Paolo Camillo Thaon, Marquess of Revel (10 June
1859 - 24 March 1948)
... latterly titled by Benito Mussolini with the honorary
title of 1st Duke of the Sea, was an Italian admiral of the
Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) during World War I and
later a politician.
Early life and career:
Thaon di Revel was born in Turin from a family of the
Savoyard and Niçard nobility of Scottish descent, a minor
son of Marquess and Count Ottavio Thaon di Revel.
He took part as Rear-admiral in the Italo-Turkish War,
commanding Italian cruisers in the Battle of Beirut.
He was named Chief of Staff of the Regia Marina in 1913; he
supported the signing of a naval convention between the
nations of the Triple Alliance, knowing of Italy's
vulnerability to seaborne threats and its dependence on its
sealanes, which was concluded on October of that year. When
World War I broke out, he warned the government of Antonio
Salandra that chances of Austro-Italian success against the
combined force of the French and British fleets was small,
and that the Regia Marina could not guarantee the safety of
the Italian coast. This factors weighed in Salandra's
decision to proclaim Italy's neutrality.
World War I:
When Italy joined the Entente on 24 May 1915, Thaon di Revel
became the leading figure of Italy's naval war, and remained
so for the duration. He resigned on October 1915 because of
friction between him and the Minister of the Navy Camillo
Corsi over the respective authority, and took command of the
naval base of Venice. On 3 February 1917, he was reappointed
Chief of Staff, and combined the position with that of
Commander in Chief of the mobilized naval forces (i.e. the
Regia Marina's main forces), replacing Prince Luigi Amedeo,
Duke of the Abruzzi.
On one hand, Thaon di Revel was "energetic and autocratic",
a tireless defender of perceived allied indifference towards
Italian needs and merits and of Italian independent command,
and the major reason as to why a unified Mediterranean naval
command never came to be (which would have led to dangerous
ambiguity had a combined fleet action been imminent), which
led to a less than optimal relationship with the allied
navies and officers; however, he was also "thoroughly
realistic", having a picture of the Adriatic theater that
discouraged aggressive actions to lure out the Austrian
fleet, and which led to his decision not to risk his
battleships and to fight the war with smaller ships and
insidious means such as the MAS (which would score several
successes in the conflict, notably the sinking of the
battleship SMS Szent István). After the Italian rout at
Caporetto in November 1917, he secured the coastal area. In
the late days of the war he led the bombardment of Durazzo
and the quick occupation of the coasts of Istria and
Dalmatia.
Later life:
In 1917 Thaon di Revel was named to the Italian Senate. In
November 1921, while serving as the Chief of the Italian
Naval Staff, he was Italy's naval representative to the
Washington Armaments Conference.
In 1922, he was ennobled by King Victor Emmanuel III and
given the victory title of 1st Duca del Mare ("Duke of the
Sea"). In October 1922 he was appointed Minister of the Navy
in the Mussolini Cabinet; he resigned in 1925, to protest
the creation of the position of Chief of the General Staff,
to be assigned exclusively to Army officers. He was named
Grand Admiral (Grande Ammiraglio) on 4 November 1924. He was
President of the Italian Senate from 1943 to 1944 after the
fall of fascist regime.
Thaon di Revel died in Rome in 1948. He was buried in the
church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, next to
general Armando Diaz.
source: wikipedia |
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ITS Paolo Thaon di Revel (P 430):
Paolo Thaon di Revel was laid down on 9 May 2017 at Fincantieri
Muggiano and launched on 15 June 2019. Expected to be commissioned
in May 2021. 15 November 2019, she underwent her first sea trial off
the Gulf of La Spezia. The vessel was delivered to the Italian Navy
in March, 2022.
In August 2022, the ship, with one SH-90A helicopter embarked,
operates as flagship of Operation AGENOR, the military pillar of the
European-led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASoH),
being deployed in the Gulf region, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of
Oman, to promote the safe passage of merchant shipping in the
region. |
