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On offer is an outstanding collection of three engineering log books of vessels sunk in World War Two (WWII). The log books are those of three ships of the Italian merchant navy MN Cellina, MN Fella, and MN Rialto. In addition to the main or Deck Log, maintained by the ship's Master, a separate log was maintained by the Chief Engineer for the recording of all vital information about the ship's engines, mechanical systems, pressures, operating temperatures, etc. It may also contain technical drawings and specifications. The Chief Engineer had overall responsibility for the Engineering Department and reported directly to the Master or Captain. In 1938, the Italian merchant fleet numbered 1050 vessels grossing 3,180,000 tons. By comparison, the British merchant fleet numbered 9,050 ships grossing 20, 150,000 tons. In 1932, due to the depression and widespread unemployment of Italian ships, the major Italian shipping companies were combined into one state-controlled syndicate under the name Società Italia Flotte Reuniti. By 1937 this syndicate had made rapid recovery and repaid the Government bonds which had supported it. It was then changed into a Limited Company under the name Italia Società Anonima di Navigazione. These three ships - Cellina, Fella and Rialto were part of this syndicate. The ships plied the world's major shipping routes including the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific. In 1940 most Italian ships were requisitioned for military service and by 1945, few were left afloat. Among the losses were these three ships. M. N. CELLINA was built in 1926. She was seized as a prize by Britain at Gibralter in 1940. She was renamed EMPIRE SAILOR and sailed as part of the British Merchant Navy. In 1942, she was torpedoed and sunk off Cape Race, Newfoundland with a loss of 22 lives. M. N. FELLA was built in 1926. In 1940, she was interned at Costa Rica. In 1941, to avoid her capture, she was burnt by her crew. M. N. RIALTO was built in 1926. In 1941, she was torpedoed and sunk by British aircraft off the coast of Libya. Each of these log books contains detailed descriptions of the engineering aspects of the relevant ship. They are written in Italian. For the most part, the pages are typed, resulting in excellent readability. In addition to the notes, there are engineering drawings of various components, blueprints and performance graphs. They also contain photographs of each ship. The CELLINA's log book details her voyage in 1935 from Trieste, Italy to Vancouver Canada The FELLA's log book contains a number of newspaper clippings including some full-page articles, all of various aspects of the shipping business. Interestingly, there are two pages of notes written in English regarding spare equipment These are an excellent reference pieces. Easily translated, they give an authoritative picture of the engineering features of each of these ships. A naval historian would find these useful in filling in gaps in knowledge of these ships as their records were mostly lost when the ships themselves were lost. A naval architect or engineer would find these to be and excellent reference work as to how the engineering and mechanical systems were built and maintained in ships at this time. All three log books measure 11 inches x 8.5 inches. They are 148 pages plus inserts, and can be considered 50% complete since entries are on one side of each page only. Covers, bindings and pages are Good in all three log books. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 444 pages; Keywords: handwritten, manuscript, document, letter, autograph, writer, hand written, documents, signed, letters, manuscripts, historical, holograph, writers, autographs, personal, memoir, memorial, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier antike, brief, pergament, dokument, manuskript, papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, papel, MN Cellina; MN Fella; MN Rialto; Empire Sailor; Società Italia Flotte Re.
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