Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 303" video.

  1. On the question about completing Carraciolo, the RM built a significant number of destroyers and torpedo boats during the 1920s, so there was money available for naval construction. Some years ago, I took a stab at producing cost estimates for the construction of destroyers and completion of Carraciolo, as a battleship. If the RM had foregone something on the order of half of the destroyers they built, they would have had the funds to complete Carraciolo. Could they have completed Carraciolo post-Washington treaty? The treaty allows for immediate replacement of ships lost due to accident. As daVinci blew up by accident, it would probably be a legitimate move to say Carraciolo was the replacement for daVinci, even though the explosion on daVinci predated the treaty. Carraciolo was, apparently, not broken up until 1926. Somewhere between Mussolini becoming Prime Minister in late 22, and the elections of April 1924, when the Fascists lead the winning coalition, a door could have opened to allow Carraciolo to be completed as a figurehead of the new regime. Apparently, the RM was more interested in building up it's destroyer force.
    1