Assembly line of the Macchi MC.200 “Saetta” on the Breda factory at Sesto San Giovanni, Milan. The aircraft of the photo are MC.200 first series easily recognizable by the sliding canopy and surely are part of the first tranche of the Macchi’s fighter allocated to Breda: 82 aircraft, military registration from MM5081 to MM5162, June-September 1940. Likely the date of the photo is June 1940 because the Italian tricolor on the rudder instead the white cross adopted few weeks after the Italy’s entry in the war. In this case the aircraft are the first of the batch. Breda was one of the most important producers of the MC.200, total 556, split in seven batch. A part the first, above mentioned, the other batch was: 38 aircraft, MM5163/MM5200, September-December 1940; 60 aircraft, MM5201/MM5260, November-December 1940; 100 aircraft, MM5261/MM5360 December 1940-March 1941; 106 aircraft, MM5815/MM5920, March-September 1941; 50 aircraft, MM8289/MM8338, November 1941-February 1942; 120 aircraft, MM8131/MM8250, March-October 1942. The MC.200 Breda-built are also recognizable by the same length of the white cross’s arms on the tail. The other MC.200’s manufacturer was, a part Macchi, SAI-Ambrosini. Victor Sierra

“Saetta”: the Breda assembly line

Benghazi, Libya. 1941: British prisoners board an Italian transport aircraft Savoia-Marchetti S.82 ready to take-off to Lecce, Southern Italy, for their transfer to a concentration camp. Victor Sierra

Through the concentration camp

One of the five Savoia-Marchetti S.79bis of the Gruppo Aerosiluranti (Torpedo Aircraft Group) of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s Air Force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana or ANR) destroyed, plus one damaged, on 20 October 1944 night by a partisans commando on the Arcore airfield (NE Milan, near the villa today owned by the former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi). The attack was launched by the 1st Detachment of the 103rd Brigata Garibaldi SAP (Squadra d’Azione Patriottica/Patriotic Action Team) “Vincenzo Gabellini” leaded by Iginio Rota (battle name “Acciaio”) and composed by Renato Pellegatta (battle name “Rena”), Aldo Motta (battle name “Mirco”), Pierino Colombo (battle name “Rabo”), Luigi Rochi (battle name “Nabo”), Emilio Cereda (battle name “Cid”), Mario Carzaniga (battle name “Ivan”), Erminio Carzaniga (battle name “Maresciallo”), Carlo Levati (battle name “Tom”), Gaetano Rigamonti, Luigi Ronchi, Giuseppe Ronco and Ruggero Ruggeri. The attack was planned by the Command of the 103rd Brigata (the Brigate Garibaldi/Garibaldi Brigades was the most famous Italian Communist partisan formations) once came to know of the presence of this airplanes at Arcore and committed to SAP 1st Detachment with prepared the action plan. The Detachment, through country trail, approached the airfield from North of Cascina Velasca, moved through a field forward one building inside the airfield splitting in two groups: a protection group for cover the shoulders and the way of entry in the airfield and the of retreat, a sabotage group committed to the destruction of the aircrafts. Turning out the surveillance of the sentinels (evidently little careful), creeping in darkness and in silence long a wall, the group arrived to hangar, unhinging the door with a hoist and launching into the cockpit of the aircrafts some Molotov cocktail, but without great results. According Carlo Levati “Tom, one men of the commando, was used at the time some straw took from a nearby barn laid into the airplanes and fired with the aid of oil, oxygen and acetylene tanks and other flammable materials. Soon after the team joined the guard group and, while the aircraft exploded, returned to base singing “Bandiera Rossa” ("Red Flag"), one of the most famous songs of the Italian Socialist and Communist movements and other patriotic hymn. The day after a Radio London’s bulletin transmitted the news of the attack and of the destruction of the five S.79 and of the damage of another plane. Hitherto the story according the partisans statements where the only certainty is the destruction of the five torpedo aircraft well supported by many photo. But is doubtful the strange behavior of the sentinels and the security system which nothing noticed the sabotage underway and the partisans movements. In effect some months later a similar sabotage’s attempt will finish tragically for Iginio Rota “Acciao” and his comrades. Anyway this of 20 October 1944 is one of few, or even the only action made by the Italian partisans against of a Nazi-Fascist airfield concluded successfully. Victor Sierra