They saw action in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, where they participated in the seizure of Cyrenaica in North Africa and operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Benedetto Brin exploded in Brindisi in September 1915, and Regina Margherita struck a mine and sank in December 1916.

They returned to the 12-inch (305 mm) gun that was standard in most other navies of the day, but sacrificed armor protection to achieve high speed.

[1] As such, the ships represented a hybrid type that merged the firepower of the slow battleships and the speed of a cruiser.

[3] The vessels had a fairly large superstructure, which included an unusual pair of conning towers with bridges, one forward and one aft.

[2] The ships' propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion steam engines, which drove a pair of screw propellers.

Steam for the engines was provided by twenty-eight coal-fired water-tube Niclausse boilers in Regina Margherita.

[3] Both Regina Margherita and Benedetto Brin served in the active duty squadron for the first few years of their careers, and participated in the peacetime routine of fleet training.

Benedetto Brin took part in the attack on Tripoli in October 1911, and both were involved in the campaign to seize Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Both the Italians and Austro-Hungarians adopted a cautious fleet policy in the confined waters of the Adriatic Sea, and so the two Regina Margherita-class battleships did not see action.