The Francesco Caracciolo combined speed and battleship firepower at an unusually early date. Its projected performance was 28 knots at about 34,000 tons fully loaded, with eight 15-inch guns. The design would have been a first-generation fast battleship even though Italy had lost the race to launch the first dreadnought. Completion would have changed Mediterranean force comparisons and strengthened Italy's leverage in later treaty negotiations. The design is the clearest Italian consequence of the Ersatz Monarch programme.
Notable Point · 34:53-35:42
The Francesco Caracciolo as a first-generation fast battleship
A completed 28-knot, eight-15-inch-gun Francesco Caracciolo would have given Italy an early fast battleship and strengthened its post-war naval position.