Assisted by her colleagues, a “Specialista” checking the cockpit of an Italian plane fighter Macchi MC.202 on a Southern Italy Airport. Note the left dorsal seat belt outside the cockpit utilized for help to board on the aircraft. Victor Sierra

MC.202 check

Italian mechanics, the famous “Specialisti” backbone of maintenance on flight’s conditions of Italian military aircrafts, checking a fighter airplane Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” of 347th Squadriglia, 153rd Gruppo Autonomo Caccia (Autonomous Fighter Group) “Asso di Bastoni”, on a Sicilian airport, 1942. In background a German transport aircraft Junkers Ju-52. The Italian pilots trusting blindly to they “Specialisti” to the point of reduce the least the pre-flight check. Victor Sierra

“Specialisti” 

I repost this photo as vanished from the most recent uploaded photos.
Another category of Italian Air Force’s “Specialisti” was the “Armieri” (sing, “Armiere”, Armourer) with the responsibility of armament of aircraft (loading, reloading, maintenance, graduation, fuzes, et cetera). In the photo, taken on a Sicilian landing strip in between a olive grove, a group of “Armieri”, noncommissioned officer and aircraftmen, reloading the couple of 12,7 mm Breda-Safat machine guns of airplane Number 6 (Red Six), a fighter aircraft Macchi MC.200 “Saetta” of the 160th Squadriglia Caccia. Note the large belts for weapons feeding and the aircraft’s tail standing by a fuel drum to line up the plane with the ground during the check of machine guns alignment and graduation. Victor Sierra
