So few Navy themes

[EugeneTF]

Why so few Naval themes?

I would like to communicate with the Italian Navy & Medditerranean Naval War fans.

[Jim H]

What do you mean by Navy themes?

[EugeneTF]

The questions about naval operations and sea battles, circumstances of ships disasters, naval commander's biographies and etc.

[Jim H]

Yes, I hope to remedy that in the future. The site is always under construction....additions will be added as I come across them.

[EugeneTF]

So I hope too.

[Franco_C]

Yes it would be most interesting to discuss the exploits of the Italian navy.
My understanding is that it endured a long exhausting war, achieved much yet was denied recognition by the allies.
For all the so-called reluctance to engage in battle with the British fleet and the ensuring label of 'cowardice' one wonders why when others retreated, it was documented as 'strategic withdrawal' whilst similar actions by the Regia Marina were immediately scorned as cowardice.

During the Mediterranean operations and before the armnistice the British naval (surface combat units) loses were 53% greater than those of the Regia Marina. This figure can be broken down as: British loses to Regia Marina 82% to Italian Air Arm 40%. To German Naval forces 18% to German Air Arm 60%.
If one includes the devastation and destruction caused by overwhelming bombings by American and British Air Forces of stationary targets in Italian ports then the statistics change dramatically in favour of the allies.
Of the war record pertaining to the Italian MILITARY effort in WW2 and especially that of the Regia Marina, I as a displaced Italian am extremely proud because no other nation that participated in that war would have displayed such immence courage and persistence under fire as did the Italian conscript who was minimally trained, underfed, under armed and under resourced.
Viva la Regia Marina. 'Molti Nemici, Molto Honore'

[Kiwiwriter]

The Italian Navy probably scored their nation's greatest successes of the war in the midget submarine and speedboat attacks.

The main problem the Italian Navy had was the same problem the rest of the Italian military had: poor training, poor equipment, poor leadership, fuel shortages.

It had one other problem: no air cover. Mussolini thought the Mediterranean was his own lake and Italy was an unsinkable aircraft carrier. By 1943, the carrier Aquila was nearly finished.

It's sort of like how when they built the Minnesota Metrodome, the architect assured the Twins that the bedrock and stone walls would provide natural cooling in the stadium at baseball games. The stadium was opened in 1982. The air conditioning system was installed in 1983.

[Franco_C]

the 'Maiali" were indeed the most dramatic Italian naval weapon used and also very successful. The men of these small units, the Pig, MAS and Assault Boats displayed the individual courage of the Italian much admired by the allied forces I might add.

Let us not forget other naval units achievements that propoganda dismissed or downplayed. The effort of the Italian Military was not as bad as history would have us believe.

If the Regia Marina operated under the instructions to not engage enemy heavy forces then we must also use as a comparison the Order given to the Heavy units of the Kriegesmarine to avoid at all costs confrontation with with British Battleships.

There are many herioc instances of larger naval units that seem to have been forgotten.