Andrea Doria

Battleship

Kingdom of Italy | 1913

"The Andrea Doria survived World War 1 and World War 2, eventually seeing retirement in 1958."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/04/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Andrea Doria was one of two battleships in the Andrea Doria-class serving the Italian Navy in the 20th century. Construction was handled between the shipyards of La Spezia and Castellammare from 1912 onwards until the vessels were launched in 1915 and made ready for operational service by 1916. Based on the Conte di Cavour battleship design, the Andrea Doria arrived too late to see any combat action in World War 1 war and would have to wait for history's second greatest global conflict before she could fire her guns in anger.

The Andrea Doria's profile was dominated by her twin mast and funnels, opening up a space amidships for a primary turret emplacement. In her early form, the vessel featured 13 x 12" main guns held in five total turrets, three with triple barrels and two with dual barrels. This main armament was supplemented by 16 x 6" guns, 13 x 3" guns and 3 x 135mm torpedo tubes for considerable offensive firepower. Defensive armament consisted of 6 x 76mm guns for anti-aircraft duty. Power was initially supplied by a steam turbine with twenty boilers feeding four shafts at 30,000 shaft horsepower. After modernization, this turned into a steam turbine system with eight Yarrow-type boilers feeding a pair of shafts but at a great 75,000 shaft horsepower load. Crew complement was 1,233 sailors.

While missing out on combat altogether in World War 1, Andrea Doria did fire her guns after the war in 1919 (World War concluded in 1918), where she served with the Allied Intervention Force on the Black Sea during the Russian Civil War as an escort ship. Beyond that, the vessel led a relatively quiet life on the seas until the build up to World War 2. She saw a major refit from 1937 through 1940, as additional armor was added to critical areas and turret facings along with a change in armament. This later version of the vessel featured 10 x 12.6" main guns in two triple and two double turret emplacements. This was supplemented by 12 x 5.3" guns, 10 x 3.5" anti-aircraft guns, 13 x 76mm guns, 15 x 37mm anti-aircraft cannons and 16 x 20mm anti-aircraft cannons (note removal of torpedo tubes). This, in essence, made the Andrea Doria a more powerful vessel in the latter part her of her career than when she was first introduced. Crew complement increased in this new form to 1,485 sailors. Her machinery changed as well and she received a boost to her top speed thanks to redesigned twin screws over her original quadruple design and new boiler systems powering her steam turbine.

During World War 2, the Andrea Doria took part in the convoy battles across Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, seeing notable action in the First Battle of Sirte. As history would show, her battle days were now numbered and the nation of Italy was teetering evermore on the verge of capitulation. The Andrea Doria was placed in reserve by the end of 1942 and she was eventually surrendered to British forces near Malta that same year. She was interned in 1943 following Italy's formal defeat in late 1943.

The Andrea Doria-class was superseded by the Littorio-class of warships in World War 2.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for Andrea Doria.

(Early): 20 x Boiler units feeding 1 x Steam turbine developing 30,000 horsepower to 4 x Shafts; (Later): 8 x Yarrow type boilers feeding 4 x Steam turbines developing 75,000 horsepower to 2 x shafts.
Propulsion

26.0 kts
29.9 mph
Surface Speed

4,743 nm
5,458 miles | 8,784 km
Range

Structure
The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of Andrea Doria.

1,233
Personnel
Complement

554.3 ft
168.95 meters
O/A Length

92.0 ft
28.04 meters
Beam

28.1 ft
8.56 meters
Draught

25,704
tons
Displacement

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of Andrea Doria.

Early:
13 x 12" main guns in primary turrets.
16 x 6" guns in secondary turrets.
13 x 3" guns.
6 x 76mm Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns.
3 x 135mm torpedo tubes.

Late:
10 x 12.6" main guns in primary turrets.
12 x 5.3" guns in secondary turrets.
10 x 3.5" AA guns.
13 x 76mm guns.
15 x 37mm AA automatic cannons.
16 x 20mm AA automatic cannons.

Ships-in-Class (2)
Notable series variants as part of the Andrea Doria family line as relating to the Andrea Dorea-class group.

Andrea Doria; Caio Duilio

Operators
Global operator(s) of the Andrea Doria. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.

Shipbuilder(s): Arsenale di La Spezia - Kingdom of Italy

[ Kingdom of Italy ]

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to seaborne requirements.

BLUE WATER SERVICE

OFFSHORE BOMBARDMENT

LAND-ATTACK

MARITIME PATROL

AIRSPACE DENIAL

FLEET SUPPORT

FLAG / CAPITAL SHIP

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Going Further...
Andrea Doria Battleship appears in the following collections:

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2025 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks U.S. DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols US 5-Star Generals WW2 Weapons by Country

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes Global Firepower, WDMMA.org, WDMMW.org, and World War Next.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)