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Italian Battle Fleet 1940-43

By: Osprey

Type: Softcover

Product Line: Fleet (Osprey)

MSRP old price: $23.00


Product Info

Title
Italian Battle Fleet 1940-43
Publisher
Product Line
Category
Author
Enrico Cernuschi
Publish Year
2024
Pages
80
Dimensions
7.5x9.75x.25"
NKG Part #
2148132282
MFG. Part #
OSPFLT6
Type
Softcover
Series
FLT6

Description

A comprehensive. illustrated account of the wartime Italian battle fleet, from its ships and technology to command structure, logistics, codebreaking and more.

In the 1920s, the Italian Navy faced great challenges. Mussolini's ambitious Italy turned away from its alliance with Britain and France, and the Regia Marina faced the prospect of confronting both the French Navy and the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy. In the years leading up to World War II, the Regia Marina built and deployed a powerful battleship-led fleet – known in Italy as 'La Squadra' – intended to make the Mediterranean an Italian sea once more.

In this book, Italian naval historian Enrico Cernuschi offers a fresh assessment of the wartime Italian battle fleet, based on his lifetime of primary-source research from both Italian and Allied sources. It offers a comprehensive portrait of this proud armada, how it was devised and built, and how it operated and fought. It covers a multitude of factors often overlooked, such as Italy's naval codebreakers, the fleet's logistics, and the qualities and limitations of Italian industry that supported it. The book also provides a concise account and analysis of the battle fleet's activities through the war, from major clashes such as the Battle of Calabria to lesser-known expeditions. The author's research into Italian wartime primary sources overturns some myths still commonplace in Anglo-American accounts.

Illustrated with superb new artwork, maps and 3D diagrams, and featuring rare photos, this book is a fascinating account of Italy's great fleet of World War II.