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

Mussolini with a Soldier of his personal Guard, the "Moschettieri del Duce"  

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Moschettieri del Duce

Italian Resistenza fighters 1944 or 45

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Resistenza

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

A Regia Aeronautica’s Officer, a Capitano (Captain), standing in front a fighter unit’s Macchi MC.202 tropicalized (anti-sand filter and North African finish), likely in North Africa 1942. The officer, together a no standard foulard, wear upon the uniform’s coat the flight jacket Marus Model 1940, the classic and ubiquitous item of clothing of the Italian Air Force’s air crew during all the WW2, and after the Armistice both by the Regia Aeronautica co-Belligerent and by Repubblica Sociale Italiana’s Air Force (ANR-Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana). The Marus, from the name of the producer, was a single-breasted all-wool waterproof flight jacket with central zip, two pocket with cuff and jacket-base stretch-wool. The Officer of this photo wear the Marus with the detachable lining fastened to collar in lamb hair shaved beaver type, another “classic” of Italian aviators clothing of this time. The Marus was in service also after the war, until the first half of the Fifties when the jet era required different flight suites. Some surplus Marus was purchased by many flying club pilots and used for another dozen years (And I remember my father with a splendid Marus in impeccable conditions). Victor Sierra

Marus

Italian Breda 35 and a AB 41 Armored Car in North Africa 

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Italian Army in North Africa

This strange craft is the service station Zara 1 (Stazione di Servizio Zara 1) specifically designed at Taranto by Alcibiade Ascanelli for service afloat of the Regia Aeronautica’s seaplanes in particular the CRDA Cant-Z-501, for refueling, ordnance’s supply and maintenance and repair. In this photo a Cant-Z-501 aboard of the Zara 1 for repair and overhaul works. Victor Sierra

Zara 1

During his 90 year of history the Italian Air Force employed not only aircraft but also some boat mostly used in attendance to seaplane units in the air harbor. In this photo a high-sea rescue motorboat Rama (Motoscafo Soccorso d'Alto Mare Regia Aeronautica) employed by the Regia Aeronautica around later Thirties/early Forties XX Century in the air harbor of Cadimare, near La Spezia, Liguria. This motorboat were able to afford the sea in gale and strong gale conditions. During the East African Campaign, on Summer 1940 three Regia Aeronautica’s motorboat was allocated to Regia Marina (Italian Navy) as reinforcement of the torpedo boat’s line somewhat tatty of the XXI Squadriglia MAS, at Massawa, Eritrea. The Air Force’s boats was modified in loco with torpedo and depth charges. Victor Sierra

Regia Aeronautica’s motorboat

A priest, surely a military chaplain, address some word to Regia Aeronautica’s personnel at a Southern Italy airport, likely after a religious ceremony. The white liturgical color of the priest’s vestments reveal a high religious festivity. Considering the winter dress of the personnel, is believable or Christmas or, more probable according my opinion, the festivity of the Loreto Virgin, the aviators Celeste Patrona (Celestial Patron), a festivity which fall on 10 December. In this case the date of the photo is 10 December 1942. The fighter aircraft in background is a Macchi MC.202 of the 88th Squadriglia, 6th Gruppo, 1st Stormo “Arciere” (Archer). In background some transport aircraft S.82. Victor Sierra

Chaplain and pilots

A view by the air side of the Mass inside the hangar depicted by the previous photo. The people in foreground are aircraftman and enlisted men arranged behind the NCO while the Officers are lined up in the first rows. Notice the Kingdom of Italy’s national flag just behind the altar and a row of smaller tricolor flags without the Savoia emblem. Notice also the remarkable sizes and the all metal structure of the hangar. Even now many hangar in current use by the Italian Air Force are similar thereto. Victor Sierra

Inside a large hangar

Inside a large hangar the personnel of an Italian bombardment unit attend high Mass officiate by the military chaplain (on the right, the altar fitted in front to side opposite to the hangar’s entry) surely for the festivity of the Loreto Virgin (Virgo Lauretana), proclaimed Celeste Patrona (Celestial Patron) of the aviators by Pope Benedict XV on 24 March 1920. This festivity fall on 10 December. That be the Loreto Virgin’s festivity is indicated by the white color of the celebrant’s vestments (for the Catholic liturgy the white is the liturgical color of the high religious festivity), by the presence of the unit’s marching band (in the right), by the honor guard and by the personnel’s array dressed in the regular winter uniform. The aircraft framing the rite are twin-engine medium bombers Fiat BR.20 of the first version on duty from 1937. Date of the photo? The airplane’s camouflage finish suggest a time just over the entry in the war of the Italy (10 June 1940) and the replacement of the BR.20 first version with the BR.20M (M for Modificato/Modified) characterized by a new glazed nose: in my opinion 10 December 1938 or 10 December 1939. Location? On the eve of the Italy’s entry in the war, except an Independent Land Bombardment Group (116th Gruppo Autonomo Bombardamento Terrestre) based in Southern Italy, at Grottaglie, Apulia, all the BR.20’s squadrons were deployed in Northern Italy against two potential enemy countries, France and Yugoslavia: 7th Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre at Lonate Pozzolo, 13th Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre at Piacenza, 43rd Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre at Cameri, all in the North/North-West Italy (deployment against the France) and 18th Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre at Aviano, North-East Italy, deployment against the Yugoslavia. So the location of this photo is surely one of this airfield (maybe Cameri?). Victor Sierra

Celebrating the aviators Celestial Patron

Regia Aeronautica’s Officers on an Italian Mainland base dressed two with the classic dark grey-blue uniform in use until to second half Eighties of XX Century and the two other with the Sahariana, an elegant and handy clothing used by the Italian Armed Forces Officers during the WW2 especially in North Africa (as specified by the name). The Officer on the right fitted with a camera (the mythic Leica?) is a Capitano (Captain) as indicated by the ranks over the sleeve, but isn’t a pilot - notice in effect the absence of the turreted eagle (the “Aquila Turrita”, even now official emblem of the Italian Armed Forces Officers licensed militaries pilots) – likely an Officer of the Administrative Services. The ranks are repeated over the cover, the “bustina” (garrison cap), abandoned by the Officers after the war in favor to the beret, but restored by the modern Italian Air Force’s uniform (but not much loved, the Officer preferring the beret). The Officer in the center of the photo, with a large orange envelope (typical of the Government’s envelopes) is a military pilot, as indicated by the “Aquila Turrita”, with many ribbon amounting to a number of militaries honor plus a military order, is a Maggiore or Tenente Colonnello (Major or Lt. Colonel) with Staff’s task ad indicated by the symbol over the ranks, perhaps an Aiutante di Volo (Flight Adjutant) of High Command General. On the left with the darker Sahariana a high rank Officer, an Air Force’s (grey-blue beret) three star General (Generale di Squadra Aerea, Lieutenant General in US Armed Forces), likely Commander in Chief of an Air Force’s High Command. Difficult discover exactly the rank of the second from left Officer, with the pale Sahariana. The flawless conditions of the prescribed uniform seem indicate a meet on an Italian Mainland base with representative of a Regia Aeronautica’s High Command (the “High Poppies” in the Italian Armed Forces slang). Victor Sierra

Air Force’s Officers meeting

Italian pilots, perhaps of a multi-engine aircraft unit as indicated by the large airplane in background, dressed with a winter flight suit, preparing itself for a mission. The presence of the life jackets and signaling rockets packs on the flight suit seem perhaps the preparation for a mission over the sea or anyway with a large part of the route over the sea: a torpedo aircraft mission? Victor Sierra

Preparing for an over sea mission

Cross-section of an Italian "Thermos" bomb; picture abstracted by "Italian and French Explosive Ordnance", Bureau of Ordnance (US Navy) publication 14 June 1946. “Thermos bomb” is the nickname of the Anti-personnel (AP) Bomb Manzolini, or 4 AR, for the Italians “Spezzone”, employed in Libya during the first phase of the war both by the S.79 (which used also the 2 kg “spezzoni”) and Breda 65 of the 50th Stormo Assalto. In substance a multipurpose mine scatterable by aircraft used against airfields, vehicles and personnel. The bomb was a cylinder with lenght 31 centimetre long and weight 3.68 kilograms. It could be fitted with a very sensitive motion-sensitive fuze that would detonate if any attempt was made to move it, and could be lethal in the open up to around 35 metres away. A later variant of the fuze introduced an additional time delayed detonation, which was triggered between 60 to 80 hours after. Victor Sierra

The Italian “Thermos” bomb

Loading operation of a 500 kg bomb (990 lbs) into an Italian bomber S.79 through the winch on fuselage’s top. The winch lift outwards the bomb, hooked by the tail, up to the fuselage’s top and later lowered into the bomb rack inside the fuselage. The S.79 had different bombs racks interchangeable and depending of the bomb’s type: rack for two 500 kg bombs, rack for five 250 kg bombs, rack for twelve 100 kg bombs, up to twelve dispenser each for forty-nine 2 kg bomblets (thermos bombs), total 588 bomblets. Notice the open entry door with built-in boarding ladder on the fuselage’s left side. Victor Sierra

Loading a bomb

This picture, abstracted by the Savoia-Marchetti S.79’s technical manual, show the winch used for bomb’s loading into the bay of this Italian bomber aircraft. The winch, located behind the dorsal 12.7mm machine gun below a specific door, in the picture in open position, transfer the bomb, hooked into the tail in vertical position, from the ground to the bomb rack, the latter different depending on the bomb’s type. This practice was necessary because the bomb’s stowage inside the S.79 were vertical rather than horizontal, effect of the origin of the most famous WW2 Italian bomber, fast civil airliner, and of the resulting fuselage’s shape. Victor Sierra

A winch for the bombs

The Breda-SAFAT 12.7mm (.500 in) machine gun in the dorsal turret backward defence of an Italian bomber Savoia-Marchetti S.79’s traversed at high elevation’s angle. Its caliber made this MG – on the S.79 with two loader, each with 250 shot, side angle traverse 300 degrees for each sector, elevation angle traverse 70 degrees, muzzle velocity 765 meter per second (2,510 ft/s) installed also in the dorsal turret of the Fiat BR.20M and CRDA Cant-Z-1007bis bombers - a weapon for its time particularly redoubtable. In effect the most common British bomber in the Mediterranean theater at beginning of the war, the Bristol Blenheim Mk 1, had a dorsal turret with a single 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K, later two, but again of the same caliber, on the Blenheim IV. Victor Sierra

A weapon particularly redoubtable

Splinter’s traces over the fabric covering of the fuselage’s aft section of an Italian bomber Savoia-Marchetti S.79 of the 257th Squadriglia, 109th Gruppo, 36th Stormo, Castelvetrano, Sicily. The lack of the fuselage white band date this photo Summer 1940, few after the entry in war of the Italy. The photo highlight the waist station of the Breda-SAFAT 7.7 mm machine gun in this moment traversed on the fuselage’s right side. Under the fuselage is also visible the nacelle (removed in the S.79 torpedo aircraft) with the Breda-SAFAT 12.7 mm (.500 in) machine gun used for the downward defence. Visible also the strut of the right horizontal plan. Victor Sierra

Splinter’s traces

M13/40 Italian medium tanks parade through Tripoli, Libya, 1941.  Sandbags were dispensed with in this relatively safe environment.  I had not really noticed before - but is notable (though perhaps not surprising) how often sandbag supplemental armour appears in photos of this tank.  Best regards, JR.

Carro Armato M13/40 on parade.

Italian Carro Armato CM13/40 medium tanks in action in North Africa.  The extraordinary number of sandbags attached to the vehicles represents what is probably a realistic appraisal of the inadequacies of this tank's armour against British tank guns.  And this was Italy's best true tank ...  However brave Italian soldiers may have been, the poor quality of much of their equipment, from rifles up, gave them little chance of victory in a war in which machinery mattered.  Best regards, JR.

Sandbagged.

I at first thought that this was a destroyed tankette, but closer inspection suggests that it is actually an Italian Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank which has suffered a catastrophic internal explosion, resulting in serious disruption to the armour plate and the "popping off" of the turret.  I think you can just see the turret ring in the tank's deck, and one side of the turret to the left of the photograph.  Best regards, JR.

Quite exploded, El Alamein.

Italian Armoured Cavalry Squadron with Fiat 508 CM 1100 - 1939

Italian Regio Esercito Cavalry Squadron

An Italian pilot going on board of a Breda 65/Fiat A-80 single seat ground attack airplane with engine idling for warm. This photo well highlight the wing installation of the Breda 65’s weapons and the different barrel’s length of the two version of the Breda-SAFAT machine guns: shorter the barrel of the 7.7 mm (0.30), the external MG, longer the barrel of the 12.7 mm (0.50), the inner MG. The fixed armament of this “Aereo d’Assalto” (literally “assault aircraft”), which ended the series of aircraft influenced by the theories about the “Aviazione d’Assalto” (assault aviation) of Amedeo Mecozzi, (previous Ansaldo-Dewoitine AC.1, Caproni AP.1 and Breda 64), was four MG, two 7.7 mm, two 12.7 mm in the wings, for the single seat version, or five weapons, the four MG in the wings plus another flexible 12.7 in turret, for the two-seat version. Of the four airplanes developed in accord with the Mecozzi’s theories, the Breda 65 was the only used in true war operations: by the Italian Regia Aeronautica in the Spanish Civil War and in North Africa during the first months of Italy’s involvement in the WW2 and, for a very brief time, by the Iraqi Air Force during the Iraqi’s uprising angainst the British. Victor Sierra

The Breda 65’s weapons

This detail of a Breda 65 ground attack airplane of the Regia Aeronautica’s 50th Stormo Assalto, notice the unit’s insignia over the engine cowling, show well the two machine guns which, apart the Scotti’s MG, was almost the standard Italian aircraft’s armament during the WW2 both in fixed (in the wings or synchronized with the propeller on the nose) and flexible installations (turret): Breda-SAFAT caliber 7.7 mm (0.303 in), in foreground, and Breda-SAFAT caliber 12.7 mm (0.500 in), in background, well recognizable for the different length of the barrel: 64 cm (25 in) for the 7.7 mm (total length 109 cm/43 in), 80 cm (31 in) for the 12.7 mm (total length 139 cm/55 in). Based on the M1919 Browning machine gun, and developed upon a Regia Aeronautica’s requirement half Thirties by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda of Milan which absorbed the Società Anonima Fabbrica Armi Torino (SAFAT), a former division of FIAT Group, the two Italian MG were chambered to fire indigenous ammunition with 7.7 mm (0.303 in) and 12.7 mm (0.500 in) caliber, predominantly ball, tracer for the 7.7mm, including high-explosive-incendiary-tracer (HEIT) (filled with 0.8 grams of PETN), or armour-piercing (AP) for the 12.7mm. In particular the 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT was a belt fed, short recoil operated weapon, essentially an Italian modified Browning M1921 mechanism, but shorter and slightly less heavy than the US machine gun, which was mounted experimentally first in the FIAT CR.30 fighter biplane and introduced in large scale in the his successor, the CR.32 fighter. During the use in the war both the MG proved itself well-constructed, sturdy and extremely reliable weapons rarely jammed in action. Other characteristics: weight 7.7 mm 12.5 kg (28 lb), 12.7 mm 29 kg (64 lb); rate of fire 7.7mm 800–900 rounds/min, 12.7 mm 700 rounds/min (575 rounds/min synchronized); muzzle velocity 7.7 mm 730 meter per second (2,400 ft/s), 12.7 mm 765 meter per second (2,510 ft/s); feed system belt-fed; cooling, air. The MG, especially the 12.7 mm, was also produced and employed as ground weapon in particular for AA defence. Victor Sierra

Italian Forces

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