Italian Battleship Wreck Found Off Sardinia

From Wikipedia.

In my post on the huge German plane that was found off the coast of Sardinia, I mentioned that the Italian battleship Roma had been found a few months earlier.  Never heard of it, so had to do some research.

It had two sister ships, the Vittoria Veneto and the Littorio.  The Roma, of course, was named after Rome.

Launched in 1940 and commissioned in 1942 before being sunk by the Germans September 9, 1943,.  The Roma was 787 feet long, had a 108-foot beam and crew of 1920.

It had been damaged during Allied bombing raids.  In September 1943, it sailed out of port and reported to the Germans that they were going to attack the Allied fleet approaching Salerno, but actually with the intention of surrendering to the Allies since the September 8th armistice signed between Italy and the Allies.

It was sighted by German Dornier Do 217s in the Strait of Bonifacio.  These planes were carrying the new Fritz X radio-controlled bombs.  The Roma was hit several times and capsized, carrying down 1253 of her crew.

The wreck was found in June 2012 by an underwater robot, 30 kilometers off the northern coast of Sardinia, 3,300 feet down.

A War Grave.  --GreGen