This a further collaboration of two authors who previously crafted a similar book on the Littorio Class battleships. The vessels are covered impressively by this book, the survivors of a class designed before WWI – Very Highly Recommended

NAME:  Italian Battleships, Conte di Cavour and Duilio Classes,1911-1956
FILE: R3372
AUTHOR: Ermino Bagnasco, Augusto de Toro
PUBLISHER: Seaforth Publishing , Pen and Sword
BINDING: hard back
PRICE: £45.00                                              
GENRE: Non Fiction
SUBJECT:   WWI, World War I, World War 1, First World War, The Great War, 
WWII, World War II, World War 2, Second World War, Cold War, naval architecture, 
battleships, Italian Navy, Mediterranean, Royal Navy, big gun ships, capital ships

ISBN: 978-1-5267-9987-6

PAGES: 280,  many B&W images, photographs and drawings, including technical 
drawings through the body of this large format book (larger than A4)
IMAGE: B3372.jpg
BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/bwtpcdnt
LINKS:
DESCRIPTION: This a further collaboration of two authors who previously crafted 
a similar book on the Littorio Class battleships. The vessels are covered impressively 
by this book, the survivors of a class designed before WWI –  Very Highly 
Recommended

The Italian Navy built an impressive fleet of cruisers and battleships, Elegant and well-armed vessels, they should have commanded the Mediterranean, or at least the Eastern Mediterranean. By 1939, and with the RN stretched thin to cover all the sea routes and be ready to counter any move by German capital ships, the Italians enjoyed a home advantage. Their ships were powerful and the well-crewed.

In the event, the RN proved more than a match and maintained supremacy through to the surrender of Italy. On the occasion when the two fleets met, the RN drove the Italians home. In port, the Italian Navy was still vulnerable, with Fleet Air Arm carrier aircraft able to make significant attacks that left much of the Italian Fleet sitting on the seabed at their moorings.

The authors have provided an impressive account of the two classes of battleships. The well researched text and deep knowledge of the subject comes clearly through the text. The illustrations very capably support the text in a book that has been beautifully produced by the publisher in their hallmark style.

This is a very worth-while book that no naval enthusiast should be without. It will also appeal strongly to those who are most interested in naval architecture and the progression of battleships from 1911.