by steviecee » Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:56 am
I have always thought that the ships of the Italian Navy were some of the best looking ships of WW II but there have been only a very few books in English that cover them. Mussolini's Navy makes up for this lack and does a excellent job in it's coverage of the Regia Marina. There are ten chapters 1. The Regia Marina 1861-1939; 2. Dockyards; 3. Fleet Organization; 4. Ships in Service; 5. Assault Craft; 6. Naval Aviation; 7 Naval Camoflage; 8. Flags. 9 Uniforms and Ranks; 10. Who's Who. Chapter four fully covers the major ships from battleships to escorts and submarines and gives an overview of the auxillaries such as transports and tankers. Each class and it's design parameters are discussed and shows how the designs progressed from one class to the next.
If you had asked me I would have said that the Italian navy was painted a uniform light grey so chapter Sevens coverage of the various camoflage schemes was very interesting and informative. I especially liked the chapter on the Dockyards because the support struture for any navy is one of the most important parts of any navy. The book has numerous photos, some in colour, and colour profiles of both sides of selected ships. I would highly recommend this book for any one who is interested in naval history.
PS
This is NOT a book on the operational history of the Italian Navy. I hope someone writes one soon.
I have always thought that the ships of the Italian Navy were some of the best looking ships of WW II but there have been only a very few books in English that cover them. Mussolini's Navy makes up for this lack and does a excellent job in it's coverage of the Regia Marina. There are ten chapters 1. The Regia Marina 1861-1939; 2. Dockyards; 3. Fleet Organization; 4. Ships in Service; 5. Assault Craft; 6. Naval Aviation; 7 Naval Camoflage; 8. Flags. 9 Uniforms and Ranks; 10. Who's Who. Chapter four fully covers the major ships from battleships to escorts and submarines and gives an overview of the auxillaries such as transports and tankers. Each class and it's design parameters are discussed and shows how the designs progressed from one class to the next.
If you had asked me I would have said that the Italian navy was painted a uniform light grey so chapter Sevens coverage of the various camoflage schemes was very interesting and informative. I especially liked the chapter on the Dockyards because the support struture for any navy is one of the most important parts of any navy. The book has numerous photos, some in colour, and colour profiles of both sides of selected ships. I would highly recommend this book for any one who is interested in naval history.
PS
This is NOT a book on the operational history of the Italian Navy. I hope someone writes one soon.