Italian aircraft carrier Aquila

Aquila (Italian for Eagle) was an Italian aircraft carrier designed and built during the 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 Regia Marina. It was scrapped in 1952.

Italian aircraft carriers

Aquila is considered the first aircraft carrier built for the Italian Navy, and the only one before the future Conte di Cavour. However, Regia Marina had already tested the capabilities of ships with improved air capabilities, just after the World War I. In 1923, the auxiliary carrier Giuseppe Miraglia was launched, but the experiment was soon abandoned.

The role of the aircraft carriers was undervaluated 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 layed over Mediterranean", as Mussolini once said.

According to the plans developed, the fleet air coverage would have been responsability directly 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 aircrafts 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.

Aquila design

Aquila was a quick response to the problem 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 was useless at best, and the Italian warships faced many battles against the Royal Navy without an air component travelling with them, such in the night of Taranto and in 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 Junyo; her major points were her good speed (30 knots), her average attack capability (equivalent to the Japanese Tahio), and the protection of the flight deck. Her major drawback was an operational one: even if capable to finish her before the end of the war, the Reagia Marina would have had the problem of training the pilots to fight on an aircraft.

Aquila fate

Liner Roma conversion started in Genoa, at Cantieri Ansaldo, at half 1941. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, when the ship was complete at 90% and had already passed the first statical test. Germans took possession of the ship and started demolishing it. The ship was damaged during some allied air attacks on Genoa. Since it was possible that the Germans would have used the big kneel to block the entrance to Genoa port, Aquila was partially scuttled by Italian frogmen. After the war, Aquila was brought to La Spezia, where she was scrapped in 1951–52.