Andrea Doria was the lead ship of her class of battleships built by the Regia Marina (Royal Navy).

She saw relatively little action during World War II; she was tasked with escorting convoys to Libya throughout 1941 and into 1942, during which she engaged in the inconclusive First Battle of Sirte.

Steam was provided by eight oil-fired and twelve coal- and oil-burning Yarrow boilers that were ducted into two large and widely spaced funnels.

The stern and bow were rebuilt, increasing the length of the ship to 186.9 m (613 ft), and the displacement grew to 28,882 t (28,426 long tons).

The Austro-Hungarian battle fleet lay in its harbors directly across the narrow Adriatic Sea and did not emerge for the duration of the conflict.

In addition, Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Italian naval chief of staff, believed that Austro-Hungarian submarines and minelayers could operate too effectively in the narrow waters of the Adriatic.

[3] Instead, Revel decided to implement blockade at the relatively safer southern end of the Adriatic with the battle fleet, while smaller vessels, such as the MAS boats, conducted raids on Austro-Hungarian ships and installations.

Meanwhile, Revel's battleships would be preserved to confront the Austro-Hungarian battle fleet in the event that it sought a decisive engagement.

In 1920, most of the Italian fleet was temporarily demobilized to provide crews to bring ex-German warships that had been awarded to Italy under the Treaty of Versailles; Andrea Doria was the only battleship to remain operational during the period.

On 16 January 1925, Andrea Doria visited Lisbon to participate in the 400th anniversary of the death of Vasco de Gama.

Following civil unrest in Syria, Andrea Doria steamed to the eastern Mediterranean with a squadron of destroyers in the event that Italian nationals would need to be evacuated.

[6][7] In early December, the Italian Navy reorganized the fleet; Andrea Doria remained in the 5th Division, along with the battleship Giulio Cesare.

[6] On 8 February, Andrea Doria sortied again, along with Vittorio Veneto and Giulio Cesare, in response to reports of a British fleet in the area.

They were steaming off Sardinia when they received word that the Royal Navy had bombarded Genoa in Operation Grog; they immediately turned north to intercept the British, but failed to locate them in heavy fog.

[9] In December 1941, Andrea Doria formed part of the escort during Operation M41, a major convoy from Italy to Benghazi in Libya on the 13th.

[6] Late on the 17th, the Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral Angelo Iachino, engaged the British light forces.

[10] During the battle, the destroyer HMS Kipling suffered some damage from near misses, variably credited to Doria, Cesare or the heavy cruiser Gorizia.

She remained inactive for the remainder of the year, and indeed until the Armistice in September 1943 that removed Italy from the war, owing to severe fuel shortages in the Italian Navy.