Italian aircraft carrier Aquila
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|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1941 |
| Conv. begun: | 1941 |
| Launched: | - |
| Commissioned: | - |
| Decommissioned: | - |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| Struck: | 1952 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 23,500 tons standard,
27,800 tons full load |
| Length: | 235,5 m |
| Beam: | 30 m |
| Draught: | 7.3 m |
| Propulsion: | 8 boilers, 4 turbines, 4 shafts, 151,000 hp |
| Speed: | 30 knots (54 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,500 miles at 18 knots |
| Complement: | 1,420 (107 officers) |
| Armament: | 8 135 mm / 45 caliber,
12 65 mm / 64 caliber, 132 20 mm / 65 caliber |
| Aircraft: | 66 |
| Protection: | max 80 mm (deck) |
Aquila (Italian for Eagle) was an Italian aircraft carrier designed and built during World War II. It was a modification of the liner Roma. The conversion started in 1941; at the time of the Italian armistice (8 September 1943), the conversion was almost complete, but the ship was never delivered to the Regia Marina. It was scrapped in 1952.
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[edit] Italian aircraft carriers
Aquila is considered the first aircraft carrier built for the Italian Navy, and the only one before Giuseppe Garibaldi. However, the Regia Marina had already tested the capabilities of ships with improved air capabilities, just after World War I. In 1923, the seaplane carrier Giuseppe Miraglia was launched.
The role of the aircraft carriers was undervalued by the Regia Marina, as well as by other navies, up until 1940; furthermore, the Regia Marina was to operate in the narrow Mediterranean sea, close to Italian air bases. These considerations led to the position, held by Italian High commands, that there was no need for aircraft carriers, since "Italy itself is an aircraft carrier laid over Mediterranean", as Mussolini once said.
According to the plans developed, the fleet air coverage would have been the responsibility of the Regia Aeronautica; Regia Marina was to request, case by case, air coverage to Regia Aeronautica, which would fulfill these requests once provided to her own necessities. The end result of this "collaboration" was that several times the fleet fought without air coverage, or that the Italian aircraft arrived late to the battle area, or, even, that Italian aircraft attacked Italian ships (as during the battle of Calabria).
When the necessity for an air component travelling with the fleet was clear, it was decided to convert two ocean liners: Roma was to be transformed into Aquila, a fleet carrier, while Augustus was to become the escort carrier Sparviero.
[edit] Aquila design
Aquila was obtained through the conversion of the ocean liner Roma; since a battleship named Roma was already under construction, the name of the ship was changed to Aquila. The propulsion section was obtained by combining two motor compounds built for two light cruisers of the Capitani Romani class that had been dropped in 1941 (Cornelio Silla and Paolo Emilio). She had a single, continuous flight deck 211.6 × 25.2 m wide at 23 m on the sea, with 2 German-built Demag catapults. The big isle, containing the command tower, was on the right side of the flight deck. Aquila could carry 66 Reggiane Re.2001 OR.
Aquila was a quick response to the problem the Supermarina (Italian Navy High Command) faced during the first years of the war in the Mediterranean: the otherwise powerful Regia Marina had no aircraft carriers, the air coverage of the Regia Aeronautica wasn't adequate, and the Italian warships faced many battles against the Royal Navy without an air component travelling with them, such as the Battle of Cape Matapan. Her role would have been of fleet defense, and, therefore, her hangar would have been filled with fighters or fighter-bombers.
Aquila would have been a good aircraft carrier, and a better conversion even than the Japanese Junyō; her major points were her good speed (30 knots), her average attack capability (equivalent to the Japanese Taihō), and the protection of the flight deck. Her major drawback was an operational one: even if finished before the end of the war, the Regia Marina would have had trouble training the pilots.
[edit] Aquila fate
The conversion started at Cantieri Ansaldo, Genoa, in mid-1941. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, when the ship was nearly completed and had already passed the first static test, Germany took possession of the ship. Aquila was damaged during some allied air attacks on Genoa. Since it was possible that the Germans would have used the big keel to block the entrance to Genoa port, Aquila was partially scuttled by Italian commando frogmen. After the war, Aquila was brought to La Spezia, where she was scrapped in 1951-52.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Portaerei Aquila - Plancia di Comando
