Why dismissing the Italian Navy also distorts Royal Navy history

Do writers who run down the Italian Navy also tend to run down the Royal Navy?

Often, because understating the Italian threat makes the Royal Navy's large Mediterranean commitment appear unnecessary and feeds a second misleading stereotype.

The two stereotypes reinforce each other. If the Regia Marina is treated as ineffective, the substantial Royal Navy force committed against it can be portrayed as evidence of British weakness or waste. The Italian Navy is instead described as the most balanced of the three Axis fleets and the one best positioned strategically to pursue its war aims, even though it ultimately could not achieve them. The exchange warns that national caricatures hide the reciprocal relationship between a threat and the resources assigned to counter it.