"Italian Navy" redirects here. For other uses, see Italian Navy (disambiguation)Marina Militare (the
Italian Navy) is one of the four branches of the
military forces of
Italy. It was formed in 1946, as the Navy of the Italian Republic, from what remained of the
Regia Marina and now is considered among the five major navies in the world.
Ensign
Jack of the Italian Navy.
The
ensign of the
Marina Militare is the
Italian tricolour with
Marina Militare emblem on the white third. The emblem is composed by a shield, whose four parts are reference to Medieval Italian
Thalassocracies, or 'Maritime Republics' (Italian:
Repubbliche Marinare):
- 3rd quarter: on blue field, white cross (Republic of Amalfi);
- 4th quarter: on red field, white cross (Republic of Pisa).
The shield has a golden crown, that distinguish military vessels from merchant: the crown, "Corona
rostrata", was proposed in 1939 by Admiral
Domenico Cavagnari to the Government, as an acknowledge of the Italian Navy's origin since the Roman times. In the proposal, Adm. Cavagnari wrote that "in order to recall the common origin [of the Navy] from the Roman sailorship, the Insignia will be surmounted by the towered Crown with rostrums, the emblem of honour and valour the Roman Senate awarded to the leaders of naval victories, conquerors of lands and cities across the seas". Another difference with the merchant vessels flag is that the lion symbolizing the Republic of Venice has the book in its paw closed (the Mark's Gospel, that on the Republic Insignia is open on the words "Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus", Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist) and it is wielding a sword. These were also the differences between the War and Peace flags of the Republic.
History
The Marina Militare Italiana was born as
Regia Marina on 17 March 1861, after the proclamation of the
Italian Kingdom, and assumed the present name after the Italian monarchy was abolished by a popular referendum held on
2 June 1946.
After World War II
thumb|right|200px|Aircraft Carrier [[Italian aircraft carrier Aquila|Aquila, damaged by Allies bombing in 1943.]]
At the end of its five years involvement in
World War II,
Italy was a devastated nation. After the end of hostilities the
Regia Marina, which at the beginning of the war was the fourth largest navy in the world with a mix of modernised and new battleships, started a long and complex rebuilding process. The important combat contributions of the Italian naval forces after the signing of the armistice with the Allies on
8 September 1943 and the subsequent cooperation agreement on
23 September 1943 left the Regia Marina in a poor condition, with much of its infrastructure and bases unusable and its ports mined and blocked by sunken ships. However, a large number of its naval units had survived the war, albeit in a low efficiency state, which was due to the conflict and the age of many vessels. The vessels that remained were:
- 44 fast coastal patrol units
- 16 amphibious operations vessels
- 1 support ship and plane transport
The peace Treaty
The
Peace Treaty signed on February 10, 1947 in
Paris was onerous for Regia Marina. Apart from territorial and material losses, also the following restrictions were imposed:
- A ban to own, to build or to experiment with atomic weapons, self-propulsion projectiles or relative launchers, etc…
- A ban to own Battleships, Aircraft carriers, Submarines and Amphibious Assault units.
The treaty also ordered
Italy to put the following ships at the disposals of the victorious nations
United States,
Soviet Union,
Great Britain,
France,
Greece,
Yugoslavia and
Albania as war compensation:
- 3 Battleships: Giulio Cesare, Italia, Vittorio Veneto;
- 5 Cruisers: Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Attilio Regolo, Scipione Africano, Eugenio di Savoia and Eritrea;
- 7 Destroyers, 5 of the "Soldati" class and Augusto Riboty and Alfredo Oriani;
- 6 Minesweepers: like Aliseo and Fortunale;
- 8 Submarines: 3 of the "Acciaio" class;
- 1 Sailing School ship: Cristoforo Colombo.
The total displacement, battleships excluded, of the future navy was not allowed to be greater than 67,500 tons, while the staff was capped at 25,000 men.
The entry into NATO
The great changes in the international political situation convinced
Great Britain and the
United States to cease the process of handing in of the navy's large ships, which had been dismantled in
La Spezia between 1948 and 1955, including the
flagship aircraft carrier "
Aquila". The
Soviet Union, instead, claimed the handing in of the
warship "
Giulio Cesare" and much of units to her attributed. The
cruisers "
Attilio Regolo" and "
Scipione Africano" became the French "
Chateaurenault" and "
Guichen", while the "
Eugenio di Savoia" became the Greek "
Helli". So only a small part of the fleet, that which was not transferred or demolished, could be reinserted in the Marina.
As US attention turned to the Soviets and the
Mediterranean Sea it transformed Italian seas in one of the main places of confrontation between the two superpowers, contributing to the re-emergence of
Italy’s importance and of its ports thanks to her strategic geographical position.
With the new elections in 1946, the
Kingdom of Italy became the
Italian Republic, and the
Regia Marina (‘’”Royal Navy”’’) took on the name of
Marina Militare Italiana. In full
Marshall Plan and in a context where Europe was going to be divided in two set against blocks,
Italy began to entertain talks with the
United States aimed to obtain adequate safety guarantee. The government in
Washington, greatly interested to keep its own installations on the
peninsula, loosened peace Treaty bonds by inserting the Italian nation into the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme (MDAP).
On
4 April 1949,
Italy joined the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), corroborating her impossibility to contributing actively in the organization: that lead to the definitive repeal of the peace Treaty bonds by the end of 1951, with the consent of all of Western nations.
Within NATO, the Marina Militare was assigned the control of the
Adriatic Sea and
Strait of Otranto, as well as the defence of the naval routes through the
Tyrrhenian Sea. To ensure these tasks was carried out a "
Studio sul potenziamento della Marina italiana in relazione al Patto Atlantico" (Study about the Development of the Italian navy with reference to the Atlantic Pact) was undertaken, which researched the structures and the methods for the development of the Marina Militare.
This solution required a great economic effort aimed at the rebuilding and transformation of the fleet; it also required aid from the
United States to reach the necessary standard. However the program carried on slowly both due to the economic pressures on Italy due to the post-war period rebuilding process and by the obstacles placed by some of European governments who were concerned at seeing an Italian Navy capable of rivalling the Western naval forces.
Present Day Marina Militare
The new
Cavour aircraft carrier.
Today's Marina Militare is a modern
navy with ships of every type, such as:
The fleet is in continuous evolution; the Marina Militare is now equipping herself with a bigger
aircraft carrier (the
Cavour), new
destroyers, submarines and multipurpose
frigates. In modern times, the Marina Militare, being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations. The "Marina Militare" maintains the
San Marco Regiment who serve as the
marines of the Italian navy. The Italian Navy also owns Polaris A3 in La Spezia arsenal.
Structure and Organization
Structure
Marina Militare is divided into six corps:
- Stato Maggiore (line officers)
- Genio Navale (engineering)
- Armi Navali (weapons and combat systems)
- Commissariato Militare Marittimo (administration)
- Corpo Sanitario (medical service)
Organization
- Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Marina (Navy Deputy Chief of Staff)- Ammiraglio di Squadra Luigi Binelli Mantelli
- Fleet Command - Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale (CINCNAV) Ammiraglio di Squadra Giuseppe Lertora
- * Comando Forze d'Altura COMFORAL (based in Taranto): ships Garibaldi, Espero, Etna, Durand de la Penne, Mimbelli, San Giorgio, San Marco, San Giusto, Elettra
- ** COMSQUAFR 1 (based in Taranto): ships Aliseo, Euro, Zefiro, Espero, Artigliere, Bersagliere, Granatiere, Aviere, Stromboli
- ** COMSQUAFR 2 (based in La Spezia): ships Maestrale, Grecale, Libeccio, Scirocco, Vesuvio
- * Comando delle Forze da Pattugliamento per la Sorveglianza e la Difesa Costiera COMFORPAT (based in Augusta):
- ** COMSQUACORV: ships Minerva, Urania, Danaide, Sfinge, Chimera, Driade, Fenice, Sibilla
- ** COMSQUAPAT 1: ships Cassiopea, Libra, Spica, Vega
- ** COMSQUAPAT 2: ships Cigala Fulgosi, Borsini, Foscari, Bettica, Sirio, Orione
- * Comando delle Forze Anfibie COMFORSBARC (based in Brindisi):
- ** Logistics and Training Regiment Carlotto
- ** Gruppo Mezzi da Sbarco
- * Comando Forze Subacquee COMFORSUB (based in Taranto):
- ** COMGRUPSOM: submarines Da Vinci, Pelosi, Prini, Longobardo, Gazzana, Todaro, Scirè
- * Centro di Addestramento Aeronavale MARICENTADD
- * Comando Forze Aeree COMFORAER (based in Santa Rosa)
- * Centro per le Telecomunicazioni e l'Informatica MARITELE (based in Roma)
- * Comando delle Forze di Contromisure Mine COMFORDRAG (based in La Spezia):
- ** COMSQUADRAG 53: ships Numana, Rimini, Sapri, Termoli, Viareggio, Vieste
- ** COMSQUADRAG 54: ships Alghero, Chioggia, Crotone, Gaeta, Lerici, Milazzo
- * Quartier Generale Marina QUARTGENMARINA (based in Roma)
For the Italian Navy Rank Structure see:
Italian Navy ranks.
Ships
Fleet composition
Aircraft carriers (2)Destroyers (4)- *Luigi Durand de la Penne (D 560) (formerly Animoso)
- *Francesco Mimbelli (D 561) (formerly Ardimentoso)
Amphibious transport dock (3)Frigates (12)- * (10 frigate under construction)
- *Carlo Margottini (F 587)
Corvettes (8)OPV & Patrol boats and corvettes
(14)- *Comandante Cigala Fulgosi (P 490)
- *Comandante Borsini (P 491)
- *Comandante Bettica (P 492)
- *Comandante Foscari (P 493)
Mine Counter-Measure Vessels (17)- Lerici class – 2nd series
Submarines (6)- *Salvatore Todaro (S 526)
- *Primo Longobardo (S 524)
- *Gianfranco Gazzana Priaroggia (S 525)
- *Salvatore Pelosi (S 522)
- * another three in reserve
Auxiliaries (3)- Squadron Replenishment Ships
- Vehicle Transport Ships (6)
- *Carabiniere (F 581) (ex Frigate)
- *Raffaele Rossetti (A 5315)
- *Vincenzo Martellotta (A 5320)
Other (2)- Anteo (A 5309): Submarine Rescue and Salvage Ship
- Elettra (A 5340): Electronic Warfare Ship
Decommissioned Ships
- Toti class submarines: Attilio Bagnolini (S505), Enrico Toti (S506), Enrico Dandolo (S513), Lazaro Mocenigo (S514)
Under Construction (10)
Planned (10)
- 1 Assault Helicopter Carrier 25,000 tonn
- 2 improved Etna squadron replenishment ships to replace Stromboli and Vesuvio
- 3 LPD/LHD to replace San Giorgio San Giusto San Marco
- 1 Logistic and command ship for minehunters
- 1 Logistic, rescue and command ship for submarines
Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
["World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15 2007.]! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|
-
|
Agusta AB212 || || antisubmarine helicopter || AB212 || 30 || built by Agusta, originally 67
|
-
|
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King || || antisubmarine helicopter || SH-3D || 12 || built by Agusta, originally 36, to be phased out in 2010
|
-
|
AgustaWestland EH101 ||
|| multirole naval helicopter || ASW
ASH
AEW || 8
10
4 ||for major unit
4 TTH, 4 ASH and 2 AS2H
for aircraft carrier
|
-
|
NHI NH90 || || naval helicopter || NFH
TTH || 56 ||
|
-
|
Boeing AV-8 Harrier || || fighter
trainer || AV-8B
TAV-8B || 15
2 || lost 1 AV-8B
|
-
|
Piaggio P180 Avanti || || utility transport || P.180 M || 3 ||
|
-
|
F-35B || || Stealth multi-role fighter||F-35B|| 0 || 22 on order
|}
