Italian Forces

The Italian airliners going to war

One of Avio Linee Italiane’s Fiat G.18 on Tirana Airfield, October 1940, committed in troops transport at beginning of the Italy’s war against the Greece. The plane, a classic airliner “DC-2 style”, has still the pre-war colors of Italian land airliners: all surface silver, large black I (I for Italy) on the fin and the tricolor strip on the fuselage adopted when, after September 1939, the Italy declared the status of non-belligerant Nation. After the entry of Italy in the war (10 June 1940) all the Italian airliners was embedded on the Nuclei Comunicazioni (Communications Unit), one for each airline. In the case of Avio Linee Italiane S.A. (Fiat Group) this was the Nucleo Comunicazione Avio Linee and the plane received a military code (MM for Matricola Militare). The plane of this photo is one of three G.18s produced by Fiat (I-ELIO, first flight 11 March 1937, I-ETNA and I-ETRA) afterwards followed by six G.18V (V for Veloce/Fast, civil registration I-ELCE, I-ELFO, I-EION, I-ENEA, I-EURE and I-ERME) with most powerful engine (1,030-HP Fiat A.80 RC.41 radial engines with compressor) and new tail with braced horizontal plan. The I-ELIO in flight from Tirana to Milan (military flight) crashed landing at Linate Airport, on 26 November 1940 while the I-ETRA was destroyed for ground collision on December 1940. After the Italy’s Armistice (8 September 1943) the G.18V I-ELFO, I-ERME and I-ENEA was commandeered by Germans and assigned to Deutsche Luft Hansa, with German civil registration, for the Milan-Munich-Berlin line, the I-ETRA was assigned to Avio Linee Italiane, under the control of air force of the Fascist Repubblica Sociale Italiana. At least G.18 was employed by the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force on Southern Italy. All this planes disappeared during the war years or immediately after. Victor Sierra