Year 1938

In 1938 the 1st Class Battleship of the British Royal Navy Qeen Elizabeth visited Sanremo.
She was a Class Captain Unit and to her Class belonged the Valiant, the Barham, the Warspite and the Malay.

It was launched in 1913 and entered service in 1915.

This Class of Units was built to bring great fire cover to the first front of the enemy naval battle line with a mix of high speed and firepower appropriate to tonnage.

On 19th February 1915 it bombarded the Turkish coastal defences of the Dardanelles and was hit by enemy cannon fire without serious damage.

On 27th April 1915 she opened fire on the former Germanica Goeben using a braking balloon to locate it.

From 1919 it became the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet and from 1924 it became part of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Rebuilt at the beginning of the Second World War, it was aggregated to the Mediterranean Fleet.
On 18th December 1941, in the port of Alexandria was attacked by the "Maiale" (An amphibious torpedo) of the Italian Royal Navy led by Marcegaglia and Schergat, while another "Maiale", led by Durand De La Penne and Bianchi sank the twin ship HMS Valiant and a third "Maiale", led by Martellotta and Marino sank an oil tanker and the Destroyer HMS Jervis.

Recovered by the Americans and repaired at Norfolk in Virginia, it was put into service in 1944, in the Pacific, taking part in the bombing of Japanese bases in Indonesia.

She was disarmed in 1945, disbarred in 1946 and demolished in 1948.

(Ship characteristics: Normal displacement 36,450 tons. Speed 23.50 knots. Krupp type casehardened steel protection from 50 mm (upper deck) to 280 mm. (tower). Armament: 4 twinned pieces of 381/42 mm.; 14 single pieces of 152/45 mm.; 2 quick fire single pieces of 76/45 mm.; 10 single pieces of 76/26 mm.; 4 single pieces of 47 mm.; 4 torpedo tubes of 534 mm.).

In the same year, between 25 and 28 February, a Regia Marina Naval Squadron visited Sanremo.

It was formed by the Light Cruisers Armando Diaz, Alberico da Barbiano e Luigi Cadorna of the Ccondottieri Class.

The Armando Diaz is in the foreground in the photo of which we thank our friend Giancarlo P. for providing us with this precious photo.

The team was completed by the Grecale, Grecale, Scirocco et Libeccio. 

(the two photos of the fighters kindly provided by Adriano Amadio, sailor)

They formed the IV Naval Division and participated in a Naval Magazine in the presence of Mussolini and the German Defence Minister Von Blomberg.

(edited by Dino Tulaigo).