- Italy was working on an embarked guided-rocket weapon system since 1940 and was also spying on Germany’s V-1 developments
- Beautifully illustrated with many rare/unpublished photographs and line drawings, which gives a unique insight in the history of Littorio-class design
- A must-have for military enthusiasts, modellers and those interested in the complexities of naval warfare during the Second World War
From 1941, Italy had been developing a top-secret project to install guided rocket weapons aboard aircraft carriers. Campini Capron’s revolutionary guided rocket weapon, the DAAC, which would later become Hitler’s Henschel HS-117
Schmetterling (‘Butterfly’), was the selected projectile.
Classified intelligence on the V-1 flying bomb and other aircraft projects were acquired and then discarded when Ansaldo’s naval architect, Lino Campagnoli (1911–1975), issued plans for the
Impero battleship to be transformed into a modern fleet carrier.
Previously unpublished documentation reveals how the last of the four state-of-the-art
Littorio-class battleships, which was in advanced completion (hull components and engines installed), was destined for conversion into a modern aircraft carrier.
This is an exhaustive historical review of the
Impero and Regia Marina’s (Royal Navy) developments as well as the dramatic story of the lack of co-operation and strategic insight with Regia Aeronautica before and during the war (1922-1943). Also, a final evaluation of the revolutionary Pugliese anti-torpedo system, based on unpublished German and Russian documentation, is assessed.
| BOOK ISBN |
9781781556771 |
| FORMAT |
248 x 172 mm |
| BINDING |
Hardback |
| PAGES |
256 pages |
| PUBLICATION DATE |
21 June 2018 |
| TERRITORY |
World |
| ILLUSTRATIONS |
126 black-and-white photographs |
