Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci

Postcard of Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto
History
Italy
NameLeonardo da Vinci
NamesakeLeonardo da Vinci
BuilderOdero, Genoa-Sestri Ponente
Laid down18 July 1910
Launched14 October 1911
Completed17 May 1914
Fate
  • Sunk by explosion, 2 August 1916
  • Refloated, 17 September 1919
  • Sold for scrapping, 26 March 1923
General characteristics
Class and typeConte di Cavour-class battleship
Displacement
Length176 m (577 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam28 m (91 ft 10 in)
Draft9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 3 × steam turbine sets
Speed21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph)
Range4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement31 officers and 969 enlisted men
Armament
Armor

Leonardo da Vinci was the last of three Conte di Cavour-class dreadnoughts built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the early 1910s. Completed just before the beginning of World War I, the ship saw no action and was sunk by a magazine explosion in 1916 with the loss of 248 officers and enlisted men. The Italians blamed Austro-Hungarian saboteurs for her loss, but it may have been accidental. Leonardo da Vinci was refloated in 1919 and plans were made to repair her. Budgetary constraints did not permit this, and her hulk was sold for scrap in 1923.