Next up in Italeri’s series of 1/35 scale patrol and torpedo boats is this, the M.A.S. 568 4a Series Italian Torpedo Boat.
The motor torpedo boats, more commonly known as MAS, were civilian vessel variants. The results achieved during First World War were remarkable with the sinking, by Commandant Luigi Rizzo, of the Austro-Hungarian Marine cruisers Wien and Szent István. Though more suitable for confined seas and shallow water like the Adriatic Sea, the Italian Navy continued working to improve the performance of the small but fast motor torpedoes. The MAS 500, gasoline engine equipped Isotta-Fraschini, built during the Second World War, were more powerful and reliable, and were deployed both as motor torpedoes and anti submarine platforms for depth charge dropping. Capable of reaching a top speed of 40 notches and armed with two 450mm torpedoes. .
