Talk:Zara/@comment-24093250-20160215090101/@comment-24093250-20160215132150

Yes, but it's no excuse still. To presume that major naval units would always be able to disengage before sundown, and not consider that they might be forced to fight under darkness (or in less than optimal visibility) underlines a certain lack of creativity and a certain complacency from the part of several Italian admirals and officers in those years.

It's true, though, that in some ways the Regia Marina hadn't had the possibility of gaining experiences in the handling of major warships in actual combat, unlike the Royal Navy. During WWI, the biggest warships engaged in combat were some scouts ("esploratori"), and the highest caliber gun used was the 120 mm. Unfortunately, from these and other limited experiences, derived many assumptions that in WWII would be found lacking.