Battle of Calabria with larger Italian force

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Calabria

The Italian main force consisted of the battleships Giulio Cesare and Conte di Cavour, eight light cruisers and another 16 destroyers.

This battle takes place in July 1940, months before the FAA strike against Taranto. So, with a few PODs the Italians should have some more ships to send.

1) Battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio complete their modernazation in 1940. Let's complete in advance of OTL so they can join the Calabria force.
2) Where are the Italian heavy cruisers? Let's add a few.

We still need to counter HMS Eagle's small CAG.
 
Problem is that the modernisation to the Italian ships didn't really improve their suvivability. If they get into a gun fight they are little better protected than a WW1 battlecruiser with a 9-inch belt and they would not react well to 15-inch gunfire if their commander was ordered to press the matter.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Calabria

The Italian main force consisted of the battleships Giulio Cesare and Conte di Cavour, eight light cruisers and another 16 destroyers.

This battle takes place in July 1940, months before the FAA strike against Taranto. So, with a few PODs the Italians should have some more ships to send.

1) Battleships Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio complete their modernazation in 1940. Let's complete in advance of OTL so they can join the Calabria force.
2) Where are the Italian heavy cruisers? Let's add a few.

We still need to counter HMS Eagle's small CAG.

I can answer 2: they disappeared into the constantly-shifting depths of Italian naval tonnage alotment and the limitations on a naval budget that was already streching the government's income to bursting. As a quote from a book I read on the subject of Italian war prep, Mussolini and his Generals but it, they were constantly trying to throw a champaigne reception on a beer budget. And for what they had, Italy did surprisingly well... they just diden't have the room to upsize much more without going bankrupt and overloading their limited industrial and infastructural pool.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Calabria

The Italian main force consisted of the battleships Giulio Cesare and Conte di Cavour, eight light cruisers and another 16 destroyers.

...

2) Where are the Italian heavy cruisers? Let's add a few.

Huh, they were out with the 2nd task group. Your list above misses them, but I don't see why you should list only the 1st task group ("the main force"), given that some of those heavy cruisers did come to ballistic contact with the enemy.
 
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