The Real Sparviero Aircraft Carrier

Here there are some SPARVIERO updated drawings I've realized for the book "Dal Piemonte al Trieste, portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana" (From Piedmont to Trieste, aircraftcarriers and helicopter carriers of the Italian Navy), written by the Rear Admiral (Ret.) Michele Cosentino and printed by the Historical Office of the Italian Navy (only in Italian language):

Dal Piemonte al Trieste. Portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana : Cosentino, Michele: Amazon.it: Libri

Dal Piemonte al Trieste. Portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana : Cosentino, Michele: Amazon.it: Libri
www.amazon.it

1626345109330.png
 
Last edited:
Is this a new book? Additional material from earlier books?
 
Dilandu said:
This over-deck bow catapult looks... unusual. What was the reason for such arrangement? They wanted a rotating catapult?
Click to expand...

Not exactly, the point is that the Demag catapults already used for AQUILA were off question for SPARVIERO, this fact lead to a (possible) usage of the same Gagnotto catapult exploited by LITTORIO class, as we know their upgrade should allow to launch the RE 2001 OR as well as the RE 2000.
 
archipeppe said:
Dilandu said:
This over-deck bow catapult looks... unusual. What was the reason for such arrangement? They wanted a rotating catapult?
Click to expand...

Not exactly, the point is that the Demag catapults already used for AQUILA were off question for SPARVIERO, this fact lead to a (possible) usage of the same Gagnotto catapult exploited by LITTORIO class, as we know their upgrade should allow to launch the RE 2001 OR as well as the RE 2000.
Click to expand...
This also lead us to hypotize the presence of a crane, placed into an outboard point to raise the aircraft above the catapult, essentially like the ones onboard LITTORIO.
 
Respect the initial 2019 design such new SPARVIERO drawings was released after some reviews with Adm. Cosentino that lead to some differences:

1. The flight deck is extended from stern to the bow
2. The six barrel Breda was placed into two outboad platforms
3. The funnel was duplicated before and after the small island
4. Only one single Gagnotto catapult instead of the two Demag ones

Some material from Campagnolo archives helped to refine the previous design into the actual one (more representative of the final version), unfortunately any blueprint is still sorted out.
 
archipeppe said:
Not exactly, the point is that the Demag catapults already used for AQUILA were off question for SPARVIERO, this fact lead to a (possible) usage of the same Gagnotto catapult exploited by LITTORIO class, as we know their upgrade should allow to launch the RE 2001 OR as well as the RE 2000.
Click to expand...

Hm. So, the shortage of components, or the construction of the ship did not allow to install them?
 
Dilandu said:

Hm. So, the shortage of components, or the construction of the ship did not allow to install them?
Click to expand...
Since the SPARVIERO was late than AQUILA at that point Ansaldo already knew that no additional German catapults were available.

Furthermore, at least initially, the SPARVIERO would not have any catapult at all, considering the first aircraft considered to be onboard was the IMAM Ro 63, a super STOL two seat single propeller, a sort of Italian Storch that doesn't need any catapult at all.

Only later it was decided to have also onboard the Re 2001 OR (the same ones envisioned for AQUILA) and at that times the need for a catapult raised up.
 
So the Italian carriers always assumed a catapult launch, not just steering the ship into the wind at top speed and launching down the deck?
 
archipeppe said:
Furthermore, at least initially, the SPARVIERO would not have any catapult at all, considering the first aircraft considered to be onboard was the IMAM Ro 63, a super STOL two seat single propeller, a sort of Italian Storch that doesn't need any catapult at all.
Click to expand...
Hm! Didn't knew about that. But what they wanted to do with it? What was the point to put it on deck?
 
ptdockyard said:
So the Italian carriers always assumed a catapult launch, not just steering the ship into the wind at top speed and launching down the deck?
Click to expand...
The catapult launch would not exclude the ship maneuvering into the wind to launch the aircrafts, especially considered the very low top speed (only 18 knots) of the SPARVIERO, since (differently from AQUILA) the diesel engines would be the same ones of the cruiser AUGUSTUS.
 
Dilandu said:
archipeppe said:
Furthermore, at least initially, the SPARVIERO would not have any catapult at all, considering the first aircraft considered to be onboard was the IMAM Ro 63, a super STOL two seat single propeller, a sort of Italian Storch that doesn't need any catapult at all.
Click to expand...
Hm! Didn't knew about that. But what they wanted to do with it? What was the point to put it on deck?
Click to expand...
The catapult Gagnotto was on the deck essentially in the very same way of their bow location within the LITTORIO class, the point is that is an element added lately into the project and to integrate it with the ship without any modification to the Gagnotto's project.

We didn't know if its steering capability remained or was envisioned in fixed position pointing toward.
 
Last edited:
archipeppe said:
The catapult Gagnotto was on the deck essentially in the very same way of their bow location within the LITTORIO class, the point is that is an element added lately into the project and to integrate it with the ship without any modification to the Gagnotto's project.
Click to expand...
No, I meant the IMAM Ro 63; what they supposed to do with this small plane on carrier?
 
Dilandu said:
archipeppe said:
The catapult Gagnotto was on the deck essentially in the very same way of their bow location within the LITTORIO class, the point is that is an element added lately into the project and to integrate it with the ship without any modification to the Gagnotto's project.
Click to expand...
No, I meant the IMAM Ro 63; what they supposed to do with this small plane on carrier?
Click to expand...
Oh, I see.
The Ro 63 was envisioned both in recce and antisubmarine roles.
 
Dilandu said:
archipeppe said:
The Ro 63 was envisioned both in recce and antisubmarine roles.
Click to expand...
Ah, understood.
Click to expand...
What it is not clear is if SPARVIERO would have a mixed squadron. Since various documents talk about only 35 Re 2001 OR and since SPARVIERO's hangar was bigger than the AQUILA's one, there is room for another 30-35 aircrafts.
Maybe Supermarina thought about 35 Re 2001 OR and still 35 Ro 63....
 
archipeppe said:
What it is not clear is if SPARVIERO would have a mixed squadron. Since various documents talk about only 35 Re 2001 OR and since SPARVIERO's hangar was bigger than the AQUILA's one, there is room for another 30-35 aircrafts.
Maybe Supermarina thought about 35 Re 2001 OR and still 35 Ro 63....
Click to expand...
If I recall correctly, Sparivero was intended mainly to serve as escort carrier to protect convoys?

P.S. Did RM even tried to operate Ro 63 from the deck? They have at least one seaplane carrier with "semi-deck" equipment.
 
The Ro 63 has an interesting history: it was born by a rfq issued by Regia Aeronautica with the same purpose of Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and the same Hirth HM 508 engine.
The aircraft was designed by Giuseppe Galasso and built by IMAM factory in Naples (the same one that produced the Ro 43 idro), in June 1940.
The aircraft performed so good that were immediately ordered 100 units, 60 of them devoted to be onboard the SPARVIERO.
At the end of the WWII only 6 were built mainly for the difficulty to get the Hirth engines by Germany, and no one of them was tested onboard or in Perugia facility were Italians were trying arrested landings.

1626333877228.png
 
archipeppe said:
Here it is a colour interpretation of the SPARVIERO respect the b/w artwork published in the latest Cosentino's book.
Click to expand...
The colour keys come straight from the same ones adopted by the late Zara Class cruiser, included the red/white bars on the bow in correspondance of the Gagnotto catapult.

1626344524524.png
 
archipeppe said:
The Ro 63 has an interesting history: it was born by a rfq issued by Regia Aeronautica with the same purpose of Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and the same Hirth HM 508 engine.
The aircraft was designed by Giuseppe Galasso and built by IMAM factory in Naples (the same one that produced the Ro 43 idro), in June 1940.
The aircraft performed so good that were immediately ordered 100 units, 60 of them devoted to be onboard the SPARVIERO.
At the end of the WWII only 6 were built mainly for the difficulty to get the Hirth engines by Germany, and no one of them was tested onboard or in Perugia facility were Italians were trying arrested landings.

View attachment 660619
Click to expand...
This does not look like it would be effective for either strikes or ASW, though. Did it have armament or a payload?

Dave
 
ptdockyard said:
archipeppe said:
The Ro 63 has an interesting history: it was born by a rfq issued by Regia Aeronautica with the same purpose of Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and the same Hirth HM 508 engine.
The aircraft was designed by Giuseppe Galasso and built by IMAM factory in Naples (the same one that produced the Ro 43 idro), in June 1940.
The aircraft performed so good that were immediately ordered 100 units, 60 of them devoted to be onboard the SPARVIERO.
At the end of the WWII only 6 were built mainly for the difficulty to get the Hirth engines by Germany, and no one of them was tested onboard or in Perugia facility were Italians were trying arrested landings.

View attachment 660619
Click to expand...
This does not look like it would be effective for either strikes or ASW, though. Did it have armament or a payload?

Dave
Click to expand...
As far as I know the Ro 63 was without armament. I suppose it would be exploited in hunter role leaving the killer role to destroyers or eventually to the Re 2001 OR armed with Silurotto (small torpedo).
 
Exhausts on both sides doesn't sound like a good idea.............
 
PMN1 said:
Does the carrier have funnels on both sides???
Click to expand...
As what apperared by the scarce documentation available (see the latest Cosentino's book) Ansaldo decided to split the funnel in four, where the small island came in the middle, in order to avoid long discharge funnel to the stern, like the Japanese aircraft carriers.
 
Credo sia modello originale, post 1940. Lunghezza 97 cm (1/240), scafo in massello, pannelli di compensato per ponte, lamiera per aerei, filo metallico per corrimano, carta per oblò e ascensori.
Click to expand...

I believe it is original model, post 1940. Length 97 cm (1/240), solid hull, plywood panels for decks, sheet for aircraft, wire for handrails, paper for portholes and elevators. SPARVIERO.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Honestly I don't think is an original Regia Marina or Ansaldo model, that design (today we know it) was longer discarded in 1942-43. The timeframe would be set by some details like the ship camo or the presence of Re2001 full green livery, typical of late war years.
IMHO is a modern fan made model.
 
Queste sono le notizie da me conosciute:
Nel 1936 fu approntato il progetto per trasformare in portaerei ausiliaria la motonave passeggeri Augustus. Il progetto fu sviluppato dal colonnello del Genio navale Luigi Gagnotto. L'idea fu abbandonata fino al 1941, quando il disastro della battaglia di Capo Matapan, in cui la marina italiana perse in un sol colpo tre incrociatori pesanti, rese chiaro l'apporto significativo che un uso coordinato dell'aeronautica poteva dare e venne deciso urgentemente di dotare di una portaerei la Regia Marina. La trasformazione del transatlantico "Augustus" in portaerei venne ordinata nel 1941. Il progetto riprendeva quello sviluppato dal colonnello del Genio navale Luigi Gagnotto ed i lavori di trasformazione iniziarono nel settembre del 1942 nei Cantieri Ansaldo di Genova. Quindi la colorazione degli aerei e la mimetizzazione dello scafo come le strisce rosse di riconoscimento mi sembrano coerenti. Il modello è del tutto rispondente con i disegni di progetto ufficiali. (mi scuso per traduzione google)

​

In 1936 the project was prepared to transform the Augustus passenger motor ship into an auxiliary aircraft carrier. The project was developed by the Colonel of the Naval Engineers Luigi Gagnotto. The idea was abandoned until 1941, when the disaster of the Battle of Cape Matapan, in which the Italian navy lost three heavy cruisers in one fell swoop, made clear the significant contribution that a coordinated use of the air force could make and it was decided. urgently to equip the Regia Marina with an aircraft carrier. The transformation of the transatlantic "Augustus" into an aircraft carrier was ordered in 1941. The project resumed the one developed by the Colonel of the Naval Engineers Luigi Gagnotto and the transformation works began in September 1942 in the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genoa. So the coloring of the planes and the camouflage of the hull as well as the red stripes of recognition seem consistent to me. The model fully complies with the official project drawings. (sorry for google translation)
 
rubinhood said:
Queste sono le notizie da me conosciute:
Nel 1936 fu approntato il progetto per trasformare in portaerei ausiliaria la motonave passeggeri Augustus. Il progetto fu sviluppato dal colonnello del Genio navale Luigi Gagnotto. L'idea fu abbandonata fino al 1941, quando il disastro della battaglia di Capo Matapan, in cui la marina italiana perse in un sol colpo tre incrociatori pesanti, rese chiaro l'apporto significativo che un uso coordinato dell'aeronautica poteva dare e venne deciso urgentemente di dotare di una portaerei la Regia Marina. La trasformazione del transatlantico "Augustus" in portaerei venne ordinata nel 1941. Il progetto riprendeva quello sviluppato dal colonnello del Genio navale Luigi Gagnotto ed i lavori di trasformazione iniziarono nel settembre del 1942 nei Cantieri Ansaldo di Genova. Quindi la colorazione degli aerei e la mimetizzazione dello scafo come le strisce rosse di riconoscimento mi sembrano coerenti. Il modello è del tutto rispondente con i disegni di progetto ufficiali. (mi scuso per traduzione google)

​

In 1936 the project was prepared to transform the Augustus passenger motor ship into an auxiliary aircraft carrier. The project was developed by the Colonel of the Naval Engineers Luigi Gagnotto. The idea was abandoned until 1941, when the disaster of the Battle of Cape Matapan, in which the Italian navy lost three heavy cruisers in one fell swoop, made clear the significant contribution that a coordinated use of the air force could make and it was decided. urgently to equip the Regia Marina with an aircraft carrier. The transformation of the transatlantic "Augustus" into an aircraft carrier was ordered in 1941. The project resumed the one developed by the Colonel of the Naval Engineers Luigi Gagnotto and the transformation works began in September 1942 in the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genoa. So the coloring of the planes and the camouflage of the hull as well as the red stripes of recognition seem consistent to me. The model fully complies with the official project drawings. (sorry for google translation)
Click to expand...
I suggest you to read such thread from the start.

The 1936 project was developed by Gagnotto and it was intended for both Roma and Augustus.
After the Matapan's battle, Mussolini decided ( too late) to convert the two liners into aircraft carriers, while the Aquila acrially built was designed by Bozzoni, the Sparviero was designed Campagnoli, both for Ansaldo. At that point the old and odd design was discarded for the new ones, especially the Sparviero according to the researches made in the last decade by Adm. Cosentino as already described by his last books.

I'm sorry but the model you posted is not representative of the actual Sparviero. It was only a 1936 fantasy.
 
Last edited:
archipeppe said:
Here there are some SPARVIERO updated drawings I've realized for the book "Dal Piemonte al Trieste, portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana" (From Piedmont to Trieste, aircraftcarriers and helicopter carriers of the Italian Navy), written by the Rear Admiral (Ret.) Michele Cosentino and printed by the Historical Office of the Italian Navy (only in Italian language):

Dal Piemonte al Trieste. Portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana : Cosentino, Michele: Amazon.it: Libri

Dal Piemonte al Trieste. Portaerei e portaelicotteri della Marina Italiana : Cosentino, Michele: Amazon.it: Libri
www.amazon.it

View attachment 660627
Click to expand...
Superb.
 

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom