Italian Battleships of World War II Book Review

By David L. Veres

Review

Another useful introduction from Osprey Publishing, Italian Battleships of World War II outlines the design, development and operations of three Regina Marina battleship classes during the Second World War.

Contents commence with Italian naval strategy and combat doctrine, segue to international treaty and construction considerations, and shift to armament and radar details.  Text then traverses histories of the individual Cavour, Duilio, and Vittorio Veneto (i.e., Littorio) classes – with subsections detailing design, construction, armament, service modifications, and fates of each.  Coverage concludes with “at war” and analysis discussions.

The world’s fourth-largest navy in June 1940, Italy’s Regina Marina fast forged a reputation for technical, operational, training, and personnel incompetence.  Author Stille nevertheless contends that Italy’s byzantine and bureaucratic command system seriously hampered fleet effectiveness.  He also argues that the Regina Marina’s solid, technically adept battleship designs and individually courageous crews actually acquitted themselves honorably in engagements with Allied naval forces.

Photos, illustrations, and bibliography supplement the well indexed effort.  While competently executed, I question the accuracy of Osprey’s illustration of Roma under Luftwaffe attack in September 1943.  Unlike Paul Wright’s cover depiction, an August 1943 aerial shot of Roma in Erminio Bagnasco and Augusto De Toro’s definitive monograph, The Litttorio Class, clearly shows no red & white recognition bands on the warship’s aft section.  I strongly suspect the continued absence of those IFF devices a month later.

Criticism aside, Italian Battleships of World War II remains a pleasingly priced, handy handbook.  Enthusiasts will find it an easily accessible preface to a commonly neglected WWII subject.

Recommended.

My sincere thanks to Osprey Publishing for this review sample!