Vittorio Cuniberti

Vittorio Emilio Cuniberti (1854–1913) was an Italian military officer and naval engineer who envisioned the concept of the all big gun battleship, best exemplified by HMS Dreadnought.

Born in Turin, he joined the Genio Navale (the corps of the Regia Marina dedicated to shipbuilding) in 1878, and rose through the ranks until he became Major general in 1910.

A collaborator of Italian admiral, naval engineer and politician Benedetto Brin, in 1899 he designed the Regina Elena-class battleships.

The Italian government declined for budgetary reasons, but gave Cuniberti permission to write the article for Jane's Fighting Ships.

Admiral Sir John Fisher, Royal Navy, followed Cuniberti's theories which resulted in the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought.

Most navies were converging towards the "all big guns battleship": the Americans were publishing articles about potential designs and the General Board was reviewing several options, but USS South Carolina and USS Michigan were not authorized until March 1905 (and then as repeat Connecticuts), and neither were laid down until December 1906.

After the launch of the Royal Navy's Dreadnought, Russia, along with all other major naval nations, saw its fleet of battleships rendered obsolete overnight.

After a convoluted bidding process they were eventually built in Russia, with "technical assistance and supervision" by John Brown and Co., "but the influence of Cuniberti was evident".