Best detailed book on Italy and Britain's war in the Mediterranean 1940-1943?

[anetos05]

Looking for broad coverage of land, sea and air operations involving Italy and Britain as well as Germany to some extent although not too much

 

[mudpuppy]

I've just started on a series by James Holland on the Italian Campaign by the Allies but it is after the time frame you've mentioned. I've had this book in my wish list but haven't pulled the trigger yet. The Mediterranean Air War....by Robert Ehlers, Jr.
I'd be curious of anyone's opinion that has read it. The James Holland series (I'm in Sicily right now) is very good.

 

[Crimea_River]

I have one of the volumes and it's strictly air war. It's a very detailed account of the aerial activities reported on a daily basis. Not "broad coverage" I would say.

 

[bf109xxl]

Perhaps this is too much, but just in case:

 

[Engineman]

The James Holland series (I'm in Sicily right now) is very good.

Have a great time, although it is probably cool and damp there at this time of year. I did some Sicily WW2 airfields 30 years ago, Comiso and Trapani (Milo) were very interesting. There are still Luftwaffe blast pens at Trapani (Milo) but it is getting swallowed by the urban spread now.

Eng

 

[yosimitesam]

Looking for broad coverage of land, sea and air operations involving Italy and Britain as well as Germany to some extent although not too much

These are very good and broad (and long!) It's part of the official history. All parties (Italy, Britain, and Germany) are covered. The land war, of course, is the most detailed in coverage but the air and sea are given entire chapters in coverage.

MEDITERRANEAN AND MIDDLE EAST VOLUME II: The Germans Come to
the Help of their Ally (1941): HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD
WAR: UNITED KINGDOM MILITARY SERIES: OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN
HISTORY

MEDITERRANEAN AND MIDDLE EAST VOLUME III (September 1941 to
September 1942) (History of the Second World War. United
Kingdom Military)

MEDITERRANEAN AND MIDDLE EAST VOLUME IV: The Destruction Of
The Axis Forces In Africa: History Of The Second World War:
United Kingdom Military Series: Official Campaign History

Metadata for the series:
Playfair, I. S. O.
Naval and Military Press

 

[Boom]

For a broad, basic understanding of Italy's activities in WW2, you may find some of the following of interest.

 

[Boom]

But to really get down to the nitty gritty of Italy's involvement in WW2 over the period 1940-1943, it's highly recommended to look at Italy's armed forces individually. I'll limit it to the Mediterranean.
The Regia Aeronautica for example.

 

[Boom]

For the Regia Esercito I highly recommend:

 

[Boom]

And for the Regia Marina, the following makes for extensive reading:

 

[Boom]

And once you have covered the activities of Italy's armed services in the Med, you might want to delve into it's efforts in Russia (considerable air and land forces involved) and the Atlantic (surprisingly the Italian submarines of BETASOM were quite effective).
And then there's always the Regia Aeronautica's efforts in the late stages of the Battle Of Britain.

 

[elbmc1969]

Looking for broad coverage of land, sea and air operations involving Italy and Britain as well as Germany to some extent although not too much

For the early air war, I strongly suggest Flying to victory : Raymond Collishaw and the Western Desert Campaign, 1940-1941 by Mike Bechthold. It's a fascinating read and it gives some coverage to a period that's generally glossed over by histories of the Mediterranean air war. After all, the numbers of aircraft involved were teeny compared to what came later.

There's another book on the reorganization of the logistics of the air forces after Collishaw's relief, but I can't come up with the title. It covers the changes to maintenance procedures, how parts were sourced locally from hundreds of tiny workshops in Cairo, and particularly the recovery of downed aircraft.