Fiat G.50bis Assalto

italian_1943

Fiat G.50

italian_zara_class_cruiser

Fiat CR.42 Falco

cr42_162

Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco. Possibly the night fighter version because its painted black as was the night fighter version.

Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco

Enemy air equipment and installations took a heavy pounding from bombers of the United States Army air forces as they pursued Marshal Erwin Rommel's retreating Afrika Korps through Libya and Tripoli to the Tunisian coast. Wrecked Axis aircraft, victims of bombing and strafing lie piled up on Castel Nenito Airdrome, awaiting arrival of expert salvage crews to denude the wreckage of any usable parts, the remainder to be turned into scrap. LC-USW33-022637-C; 1943.

Wrecked Italian Aircraft

In between World Wars I and II, Italy established a reputation as an air faring nation.

The Royal Italian Air Force – The Regia Aeronautica — was considered one of the most advanced in the world. The Royal Italian Air Force (hereafter RIAF) won a stunning 96 international aviation awards during this period. Italy airplanes were renowned worldwide. In 1939, before Italy entered the war, it also had the third largest civilian commercial air system, just behind Germany and the UK respectively. 

The RIAF also had the most actual combat experience between the great wars of any European nation; only Japan would have had more combat flight hours by World War II. Italy airplanes flew over conflicts in Libya, Ethiopia and Spain. Italy contributed more aircraft to the Nationalist side of the Spanish Civil War than did Germany. In all three theatres, Italian losses totalled more than 1,500 aircraft. Another 925 planes were exported. Theses figures, among other factors led to Italy’s surprisingly poor showing when it entered the in June of 1940.
The RIAF was the most Fascist of the three military branches, and was known to be the favourite of dictator Benito Mussolini. Despite this favour and renown, the Italian air force could not stand up amongst its allies and competitors. The RIAF had enough planes: roughly 1,000 front-line aircraft and about 2,000 second and third-string planes. The problem was that only a small percentage of these planes were of the pedigree that won so many aviation awards. The rest of the air force was full of aging and obsolete aircraft.Organization was also a problem for the RIAF. The country was divided into three separate air zones, each with a few regional commands, some army-air co-op units and some navy reconnaissance squadrons. The RIAF maintained command of all pilots but the various competing commands and poor co-operation between the three military branches led to the blunting of what should have been a more precise instrument. To add to these troubles the RIAF did not have a modern air-combat philosophy or a proper manufacturing and re-supply program.
 
Early on, the RIAF fought over France, commandeering some French planes after the country was taken. Mussolini wanted to have his air force fight in the Battle of Britain and some of the RIAF was moved to Belgium. The out-dated RIAF could not compete in this theatre and was withdrawn in short order. The RIAF moved on to the Mediterranean where it conducted airstrikes on places like Malta, Gibraltar and Palestine. British merchant and naval ships were also a target in this theatre although British ships underway proved a much harder quarry than the stationary shipyards of the Spanish Civil war.

The RIAF was effective in the Balkans and in the western desert, especially after developing newer craft with imported German engines. Overall though, the Italian air force was plagued by inefficiency of production. The Italians produced too many different kinds of aircraft in small numbers. The airframes they designed were too complex and long in creating so that each plane took nearly 50% longer to build than comparable German aircraft. Most craft used underpowered radial engines and Italian planes were typically under-armed by simple virtue of cost. Many aircraft did not have radios until 1942. Italian ground-attack planes were so poorly designed that General Amadeo Mecozzi simply scrapped the whole fleet an purchased 159 German Ju-87 Stuka dive-bombers to replace them.

At the time of the Armistice in September 1943, there were two Italian air forces: One for the Fascist north and another – which used allied aircraft – for the Allied government in the south.

greetz,brummbar



MC-205

The most modern Italian military planes showed at the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, at Research and Flying Test Center of Guidonia, near Rome, March 1943. Behind the king, talking with the chief of Staff Regia Aeronautica, General Rino Corso Fougier, one exemplar of first series of the Reggiane fighter Re.2005 “Sagittario”. 

Royal visit

Two Fiat G.50s of Italian Regia Aeronautica warming up the engine before taxiing for take off. Derna (Darnah) Libya, 1941. Victor Sierra

Warming up the engine

Italians using the Breda M. 30 LMG. The gun is criticized for a variety of faults. One of the more notable flaws was a oiling process required for the cartridges -- anybody care to guess how well that worked in the sandy desert environment?

Breda M 30 LMG

Photo taken during General Erwin Rommel's Campaign in North Africa, 1941.

Italian light AA gun in Africa

Italian artillery in Africa

An Italian Air Force’s Piaggio P.108B strategic bomber, not still configured for night operations (upper surface dark green, bottom surface light grey-blue, short exhausts), and a Reggiane Re.2001 fighter aircraft on an unidentified airport, perhaps the firing test range of Furbara, few km North of Rome, in front to the Tyrrhenian coast. Visible over the P.108’s fuselage the two little fire control center of the remote controlled turrets mounted upper the external engine cowling. Victor Sierra 

The large and the small

Regia Aeronautica’s Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” of the 4th Stormo, on Italian Mainland airfield. The bright green of the grass and the pilot’s dress suggest the beginning of the Spring, likely 1942. Victor Sierra

Where the airports were green…

Naval commando operator, in the diving suit used for the action in Alexandria harbor during the night of december 18 -19, 1941. DVX

Gamma operator

As I said Ascari were Italian colonial troops, generally infantrymen, but not only (cavalry, police, navy, artillery, etc. too, even paratroopers). 
Zaptiè were colonial carabinieri and I posted a color picture of them here
http://www.ww2incolor.com/italian-forces/zapti__0002.html
Other specialties were Dubat, Meharisti, Bande Amhara (cavalry gerrilla and anti-guerrilla units)...
In the picture Ascari of PAI (Polizia Africa Italiana). 
Note that they're armed with MABs 38, as usually PAI policemen.

Ascari of PAI

Submarine Zoea

Italian soldier Giuseppe Torcasio in uniform with the Heavy Artillery insignia on his Peaked Visor Cap, During World War II Tripoli, North Africa 1942   

 WWII North Africa 

Giuseppe Torcasio in uniform with the Corps Heavy Artillery Regiment insignia on his Peaked Visor Cap, During World War II Tripoli, North Africa 1942   

Giuseppe Torcasio North Africa WW II

Eritrean cavalrymen Ascari of Italian colonial troops. DVX

Eritrean cavalrymen

The SM 91, heavy fighter of the Regia Aereonautica armed with 5 20mm guns and a load of 500 kgs of bombs... Just a few prototypes built before the armistice. DVX

Predator

This almost unknown aircraft is the only prototype of the Caproni Ca.355 “Tuffo” (Dive). This aircraft was designed by Ing. Cesare Pallavicino and built at Ponte San Pietro, near Bergamo, by the CAB-Cantieri Aeronautici Bergamaschi (or Caproni Aeronautica Bergamasca), a company of the Caproni Group, for answer to a 1939 Ministry of Aeronautics requirement for a dive bomber of the same class of the German Ju 87 Stuka. The Pallavicino’s aircraft is a single-seat developed from the two-seat Ca.335 “Maestrale” (a combat plane designed for building in Belgium from SABCA) with the 850-hp Isotta Fraschini Delta IV R.C.35 engine and air brakes under the wing, armed with a 400kg bomb. The prototype, military registration MM470, flew for first time on 14 January 1941 at Ponte San Pietro airfield, test pilot Ettore Wengi, and soon after transferred at the Guidonia’s Flight Test Center. But the Ca.355’s life was extremely brief. The test’s result was unsatisfactory for the military authorities and the Regia Aeronautica were in favour of the continuation of the use of the Ju 87. After few flight tests on 23 March 1941 the development of the Ca.355 was abandoned and the aircraft was phased out and very probably dismantled for salvage of strategic materials. Victor Sierra

A life extremely brief

A Breda 65 of the Aviazione Legionaria ready to start for a ground attack mission over the red forces. Spain. DVX 

Italian Forces

Search Results