Italian ironclad Ruggiero di Lauria

Painting of Ruggiero di Lauria
History
Italy
Name	Ruggiero di Lauria
Namesake	Roger of Lauria
Builder	Regio Cantiere di Castellammare di Stabia
Laid down	3 August 1881
Launched	9 August 1884
Completed	1 February 1888
Stricken	11 November 1909
Fate	Sunk in shallow water 1943
Notes	Served as floating oil tank GM45, 1909–1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Ruggiero di Lauria-class ironclad battleship
Displacement	Normal: 9,886 long tons (10,045 t) Full load: 10,997 long tons (11,173 t)
Length	105.9 m (347 ft 5 in) length overall
Beam	19.84 m (65 ft 1 in)
Draft	8.29 m (27 ft 2 in)
Installed power	8 × fire-tube boilers 10,591 ihp (7,898 kW)
Propulsion	2 × marine steam engines 2 × screw propellers
Speed	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Endurance	2,800 nautical miles (5,186 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	507–509
Armament	4 × 432 mm (17 in)/27 guns 2 × 152 mm (6 in) guns 4 × 120 mm (5 in) guns 4 × 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt: 451 mm (17.75 in) Deck: 76 mm (3 in) Barbettes: 361 mm (14.2 in) Conning tower: 249 mm (9.8 in)

Ruggiero di Lauria was an ironclad battleship built in the 1880s for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy). She was the lead ship of the Ruggiero di Lauria class, which included two other ships, Francesco Morosini and Andrea Doria. Ruggiero di Lauria, named for the medieval Sicilian admiral Ruggiero di Lauria, was armed with a main battery of four 432 mm (17 in) guns, was protected with 451 mm (17.75 in) thick belt armor, and was capable of a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).

The ship's construction period was very lengthy, beginning in August 1881 and completing in February 1888. She was quickly rendered obsolescent by the new pre-dreadnought battleships being laid down and, as a result, her career was limited. She spent her career alternating between the Active and Reserve Squadrons, where she took part in training exercises each year with the rest of the fleet. The ship was stricken from the naval register in 1909 and converted into a floating oil tank. She was used in this capacity until 1943, when she was sunk by bombs during World War II. The wreck was eventually raised and scrapped in 1945.