The largest and most powerful warships ever built in Italy, the battleships of the Littorio class, were the first “35,000 tonners” to come under the provisions of the Washington Treaty. Although the Washington Navel Conference of 1922 gave Italy the authority to build up to 182,800 tons of new capital ships (including 70,000 tons prior to 1932), the Italians waited more than a decade before beginning construction.
The RN Roma was commissioned on 14 June 1942. On 21 August she arrived in Taranto, where she joined the 9th Navel Division. She was the last Italian capital ship to enter service, and had a very brief and tragic career. The RN Roma went to sea 9 September 1943. Enroute to Malta, when in the Golf of Sardinia, she was attacked by German aircraft the “Fritz X”. Truly the RN Roma was sunk by a powerful new type of guided missile, specifically designed for use against heavily armored targets. Of a total of 1,849 officers and men on board, only 596 survived. The RN Roma’s career lasted 15 months, during which she participated in no combat missions. She made 20 sorties, steamed 2,492 miles during 133 hours underway and consumed 3,320 metric tons of fuel. She was out of service for 63 days during her career.
