Ships · Italy · 1941-1943
Aircraft carrier Aquila
fleet aircraft carrier (never commissioned)
Aquila was a near-complete fleet carrier converted from the ocean liner SS Roma at Genoa from late 1941, gutted and rebuilt with a hangar deck, new machinery from cancelled light cruisers and a planned air group of 51 Reggiane Re.2001 fighter-bombers. Work stopped when Italy signed the armistice in September 1943 with the ship still unfinished, and she never embarked an aircraft or saw action; Italian commandos scuttled her in shallow water in 1945 to keep the Germans from using her as a blockship, and she was scrapped in 1952.
| displacement | 23,500 tonnes standard, 27,800 full load |
|---|---|
| speed | 30 knots |
| armament | 8x 135mm guns, 12x 65mm guns, 132x 20mm cannon |
| aircraft | 51 (planned, Reggiane Re.2001, never embarked) |
Mediterranean and North Africa
