Editing Fascist Italian Equipment (section)

===Ships===
{{topquote|I don't think their remaining three battleships will face us and if they do I'm quite prepared to take them on with only two.|Admiral Cunningham (RN) after Taranto}}

To sum up the Regia Marina (and this is a VERY short summary considering they were the fifth largest navel power) the Italian navy started the war with a massive fleet, though most of these ships were of an earlier design. Still, they weren’t exactly lacking; many sources show the Italian ships to be great in design often able to compete against the allies in a fair one on one fight. Their issues came from modernization and production capacity.  They didn't have sonar or radar, which meant any engagement at night or in bad weather would go very badly.  

They also purposefully elected to give up on any sort of formalized air arm for the navy since it was seen as unnecessary.  Their larger ships carried seaplanes for courier and spotting duties just like everyone else, but as their fleet generally stayed in the Mediterranean they saw no need for carriers; they would always be in range of an Italian airbase. 

Italy entered the war with a force that could beat the French or the British Mediterranean squadron.  This forced the RN to operate as a single force; if they were to divide up, the Italians could sortie against one group and overpower them in an unwinnable fight.  This changed after Taranto, the first all-air vs ship attack in history.  Torpedo bombers attacked the Italian fleet in harbor, destroying or disabling half their battleships, as well as a cruiser and two destroyers.  This shifted the math such that the RN was able to divide their squadron into two independent groups with a carrier and two battleships each, confident that even if the Italians did jump them the fight would be fair(-ish).

What was left of the Regia Marina didn't take the 1943 disarmament by Germany very well; some scuttled their ships (like France had before them) while others simply hauled anchor and sailed south to the allies.  The allied landings in Sicily were essentially unopposed by the Italians at sea.