Italy's interwar aviation choice was an institutional problem as well as a technical one. Seaplanes remained competitive with carrier aircraft into the mid-1930s, so the Regia Marina did not face an obvious performance imperative to change immediately. The air force could also argue that land bases already covered the central Mediterranean. Political resistance and an apparently adequate existing system therefore reinforced one another, delaying the carrier transition until wartime exposed the limits more sharply.
Notable Point · 6:31-7:35
Italian service rivalry delayed the carrier turn
Italy's land-based air coverage and service politics help explain why the Regia Marina retained seaplanes instead of moving quickly to aircraft carriers.