evangelista Torricelli (S-512), Livio Piomarta (S-515).
• Sauro class submarines: Sauro (S518), Di Cossato (S519), Da Vinci (S520), Marconi (S521)

Under Construction

• Cavour aircraft carrier: 1 vessel (Cavour), 2007
• Orizzonte class AA destroyer: 2 vessels, (Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio), to replace destroyers Audace and Ardito, 2008 and 2010
• "Rinascimento (FREMM)" class frigates: 10 vessels, to replace class frigates Maestrale and Lupo (decommissioned)

Rank Structure

Ufficiali generali - General officers
Capo di Stato Maggiore della Marina Chief of the Navy
Ammiraglio di Squadra Squad Admiral (Vice Admiral)		Ammiraglio di Divisione Division Admiral (Rear Admiral Upper Half)		Contrammiraglio Rear Admiral (Rear Admiral Lower Half / Commodore)
Ufficiali superiori - Senior officers
Capitano di vascello Naval Vessel Captain (Captain)		Capitano di fregata Frigate Captain (Commander)		Capitano di corvetta Corvette Captain (Lieutenant Commander)
Ufficiali inferiori - Junior officers
Tenente di vascello Naval Vessel Lieutenant (Lieutenant)		Sottotenente di vascello Naval Vessel Sub-lieutenant (Lieutenant Junior Grade / Sublieutenant)	Guardiamarina Ensign	Aspirante guardiamarina Ensign Apprentice
Sottufficiali - Warrant Officers
Primo maresciallo luogotenente First Lieutenant Warrant Officer		Primo maresciallo First Warrant Officer		Capo di prima classe First Class Chief
Capo di seconda classe Second Class Chief		Capo di terza classe Third Class Chief	Secondo capo Second Chief	Sergente Sergeant
Truppa - Troops
Sottocapo di prima classe scelto First Class Senior Sub-Chief Chief Petty Officer		Sottocapo di prima classe First Class Sub-Chief Petty Officer First Class		Sottocapo di seconda classe Second Class Sub-Chief Petty Officer Second Class
				no insignia
Sottocapo di terza classe Third Class Sub-Chief Petty Officer Third Class		Sottocapo Sub-Chief Seaman	Comune di prima classe First Class Seaman Seaman Apprentice	Comune di seconda classe Second Class Seaman Seaman Recruit

External links

• Marina Militare homepage
• Italian Navy from www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk - 10 pages of photos
• Italian Navy Italian Navy

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