In 1925, the Regia Marina ordered two training ships to a design by General Lieutenant Francesco Rotundi of the Italian Navy Engineering Corps, inspired by the style of large late 18th century 74-cannon ships of the line (like the Neapolitan ship Monarca). The first, the Cristoforo Colombo, was put into service in 1928 and was used by the Italian Navy until 1943. After World War II, this ship was handed over to the USSR as part of the war reparations and was shortly afterwards decommissioned.[1]
The second ship was the Amerigo Vespucci, built in 1930 at the (formerly Royal) Naval Shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). She was launched on 22 February 1931,[2] and put into service in July of that year.
The vessel is a full-rigged three-masted steel hull 82.4m (270ft) long, with an overall length of 101m (331ft) including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 15.5m (51ft). She has a draught of about 7m (23ft) and a displacement at full load of 4146tons. Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots (19km/h) and has a range of 5450nm at 6.5knots.
The Amerigo Vespucci in the harbor of Oslo, 2005. Akershus Fortress in the background.The Amerigo Vespucci, after the modernization works, in the harbor of La Rochelle, 2018.
The three steel masts are 50, 54 and 43 metres high, and carry sails totaling 2,824m2 (30,400sqft). The Amerigo Vespucci has 26 sails – square sails, staysails, and jibs: all are traditional canvas sails. When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots (22km/h). The rig, some 30km of ropes, uses only traditional hemp ropes; only the mooring lines are synthetic, to comply with port regulations.
The hull is painted black with two white stripes, harking back to the two gun decks of the ships her design is based on, but she carries only two 6pdr saluting guns in pivot mountings on the deck, forward of the mainmast. The deck planks are of teak wood and must be replaced every three years. Bow and stern are decorated with intricate ornaments; she has a life-size figurehead of Amerigo Vespucci. The stern gallery is accessible only through the Captain's saloon.
In 1964, the ship was fitted with two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder FIAT B 308 ESS diesel engines, which replaced the original 2-stroke 6-cylinder FIAT Q 426 engines. These engines generated electric power for one electric propulsion motor that produced up to about 1,471kW (1,973hp).[citation needed]
After update works, between 2013 and 2016, the ship has been fitted with two 4-stroke, 12-cylinder MTU, 1,32 MW each diesel engine generators and two 4-stroke, 8-cylinder MTU, 760kW each diesel engine generators,[3] and one NIDEC (Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali) electric engine.[4][5] During the same work, the ship has been fitted with new radar GEM Elettronica AN/SPS-753(V)5, new satellite antenna ORBIT AL-7103.
When carrying cadets, the ship is usually steered from the manual stern rudder station, which is operated by four steering wheels with two men each. At other times, the hydraulically assisted steering on the bridge is used. Except for the anchor winch, the winches aboard are not power operated. The bridge is equipped with modern electronic navigation instruments.
Other than during World War II, the Amerigo Vespucci has been continually active. Most of her training cruises are in European waters, but she has also sailed to North and South America, and navigated the Pacific. In 2002, she undertook a voyage around the world.
USS Independence (CVA-62) underway with sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci in the Mediterranean Sea, 12 July 1962.
While sailing the Mediterranean Sea in 1962, the American aircraft carrierUSS Independence flashed the Amerigo Vespucci with the light signal asking: "Who are you?" The full-rigged ship answered: "Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy." The Independence replied: "You are the most beautiful ship in the world."[7] In 2022, the Amerigo Vespucci sailed by the American aircraft carrierUSS George H.W. Bush, which saluted the ship and commented: "You are still, after 60 years, the most beautiful ship in the world."[8][unreliable source][9]
The Amerigo Vespucci often takes part in sailing parades and Tall Ships' Races, where she is in amicable rivalry with the Gorch Fock. When she is berthed in port, public tours of the vessel are usually offered. The ship circumnavigated the globe in 2003. Starting from 2013, the Vespucci depends directly on the Commander in Chief Naval Fleet.
The Amerigo Vespucci on her visit to Argentina, March 2024.
The ship received major modernization works from 2013 to 2016.
On 22 November 2024, Amerigo Vespucci conducted a joint sailing exercise with the INS Taringi of the Indian Navy off the coast of Kochi, India.[10] As of 30 November 2024, the ship is docked at Mumbai for a five-day stopover as a part of its circumnavigation that started in 2023 and includes 36 ports and 32 countries. Mumbai marks its 27th stop. The ship's crew including 270 crew 150 cadets for seamanship training sailed for 16 days across the Indian Ocean from Phuket to Mumbai.[11]
Tender
In April 2015 tender NC90 was replaced by the following:[12]
The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy, built in 1958 as a replacement for the original Gorch Fock built in 1933 which was taken as war reparations by the Soviet Union after World War II, renamed Tovarishch, and returned to Germany in 2003.
Enrico Toti was one of four Balilla-class submarines built for the Regia Marina during the late 1920s. The boat played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists. She was the only Italian submarine to have sunk a Royal Navy submarine during the Second World War.
STS Young Endeavour is an Australian tall ship. Built by Brooke Marine, Young Endeavour was given to Australia by the British government in 1988, as a gift to celebrate Australian Bicentenary. Although operated and maintained by the Royal Australian Navy, Young Endeavour delivers up to twenty youth development sail training voyages to young Australians aged 16 – 23 each year. Navy personnel staff the ship and the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme coordinate the voyage program.
INS Tarangini is a three-masted barque, commissioned in 1997 as a sail training ship for the Indian Navy. She is square rigged on the fore and main masts and fore-and-aft rigged on the mizzen mast. She was constructed in Goa to a design by the British naval architect Colin Mudie, and launched on 1 December 1995. In 2003–04, she became the first Indian naval ship to circumnavigate the globe.
Cristoforo Colombo was a steel-hulled corvette built in the early 1890s for the Italian Regia Marina. The ship was built as a replacement for an earlier vessel of the same name, based on a nearly identical design. The new ship was intended to serve in Italy's colonial empire in eastern Africa, and was designed to be able to operate at long range, far from home ports, for an extended period of time.
STV Astrid was a 41.90-metre long tall ship that was built in 1918 in the Netherlands as a lugger and originally named W.U.T.A., short for Wacht Uw Tijd Af meaning "Bide Your Time". She was later transferred to Swedish ownership, renamed Astrid and sailed on the Baltic Sea until 1975. She then sailed under a Lebanese flag and was allegedly used for drug smuggling. After being found burnt out on the coast of England in the early 1980s, she was overhauled and used as a sailing training vessel. She was based in Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom and was informally known as "Weymouth's vessel".
BAP Unión (BEV-161) is a training ship of the Peruvian Navy built in 2012–2015 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA. It is a four-masted, steel-hulled, class "A" barque, composed of 38 steel modules. It has a total length of 115.50 m ; a beam of 13.50 m ; a draft of 6.50 m ; an air draft of 53.50 m ; a displacement of 3,200 tonnes; a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h) and a crew of 250 officers and trainees. The ship's name honors a Peruvian corvette that took part in the first stage of the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific as part of a naval squadron under the command of Miguel Grau, a hero of the Peruvian Navy.
Principe Amedeo was an ironclad warship built by the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s and 1870s. She was the lead ship of the Principe Amedeo class, alongside her sister ship Palestro. Principe Amedeo was laid down in 1865, launched in 1872, and completed in late 1874. She was armed with a battery of six 254 mm (10 in) guns and one 279 mm (11 in) gun. The last sail-rigged ironclad of the Italian fleet, she had a single steam engine that was capable of propelling the ship at a speed of slightly over 12 knots.
Palestro was an ironclad warship, the second and final member of the Principe Amedeo class, built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s and 1870s. She was armed with a battery of six 254 mm (10 in) guns and one 279 mm (11 in) gun. The last sail-rigged ironclad of the Italian fleet, she had a single steam engine that was capable of propelling the ship at a speed of slightly over 12 knots.
The Principe Amedeo class was a pair of ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1870s and 1880s. They were the culmination of a major naval construction program designed to give Italy a powerful fleet of ironclads. The two ships, Principe Amedeo and Palestro, were the last Italian ironclads to feature sailing rigs and wooden hulls. They were armed with a battery of six 254 mm (10 in) guns and were capable of a speed in excess of 12 knots. The ships had uneventful careers, spending much of it in Italy's colonial empire. By the late 1880s, they were withdrawn from service and employed in secondary roles, first as headquarters ships for harbor defenses. Principe Amedeo was converted into a depot ship in 1895 and was discarded in 1910, while Palestro was used as a training ship from 1894 to 1900 before being scrapped between 1902 and 1904.
Venezia was the second of two Roma-class ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s. She was armed with a main battery of eighteen 254 mm (10 in) guns in a central armored casemate. Her lengthy construction time, a result of her re-design from a broadside ironclad, quickly rendered her obsolescent compared to the new turret ships that began to enter service in the 1880s. As a result, her career was limited. She became a training ship in 1881 and served until 1895. Venezia was broken up for scrap the next year.
Messina was the second of three Principe di Carignano-class ironclads built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s. She was laid down in September 1861, her hull was launched in December 1864, and she was completed in February 1867. Messina was a broadside ironclad armed with a battery of four 203 mm (8 in) guns and eighteen 164 mm (6.5 in) guns. Her career was limited, owing to the emergence of more modern ironclads and a severe reduction in the Italian naval budget following their defeat at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. She was discarded in 1875 and sold to ship breakers to help pay for new ironclads then under construction.
Conte Verde was the third of three Principe di Carignano-class ironclads built for the Italian Regia Marina, though she differed in several respects from her sisters. Unlike the other two members of her class, she did not receive complete iron armor, instead relying on partial plating at her bow and stern. She was laid down in February 1863, she was launched in July 1867, and she was completed in December 1871. Conte Verde was a broadside ironclad armed with a battery of four 203 mm (8 in) guns and eighteen 164 mm (6.5 in) guns. Her career was limited, owing to the emergence of more modern ironclads and a severe reduction in the Italian naval budget following their defeat at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. She was discarded in 1880 and sold to ship breakers to help pay for new ironclads then under construction.
The Roma class was a pair of ironclad warships built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1860s and 1870s. The class comprised two ships, Roma and Venezia. Roma was a broadside ironclad armed with five 254 mm (10 in) and twelve 203 mm (8 in) guns, while Venezia was converted into a central battery ship during construction, armed with a much more powerful battery of eighteen 10-inch guns. Neither ship had an eventful career, due in large part to their rapid shift to obsolescence. Venezia and Roma were withdrawn from service for auxiliary duties in 1880 and 1890, respectively. Both were stricken from the naval register in 1895 and broken up for scrap the following year, Roma having been badly damaged in a fire in 1895.
The Goito class was a group of four torpedo cruisers built for the Italian Regia Marina in the 1880s. The members of the class were Goito, Montebello, Monzambano, and Confienza. They were among the first torpedo cruisers built for the Italian fleet, and were built to improve on the previous vessel, Tripoli. Experimental ships, the four Goito-class vessels varied in their dimensions, machinery, and armament, though all were comparable in terms of capabilities, having a top speed of 17 to 18 knots and carrying an armament of four or five 14-inch (360 mm) torpedo tubes.
Stella Polare is a yawl, active as a sails training vessel for the Italian Navy.
Corsaro II is a yawl, active as a sail training vessel for the Italian Navy
Flavio Gioia was a screw corvette of the Italian Regia Marina built in the late 1870s and early 1880s.
Amerigo Vespucci was a screw corvette of the Italian Regia Marina built in the late 1870s and early 1880s.
Caracciolo was a screw corvette of the Italian Regia Marina built in the 1860s. She was the first vessel of that type built after the unification of Italy, though the Italian fleet inherited several screw corvettes from the navies of Naples, Tuscany, and Sardinia. The ship was armed with a main battery of six 160 mm (6.3 in) guns. Originally built with both steam and sail propulsion, Caracciolo later had her engine removed for use as a training ship.
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