Italian ironclad Affondatore

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The Affondatore was an armoured turret-ship built in Millwall, London for the Italian navy, her name approximately translating as 'Sinker'. Construction commenced in 1863 and she was commissioned in 1866. The ship arrived off the island of Lissa shortly before the eponymous battle in July 1866. There, she served as the flagship of Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano. During the action, she was involved in a melee with Austrian warships and was hit many times by Austrian guns. She sank in a storm in August, potentially as a result of the damage she incurred at Lissa, but was refloated and rebuilt between 1867 and 1873. She thereafter served with the main Italian fleet. She served as a guard ship in Venice from 1904 to 1907, and then as a depot ship in Taranto.