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HISTORY
Caio Duilio was 109.16 meters (358.1 ft) long overall and had a beam
of 19.74 m (64.8 ft) and an average draft of 8.31 m (27.3 ft). She
displaced 10,962 long tons (11,138 t) normally and up to 12,071 long
tons (12,265 t) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of two
vertical compound steam engines each driving a single screw
propeller, with steam supplied by eight coal-fired, rectangular
boilers. Her engines produced a top speed of 15.04 knots (27.85
km/h; 17.31 mph) at 7,711 indicated horsepower (5,750 kW). She could
steam for 3,760 nautical miles (6,960 km; 4,330 mi) at a speed of 10
knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She had a crew of 420 officers and men,
which later increased to 515.
Caio Duilio was armed with a main battery of four 17.7 in (450 mm)
20-caliber guns, mounted in two turrets placed en echelon amidships.
These were the largest naval guns in use at the time. As was
customary for capital ships of the period, she carried three 14 in
(360 mm) torpedo tubes. Caio Duilio was protected by belt armor that
was 21.5 in (550 mm) thick at its strongest section, which protected
the ship's magazines and machinery spaces. Both ends of the belt
were connected by transverse bulkheads that were 15.75 in (400 mm)
thick. She had an armored deck that was 1.1 to 2 in (28 to 51 mm)
thick. Her gun turrets were armored with 17 in of steel plate. The
ship's bow and stern were not armored, but they were extensively
subdivided into a cellular "raft" that was intended to reduce the
risk of flooding.
Service history
Caio Duilio was laid down at the Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di
Stabia shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia on 6 January 1873, the
same day that the keel for her sister ship Enrico Dandolo was laid
down at the Arsenale di La Spezia. Construction on Caio Duilio
proceeded much faster than on her sister; she was launched on 8 May
1876 and completed on 6 January 1880, more than two years before
Enrico Dandolo would be finished. On 8 March, shortly after Caio
Duilio entered service, one of her 17.7 in guns exploded. The
inexperienced gun crew had accidentally double-loaded the gun.
During the annual fleet maneuvers held in 1885, Caio Duilio served
in the 1st Division of the "Western Squadron"; she was joined by her
sister Enrico Dandolo, the protected cruiser Giovanni Bausan, and a
sloop. The "Western Squadron" attacked the defending "Eastern
Squadron", simulating a Franco-Italian conflict, with operations
conducted off Sardinia. Caio Duilio took part in the annual 1888
fleet maneuvers, along with the ironclads Lepanto, Italia, Enrico
Dandolo, and San Martino, one protected cruiser, four torpedo
cruisers, and numerous smaller vessels. The maneuvers consisted of
close-order drills and a simulated attack on and defense of La
Spezia. Later that year, the ship was present during a naval review
held for the German Kaiser Wilhelm II during a visit to Italy.
In 1890, Caio Duilio received a secondary battery of three 4.7 in
(120 mm) 40-caliber guns to defend the ship against torpedo boats.
Caio Duilio served with the 1st Division of the Reserve Squadron
during the 1893 fleet maneuvers, along with the ironclad Re Umberto,
which served as the divisional flagship, the torpedo cruiser
Minerva, and four torpedo boats. During the maneuvers, which lasted
from 6 August to 5 September, the ships of the Reserve Squadron
defended against a simulated attack by the Active Squadron, which
gamed a French attack on the Italian fleet. For the periodic fleet
maneuvers of 1897, Caio Duilio was assigned to the First Division of
the Reserve Squadron, which also included the ironclads Ruggiero di
Lauria and Lepanto and the protected cruiser Lombardia.
In 1900, the ship's secondary battery was supplemented with two 75
mm (3.0 in) guns, eight 57 mm (2.2 in) 40-caliber quick-firing guns,
and four 37 mm (1.5 in) 20-caliber revolver cannon. By 1902, the
ship had been removed from front line service and was employed as a
boys' training ship; she was at that time the flagship of the
Training Division. The Italian Navy had considered rebuilding the
ship along the same lines as her sister Enrico Dandolo, but the cost
of the project proved to be prohibitive, and by 1902 they had
abandoned the plan. In early 1909, Caio Duilio was stricken from the
naval register, and on 27 June she was disarmed. The ship was
converted into a coal and oil storage hulk and was renamed GM40. Her
ultimate fate is unknown.
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