The DISASTROUS Sinking of the Italian Battleship Roma

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

For those who remember, this is a remake of an older video. Since purchasing this new microphone (at the beginning of the year), I haven't been happy with the audio quality in some of the older videos. This is one that I wanted to rectify. So I hope you find it interesting and of better quality.

[@CliveN-yr1gv]

A dramatic and terrifying story, very well recounted. It must have been completely terrifying and bewildering for the sailors when the first bomb went off, only to be quickly followed by another cataclysmic hit. The single signalman who survived from the forward section reminds me of Ted Briggs from HMS Hood somewhat. It can't have been easy for the officers and men to be taking their ships into the hands of their former foes and some sailors would understandably have had mixed feelings. It's at times such as those that the officers have to provide strong and impeccable leadership to keep their crews steady and on track. The footage you included showed some of the beautifully-engineered components of the Italian ships - very interesting. Thank you for putting this together!

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

I think Ted Briggs is an interesting comparison, I'm sure they'd have a lot to talk about! But, talk about a tough situation for the officers of the Regia Marina. I know that when Giulio Cesare was being transferred there was a real threat of mutiny, it's shocking it wasn't rife across the fleet.

[@hmmjedi]

The Italian battlewagons may have been let down by their ammunition but you have to admit they did have style in their design... As to Roma a sad loss but it was old tech against the new technology coming through... Great video explaining the situation.

[@Shadooe]

A: I don't speak Italian but sure sounds like you did a good job. B: Man, the Littorio class were good looking ships.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

I speak a decent bit of Spanish, and being a romance language there are some similarities. Granted the Italian viewers usually have something to say.

[@pissedoff-is1mt]

sad end to a beautiful ship

[@simonstock4448]

The survivors taken by Attilio Regolo and 3 destroyers to nearest neutral landfall at Menorca in the Balearics were interned and cared for on the small hospital island Illa del Rey (built by the British centuries earlier) inside Port Mahon harbour; many succumbed to their wounds are buried locally and the hospital building preserves a memorial to the Roma including a scale model of the ship and a life size replica of the Fritz X.

[@stevenwestswanson9263]

Amazing Video!

[@happyhighway106]

#15 Thank You for this information! I believe the quick loss of this ship to new air technology was the cause of the US Navy to cancel the "Montana" class and divert resources to the Aircraft Carrier. The Day of the Battleship had Ended. Again Thank You!

[@phaasch]

That's the most detailed account of Roma's sinking I've yet heard. So many lives, and a ship which was really too beautiful to go to war at all. Warspite, that old, scarred pugilist, was incredibly fortunate to survive an almost identical onslaught

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

I think that’s the thing about Warspite, and almost all legendary ships, they just have a bit of luck.

[@phaasch]

@@ImportantNavalHistory Yes. There's an infinitely fine line between "lucky" and "tragic".

[@michaeldobson8859]

Video was fine, so was audio. The issue with the ROMA was as in the loss of almost all capital ships in WWII, lack of air cover. Had fighter protection been provided in a CAP, the German bombers would have been chased off like in other encounters in the Mediterranean theater.

[@BigAmp]

Where was the air cover???

[@Susy5solo]

What impresses me is the fact that the ship withstood the propellant exploding and launching 1200t of turret skyward. To be fair the British ships that suffered a magazine explosion usually broke in two and took all the crew with them…I’m thinking the battle cruisers in WW1 and hood in WW2. Allowed 500 to get off the ship at least.

[@geoffburrill9850]

Terrible loss of life. Warspite survived the explosion of one of these radio guided bombs and after repairs went on to bombard the German fortifications on D. Day.

[@RebeccaCampbell1969]

At 6,000 meters height... a free fall object should accelerate to at least 1,200 km/h, with a bomb mass of 250+ kg the impact energy is quite considerable, specially perpendicular to the thinner armor of a battleship (deck). That's less than half of a 16" Mk7 50 cal shell speed at 10 miles distance... but then again such a shell would hit the thickest armor, unless its the Japanese 18.1's which could swim and explode after hitting water (underneath target) Germany could have won the war, same for Japan... only thing stopping them was America

[@charlesm127]

Lol

[@jackharrison2785]

H M S Warspite was not sunk