The Regia Marina could field a force at least as comprehensive as Germany's projected navy, yet politics left Italy without aircraft carriers. Its central position could not by itself secure command of the Mediterranean. A navy pursuing Mare Nostrum also had to project air and sea power toward the eastern and western ends of the basin. The missing carrier arm exposed a gap between Fascist maritime rhetoric and the fleet's operational reach.
Notable Point · 12:57-13:40
Italy's carrier gap under Mare Nostrum
Italy's lack of carriers shows why controlling the central Mediterranean was insufficient to turn Mare Nostrum into an operational reality.