The large Aviano airfield, an important Regia Aeronautica’s air base in the North-East Italy, at the foots of the Eastern Alps, likely Winter 1940. The airplanes are the obsolescent bombers Savoia-Marchetti S.81 downgraded to training aircraft and allocated to Aviano Bomber School. Today Aviano, military airport under Italian Air Force’s control, is the main USAAF’s air base in Italy. Victor Sierra

Aviano

The nose of on Italian prototype fighter aircraft, today forgotten: the Caproni-Vizzola F.6M, one of the fighters designed by Fabrizio Fabrizi and of the which the only built in very few exemplars was the F.5. The F.6M was designed by Fabrizi coupling the airframe of the F.6, another prototype, with the German engine Daimler-Benz DB.605, produce in Italy under license and adopted by the “Series 5” fighters (MC.205, G.55 and Re.2005), and built late 1942 by Caproni-Vizzola (a Caproni Group company). On the contrary of its predecessors, the F.6M had an entirely metal structure and four 12.7mm machine-guns: two in the fuselage synchronized with the propeller and two in the wing. The photo show the first prototype’s version with the radiator under the nose, afterward under the fuselage’s belly. During the test the F.6M recorded a speed of 570 km/h at 5,000 meters and a climbing speed to 6,000 meters of 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Victor Sierra

An airplane today forgotten

Take-off from Aviano, North-East Italy, of Fiat BR.20M bomber of the Regia Aeronautica 18th Stormo, allocated to 2nd Squadra, likey for a raid over Yugoslavian targets during the brief war against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, April 1941. Victor Sierra