Sister ships

OK. So you know the Anastasis was built as the Victoria in the early 1950s as one of several ships that were to replace the Italian merchant navy, most of which had been lost in World War Two? Here are some pictures of the Anastasis/Victoria and her sisters...

Below, the Anastasis:

The Oceana:

The Neptuna:

The Europa:

The Australia:

The Africa:

The Asia:

...which was later converted into the livestock carrier M/V Persia:

When these ships were constructed, the Italians included reinforcement for anti-aircraft guns on each bridge wing and on one of the cargo hatches. You could see the reinforcements until the day each ship was scrapped. Olly