In Italien gab es offenbar nur wenige Hersteller von Röhren.

In einer Mail teilt mir Mario dazu mit: (siehe Text rechts)

Zu nennen wären hier:

Fivre, Fabbrica Italiana Valvole Radio Elettriche, via Guastalla 2, Milano, Italia.

Telefunken Milano

SICTE "Società Italiana Construnzione Tubi Elettronici" , Pavia

Officine Radio Marconi-Genova

Viele der mir bekannten Röhren tragen einen Stempel, der auf eine besondere steuerliche Abgabe hinweist. Dazu schreibt Mario Giganti aus Milano: Es handelt sich dabei um Röhren für das Militär, die von der Steuer befreit waren.

Radios und Röhren unterlagen seinerzeit einer besonderen Steuer.

Viele der von Telefunken und Philips gefertigten Röhren erhielten eine Typenbezeichnung WExx, waren jedoch weitestgehend baugleich mit den in Deutschland bekannten Typen.

Der Grund dafür ist mir nicht bekannt. Es kann aber sein, dass der Kunde keine Probleme mit der Steuer bekommen sollte, denn es wäre nicht einfach nachzuweisen, ob die Röhre in Italien oder im Ausland gebaut wurde.

Es gibt allerdings auch Röhren mit WE-Bezeichnung, die eine Plombe des Finanzministerium tragen. Diese könnten möglicherweise im Ausland bebaut und zollpflichtig von Italien importiert worden sein oder es handelte sich um steuerbefreite Röhren für das Militär.

Here is an email regarding tube manufacturers in Italy from Mario:

Hi Udo,

here are a few information about electron tube manufacturers in Italy, to be added to your list.

One important manufacturer in Italy was PHILIPS ITALIA. The factory was located in Monza, a few kilometers from Milano. The factory started operation before WWII and continued after the end of the war. The tubes were generally of Dutch Philips design. The factory was still in operation in the eighties producing picture tubes for television.
Another Italian tube manufacturer was ATES (Azienda Tecnica Elettronica del Sud). The factory was located near Catania, Sicily. It started operation in the fifties and produced tubes under RCA's licence. The Italian Government decided in the fifties to build and operate this factory in order to help industrial development in Sicily. The factory was owned by IRI (Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale) which took care of the management. ATES production switched to transistors and ICs in the sixties and merged first with SGS (Società Generale Semiconduttori) and eventually with a multinational concern called ST, still involved in design and production od Solid State Components. The Headquarters of ST are now in Agrate Brianza, a few kilometers north of Milano.
A mostly unknown tube manufacturer in Italy was MAGNADYNE. Magnadyne was a radio and later TV set manufacturer in Torino. In the fifties Magnadyne decided to start production of tubes for its own use. At that time the industry was booming in Italy and the management decided to invest money in tube manufacturing because labour cost was low and calculations led to the conclusion that making was more profitable than buying. To my knowledge the types produced were about 65 and all of them were miniature. Most of the tubes were of their own design, but some are equivalents of the standard american miniature types. Some extra production volumes were provided for replacement purposes and are still available at some specialized stores in Italy. You can have technical information and base connections (in Italian language!) at the following site: www.geocities.com/chopin.i I don't know however if there is some copyright involved in the content of the site, so please take care.
Another important remark for the list of Italian manufacturers in your site is to be pointed out. The address of FIVRE (via Guastalla, 2 - Milano) which shows is for the Sales Bureau. The factory in fact was located in Pavia, some kilometers south of Milano. Towards the end of operation of FIVRE, when the firm was bought by Magneti Marelli (at present a division of FIAT), FIVRE was moved to Firenze.

That's all I can recall for the moment about tube manufacturing in Italy. If and when I will have more information, I will certainly contact you again. Feel free to contact me if you have questions to ask.

Best regards

Mario I1CWZ

Here are some others:.