16. Italian technology-enhanced national prestige
As did Hitler, but ahead of the Fuhrer’s projects, Mussolini and the Italian government-sponsored or commissioned projects which trumpeted Italian technology and industrial might, placing Italy on a par with the most advanced nations. One such project was the construction and operation of two great ocean liners, Rex and Conte di Savoia (King and Count of Savoy). Described by their advertising literature as being the “Riviera Afloat”, the ships were notable for their luxurious trappings during the final years of the great transatlantic liners’ golden age. In 1933 Rex completed the fastest transatlantic crossing ever achieved to that time, a record it held for two years before the French Normandie surpassed it in 1935. Both Italian ships were laid up for safety purposes in 1940, though both were severely damaged by allied action against them and eventually Rex was broken up after the war.
The Italians also made significant contributions to the field of aviation, including the development of a seaplane which for five years held the record as the world’s fastest airplane, of all types, and which still holds the record (as of 2018) as the world’s fastest piston-engine aircraft. During the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair, held in Chicago, a leader of the Fascist party and aviator flew the aircraft from Italy to Chicago. The pilot, Italo Balbo, used the flight and the publicity it generated to demonstrate Italian technological innovation and engineering achievements. Balbo was instrumental in building the Italian Air Force beginning in the 1920s and was the only senior member of the Fascist Party to vocally oppose the alliance between Nazi Germany and Italy, which led to his being assigned to lead the colonial government in Libya.