This is a very comprehensive review of the Naval war in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II. In particular the actions of the Italian Navy showed much more capability and an aggressive nature not previously attributed to the Italians. Fuel shortages played a very significant role in limiting their contribution to the Axis cause. Movement of supplies to North Africa was impressive.
Like the Italians, the willingness of the French Navy to conduct operations, significant offensive operations, had not been appreciated. Previously believing that French units remained tied up in port after the surrender of France to Gcnnany, is shown to be quite plainly false.
The duplicity of the Vichy French government, trying to play both sides for French advantage was never appreciated. A willingness of the Vichy government to join the Axis cause had not been previously considered.
The effectiveness of mine fields on naval actions was significantly more potent than one would have expected. The failure of the British to achieve hits with numerous surface torpedo attacks was quite astounding. As the war progressed, the accuracy of the British Naval gunners improved markedly. It seemed quite below the standards expected of the Brits at the start of the war.
Although the action described for the class of ships called Hunts was mentioned several times, the comparison to a U S Navy type vessel was not explained, or listed in the Appendix. Also, the extremely fine print and poor color differentiation, made the numerous charts very hard to interpret. All in all, a very thorough and educational read.
