Italy and France participated in aviation from its early naval development rather than ignoring the new technology. The Regia Marina operated the seaplane carriers Europa and Giuseppe Miraglia and valued the mobility they gave to aircraft support. Italian officers nevertheless kept asking for more capability than crane-handled seaplanes could deliver. That ambition makes Italy's later difficulty obtaining a conventional aircraft carrier more striking, because the institutional interest in naval aviation was already present.
Notable Point · 1:18:23-1:19:55
Italian seaplane carriers pointed toward greater capability
Europa and Giuseppe Miraglia show that Italian naval aviation was active early but wanted more than seaplanes could provide.