Fr05ty's Italian Aircraft Carrier Tech-tree

Fr05ty · February 21, 2021

Hello there! Welcome to a post where I decide to stop doing single ADLAs on ships and instead try my best at guessing what a tech-tree line might look like. Here's my proposal for the Italian Aircraft Carriers tech-tree line.

Italian Regia Marina

Aircraft Carriers

Foreword

The Italian Regia Marina was hampered in its efforts to have aircraft carriers and operational naval aviation due to the interference and political machinations of the Regia Aeronautica. The Regia Marina was well aware of the power of aircraft carriers and had proposed their construction and adoption into the fleet from the early 1910s and kept fighting for their construction until the end of the Second World War. Mussolini and other political figures ensured that the Regia Marina never got their wish for aircraft carriers, but the detailed plans that the Navy created in each iteration show how the tactical doctrine and requirements of Italian aircraft carriers developed. It is from those designs that this line stems, and while ships might have some modifications where weaponry is concerned, all designs presented here were designs that the Regia Marina considered for service until they were struck down in political maneuvers. I have used the airplanes proposed for naval duty when possible, but in many cases I “navalised” aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica.

Traits

The Italian aircraft carriers have planes that for the most part have been developed from fighter planes, so they all have the uniform 40kts boost speed and can sustain the boost for a longer period of time. Additionally, they all have better than average maneuverability and deploy an additional fighter in the squadrons summoned by fighter consumables. The Italian plane squadrons all have some unique characteristics that change the way that they need to be played in order to attain maximum efficiency. Italian rocket strike craft tend to carry fewer rockets than comparable aircraft from other nations, and the rockets themselves do not have very good characteristics; this however is somewhat counteracted by the good durability of the planes, their great maneuverability and the increased squadron and attack flight sizes. Italian dive bombers have the previously mentioned improved boost and maneuverability, however they are slower than most other dive bombers. A key characteristic of Italian dive bombers is the choice between two weapon types; they can either carry a few large HE bombs or a larger amount of smaller SAP bombs. This means that you may choose the potential for higher alpha strike of the SAP bombs over the possible damage over time of HE bombs, however do be aware that SAP bombs can fail to penetrate and bounce just like AP shells so you’ll have to be even more careful while aiming. Lastly, the Italian torpedo bombers feature the same improved boost and maneuverability as previously mentioned, but they also gain improved stability when aiming during the attack run which means you will be able to do more aggressive maneuvers while aiming without throwing off your aim too much. Additionally, the Italian torpedo bombers carry a rather decent torpedo with good damage and speed but a poor range which means that aiming properly and dropping torpedoes as close as possible to enemies will be crucial.

Additional fighter consumable & additional fighter in fighter squadrons
Slower than average plane replacement
Below-average Rocket Strike Aircraft
- Average speed (Slower than USN & faster than RN)
- Good durability (Above average hitpoint pool)
- Great maneuverability
- Weak & not very numerous rockets
- Increased squadron & attack flight size
Good dive bombers
- Improved boost speed & duration (40kts vs 35kts)
- Slow (only slightly faster than USN)
- Decent durability
- Choice of bombs:
  - Medium SAP bombs
  - Larger but fewer HE bombs
- Improved maneuverability
Decent torpedo bombers
- Average speed (Slower than IJN & equal to RN)
- Improved boost speed & duration (40kts vs 35kts)
- Improved maneuverability
- Improved stability when aiming on attack run
- Decent torpedoes (good damage & speed, poor range)

Warships

Tier	CV	Prem.
1
2
3
4	Nibbio
5
6	Falco	Sparviero 1942
7
8	Aquila
9
10	Avvoltoio

Tech-Tree Aircraft Carriers

Nibbio class Aircraft Carrier (T4)

A design to convert the half-built hull of the Francesco Caracciolo to the Italian Regia Marina’s first aircraft carrier. Due to interference from the Regia Aeronautica and budgetary constraints, she was never converted and instead was scrapped.

Survivability

Displacement: ~22,000t standard; ~26,500t full (36,100hp standard; 37,700hp full)

Armour: 180mm belt, 50-24mm deck

Flight Group

Flight group: ~30 Aircraft

Attack Aircraft: IMAM Ro.37
Speed: 112kts (40kts boost)
Durability: 1380
Payload: 2x 5-inch FFAR (1900 damage, 7% fire, 27mm penetration)
Attack flight (Squad size): 4 (8)
Aircraft restoration time: 45 seconds

Torpedo Bombers: Fiat B.R.1
Speed: 99kts (40kts boost)
Durability: 1450
Payload: 1x 45cm F175/450 Torpedo (5933 damage, 51% flood, 3km @40kts)
Attack flight (Squad size): 2 (6)
Aircraft restoration time: 60 seconds

Dive Bombers: IMAM Ro.1
Speed: 98kts (40kts boost)
Durability: 1540
Payload: 4x 24kg G.P H.E. bomb (3100 damage, 17% fire, 18.5mm penetration)
Attack flight (Squad size): 2 (6)
Aircraft restoration time: 55 seconds

Weaponry

AA Battery: 4x2 37mm/54 Breda M1932 autocannons (dmg = 102dps @3.5km 100% acc), 4x2 20mm/65 Breda M1935 guns (dmg = 32dps @2km 95% acc)

Mobility

Speed: 28kts - 85,000hp

Size: 213m long, 31m wide, 7.5m deep

Consumables

Standard Damage Control Party
Improved Fighter Squadron
Standard Squadron Consumables

Notes

Original AA:
- 8x2 13.2mm/76 Breda 1931 (dmg = 126dps @1.5km 95% acc) AA guns
Caracciolo Pg 582 carrier conversion
Details can be found in "La Nave Virtuale" by Enrico Cernuschi published in Storia Militare but this picture is from "Le Navi da Battaglia Classe Caracciolo" by Antonio Mascolo
From Sappino’s book: Pg 582:
Flight deck: 185x25m
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/older-italian-ships.1805/#post-15309

Analysis

The Nibbio has several characteristics which make him unique among the aircraft carriers at T4. Ship-wise, it is by far the largest, most heavily armoured of the aircraft carriers as befits its origins as a super-dreadnought battleship. The Nibbio has more hitpoints and a higher speed than any other aircraft carrier as well, but it pays for this by having a rather poor concealment, having no secondary weapons and a rather average anti-aircraft suite. The Nibbio has the added benefit that its fighter consumable summons a 5-plane squadron instead of a 4-plane squadron to protect itself, offering it a slight defensive boost as well against enemy aviation. It’s the tankiest aircraft carrier at its tier, but as any aircraft carrier knows, the moment you get spotted means that your time on the battlefield is coming to an end. Aircraft-wise, your bombers offer a middle-of-the-road performance as they carry 4 bombs each which means that you’ll have an easier time causing damage even if it isn’t devastating; your fighters are decently fast and have a large attack flight which means that it losing a plane or two will not be quite as bad although the planes do not carry as many rockets; and your torpedo bombers have all around decent characteristics to deliver the torpedo with some reliability. The planes may not be as different from other lines, but at tier 4 it is better to be simple than to overcomplicate, and the Nibbio will be a good training aircraft carrier for the upper tiers.

Falco class Aircraft Carrier (T6)

A design proposed by Filippo Bonfiglietti, it was meant to provide the Italian Regia Marina with attack and scouting capabilities. It was a very modern design that incorporated many of the best design practices from foreign navies. Budgetary constraints and political interference meant it was never built.