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''Roma'', named after two previous ships and the city of Rome, was the fourth -class battleship of Italy's ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy). The construction of both ''Roma'' and her sister ship was planned due to rising tensions around the world and the navy's fear that two ''Vittorio Veneto''s and the older pre-First World War battleships were not enough to counter the British and French Mediterranean Fleets. As ''Roma'' was laid down almost four years after the first two ships of the class, some small improvements were made to the design, including additional freeboard added to the bow. ''Roma'' was commissioned into the ''Regia Marina'' on 14 June 1942, but a severe fuel shortage in Italy at that time prevented her from being deployed; instead, along with her sister ships and , she was used to bolster the anti-aircraft defenses of various Italian cities. In this role, she was severely damaged twice in June 1943 from bomber raids on La Spezia. After repairs in Genoa through all of July and part of August, ''Roma'' was deployed as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Bergamini in a large battle group that eventually comprised the three ''Vittorio Veneto''s, eight cruisers and eight destroyers. Their stated intent was attacking the Allied ships approaching Salerno to invade Italy (Operation "Avalanche") but, in reality, the Italian fleet was sailing to Malta to surrender following Italy's 8 September 1943 armistice with the Allies. While the force was in the Strait of Bonifacio, Dornier Do 217s of the German ''Luftwaffes specialist wing KG 100—armed with Fritz X radio-controlled bombs—sighted the force. The first attack failed, but the second dealt ''Italia'' (ex-''Littorio'') and ''Roma'' much damage. The hit on ''Roma'' caused water to flood two boiler rooms and the after engine room, leaving the ship to limp along with two propellers, reduced power, and arc-induced fires in the stern of the ship. Shortly thereafter, another bomb slammed into the ship which detonated within the forward engine room, causing catastrophic flooding and the explosion of the #2 main turret's magazines, throwing the turret itself into the sea. Sinking by the bow and listing to starboard, ''Roma'' capsized and broke in two, carrying 1,253 or 1,393 men—including Bergamini—down with her. ==Background== :''For additional information, see '' The Italian leader Benito Mussolini did not authorize any large naval rearmament until 1933. Once he did, two old battleships of the were sent to be modernized in the same year, and and were laid down in 1934. In May 1935, the Italian Naval Ministry began preparing for a five-year naval building program that would include four battleships, three aircraft carriers, four cruisers, fifty-four submarines, and forty smaller ships. In December 1935, Admiral Domenico Cavagnari proposed to Mussolini that, among other things, two more battleships of the ''Littorio'' class be built to attempt to counter a possible Franco-British alliance—if the two countries combined forces, they would easily outnumber the Italian fleet. Mussolini postponed his decision, but later authorized planning for the two ships in January 1937. In December, they were approved and money was appropriated for them; they were named ''Roma'' and ("Empire").〔Knox, p. 20〕〔Garzke & Dulin, p. 404〕 Laid down nearly four years after ''Vittorio Veneto'' and ''Littorio'', ''Roma'' was able to incorporate a few design improvements. Her bow was noticeably redesigned to give ''Roma'' additional freeboard; partway into construction, it was modified on the basis of experience with ''Vittorio Veneto'' so that it had had a finer end at the waterline. She was also equipped with thirty-two rather than twenty-four /65 caliber Breda guns.〔Garzke & Dulin, pp. 418–419, 426, 428〕〔Whitley, pp. 171–172〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Italian battleship Roma (1940)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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