View source for Italian monitor Faà di Bruno

{{good article}}
{{short description|Italian monitor}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Monitor Faa di Bruno.png
| Ship caption = ''Faà di Bruno''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Builders = 
| Operators = 
| Class before = 
| Class after = 
| Built range = 1916–1917
| In commission range = 1917–1924
| Total ships completed = 1
| Total ships scrapped = 1
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Italy}}
| Ship name = ''Faà di Bruno''
| Ship namesake = [[Emilio Faà di Bruno]]
| Ship builder = [[Venetian Arsenal]]
| Ship laid down = 10 October 1915
| Ship launched = 30 January 1916
| Ship commissioned = 1 April 1917
| Ship struck = 13 November 1924
| Ship reinstated = 1939
| Ship renamed = ''GM 194'', 1939
| Ship fate = [[ship breaking|Scrapped]], 1945–1946
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Monitor (warship)|Monitor]]
| Ship displacement = {{cvt|2854|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
| Ship length = {{convert|55.56|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|27|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship power = *1 [[boiler]]
*{{convert|465|ihp|kW|lk=on|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|2.24|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = 2 shafts; 2 [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]]
| Ship speed = {{convert|3.31|kn|lk=in}} (trials)
| Ship range = 
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship complement = 45
| Ship armament = *1 × twin [[Cannone navale da 381/40|{{convert|381|mm|0|abbr=on}} guns]]
*4 × single [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*2 × single 40 mm (1.6 in) Vickers-Terni 1915/1917 light AA guns
| Ship armor = *[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|40|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Gun turret|Turret]]: {{convert|110|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Barbette]]: {{convert|60|mm|in|abbr=on}}
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
'''''Faà di Bruno''''' was an Italian [[monitor (warship)|monitor]] built during [[World War I]]. 
Completed in 1917, the ship played a small role in the 11th [[Battles of the Isonzo|Battle of the Isonzo]] later that year. She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] in 1924, but returned to service as the [[floating battery]] ''GM 194'' at the beginning of [[World War II]] and was towed to [[Genoa]] and where she spent the rest of the war. The ship had her guns disabled when the [[Operation Grog|Royal Navy bombarded Genoa]] in 1941. ''GM 194'' was captured by the [[Nazi Germany|Germans]] after the [[Italian Armistice]] in 1943 and was turned over to the puppet {{lang|it|[[Repubblica Sociale Italiana]]}} (Italian Social Republic) that they installed afterward. She was [[scuttled]] at the end of the war and subsequently [[ship breaking|scrapped]].

==Development and description==
''Faà di Bruno'' was built when 40-[[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] [[Cannone navale da 381/40]] guns from the {{sclass|Francesco Caracciolo|battleship|2}}s became available after their construction was suspended in 1916. Her guns were built by [[Gio. Ansaldo & C.|Ansaldo-Schneider]] and originally destined for the ''Cristoforo Colombo''.<ref>Clerici, Flocchini & Robbins, pp. 151–152, 154</ref> She [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|2854|LT|MT|lk=on}}, with a [[length between perpendiculars]] of {{convert|55.56|m|ftin|sp=us}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|27|m|ftin|sp=us}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|2.24|m|ftin|sp=us}}.<ref>Fraccoli, p. 214</ref> ''Faà di Bruno'' was powered by two surplus [[John I. Thornycroft & Company|Thornycroft]] [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|vertical triple-expansion steam engines]] from discarded [[torpedo boat]]s. One Kess [[boiler]] provided enough steam to provide a total of {{convert|465|ihp|kW|lk=on}} between them. On her [[sea trial]]s the ship reached a maximum speed of {{convert|3.31|kn|1|lk=in}}, but her maximum speed in service was about {{convert|2.5|kn}}. The ship's navigation [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]] was placed on a prominent [[tripod mast]] [[wikt:abaft|abaft]] the [[gun turret]]. ''Faà di Bruno''{{'}}s crew consisted of 45 officers and enlisted men.<ref name="wi7">Trawick & Wiltering, p. 297</ref>

Her Cannone navale da 381/40 guns could [[elevation (ballistics)|elevate]] +15° and her twin-gun turret could [[Traverse (gunnery)|traverse]] 30° to either side.<ref name="wi7"/> They fired an {{convert|884|kg|0|adj=on|sp=us}} [[Armor-piercing shot and shell|armor-piercing]] shell at a [[muzzle velocity]] of {{convert|700|m/s|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>Friedman, p. 231</ref> She was fitted with four 40-caliber [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|{{convert|76.2|mm|0|abbr=on}}]] Ansaldo [[anti-aircraft gun|anti-aircraft (AA) guns]].<ref name="wi7"/> They fired a {{convert|6.5|kg|1|adj=on|sp=us}} [[Explosive material#High explosives|high explosive]] shell at a muzzle velocity of 700&nbsp;m/s.<ref>Friedman, p. 242</ref> The ship also mounted two 39-caliber water-cooled [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|{{convert|40|mm|1|abbr=on}}]] [[Oto Melara|Vickers-Terni]] 1915/1917 light AA guns.<ref name="wi7"/> Their {{convert|2|lb|adj=on|order=flip|sp=us}} shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|2040|ft/s|m/s|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref>Friedman, p. 119</ref>

''Faà di Bruno''{{'}}s hull was surrounded by a concrete [[cofferdam]] {{convert|2.9|m|ftin|sp=us}} thick that was strapped to her hull.<ref name="wi7"/> ''Faà di Bruno''{{'}}s [[deck (ship)|deck]] armor had a thickness of {{convert|40|mm|in|sp=us}}.<ref name=c8/> It sloped down from the center and had a peak of {{convert|7|ft|m|1}}.<ref name="wi7"/> Her guns were mounted in an open-topped turret covered by an armored dome. The [[gun turret|turret]] sides had a total thickness of {{convert|110|mm|in|sp=us}} in three layers and its [[barbette]] had armor {{convert|60|mm|in|sp=us}} thick.<ref name=c8>Gardiner & Gray, p. 288</ref>

==Service==
[[File:Monitor Faa di Bruno2.png|thumb|''Faà di Bruno'' in 1917]]
''Faà di Bruno'' was [[laid down]] on 10 October 1915, even before the battleships were officially suspended, by the [[Venetian Arsenal]] to a design by Rear Admiral [[Giuseppe Rota]] that was essentially that of a self-propelled [[barge]] as she lacked a [[bow (ship)|bow]]. The ship was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 30 January 1916 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 1 April 1917.<ref name=o5>Ordovini, Petronio; et al., p. 335</ref> Her first action came during the 11th Battle of the Isonzo in August 1917. Together with the Italian monitor {{ship|Italian monitor|Alfredo Cappellini||2}} and the British monitors {{HMS|Earl of Peterborough||2}} and {{HMS|Sir Thomas Picton||2}}, she bombarded [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] positions with little noticeable effect. She was driven ashore in a storm in November,<ref>Buxton, p. 71</ref> but was not [[Marine salvage|salvaged]] for almost a full year.<ref name="wi8">Trawick & Wilterding, p. 298</ref>

She was [[Ship decommissioning|stricken from the Navy List]] on 13 November 1924, but was placed back into service at the beginning of World War II as the floating battery ''GM 194''. She was towed from [[Venice]] to Genoa, where she remained for the rest of the war.<ref>Gardiner, p. 74</ref> When the [[Royal Navy]] bombarded Genoa on 9 February 1941, she only fired three times at the British ships because one of the first British shells damaged the cables that provided electrical power to her guns.<ref name=wi8/> She was captured by the Germans after the Italian armistice and was turned over to the puppet {{lang|it|[[Marina Nazionale Repubblicana]]}} (National Republican Navy).<ref>Brescia, p. 181</ref> ''GM 194'' was scuttled in [[Savona]] at the end of the war and was subsequently scrapped.<ref name=o5/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last1=Brescia |first1=Maurizio |title=Mussolini's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Regia Marina 1930-1945 |date=2013 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-59114-544-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Buxton|first=Ian|title=Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations 1914–1945|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2008|edition=2nd revised and expanded|isbn=978-1-59114-045-0}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Clerici|first1=Carlo |last3=Robbins|first3=Charles B. |last2=Flocchini| first2=Alfredo|year=1999|title=The 15" (381mm)/40 Guns of the ''Francesco Caracciolo'' Class Battleships|journal=Warship International|publisher=International Naval Research Organization|location=Toledo, OH|volume=36|issue=2|pages=151–157|issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last=Fraccaroli|first=Aldo |title=Italian Warships of World War I|location=London|publisher=Ian Allan|year=1970|isbn=978-0-7110-0105-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One|publisher=Seaforth |location=Barnsley, UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84832-100-7|authorlink=Norman Friedman}}
*{{cite book|title=The Eclipse of the Big Gun: The Warship, 1906-45 |editor=Gardiner, Robert|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1992|series=Conway's History of the Ship|isbn=0-85177-566-7}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921|year=1985|location= Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Ordovini |first1=Aldo F.|last2=Petronio|first2=Fulvio|last3=Jurens|first3=William|last4=Sullivan|first4=David |title=Capital Ships of the Royal Italian Navy, 1860–1918: Part 4: Dreadnought Battleships |journal=Warship International |date=December 2017 |volume=LIV |issue=4 |pages=307–343 |issn=0043-0374|display-authors=2}}
* {{cite journal |last=Trawick |first=Henry P. |author2=Wiltering, John H. Jr. |year=2010 |title=Italian Monitor ''Faa di Bruno'' |journal=Warship International |publisher=International Navy Research Organization |location=Toledo, Ohio |volume=XLVII |issue=4 |pages=297–298 |issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110424050428/http://www.cityofart.net/bship/rn_faadibruno.html Illustrated description]
* [https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/cannoniere/faabruno_ponte.aspx Faa di Bruno] Marina Militare website

{{Portal bar|Italy|Engineering}}
{{WWI Italian ships}}
{{WWII Italian ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faa Di Bruno}}
[[Category:1916 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by the Venetian Arsenal]]
[[Category:World War I naval ships of Italy]]
[[Category:World War II naval ships of Italy]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Italy captured by Germany during World War II]]
[[Category:World War I monitors]]
[[Category:World War II monitors]]