Random Article Summary #12

Sparviero, also known as "Sparrowhawk", was an Italian aircraft carrier that was designed and built during World War II. Originally an ocean liner called MS Augustus, it was transferred to the Italian Line after a merger. The ship's conversion into an aircraft carrier, originally named Falco, began in 1942 but was never completed. It was never delivered to the Regia Marina and was eventually scrapped between 1947 and 1951. MS Augustus, along with her sister ship, was originally built as an ocean liner and cruise ship in 1927. However, when Italy entered the war in 1940, both ships were converted into aircraft carriers by the Royal Italian Navy in 1941. In 1936, plans were made to convert the ocean liner Augustus into an auxiliary carrier, but the idea was abandoned. The project was resumed in 1942 and the ship was renamed Sparviero. The conversion began in September 1942, but little progress was made before the Italian capitulation in 1943. The Sparviero was eventually sunk by German troops in 1944 and scrapped in 1951. This was the last attempt to build an aircraft carrier for the Italian Navy until 1981.