On the face of it, the Italians had a huge advantage in ships and guns at Lissa , her ironclads outnumbered the Austrians by 11 to 7 and the guns the Italian ships mounted were far heavier than their Austrian counterparts. These material advantages also carried over to the Italian wooden vessels of Albini's frigate squadron which had 7 frigates superior to anything the Austrians possessed. All this paper strength however didn't take into account the command and technical shortcomings of the Italian navy at this time. In the battle itself, Admiral Persano, the fleet commander not only dithered from the outset but allowed a dangerous gap to open in his line while he transferred his flag to the powerful ram Affondatore.
Albinis Squadrons
The Austrian Ironclads passed through the Italian line and wrought havoc with their aggressive ramming tactics and even the Austrian wooden warships got stuck in to the fight while Albinis powerful Italian frigates stood passively at a distance avoiding battle . Spithead will shortly be completing its Lissa series of ships and although the first dozen sets have now been sold, it is hoped that a second batch will be produced if the demand is there. This is the only complete set of Lissa ships to have ever been made apart from the pricey collectors models that were produced HAI so this will be a one time opportunity to own a limited edition set of these models before production ends soon.
Austrian Avisios
Pithead Miniatures
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