AHC/WI: Alternate Italian Military (Cold War)

Delta Force

Banned
After the 1956 Suez Crisis, Italy attempted to position itself as a reliable ally of the United States. Italy allowed two Jupiter missile wings to be based in Italy, and Italian Air Force crews managed everything except nuclear weapons ownership, which was handled by United States Air Force personnel. The Italian Navy also saw a large investment and rapidly became almost as large as the French Navy (more on that and other naval matters here), and it became the first European navy to acquire guided missile ships with American supplied RIM-2 Terrier missiles. However, Italy went on to propose two major initiatives that went beyond just having a larger and more modern navy, as it also had plans to deploy Polaris missiles on its ships as part of NATO Multilateral Force and to procure nuclear powered ships. When Polaris was cancelled Italy even tried to go it alone for a while with its Alfa missile, although it's unclear where a nuclear warhead would come from (presumably an independent Italian program).

Neither program worked out, but the Italian Navy and some of the other initiatives Italy was trying for in the early part of the Cold War are quite interesting. Could Italy have managed to establish a dual-key nuclear deterrent with the United States (or even an independent deterrent if things went quite differently) or procure nuclear powered submarines? Is there anything else interesting that Italy might have done?
 

Delta Force

Banned
The first Italian program was the Guglielmo Marconi class nuclear attack submarine. The program had to be canceled after Admiral Rickover used his influence to prevent technology and material transfer to Italy from both the United States and France. The information is from here.

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Already at the beginning of the 1960s the inadequate funding available did not allow even to formulate medium-term naval programs; It was therefore necessary to plan new construction as made available resources, also because most of the ships of 1958 came into line in the next decade, to carry out the full of its activity only in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time the Navy, whose Summit was from May 1962 Admiral Ernesto Giuriati, manifested officially an interest in the nuclear-powered vessels, with the project for a submarine attack baptized Guglielmo Marconi.

Giulio Andreotti sought to officialize the dream of generals and admirals, speaking at the Italian Senate in 1959, when he was Minister of Defense. He announced the construction of a nuclear submarine which was already ready named: Guglielmo Marconi. There was only one problem to overcome: to convince the United States to provide the enriched uranium for the nuclear reactor. Falco Accame, former Chairman of the Defense Commission of the Chamber, has a long memory and recalled that, on 22 December 1962, on the occasion of the launch of Cruiser Duilio to Castellammare di Stabia, Andreotti said: "we want to bring forward as soon as possible the project of construction of a nuclear submarine that will meet the aspirations of our Navy and also represent a step forward towards that technical project to which we must all cooperate."

The class Guglielmo Marconi of the Italian Navy was to be composed of two units built at Italcantieri (the name of the era of Fincantieri) in the late 1950s. Availing itself of the experiences made by the Americans with the experimental submarine Albacore, a a nuclear-powered attack submarine was designed that would be named Guglielmo Marconi, which should be followed by a sister unit.

The specifications were 83 meters in overall length, maximum diameter-resistant hull 9.55 m, displacement of 2,300 tons (3,400 immersed), 12 thousand hours of autonomy. It appears that it would have been essentially a stretched Skipjack with a longer cylindrical midships hull section (which agrees well with the identical beam of 9.6m and a length of 83 vs. 76m). The sail, torpedo tube arrangement, control surfaces and propeller appear to be the same and the reactor was intended to be an American S5W as well. Propulsion was to be entrusted to a pressurised water nuclear power plant from 30 MW thermal power, derived from Westinghouse S5W model and studied by CAMEN, which fed two turbines (high and low pressure) coupled to a spoiler. The maximum power output on single axis with 5-blade propeller was 15,000 horses, which had to be a continuous maximum speed of 30 knots.

The hull was a solid of revolution (series 58) whose forms were derived from the experiences made by the US Navy experimental boat, and Albacore that allowed the development of high speed dive. Maneuverability was assured by Government cruciform aft bulkheads surfaces (horizontal and vertical rudders), while the horizontal bow rudders were placed on the falsatorre in order to improve the performance of electroacoustic sound sensors. Four watertight bulkheads bounding the local torpedo (533 6 tubes on two horizontal rows of 3 with 30 guns), the compartment for the control of the unit and the local life (4 levels), the reactor compartment, the compartment of the distribution of electricity and diesel-generator group underlying emergencyand, finally, the Powertrain compartment and two turbo-alternators groups with a unitary power of 1800 kW.

Planned expenditure of 30 billion lire in 1959, which made the succeeding continuation of the project, given the budgetary difficulties of the ARMED FORCES. In addition to that, he missed the American un-willingness to provide the necessary technical and logistic assistance. As a consequence of the development of American nuclear propulsion led by Admiral Rickover, the responsibility for naval nuclear reactor development is shared between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Navy and resides in an organization in DOE known as "Naval Reactors" [usually referenced as NR]. As with the submarine arm of the Navy (the "Silent Service"), Naval Reactors is one of the least known and most closed organizations of the U.S. government. Protected by congressional committees, personnel of Naval Reactors are the nuclear high priests of DOE who hold tightly to their nuclear crown jewels--highly classified nuclear technical know-how--which they zealously guard against any release which could narrow the margin with the Soviets.

The Marconi however was not the only project on nuclear propulsion units, but rather the more focused the attention of critics and proponents of a world-ranking Navy.
 

Delta Force

Banned
The second program was the Enrico Fermi nuclear powered naval replenishment ship, but it also resulted in cancellation. Information from here.

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The Americans did not much like the nuclear ambitions of the Italian Navy. The first result was a change of the "nuclear program". And in fact Andreotti, on September 18, 1963 in Parliament spoke of the commitment 'to provide a of nuclear-powered surface unit, a first step towards the construction of the atomic submarine, which remains the ultimate goal.

The most fierce opponent of nuclear program "made in Italy" was Admiral Hyman Rickover, American creator of atomic submarines. The strongest American opposition to the U.K.-Canadian SSN deal within DOE came from Naval Reactors, which wanted no part of any nuclear propulsion transfer deal. For DOE the issues were simple. For Italy to build nuclear powered ships, large amounts of sensitive classified nuclear propulsion technology would have to be transferred to the Italian government and industry. The question was would it be protected? Second, Italy did not have the critically important technology infrastructure which Naval Reactors knew was necessary for the safe application of naval nuclear propulsion. Their greatest concern, one shared by all in DOE and DOD, was that a reactor accident aboard an Italian ship using US-design nuclear technology could severely damage public confidence in the safety of all nuclear vessels, severely curtailing the operational freedom and port access of the U.S. Navy, 40% of whose vessels were nuclear.

In 1964, Andreotti told the Corriere della Sera that the original design of submarine passed to the notion of a civilian-military nuclear propulsion would call Enrico Fermi. Also there were presented the technical data: 18,000 tons, 174-175 meters long and a speed of 20 knots. A 80 MW reactor would provide the power for use on board, including 22,000 hp required for propulsion. Also for this project was, however, requires a minimum of cooperation on the part of Nations already in the possession of nuclear knowhow is essential to achieve naval installations of this power. Rickover denied even this plan. The Italians then turned to the French, with whom since 1961 there was a collaborative project for the production of enriched uranium at Pierrelatte. But Americans put out their hand and nothing came of it. Hopes grow in this direction were again disregarded, while the failure of the first experiences of the exercise of the nuclear-powered merchant made by some Western countries eventually persuaded the Navy to abandon their ambitions in the field.

In 1966, the then Defence Minister, Social Democrat Tremelloni tried diplomatically to extol above all civilian aspects of the nuclear research, but Andreotti the froze: "Galileo's telescope was also born as a military store clerk, but humanity has had immense benefits." The real political problem was to convince Americans to remove the veto. It is in this context that the arrangements for granting the Use of the base of the Maddalena. Almost a sort of "gift" to soften certain positions of distrust. Nothing doing: the Americans in return passed to Italy some conventional submersibles in divestiture.

As the result of the collaboration between CNEN [Comitato Nafcionale Energia Nucleare - Italian Committee for Nuclear Energy] and the Italian Navy, the "Enrico Fermi" a logistic support ship of 18,000 tons, was to be constructed, powered by an 80 MWt PWR. The end of 1969 coincided with the terminal phase of CNEN's second five-year plan. In the course of this second Five-Year Plan, important work was done in the field of reactors of ship propulsion, as a result of the activities of a Committee of Fxperts formed with the sponsorship of CNEN and composed of representatives of the various industrial sectors and governement agencies concerned. An agreement between CNEN and the Italian Navy has then resulted in the overcoming of the last obstacles to the launching of a programme for the building of a Naval logistic support ship, powered by a piessurized-water reactor.

Italy had undertaken studies for the construction of its first nuclear shzp (the Enrico Fermi) on the basis of a co-operation agreement between the CDEN (National Committee for Nuclear Energy) end the National Defense Mirustry - Military Navy (Rome, 9th December 1966). This project concerned a "pilot ship" rather than a mercantile one, whose traveiling, once it is commissioned, might give rise to serious legal problems also connected with the ship's special characteristics.

The FIAT forwarded an offer for the nuclear power system and in 1970 it was considered that definition of the industrial agreement would be reached very soon. Over ninetly percent of the nuclear plant components, including all the internal reactor parts, will be built by the national industry. CNEN would obviously have responsibility for the more strictly nuclear aspects of the project, including the critical experiment which will be completed in the next days at the CNEN Casaccia Center, while the Italian Navy will handle the building of thr vessel.

The Enrico Fermi logistic support ship, was to have an 18,000 ton displacement, and the power plant, with an 80 MWt IWR, will have a 22,000 SHP power and a maximum speed of 20 knots. With the definition of industrial contracts, times may be apeeded up and in 1970 it was considered that the ship will be at sea by 1972/3. The overall project cost was estimated at about 35 million dollars.

About 40 firms had full capability in manufacturing equipment for nuolear installations (both power stations and fuel - fabrication or reprocessing - facilities). Of them, six companies qualify as "general contractors" for the construction of complete plants, acting also as "chef de file" of consortia or groups with possible connections with international manufacturers. Three of these were public concerns: Snam Progetti of Sandonato Milanese, as company in the field for the ENI State Group, Ansaldo Meccanico Nucleare of Genao, as the leading company for the IRI-Finmeccanica State Group and Breda-Termomecanica & Locomotive of Milan as leading company for the EFIM State Group. The other three are private concerns: Montecatini Edison, which had concentrated the experience of Edison in the construction of the Trino Veroellese plant, the activities undertaken by the nuclear section of Montecatini and SNIA Viscoaa of Bombrinl Parodi-Delfino, the chemical company active in the construction for CNEN of the fuel plants EUREX and PCUT, and FIAT of Turin whose activities in the nuolear field include also the construction of the reactor for the Italian nuclear ship Enrico Fermi.

Methods had been formulated to treat the rod cluster control for present-generation pressurized water reactors within the computational codes available at Comitato Nazionale per l'Energia Nucleare (CNEN) for light water reactors. The reliability of these procedures had been verified by comparing the calculated results with the most significant experimental data available from measurements performed by the Centre d'Etude de l'Energie Nucleaire-Studiecentrum Voor Kernenergie (Belgian Plutonium Recycling Program), Babcock and Wilcox (Lumped Burnable Poison Program), Westinghouse, and CNEN (Italian Nuclear Ship Propulsion Program).

Italy was planning to rent two tons of enriched uranium from France for the reactor of its first nuclear ship, the Enrico Fermi. By 1971 this project was in abeyance.
 
I think the biggest problem was that the MLF wasn't really a way to get the likes of Italy and Germany into the deterrence game but rather to get the likes of Britain and France out of it. The US thought the British and French deterrents were useless and in some parts were working against these national forces. The MLF was an option to get Britain and France to relinquish control of their own nukes and put them in US hands. Since they were never going to do so the MLF was never going to get up despite Italian enthusiasm.
 

Delta Force

Banned
I think the biggest problem was that the MLF wasn't really a way to get the likes of Italy and Germany into the deterrence game but rather to get the likes of Britain and France out of it. The US thought the British and French deterrents were useless and in some parts were working against these national forces. The MLF was an option to get Britain and France to relinquish control of their own nukes and put them in US hands. Since they were never going to do so the MLF was never going to get up despite Italian enthusiasm.

So it Multilateral Force wasn't an early proposal for what became weapons sharing or a supplement to the British and French arsenals, but actually attempt to get the British and French to hand over control of weapons they had spent billions of dollars developing? I don't know how anyone thought that was going to work.

Italy was clearly willing to champion some American proposals and spend significant amounts of money in its military, especially the Navy. That probably won Italy some favor in the United States, especially seeing as Italy received the Terrier missile system and actually did some Polaris test launches from the Giuseppe Garibaldi. If naval weapons sharing and nuclear submarines weren't on the table (unless they could be under the right circumstances), what about other initiatives such as Talos missile cruisers?

Also, Italy was barred from acquiring submarines and aircraft carriers under the 1947 Treaty of Paris. When did the prohibition end, seeing as Italy was considering submarines by the early 1960s? Didn't the aircraft carrier restrictions only end in the 1980s?
 
Several people in the US Government including McNamara and I think Rusk spoke out against national deterrents and saw the cancellation of Skybolt as a way to force Britain into the MLF, which was of course US dominated.

As for the Italians, they had submarines transferred from the USN from the mid 50s and built their own small coastal subs by 1968 and cancelled a pair of Ocean Going subs in the same year. It seems to be somewhat beyond them to build nuclear subs when their first attempt post WW2 were only 460 tons and a pair of 1300 ton subs were cancelled.
 

Delta Force

Banned
Several people in the US Government including McNamara and I think Rusk spoke out against national deterrents and saw the cancellation of Skybolt as a way to force Britain into the MLF, which was of course US dominated.

As for the Italians, they had submarines transferred from the USN from the mid 50s and built their own small coastal subs by 1968 and cancelled a pair of Ocean Going subs in the same year. It seems to be somewhat beyond them to build nuclear subs when their first attempt post WW2 were only 460 tons and a pair of 1300 ton subs were cancelled.

What about Italy producing some larger diesel-electric attack submarines akin to the Barbel class to supplement the Toti class?
 

Delta Force

Banned
Italy has a very strategic location and would be on the front lines in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. What about a stronger Italian Air Force and anti-aircraft, anti-missile, and anti-ship missile systems?
 
Why? The US had/has major bases Aviano and Naples. In 1983, Pershings and Tomahawks with nuclear payloads were placed on Sicily. Given the political instability in Italy, it was probably better to let the US have bases than expand the Italian military.
 

Delta Force

Banned
Why? The US had/has major bases Aviano and Naples. In 1983, Pershings and Tomahawks with nuclear payloads were placed on Sicily. Given the political instability in Italy, it was probably better to let the US have bases than expand the Italian military.

Italy could be for Mediterranean operations what the United Kingdom was for North Atlantic operations, capable of protecting itself, acting as a forward operating base for TAC and SAC, and contributing to naval operations in the area.

I didn't know about the later deployment of missiles to Italy though.
 
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