Regina Margherita-class battleship

Regina Margherita on speed trials in July 1904
Class overview
Name:	Regina Margherita
Operators:	Regia Marina
Preceded by:	Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class
Succeeded by:	Regina Elena class
Built:	1898–1905
In commission:	1904–1916
Completed:	2
Lost:	2
General characteristics (Regina Margherita)
Type:	Regina Margherita-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement:	Normal: 13,215 t (13,006 long tons; 14,567 short tons) Full load: 14,093 to 14,737 t (13,870 to 14,504 long tons; 15,535 to 16,245 short tons)
Length:	138.65 m (454 ft 11 in)
Beam:	23.84 m (78 ft 3 in)
Draft:	8.81 to 9 m (28 ft 11 in to 29 ft 6 in)
Installed power:	21,790 ihp (16,249 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shafts, triple expansion steam engines, 28 boilers
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:	10,000 nmi (18,520 km; 11,508 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	812–900
Armament:	2 × 2 - 305 mm (12 in)/40 guns 4 × 1 - 203 mm (8 in)/45 guns 12 × 1 - 152 mm (6 in)/40 guns 20 × 1 - 76 mm (3 in)/40 guns 2 × 1 - 47 mm (1.9 in)/40 guns 2 × 1 - 37 mm (1.5 in)/40 guns 4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Harvey armor Belt and side: 6 in (152 mm) Deck: 3.1 in (78.7 mm) Turrets: 8 in (203 mm) Conning tower: 6 in (152 mm) Casemates: 6 in (152 mm)

The Regina Margherita class was a class of two battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1898 and 1905. The class comprised two ships: Regina Margherita and Benedetto Brin. The ships were designed by the latter's namesake, Benedetto Brin, who died before the ships were completed. They were armed with a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) guns and could steam at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Both ships saw extensive service with the Italian fleet for the first decade of their careers. They saw action in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, where they participated in the seizure of Cyrenaica in North Africa and operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. They were reduced to training ships by World War I, and both ships were lost with heavy death tolls during the conflict. Benedetto Brin exploded in Brindisi in September 1915, and Regina Margherita struck a mine and sank in December 1916.

After the negative experience with the preceding Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class, which were too weak to engage foreign battleships, and too slow to catch cruisers, the Italian navy wanted a new battleship that returned to a larger, more effective size. In particular, they wanted to be able to challenge the new Habsburg-class battleships being built in neighboring Austria-Hungary. They returned to the 12-inch (305 mm) gun that was standard in most other navies of the day, but sacrificed armor protection to achieve high speed. As such, the ships represented a hybrid type that merged the firepower of the slow battleships and the speed of a cruiser. Benedetto Brin initially wanted to arm the ships with only two of the 12-inch guns and twelve 8 in (203 mm) guns, but after his death, Admiral Ruggero Alfredo Micheli altered the design to double the number of 12-inch guns, at the expense of eight of the medium-caliber pieces.