Military Model Scene

Title: Italian Assault Craft 1940-1945
Author: Erminio Bagnasco
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-3990-5608-3

Human Torpedoes and other Special Attack Weapons, a new book from Seaforth Publishing, part of Pen & Sword. A 232-page hard-cover book, and also available in e-book formats. It is written by Erminio Bagnasco, an expert on Italian Naval history and co-founder of Storia Militare, the leading Italian military journal. Sadly he passed away in 2022, but he has left us with this fantastic reference.
The book is split into 2 main sections, each of which is sub-divided into many more. Part 1 sets out the Origins, Development and Use of assault craft, going back to their early development during WW1. This has some interesting elements, I was particularly taken by the description of the 'Grillo' type of 'jumping' boats, designed to effectively climb over floating defensive barriers, using chains fitted that look reminiscent of a WW1 tank! There were self-propelled torpedoes and other assault craft as well as similar types used by other nations in WW2, such as the British Chariot and Japanese Shynyo suicide boats. The Italians carried out attacks using their special weapons in WW2, against the Royal Navy battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour, and other less successful operations against both Gibraltar and Malta.
Part 2 has detailed descriptions of the Italian assault craft, both those in service and other experimental projects. This covers Surface and Underwater craft, plus Assault Divers and frogmen, 'Approacher' craft which includes submarines fitted with sealed containers for them to carry the smaller, short range craft. There were also land convoys to get them closer to their targets, along with other Infrastructure such as command and main bases, schools & training centres plus advanced bases and support units. The book is rounded off with 3 appendices covering even more specific detail on systems, special equipment, colours and ID numbers plus a listing of surviving artefacts and museums where they can be seen.
Plenty of archive images and line drawings which can help anyone wishing to model some of these special weapons. It is the only English language book I know of that is dedicated to the subject, and it deserves to be on any reference bookshelf for naval historians/enthusiasts/and modellers. The type of reference that Seaforth have such a good reputation for.
Thanks to Seaforth/Pen & Sword for the review copy.

Robin