General Mario Carloni commander of the division saluting il Duce. Note the general wearing black armbands having lost a son on the eastern front (the star on the black band indicates the mourn for a relative fallen in war). DVX

Saluto al Duce!

An high officer saluting il Duce and Marshall Graziani which are inspectioning the division. DVX

Il Duce welcomed

Mondovì airfield, Piedmont, 25 June 1940: Italian bombers Fiat BR.20 lined for the Duce’s visit after the end of the operations against the France. Victor Sierra

Mondovì airfield

Mondovì airfield, Piedmont, 25 June 1940 at the moment of the French surrender: the Duce, Benito Mussolini, and the Supreme Italian Commander, Pietro Badoglio, visit a Regia Aeronautica’s bomber unit which flew missions during the brief campaign against the France. Victor Sierra

West Front

An Italian bomber CRDA Cant-Z-1007bis “Alcione” double fin version of the Regia Aeronautica’s 8th Squadriglia parked on a Sicilian airfield under the trees with flaps lowered and the engine cowlings covered by canvas. Victor Sierra

Under the trees

An Italian bomber Savoia-Marchetti S.79 landing on a Libyan airfield during the Summer 1940 (photo dated 2 August 1940). A transport aircraft S.82 is parked near the runway. Victor Sierra

Landing on a Libyan airfield

Carabinieri in Rome at the time of Hitler's state visit, 1938

@Carn

Carabinieri

Italian seaplane Cant-Z-506B “Airone” (Heron) of the 287th Squadriglia Autonoma da Ricognizione Marittima Lontana (Autonomous Long Range Range Flight Maritime Reconnaissance), based in Sardinia, in flight over the Mediterranean. The photo date after June 1941 when the Gruppi Gruppi Bombardamento Marittimo (Maritime Bombardment Groups) was disbanded and transformed in units of Maritime Reconnaissance armed only with anti-submarine bombs. Another change was the finish: after the disbandment of the Maritime Bombardment Groups the original all-silver livery with diagonal red strips upper the wing and with cross over a black rudder was adopted a complete dark grey-blue finish as over the airplane of this photo. Victor Sierra

An Italian seaplane

Italian seaplanes Cant-Z-501 flying over the Gulf of Naples during the naval review in front to Adolf Hitler and the Italian State’s high rank, as the Duce Benito Mussolini and the King Victor Emmanuel, on the occasion of the Führer’s visit in Italy, May 1938. Victor Sierra

In front to the Führer

An Italian Air Force’s raid over a Corsica’s airfield during the first day of the war. The first raid occurred on 15 June 1940 when six S.79 of the 9th Stormo, based at Viterbo, raided the Ghisonaccia airfield, losing an airplane, while five S.79 of the 46th Stormo, based at Pisa-San Giusto, escorted by nine G.50 of the 52nd Stormo’s 22nd Gruppo, bombed the Calvi harbor. Victor Sierra

Bombs over Corsica

An Italian trainer Nardi FN.305 warming its engine on a Northern Italy airfield. The civilian personnel around the aircraft and the absence of the unit’s marking state perhaps a fresh factory FN.305 likely during the fight test at Albenga airfield, Liguria, before the delivery to Regia Aeronautica. According the camouflage and the white cross on the rudder, the photo was taken during the war years. The FN.305, designed by the Nardi brothers and produced by Piaggio at Finale Ligure, was the basic advanced trainer of the Regia Aeronautica, an excellent airplane with retractable main landing gear and powered by a 185-HP Alfa Romeo 115, a de Havilland Gipsy Queen’s Italian version. Victor Sierra

Italian advanced trainer

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

Take-off from Aviano

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

Gorizia airfield, North-East Italy, Autumn 1941: the first Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” just delivered to 4th Stormo’s IX Gruppo, Italian Air Force. Notice the plane in foreground with cowling removed for engine inspection and test. All the airplane, without anti-sand filter, have the “continental” camouflage. Victor Sierra

Just delivered

Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” of the Regia Aeronautica’s 153rd Gruppo in flight over the Sicily, Summer 1942. Victor Sierra

The "Folgore"

Right landing gear failure of a Fiat CR.42AS/BA (Africa Settentrionale/Bombe Alari, AS for North Africa, BA for Wing Bombs) on an unidentified Italian mainland. Well visible under the left wing the rack for a 50 or 100 kg bomb and under engine cowling the anti-sand filter. The AS/BA was the CR.42 with anti-sand filter modified for transport of two bombs employed with same success in North Africa and Mediterranean and during the last battles in Sicily against the Allied forces. Victor Sierra

Landing gear failure

The airplane employed by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano for its official visit in Germany, 21-23 October 1936, at Littorio airfield, Rome, just after the arrival from Berlin (notice the large black limousine in background). The aircraft is the Savoia-Marchetti S.74, c/n 21002, civil registration I-ALPE, second of the three four engines of this type delivered to Italian national airline Ala Littoria on June 1935. As the other two planes, I-URBE c/n 21001 and I-ROMA c/n 21003, also the I-ALPE was militarized after the Italy’s entry in the war (10 June 1940) and was allocated to Regia Aeronautica’s 604th Squadriglia as 604-11. The 604-11 former I-ALPE was lost on morning 23 October 1941 when departed from Castel Benito airfield, Tripoli, towards Gerbini, Sicily, with a crew of four men an 26 passenger, hit a hill, in low visibility conditions, in the Catania plane. No survivors. Victor Sierra

The Ciano’s airplane

The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolini's son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano just landed with an Ala Littoria’s Savoia-Marchetti S.74 at Rome-Littorio after its first official visit in Germany from 21 to 23 October 1936. During this mission, which included a visit to German Air Ministry where was received by Hermann Göring, Ciano met at Berlin the Third Reich’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantin von Neurath and, at Berchtesgaden Adolf Hitler. The Ciano’s visit in Germany prepared the announcement, by the Duce at Milan on 1st November 1936, the born of the Axis Rome-Berlin. Victor Sierra

Return from Berlin

 Guiseppe on the right North Africa WW II Seen here playing a diatonic button accordion which he used to entertain the troops.


 Guiseppe on the right North Africa WW II

A Macchi MC.202 of the Italian Air Force’s 181st Gruppo burning after an Allied devastating raid against Reggio Calabria airfield (notice in background a MC.200 apparently not touched). The photo is dated 13 July 1943, but more likely is referred to 11 July 1943 raid which destroyed completely Reggio Calabria airfield and a great number of aircraft therein deployed. After the Sicily’s fall the 161st Gruppo (Squadriglie 162nd, 163nd and 164th) moved to North and at the date of 8 September 1943, announcement of the Italy’s armistice, it were deployed in Umbria Perugia and Castiglione del Lago airfields. Victor Sierra

Reggio Calabria, July 1943

A large Fiat car registered at Reggio Calabria (RC for Reggio Calabria) parked outside the airport’s enclosure at Reggio Calabria airport, 1940, likely before the Italy’s entry in the war. Beyond the enclosure a Regia Aeronautica’s S.81 bomber. La first Reggio Calabria’s runway, in front to Messina’s Strait, was open on 1939. During the WW2 at Reggio Calabria was based some Italian Air Force’s combat units. Today the Reggio Calabria’s airport, named Aeroporto dello Stretto (Strait’s Airport), is used by civilian airliners. Victor Sierra

Italian Forces

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