The aircraft carrier that wasn't allowed to carry planes

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For years, the Italian Navy operated a massive vessel officially designated as an "aircraft-carrying cruiser." This strange classification was born from a 1937 law that barred the navy from operating fixed-wing aircraft. It took nearly half a century for the ship to finally launch its own jets.

Commissioned in 1985, the Giuseppe Garibaldi was Italy's first through-deck aviation ship designed for fixed-wing aircraft. Because a 1937 statute assigned every domestic fixed-wing aircraft to Italy's Air Force, helicopter use was limited for the Navy. Consequently, when the vessel entered service, it could not host its own fighters and was reclassified as an Incrociatore portaeromobili (aircraft carrying cruiser). It wasn't until 1989 that this ban was lifted, finally allowing the ship to operate AV-8B Harrier II jets.

The ship features a unique off-axis flight deck with a 6.5-degree ski-jump designed for STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. Powered by four Fiat COGAG gas turbines providing 81,000 hp, it reached speeds of 30 knots. Throughout its career, the Garibaldi served as a versatile platform in conflicts across Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 1999 during the Kosovo War, it supported 30 sorties in just 63 hours, while later missions in Afghanistan saw its Harriers complete 288 missions totaling 860 flight hours.

Following its retirement in 2024, the ship entered a complex diplomatic transition. In 2025, negotiations began for Italy to transfer the vessel as a grant to Indonesia. Despite domestic political debates regarding whether the ship should be sold or gifted—with officials citing maintenance and scrapping costs as reasons for the gift—the transfer was approved in April 2026. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on September 20, 2026, where it will be renamed KRI Sriwijaya.

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