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Sunday 21 October 2012

Mussolini's Navy

I have been away for the weekend, but before I left on Friday the Post Office delivered a book that I had ordered some time ago. It is MUSSOLINI'S NAVY by Maurizio Brescia.


The book has just been published by Seaforth Publishing (ISBN 978 1 84832 115 1) and is extremely well illustrated. Its chapter headings are:
  • The Regia Marina from 1861 to 1939
  • Dockyards, Naval Bases, Ports, Shipyards and Coast Defences
  • Fleet Organisation and Operations
  • Ships in Service 1940-5
  • Surface and Underwater Assault Craft
  • Naval Aviation
  • Italian Camouflage in the Second World War
  • Flags
  • Uniforms, Ranks, Insignia and Decorations
  • 'Who's Who' of the Italian Navy in the Second World War
I am looking forward to spending many hours reading this book. The Italian Navy has always held a fascination for me ... and now I have a single reference book that covers almost everything that I will need to know about it.

8 comments:

  1. Bob

    Oooh it's shiny! I want one.
    Enjoy

    Cheers

    PD

    ReplyDelete
  2. Peter Douglas,

    From my very cursory look through it, this book appears to be an excellent addition to my library!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can I ask how big the chapter on the Surface and Underwater assault craft is? It is a current research project of mine....

    MTIA.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Spprojectblog (Pete),

    The chapter is eight pages long. The first four and a half pages deal with the general history of - and operations mounted using - the surface and underwater assault craft (including some interesting photos and line drawings of the MT and MTM assault craft and 100-series SLC 'Maiale'). There is then a page and a half about the development of the surface assault craft and two pages about the underwater assault craft. The latter does include some operational details as well.

    It is a good general reference book about Mussolini's Navy, but I suspect that this chapter might not be detailed enough for anyone doing serious reseach. That said, it might be worth getting hold of a copy from a library just to read this chapter.

    I hope that this information is of help to you.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tim Gow,

    Calm down ... otherwise you'll get yourself in a right old state!

    If you are a good boy and ask your wife nicely I am sure that someone will buy you a copy for Chrisnmas!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for that Bob- It's added to my wants lists now so when I see a copy at a decent price I'll grab one.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Spprojectblog (Peter),

    Glad to be of help ... and I am sure that you will get a copy of this book in the near future.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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