Armada Aquila
During the 1920s and 1930s, when all leading naval superpowers
were showing a great deal of interest in aircraft carriers,
the Italian official naval doctrine considered this ship type an excessive one—
their base aviation was deemed sufficient to guarantee
air superiority in the Mediterranean region.
However, despite that decision,
Italian designers developed a series of carrier drafts,
including some based on large ocean-going passenger vessels.
In today's episode, we're going to talk about one such draft project
that came very close to being built.
Captains, please welcome Italian Tier VIII Premium aircraft carrier Aquila.
The draft design by the Ansaldo company
involved transforming transatlantic liner Roma,
which had been cruising between Italy and the U.S.A.
before World War II, into an aircraft carrier.
The work started at the shipyard in Genova in July 1941,
when the final draft was still at the design stage.
The Italians literally gutted the liner—
the propulsion was replaced and all superstructures were dismantled.
Taking the scope of work into account,
it's amazing that by the time Italy capitulated on September 8, 1943,
the ship had been more than 80% ready
and had even passed dock trials successfully.
But shortly after, Genova, where the aircraft carrier was being built,
was seized by German troops. In the summer of 1944,
Aquila was damaged by Allied aviation.
In April 1945, Italian combat divers
made an unsuccessful attempt to sink the ship.
However, the badly wounded aircraft carrier survived until the end of the war
and was scrapped for metal in 1952.
In World of Warships, Aquila has been recreated
using the original Ansaldo blueprints of 1942.
The carrier is armed with two types of squadrons—
attack aircraft and torpedo bombers.
The attack aircraft flight is large, comprising numerous planes
carrying a heavy load of armor-piercing rockets,
but the rockets are quite unimpressive in terms of their damage
and armor penetration capabilities.
It's most effective to utilize the rockets against destroyers and light cruisers,
as well as against poorly armored superstructures of large ships.
The number of planes in the torpedo bomber squadron
is roughly the same as for other carriers,
and while Aquila's torpedoes deal higher damage, they are slower.
The aircraft have little HP, but they are fast,
and their number on deck is greater than that on other carriers.
It's clear that the ship has her own advantages and disadvantages.
Upgrades can improve the battle performance of the ship
in accordance with your playstyle.
I recommend mounting the following upgrades.
Air Groups Modification 1 in the first slot;
Aircraft Engines Modification 1 in the second slot;
Aerial Torpedoes Modification 1 in the third slot;
Torpedo Bombers Modification 2 in the fourth slot;
and Flight Control Modification 1 in the last, fifth slot.
Now your ship is ready for battle.
Head into battle and let the Mediterranean eagle deliver you victory!
Let's proceed with the Armada raffle.
Aircraft carrier Aquila, a Port slot, 10-skill-point Commander,
commemorative flag, and other items are the prize for one subscriber
who leaves a thumbs-up under the video
and answers the following question correctly—
"How many airplanes are housed on the carrier's deck?"
Let me remind you that the winner will be chosen randomly
out of those players who leave their nicknames
and the server they play on in the comment with the correct answer.
The winner will be announced in a comment under the next Armada episode.
Keep your eyes peeled. Take part in the raffle,
and good luck, Captains!