to stern. This was only one fewer gun than the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro, then the most heavily armed battleship in the world; Rio de Janeiros guns were mounted in seven twin-gun turrets. The turrets had an elevation capability of −5° to +20 degrees and the ships could carry 100 rounds for each gun, although 70 was the normal load. Sources disagree regarding these guns' performance, but naval historian Giorgio Giorgerini claims that they fired armor-piercing (AP) projectiles at the rate of one round per minute and that they had a muzzle velocity of which gave a maximum range of . The turrets had hydraulic training and elevation, with an auxiliary electric system. The secondary armament on the first two ships consisted of eighteen 50-caliber guns, also designed by Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers, mounted in casemates on the sides of the hull. These guns could depress to −10 degrees and had a maximum elevation of +15 degrees; they had a rate of fire of six shots per minute. They could fire a high-explosive projectile with a muzzle velocity of to a maximum distance of . The ships carried a total of 3,600 rounds for them. For defense against torpedo boats, the ships carried fourteen 50-caliber guns; thirteen of these could be mounted on the turret tops, but they could be mounted in 30 different positions, including some on the forecastle and upper decks. These guns had the same range of elevation as the secondary guns, and their rate of fire was higher at 10 rounds per minute. They fired a AP projectile with a muzzle velocity of to a maximum distance of . The ships were also fitted with three submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and the third in the stern. Armor The Conte di Cavour-class ships had a complete waterline armor belt that was high; of this was below the waterline and above. It had a maximum thickness of amidships, reducing to towards the stern and towards the bow. The lower edge of this belt was a uniform in thickness. Above the main belt was a strake of armor thick that extended up to the lower edge of the main deck. Above this strake was a thinner one, 130 millimeters thick, that extended from the bow to 'X' turret. The upper strake of armor protected the casemates and was thick. The ships had two armored decks: the