Benedetto Brin (Armadillo)

The battleship was built by a naval shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia . The keel laying ceremony was held on January 30, 1899, and on November 7, 1901, the hull of the future battleship was launched in the presence of the king and queen, members of the government and in full view of the entire Italian Mediterranean squadron ^[1] . The completion of the ship afloat took the next four years, the construction was completed on September 1, 1905 ^[2] . Such a long construction completion period was the result of delays in the supply of equipment and materials, in particular, ship's armor ^[3] . After commissioning, "Benedetto Brin" was enlisted in the Mediterranean squadron of the Italian fleet ^[4] . Seven months of the year the squadron spent at sea, doing mainly maneuvers, the rest of the year the squadron ships were in reserve. In 1907, the squadron included the Benedetto Brin, the Regina Margherita of the same type, and three battleships of the Regina Elena type ^[5] . The ships of the squadron took part in the annual maneuvers held in late September - early October ^[6] . “Benedetto Brin” was in the current frame until 1910, when the fourth of the Regia Elena type of armadillos entered service, after which the number of armadillos in the squadron increased to six ^[7] .

Italo-Turkish War

September 29, 1911 Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire ^[8] . During the war, the Benedetto Brin, together with the Regina Margherita of the same type and two armadillos of the Ammirallo di San Bon type, was part of the 1st Division of the 2nd Squadron ^[9] , where it was listed as the flagship of Vice Admiral Farvelli ^{[10 ]} . In early October, the Benedetto Brin arrived in Tripoli, where he strengthened the battleship Roma , blocking the port. On October 3-4, an armadillo took part in the shelling of Turkish coastal batteries defending Tripoli from the sea. Italian ships fired from medium-caliber guns, wanting to maintain the ammunition of the main caliber guns. The return fire of the Turks was completely ineffective ^[11] .

On April 13, 1912, the Benedetto Brin with the rest of the ships of the 2nd squadron left Tobruk, heading for the Aegean Sea to meet with the 1st squadron. On April 17, both squadrons met at the island of Stampalia . The next day, the fleet headed to the northern Aegean Sea and cut several Turkish submarine telegraph cables ^[12] . Later, most of the Italian fleet launched a bombardment of the Turkish coastal batteries defending the Dardanelles , unsuccessfully trying to lure the Turkish fleet. At this time, Regina Margherita , Benedetto Brin and several destroyers were sent to cut the cables connecting the island of Rhodes with Marmaris ^[13] . In July, the Benedetto Brin, together with other ships of the division, went to Italy for repairs ^[14] . In the same 1912, three 76-mm guns were additionally installed on the battleship, bringing their number to 24 ^[15] .

World War I

After the outbreak of World War I, Italy declared its neutrality . Nevertheless, under pressure from the Entente countries in July 1915, the kingdom entered the war against the Central Powers ^[16] . Throughout the war, the main enemy of the Italians at sea was the fleet of Austria-Hungary . The chief of the Naval General Staff, Admiral Taon di Revel, planned to use the main forces of the fleet to carry out the distant sea blockade of the Austro-Hungarian ports, while the light forces of the fleet such as MAS boats were to carry out harassing raids. The capital ships of the fleet had to be protected for a decisive battle with the Austro-Hungarian fleet ^[17] . Because of this policy, the Benedetto Brina service was not teeming with events. In addition to such a cautious policy, the Benedetto Brin, together with the same type Regina Margherita, which were hopelessly outdated by that time, were reclassified into training ships as part of the 3rd division ^[18] .

September 27, 1915 "Benedetto Brin", located in the harbor of Brindisi , was destroyed by an internal explosion - the result of an Austro-Hungarian sabotage ^[2] . Eight officers and 379 lower ranks were rescued, 454 people, including Rear Admiral Baron Rubin de Cervin, were killed ^[19] . Two of his 305-mm guns were subsequently raised from the place of the battleship’s death, subsequently installed in the coastal defense system of Venice ^[20] .

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