AIRCRAFT CARRIER IMPERO

• 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• Beautifully illustrated with many rare/unpublished photographs and line drawings, which gives a unique insight in the history of Littorio-class design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 Imperobattleship 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Previously unpublished documentation reveals how the last of the four state-of-the-art Littorio-class battleships, which was in advanced completion (hull components and engines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 Also, a final evaluation of the revolutionary Pugliese anti-torpedo system, based on unpublished German and Russian documentation, is assessed.