Italian Forces

The war is still a long way

Second half oh Thirties, for Italy the war is still a long way: on Rome’s Littorio Airport, at this time the Italian capital’s commercial airport (Ciampino were a military airfield), the aircraft of two future enemy, an Italian and a French, parked side-by-side. The French plane is an Air France’s three engines Bréguet-Wibault 282 operated on the Paris-Rome line. Very interesting the Italian aircraft: it’s in effect an American-built Douglas DC-2 purchased via Netherlands and registered in Italy, I-EROS, by Avio Linee Italiane (FIAT Group) operated from 1935 on international airlines. After the Italy’s entry in WW2 the I-EROS, on 14 June 1940, was embedded by the Air Force and afterwards transferred to German Luftwaffe. The Avio Linee Italiane had also a DC-3, the I-EMOS, former Belgian Sabena OO-AUH commandeered after the Belgium’s fall, afterwards transferred to Ala Littoria on 26 September 1940 and registered military with the code MM60520. On September 1943, after the Italy’s Armistice, the I-EMOS was commandeered by the Germans and switched to Deutsche Luft Hansa with the registration D-ATZP. The ultimate fate of this aircraft is unknown. The Littorio Airport is today the Urbe Airport (Aeroporto “Mario De Bernardi” di Roma-Urbe) employed by general aviation. Victor Sierra