Battleship Roma

The Battleship Roma: Pride and Tragedy of the Italian Royal Navy

A naval giant born amid the tensions of war.

​​​​​​​In the volatile geopolitical climate preceding World War II, Italy launched the battleship Roma, the third vessel of the prestigious Littorio-class, following the Vittorio Veneto, the Littorio, and the never-completed Impero. The last jewel of the Italian fleet, commissioned in June 1942, this leviathan of the deep never had the chance to prove its mettle in battle. Instead, its fate was sealed in tragedy during Italy's surrender, when two revolutionary German glide bombs sent it to the bottom of the Mediterranean as it steamed toward Malta to join the Allies.