Benedetto Brin was the second and final member of the Regina Margherita class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1899 and 1905.

In May 1915, Italy entered World War I; Benedetteo Brin had been reduced to a training ship by this time, and she saw no combat.

[1] Her propulsion system consisted of two triple expansion steam engines that drove a pair of screw propellers.

Her keel was laid down on 30 January 1899, and the completed hull was launched on 7 November 1901 in the presence of the King and Queen of Italy, government officials, and the whole Italian Mediterranean squadron.

[4] The ships participated in the annual maneuvers in late September and early October, under the command of Vice Admiral Alfonso di Brocchetti.

[5] Benedetto Brin remained in the active duty squadron through 1910, by which time the fourth Regina Elena-class ship was completed, bringing the total number of front-line battleships to six.

During the Italo-Turkish War Benedetto Brin was assigned to the 1st Division of the 2nd Squadron, along with her sister and the two Ammiraglio di Saint Bon-class battleships.

The next day, the fleet steamed into the northern Aegean and cut several Turkish submarine telegraph cables.

While they were doing this, Regina Margherita, Benedetto Brin, and two torpedo boats were detached to cut additional cables between Rhodes and Marmaris.

In July, Benedetto Brin and the rest of the division had withdrawn to Italy to replace worn-out gun barrels, along with other repairs.

The primary naval opponent for the duration of the war was the Austro-Hungarian Navy; the Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, planned a distant blockade with the battle fleet, while smaller vessels, such as the MAS boats conducted raids.

[14] A total of 8 officers and 379 enlisted men survived but 454 members of the crew, including Rear Admiral Ernesto Rubin de Cervin died.