Giuseppe Torcasio was in the 52nd Heavy Artillery Battalion: 2 x 152mm Heavy Howitzer, A WW II veteran who saw action in Tobruk and El Alamein North Africa. 

Guiseppe 2nd from right North Africa WW II       

Giuseppe Torcasio 2nd from the right in North Africa WW II.
Giuseppe was in the 52nd Heavy Artillery Battalion: 2 x 152mm Heavy Howitzer, A WW II veteran who saw action in Tobruk and El Alamein North Africa

Giuseppe Torcasio 2nd from right 

Giuseppe Torcasio is 2nd from the right he was in the Italian Divisional Artillery (regg. di artigleria) in North Africa World War II.



Giuseppe Torcasio WWII North Africa

Italian motor torpedoboot MAS 527 and MAS 528 
Punkasalmi 1942.06.14

Italian motor torpedoboot in Finland

An Italian Air Force’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 concealed under the trees of a Sicilian airfield in the attempt of the escape from the Allied air power, late June-first days July 1943. The most part of the Regia Aeronautica’s Bf 109 was destroyed on the ground by the Allied air raids during the preparation of the landing in Sicily. Victor Sierra

Concealed under the trees

Sciacca airfield, Sicily, July 1943: a mix of fighters of any types, modern and obsolescent, gathered by the Italians of the last, desperate defence of the Sicilian skies against the air attacks immediately before the Allied landing in the Island. In foreground a Messerschmitt 109 of the 364th Squadriglia, 150th Gruppo, on the right a Macchi MC.200 and, in background, two Macchi MC.202. Victor Sierra

Last defence

The Fiat CR.42 aircraft number 14 of the 85th Squadriglia of the Regia Aeronautica’s 18th Gruppo Caccia Terrestre (18th Land Fighter Group) in flight over the clouds. At the Italy’s entry in the war, 10 June 1940, the 18th Gruppo “Frecce” (Arrows), motto in Venetian dialect «Ocio che te copo!..» (Beware... I'll kill you!), leader Maggiore Ferruccio Vossilla, based at Alessandria and Novi Ligure, North-Western Italy, was part of 3rd Stormo Caccia Terrestre. At the moment of the transfer in Belgium, Autumn 1940, for take part to air operations over the Channel against the Britain, an unlucky and useless mission requested by Mussolini but not by the Germans, the 18th Gruppo was deployed at Maldegen. Likely the aircraft of the picture, with the yellow engine cowling adopted in Belgium, wasn’t photographed during the operations from Maldegen but after the return of the Gruppo in Italy early 1941. Victor Sierra

“Arrows” Gruppo’s CR-42

Italian resistance movement

woman

frighter

flag

frighting

Discussing

four soldiers

Battleship Littorio quite high speed navigating in open sea. DVX

Battleship Littorio at sea

An US GI inspect the machine guns bay of a Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” of the Regia Aeronautica’s 4th Stormo abandoned on an Italian airfield likely after the Italy’s surrender on September 1943. Victor Sierra

Inspecting the “Folgore”

Rear view of a Macchi MC.202 “Folgore” of the Italian Air Force’s 154th Gruppo, 396th Squadriglia, at Gaduras Airport, Rhodes, late 1942 or beginning 1943. On July 1943 the 154th had a strength of nine “Folgore”, six of them full serviceable. The photo show the 1,700x60 meter macadam runway of the Gaduras Airport, or Kalathos Airfield (in Greek Αερολιμένας Κάλαθος), Italian war code Aeroporto Militare 806 (Military Airport 806), second airfield built by the Italians at Rhodes and near the sea. Gaduras (or Gadurrà for the Italians), under the control of Comando Aeronautica dell'Egeo (Aegean Air Command), HQ at Maritsa airfield, was used above all as advanced base of the torpedo bomber aircraft. Victor Sierra

“Folgore” at Rhodes

Italian battleship, "Vittorio Veneto" shows her teeth in the battle of Gavdos, first phase of the Battle of Cape Matapan, off the southern point of the Greek mainland coast, March 1941.  An Italian battle fleet consisting of the Vittorio Veneto (flagship), along with 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and supporting destroyers, were moving to intercept British troop convoys to Greece when their movements and intentions were discovered by British electronic intelligence (ULTRA intercepts).  This allowed the Royal Navy fleet in the eastern Med. to intercept them in the region of Cape Matapan with superior forces, including 3 updated WW1 battleships.  The Gavros action was rather a stand-off, in which Vittorio Veneto drove off a force of British cruisers, but at the expence of suffering significant damage from an airborne torpedo hit.  The second stage of the engagement - a night battle off Cape Matapan - proved disastrous for the Italians.  The British had radar capable of locating the Italian ships at night; the Italians had no similar capacity.  The result was that the Italians lost a whole heavy cruiser division - 3 heavy cruisers - to Royal Navy gunfire which they had no way of answering.  The Italians also lost two destroyers.  By contrast, the British lost one torpedo bomber - the one that had damaged Vittorio Veneto, but was shot down by the battleship's antiaircraft guns.  As a result of Cape Matapan, both sides became aware of each others' strengths and weaknesses, somewhat limiting the operations of both until the Med. war turned decisively against the Axis.  Best regards, JR.

Vittorio Veneto at Cape Matapan.

The wreck completely burned of one of five Aeronautica Nazionale Reoubblicana’s S.79bis torpedo bombers destroyed by an Italian partisan commando on 20 October 1944 at Arcore airfield. A second attack against the Arcore airfield, so as to destroy aircrafts and vehicles, was attempted by the same SAP, Squadra d’Azione Patriottica, of the 20 October 1944, well informed about the airfield’s garrison and its movements, on 29 December night 1944. The commando, leaded again by Iginio Rota “Acciaio”(“Steel”), were composed by some partisan of the same 20 October action with an excellent armament which included also a Breda 30 mm MG. But this time the partisans encountered a heavy reaction of the Fascist forces. In the combat Rota, to which misfired the sun-machine gun, was killed and her comrades was obliged to escape but was arrested few day after. Of this only Carlo Levati “Tom” escaped to capture, the other, Emilio Cereda, Pierino Colombo, Aldo Motta, Renato Pellegatta, all around 20 years aged and all participant of the 20 October 1944 action, was captured and shot on 2 February 1945 inside the same Arcore airfield. The late today no more exist. Victor Sierra

The second attack: a tragic end

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

Arcore airfield: the partisans attack

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

Italian Forces

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