When the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 effectively banned the building of battleships, competition between the major navies concentrated on the next most powerful category, heavy cruisers limited to 10,000 tons displacement and 8-inch guns. Italy followed this trend, the first design for what became Trento and Trieste being ordered in 1924. These were the fastest of the first generation Treaty' cruisers but were very lightly armoured, and the succeeding Zara class of four ships were slower but better protected. However, before the final ship of this class (Pola) had been completed, there was a return to the earlier fast, lightly protected concept with the Bolzano, although this ship also incorporated aspects of the Zara design. The political background, design history and technical features of these classes are covered in great depth in this volume. They were important ships, subject to incremental improvement so no two were identical, and modelmakers in particular will appreciate the space devoted to the variations in appearance, using both description and illustration. As major units of the Italian battlefleet, they were more active than most during the war and their careers are fully detailed, including analyses of damage suffered. Tragically, they were all sunk and the full circumstances of each loss is explored. As befits a technical history, the book is thoroughly illustrated with ship and armament plans, detail drawings and colour camouflage schemes, as well as an outstanding collection of photographs. Translated from the same series that produced the highly successful Italian Battleships, this volume is a fitting companion.

Italian Heavy Cruisers: From Trento to to Bolzano

Brescia, Maurizio

De Toro, Augusto

Seaforth Publishing

For its final battleship design Italy ignored all treaty restrictions on tonnage, and produced one of Europe's largest and most powerful capital ships, comparable with Germany's Bismarck class which were also built in defiance of international agreements. The three ships of the Littorio class were fast and elegant, but also boasted a revolutionary protective scheme which was tested to the limits, as all three were heavily damaged in the hard-fought naval war in the Mediterranean. The book combines a detailed analysis of the design with an operational history, evaluating how the ships stood up to combat. It is illustrated with an amazing collection of photographs, detailed plans, and colored artwork of camouflage schemes, adding up to as complete a study of this class of battleship ever published.

The Littorio Class: Italy's Last and Largest Battleships 1937-1948

History

Bagnasco, Erminio

Military

Naval_Institute_Press

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