Italian Regia Aeronautica’s Savoia-Marchetti S.79s bombing a target on Balkans during the war against the Greece, perhaps on late Autumn 1940. Note the considerable bomb’s dispersion caused by their vertical stowage on the fuselage. At the time of the Italian attack to Greece, 28 October 1940, the standard Italian bomber on Balkan theater were still the obsolescent S.81 and the on only S.79s there presents were fifteen aircraft 105th Gruppo Bombardamento Terrestre (Land Bomber Group) at Tirana, Albania, shortly after reinforced, 4 November 1940, by the S.79s of 104th Gruppo Bombardamento Terrestre (252nd and 253rd Squadriglia) always deployed at Tirana. On 5 November 1940 the bomber line of the Regia Aeronautica’s Comando Aeronautica Albania (Air Command Albania) were composed by 31 S.79s and 24 S.81s. Victor Sierra

In action over the Greek-Albanian front

An Italian Regia Aeronautica’s S.81 landing on the runway just cleaned from the snow of a Russian airport. Between end 1941 and beginning 1942 six S.81s was lost in action, during the supply missions of the Italian frontline, three shot down by Soviet AA fire. During a difficult mission for supply of an Italo-German unit, 7,000 Italians and 4,000 Germans, encircled at Tscerkow, by Soviet troops, on 29 December 1941, was MIA the same leader of the Italian Air Corps in Russia, General Enrico Pezzi, took off from Woroscilovgrad with the plane loaded of food and drugs. The General Pezzi landed at Tscerkow where took off for Woroscilovgrad with some wounded on board but never arrived. With the General Pezzi, awarded of Gold Metal, was missed the entire S.81’s seven crewmen. The last S.81s still in flight conditions was retired by the Russian front at beginning of 1943. Victor Sierra

Landing in Russia

Italian bombers leaving from the Albanian airfield of Scutari (Shkodra) for a bombing mission over the Greek town of Thessaloniki, winter 1940. The planes are Savoia-Marchetti S.79s of 252nd Squadriglia, 104th Gruppo, 46th Stormo, deployed on Albania from Pisa. Note the leading edge Handley Page slats lowered and the slotted flaps also lowered for the take-off. Victor Sierra