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Italian Royal Award 1918-2018 (First World War) http://www.assoradiomarinai.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=156

A bit of history During the First World War several naval operations were carried out in the , which began with the declaration of war between and the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 11 August 1914. With the immediate blockade of the Canal d’Otranto by the , in which even the units participated, the Austro-Hungarian naval forces were forced to operate only within the waters of the Adriatic, without being able to carry out long-range actions within the for reaching and potecting their ports, shipyards and naval divisions with enemy numerical superiority.

Initially the weight of the allied operations fell on the French navy; at the outbreak of the conflict had declared its neutrality, while the was engaged against the Kaiserliche Marine in the North Sea and in the escort to mercantile traffic in the Mediterranean. At the same time the kuk carried out mainly disturbing actions by submarines and light ships, using U-Boot supplied by the German ally since August 1914, which operated with base in the port of under the Austro-Hungarian flag. The situation changed on May 23, 1915, the day on which Italy (in compliance with the commitments made with the London agreement) declared war on -Hungary. The Royal Navy soon took on the burden of undertaking and managing the war on the Adriatic front throughout the course of the conflict.

The confrontation immediately left ample space for submarines’ ambushes, for the air companies and later for the bold incursions of the assault vehicles such as the MAS. The two opposing supreme commanders, Admiral Paul Thaon of Revel and Admiral (later replaced by and then by Miklós Horthy) did not want to risk the large in narrow water, instead focusing on rapid attacks on the block of the main airports and the strategy of the “fleet in power”; a setting to which the Austro- Hungarians in particular abide. The operations did not see a clear dominance of one of the contenders and ended with the entry into force of the Villa Giusti armistice on November 4, 1918, the day in which the Royal Navy completed or put in place a series of amphibious occupations of cities coastal enemy.

Premise The recurrence of the Centenary of the Great War allowed many associations that took part in commemorating the most important historical milestones. Even ARMI did not want to be less and immediately set to work to create the diploma ” The Royal Navy in the Great War “.

REGULATION

The Diploma is dedicated to the Royal Navy during the Great War (1915-1918). It is represented in three versions ” Bronze 100 – Silver 200 – Gold 300 “; the layout of the three diplomas is the same and the north- eastern part of Italy is represented and mainly that of the Adriatic Sea. Depicting a young Italy and on the right a coffa of a ship with the flag of Regia Marina. The diplomas in the three versions are different and represent three great admirals of the period with three naval symbols. The diploma ” Bronze 100 ” depicts Admiral Luigi Rizzo, and a MAS, a boat used by the hero to sink the Corazzata Wien into the Buccari outlet. The ” Argento 200 ” diploma represents Admiral Diego Simonetti and a naval unit of that time. The ” Gold 300 ” diploma depicts Admiral Paolo Emilio Thaon of Ravel (Chief of Naval Staff and Commander in Chief of Naval Forces) with a naval cannon.

The Diploma is achievable by all the OM and SWL of the world.

The period of the activity is announced from 1 January to 11 November 2018 ( 11 is the date on which the First World War ended).

PARTICIPATING STATIONS AND POINTS

All stations not registered with ARMI are worth 1 point.

All ARMI stations that are not accredited are worth the following score: SSB: 2 points DIGI: 3 points CW: 5 points

Accredited ARMI stations: All radio amateurs belonging to ARMI can operate, they can operate with their own station name, it is enough to accredit themselves by sending an email to the national office [email protected] The name of the station will be credited and will appear in the official list on the ARMI site marked by a suffix in the balance that will correspond to a ship of the Royal Navy. e.g. IT9M RM – RM – R egina M argherita

The suffix is roughly associated with your name; where it can not be associated with a ballot equal to one’s own name, one will be assigned to an office.

The ships and submarines (not including the minor fleet) of the Regia Marina during the Great War were in all 131, so hypothetically only 131 operators can participate.

The accredited stations are worth the following score in all ways: SSB / DIGI / CW: 10 points

Wildcard ARMS stations: The accredited Jolly stations are all IQ stations registered at ARMI, they will be assigned a trilict suffix and the name of an Admiral of the Royal Navy during the Great War (the three-letter suffix always begins with the letter A – Admiral) . e.g. IQ9MQ – AAA – A mmiraglio A ugusto A ubry

The Jolly stations are worth the following score in all ways: SSB / DIGI / CW: 15 points

Super Jolly station: It is a station operating throughout the period with a special name:

II7WWI

() The Super Jolly station is worth the following score in all ways: SSB / DIGI / CW: 25 points

[ CLICK HERE to view the official list]

All stations can only be connected once for each individual emission MODES (SSB-CW-DIGI) for the entire period of the event. The connections in the digital mode are valid only for a mode of the two provided.

[NOTE] All connections made during the naval contest period (IT NAVY COASTAL – IT NAVY SHIPS) are not valid!

WAYS The following modes are allowed: CW – SSB – DIGI (PSK – RTTY)

BANDS All HF bands, according to the IARU Band Plan

DIPLOMA POINTS There are four classes:

Bronze: 100 points; (at least one Jolly station and a Super Jolly station)

Silver: 200 points; (at least two Jolly stations and a Super Jolly station)

Gold: 300 points; (at least three Jolly stations and a Super Jolly station)

Top Honor Plaque: 1000 points (at least four Jolly stations and one Super Jolly station).

CALL The call will be as follows:

CW / PSK-RTTY: CQ CQ DE IT9MRM IT9MRM IT9MRM AWARD REGIA MARINA or ROYAL NAVY K

SSB: CQ CQ from IT9MRM – (ACCREDITED STATION) CALLED FOR THE AWARD REGIA MARINA or ROYAL NAVY (VALIDATING 10 POINTS) .

REPORTS AND NUMBERS

The non-accredited ARMI Stations will pass the RST reports followed by the registration number (MI #) .

The accredited ARMI stations will pass the RST reports followed by the assigned ballot .

The JOLLY (IQ) stations will pass the RST ratios followed by the assigned trilogy .

The SUPER JOLLY station will only pass the RST report.

PRIZES All the stations that will log the connection with the accredited stations, Jolly and Super Jolly stations will receive the diplomas in JPG format based on the requests received. The Diplomas will all be free .

For the request of the ” Top Honor Plaque ” a flat-rate charge of € 35 is foreseen. The Italian stations that wish it, can send the contribution for the Top Honor Plaque through the following ways:

– via “POSTEPAY” 4023600645946759 in the name of Mattei Alberto;

– via “PAYPAL” at the following address [email protected]

– BANK TRANSFER: IBAN IT46V0200884625000103416422 c / o UNICREDIT branch of Augusta.

REQUESTS The Diploma will be requested from the National Award Manager:

IT9MRM Alberto Mattei – Via E. Millo, 20 – 96011 Augusta (SR) – Italy – e-mail: [email protected]

LOGS They must be in ADIF / CBR / TXT / DOC / XLS format.

The use of any electronic log is allowed.

Those who wish can use the Electronic Sheet ( RegiaMarinaLog ) for the management of connections (including the ARMI database). You can download it from this link -> [ click here ]

DEADLINE Requests for the diploma must be received no later than 31. 12. 2018 .

The Diplomas (Bronze – Silver – Gold):

Posted on December 31, 2017