Fight souvenir: bullet’s sign over a sliding window of the canopy of an Italian Air Force’s Reggiane Re.2001 fighter aircraft. Sicily, 1942. Victor Sierra

This time went well

Summer 1942: an Italian fighter returned at the base in Sicily with the shot’s sign received after a dogfight with RAF’s fighters likely over Malta. The plane is one of the Reggiane Re 2001 Falco II (Hawk II) of the 152nd Squadriglia with well visible the emblem (the submachine gun armed duck) of this unit of the 2nd Gruppo Caccia. The late was the first Regia Aeronautica’s unit equipped with the Re.2001. Based in Sicily, Caltagirone airfield from 4 May 1942 and from half August of the same 1942 at Trapani, Chinisia airfield, the 2nd Gruppo was immediately tasked for bomber escort missions over Malta and the Western Mediterranean. In the operations against Malta the Reggiane little fighter revealed itself an airplane able to absorb serious damages taking back his pilot. But the cost to 2nd Gruppo the loss of two of its leader: Aldo Quarantotti, missed in action on 12 July 1942 during the search in bad weather of a Gruppo’s pilot not returned, and Pierluigi Scarpetta, successor of the same Quarantotti, shot down together two other 2nd Gruppo’s pilot on 13 August 1942 by RAF’s fighters about 20 Km NE Linosa island. Victor Sierra

Signs of the battle

Italian Resistenza fighters 1944 or 45

@Carn