In Praise of Vittorio Cuniberti

Vittorio Cuniberti was an Italian, a naval architect and the father of the dreadnought.

In 1903 with permission of the Italian gonvernment, he published an article in Fighting Ships called "An Ideal Battleship for the British Fleet". This article was to have a large effect on the shape of the world's leading navies. 3 years before Cuniberti had published "Ein neuer Schlachtschifftypus" in "Marine Rundschau" where he had laid down his principles already.

In 1902 Cuniberti wrote in "Fighting Ships": Looking to America, one realises that chaos reigns in the designing department of the United States Navy, and hardly a month seems to pass without a new type being brought out, more and more loaded with guns;" And, going on he makes fun of the American practice of using up to 4 different calibres on 1 ship.

His idea was to build "a moderate-sized very swift vessel with the greatest possible unified armament". On August 10, 1904 this ideas where put to test in the Russo-Japanese war. After Russian flagship Tsarevitch had hit Japanese Admiral Togo's flagship from a distance of 13km and Russian commander Admiral Witthoft had been killed by a hit from a distance of 9km, the world was sufficiently convinced.

By the way, that image a couple of postings below pictures the 14inch guns of Yamashiro. So now, while we are at it, the old Irish verse: And Britannia's huns with their long range guns is obsolete, marvelously and finely so. Just imagine Blair or Thatcher before him commanding such power. I do not even need them to be any stronger then Argentina.

Rather you cry for me. Please!

... plink