WesWorld

1st July



The fast coastal liner Giuseppe Miraglia entered drydock in Taranto today for refitting as a seaplane carrier. Originally laid down in December 1918 as a fast liner for the Med. Giuseppe Miraglia seemed a good choice for the navy. Admittedly she still carries her reciprocating engines, but they are very reliable. She is also oil-fired like all the newer RM ships. When her refit finishes at the end of this month she will embark her aircraft, 300 squadriglia flying 12 M.18 reconnaisance, and 115 squadriglia flying the new M.26 fighter. Liberally equiped with cranes she will be able to put 3 aircraft into the water at once, a far better rate than if she mounted a catapult. Catapult-equipped carriers are hindered by the weight and size of the catapult whilst they are limited by the Treaty of Cleito to a pitiful 10 aircraft. Giuseppe Miraglia willl also function in the role of flagship for the Xa MAS. Tender for MAS boats and SX01, in addition to extensive onboard facilities.

7th July Tenders for design of a new class of light cruiser have been sent. Even before the Pisa class has been completed, a new class is needed to drastically increase the numbers of our cruiser fleet. The designs are expected to be below 6000t in displacement to save costs and decrease building time. Armament has been set at 8x6”/50 in M1925 duple turrets, secondaries will make use of the 65mm gun.

16th July 2 examples of the S.55 arrived in Manila harbour after their long overwater flight that saw them take off from Italian East Africa, head east past Sri Lanka to refuel in Siam before continuing towards the Philipines. The 2 aeroplanes are amongst the strangest looking in the world; a minister in Iberia has been quoted as describing it as a “flying boat / floatplane hermaphrodite.” The MdF has requested the examples for comparison between themselves and the Ro-II. Of course, there is no real choice in the matter. The S.55 is superior in all respects.

28th July Finally, after many years of construction the naval port at Mogadishu is finished. Based in the extensive natural harbour of Mogadishu, the port will further trade to Italian East Africa, in addition to becoming the base of the Indian Ocean squadron. Next month the squadron will transfer from its current location at Massawa, Eritrea to Mogadishu. The Indian ocean squadron comprises of the 1st Cruiser squadraglia and the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. More units are expected to join as the port expands.

5th August



In shocking news, one of the forts near Bãb al Mandab has been attacked. Situated on an island east of Aseb, Fort Augustus consists of 4 12”/40 turrets, 2 100mm guns and 2 trainable 21” torpedo tubes. It is the largest fort in the island chain. Eyewitness reports from the soldiers there have been put together to give the following;
At about 0300hrs in the darkness a small boat docked at the pier. Armed men stormed out and a running battle developed as the heroic defenders were pressed further inland towards the batteries. At this point there seem to have been around 50-100 attackers. Mortars were being fired at the power and gunhouses by the attackers. By around 0330hrs enough soldiers had grouped together and 1 company were able to repulse the attackers by turning one of the 100mm guns against them. Various soldiers here report that the attackers had by this time split into 2 distinct groups. One seemed to be speaking Dutch or maybe Afrikaans, and the other language seemed to be hindi, but the soldier in question wasn’t sure. By 0340 members of 1 and 3 companies had driven back the attackers towards the sea. They appear to have given up by 0345 and cast off with their vessel heading into the night. A quick radio call to the 6th destroyer flotilla arranged for an immediate sweep of the surrounding area, but it took the destroyers 4 hours to get into position. By that time the ship had disappeared and is supposed to be hiding in Yemeni waters. She is thus effectively out of reach. The attackers in fact caused little damage, a powerhouse was destroyed by mortar fire and 32 casualties was the cost to the Italian soldiers. The attackers left behind 20 men, all dead leaving no real clues to their objective or origin. A number of the corpses were distinctly Hindi and wore an orange sash with a bare chest. Dead in the other group were more Caucasian in looks, and although having military uniforms, there was no insignia carried.

6th August An unconfirmed source in the government has said, “there is now no doubt in the matter, some of the attackers were definitely Indian in origin. We are not quite sure, but believe that the blockade of Siam is just a diversion to distract other’s attention, while they strike unseen and at night.” Last month’s news of India being granted a mandate in As Sahïf came as a pleasant surprise to most people, especially after the cooperation between our forces in intercepting gunrunners. “It might be possible that SPEARFISH just considers our position overlooking Bãb al Mandab to be too threatening. Of course that is nonsense as there is no threat whatsoever. Not even the French socialist gouvernement has complained.”

The search for the missing ship continues, this time with the help of the Aeronautica de Marina but has so far proved unsuccessful. M.18 flying boats from RM Giuseppe Miraglia , which was in transit to Eritrea at the time have found no sign of the ship even after extending their search to the area around As Sahïf.

7th August Having secured Fort Augustus and the environs, the soldiers of the detachment there were congratulated by King Emanuel as he came to look at the scene for himself. He was particularly moved on this occasion and vowed to find the people who committed this. After staying a few hours on the island, King Emanuel sailed to the mainland where he will visit the capital, Asmara. The 6th Destroyer Flotilla have continued their search but are still unsuccessful. It is thought that the ship has either slipped through Bãb al Mandab unseen, or stayed in Yemeni waters.

8th August A sighting of the mystery vessel has finally been made! By means unknown, the ship was found beached on a island that has no name north-west of the straits. Closer examination gave no further clues as the dhow had been burnt out and all persons had disappeared.

The Italian government has requested that Indian forces in As Sahïf keep a close lookout for paramilitary sorts that are supposed armed and highly dangerous.

16th August An extra regiment of Italian troops has arrived in Eritrea to reinforce Italian considerations there and in the surrounding area.


[SIZE=1]Removed the latter article. It will re-appear soon.[/SIZE]

That´s interesting but alarming news. SPEARFISH is the joint Indian-SAE intelligence service and if SPEARFISH would start any operation I would know... Obviously this is not the case so making SPEARFISH responsible can get you in more (diplomatic) trouble than you might expect...

Foreign Affairs Minister Kadharni reacted today to Italian claims of Indian involvement in the raid on Fort Augustus three days ago.

"We certainly regret that the lives of dedicated soldiers have been lost to some kind of assault on the Italian facility", he said. "However, I'm not sure which outrages me more: that somebody would frame India for staging the raid, or that they assume we'd do so with such incompetence."

The Minister added, "I will categorically deny any Indian involvement in such a raid, noting that SPEARFISH is an intelligence gathering agency, not a covert operations agency. India has no reason to stage military action against Italy; in fact, we thought we had some mutual security concerns in the Red Sea that encouraged cooperation."

When asked to speculate on who committed the raid, the Minister said, "Obviously somebody who thought they'd kick the Tiger in the arse. From our perspective, it's more like somebody spit on their finger, stuck it in our ear, and ran away: a nuisance, and nothing more."

Quoted

Originally posted by Red Admiral
The fast coastal liner Giuseppe Miraglia entered drydock in Taranto today for refitting as a seaplane carrier.

Btw, is this based on historical information? Is your GUISEPPE MIRAGLIA a copy of the historical one?

My Giuseppe Miraglia is extensively based upon the historical one. But the CT forbids having 2 catapults on the centreline and carrying more than 10 aircraft. So I removed the catapult and made her a bit smaller.