Amerigo Vespucci: the story of a legend

In 1962, when the American aircraft carrier USS Independence and the Amerigo Vespucci crossed paths in the Mediterranean, this exchange took place:

“Who are you?”
“Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy”
“You are the most beautiful ship in the world” 

The encounter between the Vespucci and the USS Independence

This back-and-forth between the two ships went down in history and echoed widely in public opinion, and that legendary encounter is still remembered today.

The Amerigo Vespucci is the oldest unit in service with the Italian Navy, but what is the story of this Italian gem?

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The story of the tall ship that is Italy’s pride

The first Amerigo Vespucci

Today’s Amerigo Vespucci was not the first Navy unit to bear the name of the famous Italian explorer!

The first Vespucci was a steam and sail cruiser with a steel hull, three masts and a bowsprit (barque rig); it was designed by Inspector General Carlo Vigna and launched in 1882. It entered service in 1885 as a front-line ship, and in 1893 it was converted into a training ship; it kept that role until the day it was decommissioned, in 1928.

The birth

In the second half of the 1920s, the Navy faced the issue of renewing the units used to train the Academy cadets, as the ships then in service were close to being decommissioned; although development was heading towards ever more advanced technology, the Navy believed that the best way to get to grips with and get to know the marine environment was on board a sailing ship.

On the initiative of the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Giuseppe Sirianni, the construction of 2 units was decided in 1925; the project was entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Naval Engineers Francesco Rotundi, who took inspiration from the lines of a late 18th/early 19th-century ship of the line, thanks also to the plans of the “Monarca” by naval engineer Sabatelli; the Monarca was the flagship of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and was renamed Re Galantuomo when it was requisitioned by the Sardinian Navy.

The twins

The first of the two units, the Cristoforo Colombo, entered service in 1928 and served as a training ship until 1943; in 1949 it was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of war reparations, which in turn used it as a military training ship under the name Dunay (Danube); in 1961 it was due to undergo extensive maintenance work, but after a devastating fire, the Soviet authorities chose to decommission it in 1963.

The Amerigo Vespucci was laid down on 12 May 1930, launched on 22 February 1931 and entered service in July of the same year; on 4 July 1931 it set off on its first training cruise to Northern Europe and on its return, on 15 October, it received its Battle Flag in Genoa from the local UNUCI group (Unione Nazionale Ufficiali in Congedo d’Italia, the National Union of Retired Officers of Italy).

The two units had slight differences, the most obvious being a different angle of the bowsprit, the different attachment of the shrouds and, on the Colombo, the absence of the larger boats stowed amidships and of the related cargo boom.

A few technical details

Hull

The hull has 3 main decks, running continuously from stern to bow, plus several partial decks (flats): there is the upper deck, the battery deck and the orlop deck. At the bow and stern there are 2 superstructures, the forecastle and the quarterdeck. The hull is painted in horizontal black and white stripes, a nod to the past.

At the bow is the figurehead, depicting the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, made of gilded bronze; also striking are the bow friezes and the stern arabesque, in wood covered with pure gold leaf.

The plating is made of steel plates between 12 and 16 mm thick, joined by riveting.

Masts and spars

All the masts, including the bowsprit, are made up of three sections; the first two are made of riveted steel plates, the third is wooden. The yards follow the same construction: the lower three are steel, the upper two wooden.  The boom is steel while the gaff is wooden.

The masts are held in place by steel cables (standing rigging) that support them towards the bow (stays), to the sides (shrouds) and towards the stern (backstays). The jibs and staysails are also bent onto the stays.

The height of the masts above sea level is 50 metres for the foremast, 54 metres for the mainmast and 43 metres for the mizzenmast; the bowsprit projects 18 metres. The three vertical masts each carry five yards: the two lower yards are fixed (they can only rotate horizontally), while the three upper ones can slide along the mast and are hoisted when the sails are set.

Sails

As for the fore-and-aft sails, the rig includes five headsails, four staysails and the spanker. To this “set” of sails, the studding sails can be added when needed; these are two square sails bent on either side of the fore course, using suitable yard extensions. With the ship under full sail (24 sails) it can reach remarkable speeds, at least considering its weight.

The sails are made of sailcloth (hemp canvas) between 2 and 4 millimetres thick and are made by sewing together several strips (cloths).

Running rigging and gear

The sails are handled by means of ropes (running rigging) of different diameters, totalling about 36 km. These too have distinctive names, such as halyards (to raise the movable yards and the fore-and-aft sails), braces (to trim the yards), sheets and tacks (to secure the lower corners of the square sails, leeward and windward respectively), clewlines and buntlines (to gather the sails up to the yards), etc.

Most of the running rigging is made of manila (a plant fibre), except for the course sheets, which are made of nylon to withstand the high loads; the sailing gear includes about 400 wooden blocks and 120 iron ones.

Engines and auxiliary systems

The power generation system is diesel-electric and consists of 4 diesel generators (see technical sheet); propulsion is provided by a main electric motor (MEP).

The electrical system consists of a primary distribution (380 V / 50 Hz) and a secondary distribution (220 V / 50 Hz and 115 V / 60 Hz).

The generation and propulsion systems underwent a complete reconfiguration during the Service Life Extension refit (PVO), which began in October 2013 and was completed in April 2016.

Crew

It is made up of 264 service members, broken down as follows: 15 officers, 30 warrant officers, 34 sergeants and 185 leading ratings and ratings, spread across the various departments. This number is then supplemented by about 100 cadets and support staff from the Naval Academy in Livorno, reaching 400 people.

Fun facts

• Many types of wood are used on board, depending on the properties required: Douglas fir, teak, mahogany, lignum vitae, ash, oak and walnut;
• All military ships have a motto, and the Amerigo Vespucci has changed its motto 3 times during its life: “Per la Patria e per il Re” (For the Homeland and for the King, 1931-1946), “Saldi nella furia dei venti e degli eventi” (Steadfast in the fury of winds and events, 1946-1978) and finally the current and best-known “Non chi comincia ma quel che persevera“ (Not he who begins, but he who perseveres);
• the first commander of the Vespucci, Captain Augusto Radicati di Marmorito, had been the last commander of the previous Amerigo Vespucci;
• Captain Agostino Straulino, an Olympic sailing champion, is remembered as the only commander of the Vespucci to sail out of the port of Taranto under full sail through the navigable canal; he also holds the speed record of 14.6 knots;
• Captain Ugo Foschini went down in history for sailing up the Thames, refusing any help with mooring from the local authorities;
• the command of the Amerigo Vespucci lasts about a year on average.

source: https://marinecue.it/amerigo-vespucci-storia-di-una-leggenda/11320/