Here's the English translation of the book description, crafted to appeal to a modern audience: --- In the past century, a popular military joke circulated among soldiers: "Why does the Austrian army exist? To give other armies someone to fight. And what about the Italian army? To give the Austrians someone to fight." The same could be said about the Italian Navy, which bore the grand name of the Supermarine. Although by the start of World War II it was considered the fourth-largest navy in the world, with overwhelming dominance in the Mediterranean, the "pasta navy" managed to lose virtually every naval engagement it participated in. Naturally, in hindsight, Mussolini’s defeated admirals tried to justify their shame, blaming the shipbuilders for the failures. Particularly harsh criticism was directed at the Italian heavy cruisers—after their defeat at Matapan, where the British, like during a training exercise, shot down the "Zara," "Pola," and "Fiume," they were branded as "fake record-holders" and almost called "floating coffins." Yet, before the war, these same "coffins" were lauded by Fascist propaganda as masterpieces of shipbuilding, the best in their class. So, who should we believe? Do the Italian heavy cruisers truly deserve such scorn? Are the shipbuilders to blame for the Supermarine’s defeat? Absolutely not. This book proves that the designers created outstanding ships—ships that often surpassed the best examples from leading navies around the world. It was not the vessels’ fault that fascist admirals, whom one could hardly call anything but "punching bags," commanded these magnificent supercruisers so ineptly. Their own bitter experience confirmed an old truth: it’s not the ships that fight, but the people who command them.