Italian bomber Savoia-Marchetti S.79 flying among the clouds: frame from a newsreel of the time. Victor Sierra

Among the clouds

An Italian fighter Fiat CR.42 disassembled and boarded in the fuselage of a transport aircraft Savoia-Marchetti S.82 “Marsupiale” (Marsupial) for the long and difficult ferry flight from Italy to Ethiopia. The goal of this missions was the delivery of CR.42s and spare engines to Italian fighter units fighting in AOI, Africa Orientale Italiana (Italian East Africa). The large three engine plane, equipped for the long range missions with a 1,300 L (340 US gal) auxiliary tank, was able to transport a CR.42 complete plus a spare engine. The first delivery flight of a CR.42 was made on 23 August 1940 with takeoff from Guidonia (Rome) to Gura, via Benghazi. By April 1941, 51 CR.42s and 51 spare engines had been delivered without losses. Victor Sierra

A fighter’s transport

Benito Mussolini onboard of a former WW1 aircraft Aviatik A-3 transformed in trainer of SAIAM (Società Anonima Imprese Aeree Milano) at Milan, early Twenties. The future Duce began to take an interest for the aviation just after the WW1 and according whit some sources his first flight was on board of one SVA two seat around 1919. At this time the aviation was, and not only in Italy, a sign of future and boldness. Mussolini, the “destiny’s man”, representative, according to what he says, of the “New Italy” came from the victory of WW1, understood immediately the importance as well for propaganda purpose of the figure of the “aviator”. From July 1920 to May 1921, so before the “Marcia su Roma” (March to Rome, 28 October 1922), Mussolini took flight’s lesson,at Arcore, near Milan, with the pilot Cesare Redaelli which judged the future Duce a very good student. The subsequent Fascist propaganda enhanced the Duce’s aviators performances like the flight from Milan to Verona, Boscomantico airfield, on 13 May 1921 with Mussolini on plane’s controls. In reality, the flight was conducted under Redaelli’s supervision with took the controls during the landing’ maneuver. And few time before this flight, on 2 March 1921 Mussolini experienced an accident with few flesh wounds healable in two weeks. Victor Sierra