the Air Force) and the “users”(i.e. The only unit of the Regia Aeronautica to fly the Piaggio P.108 was the 274th Long-Range Bombardment Group, which was formed in May 1941 as the first machines came off the assembly lines. They put their aircraft on the front lines against the allied air forces. There are a total of [ 32 ] WW2 Italian Fighter Aircraft (1939-1945) entries in the Military Factory. Italian aircraft dropped a total of 276 tons of bombs. From 10 June 1940 up to 8 September 1943, the Regia Aeronautica lost 6483 aircraft[36] (other sources report 5201[37]), including 3483 fighters, 2273 bombers, torpedo-bombers and transports, plus 227 reconnaissance planes. This deployment took place from July 1936 to March 1939 and complemented an expeditionary force of Italian ground troops called the "Corps of Volunteer Troops". [11]. The Regia Aeronautica claimed 218 aircraft shot down plus 55 probables against the RHAF and RAF, while the Greeks claimed 68 air victories (plus 23 probables) and the British 150 kills. [citation needed]. Italy airplanes were renowned worldwide. For the 11-day campaign against Yugoslavia, the Regia Aeronautica deployed 600 aircraft, claimed five air victories (plus 100 planes destroyed on the ground) and suffered five losses. Working with the Luftwaffe, the Regia Aeronautica performed better due to the exchange of tactical doctrine and the arrival of more modern aircraft. They were initially based in the Ukraine and ultimately supported operations in the Stalingrad area. By the September 1943 the Air Force numbered 1,200 aircraft of which about half were serviceable. This pioneering achievement was organized and led by General of Aviation Italo Balbo.[2]. [11], After the war, there was a widespread rumour in France, especially between Paris and Bordeaux, of Italian aircraft strafing civilian columns, with many people claiming to have seen the tricolour roundels painted on them. The Italian airmen started to fear Maltese fighters and AA artillery, so much that the flight to the besieged island became known as the rotta della morte, the "route of death". In mid 1942 the more modern Macchi C. 202 was introduced to operations in Russia. In 1942, Italian Piaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar from Sardinia, flying a number of long-range night raids. The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: both Arrow or Lightning), or MC.200, was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy, and used in various forms throughout the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force). [6] It was named Corpo Aereo Italiano, or CAI. [26] Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). During the latter half of the 1930s, the Regia Aeronautica participated in the Spanish Civil War, as well as the invasions of Ethiopia and Albania. Headquartered at Salerno in southern Italy, the Royalist Italian Co-belligerent Air Force (Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, or ACI) fought alongside the Allied forces. Benito Mussolini's fascist regime turned it into an impressive propaganda machine, with its aircraft, featuring the Italian flag colors across the full span of the undersides of the wings, making numerous record-breaking flights. In March, surplus personnel of air force units had to fight as infantry. Uniforms and Insignia of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) in WWII The Italian Black Brigades - This is a Repubblica Sociale Italiana (Italian Social Republic), or RSI, beret worn by a member of the Black Brigades (1943-1945). Regia Aeronautica aircraft were involved in the Middle East almost from the start of Italian involvement in World War II. [24] Just two squadrons of G.50s remained until mid-April 1941. [28] But during the siege, the RAF's losses were even heavier, amounting to 547 in the air (including some 300 fighters) and 160 on the ground, plus 504 aircraft damaged in the air and 231 on the ground. After World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. Initially, the Western Desert Campaign was a near equal struggle between the Regia Aeronautica and the British Royal Air Force (RAF). July, 2021. The ensuing fighting took a heavy tole on civiliansas fighting took place up the Itlalian Peninsula as the Allies fought their way north toward the Reich. Buy Wings Of Italy: The Italian Air Force in original WW2 colour pictures by Gregory Alegi, Baldassare Catalanotto (ISBN: 9788887261165) from Amazon's Book … The ADV Tornados served as fighter-interceptors to supplement and then to replace the old F-104 Starfighters. Mussolini sent to Spain 6000 aviation personnel as well as about 720 aircraft, including 100 Savoia Marchetti SM.79 bombers and 380–400 Fiat CR.32 biplanes that dominated the air, proving superior to the Soviet Polikarpovs of the Republican Air Force. Italy ArtItaly ItalyKingdom Of ItalyOrientalEmpire RomainNose ArtEast … Giovanni Massimello in his article “Gli Assi Italiani” Aero Fan N69 April 1999 notes that “It is a well-known fact that contrary to WW1 the Italian government did not release an official list of Aces”. During World War I, the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare, then still part of the Regio Esercito (Royal Army), operated a mix of French fighters and locally built bombers, notably the gigantic Caproni aircraft. Probable kills are usually left out of the list. The Regia Marina (Royal Navy) had its own air arm, operating locally built flying boats. The Italian Airf Force was not as powerful as their German ally. At the beginning of the hostilities, Regia Aeronautica achieved aerial superiority and occasionally skilled Italian pilots, flying their Fiat biplanes, managed to shoot down even the faster and better armed Hawker Hurricane monoplanes. The Regia Aeronautica was forced on the defensive during the Sicilian Campaign. Possibly the most brilliant successes were the floatplane's world speed record of 709 km/h (440.6 mph) achieved by Francesco Agello on the Macchi-Castoldi MC-72 in October 1934 [1] and the long-range formation flight to the USA and back to Italy in 1933, a total of 19,000 km (11,800 miles) on Savoia-Marchetti S.55 flying boats. Back to main article. The Germans were not gentle, seeing the Italians as trecherous for pulling out of the Axis Alliance and switching sides. The primary fighter of the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) was the Fiat CR.42, which, though an advanced biplane with excellent performance, was technically outclassed by monoplane fighters of other nations. Continued concern over German and Italian influence in the area led to the Allies' Syria-Lebanon Campaign. (Schreiber, Gerhard: S. 54, in Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Band 3) If those numbers sound a bit off, well, Operation Barbarossa was largest military invasion in history and it was conducted by around 4 million soldiers. The Italian air force became an independent service—the Regia Aeronautica—on March 28, 1923. Two days later, CR.42s from 3° Stormo and 53° Stormo attacked again French Air Force bases and clashed with Dewoitine D.520s and Bloch MB.152s, claiming eight kills for five losses. While numerically still a force to be reckoned with, it was hampered by the local aircraft industry which was using obsolete production methods. The story of the Italian Air Force in World War II is really three stories. But more important than the material losses were the wrong conclusions drawn from air war in Spain. The CSIR was subsumed by the ARMIR in 1942 and the ARMIR was disbanded in early 1943 after disaster during the Battle of Stalingrad. The RAI played a major role in the Italian invasion of Ethiopian (1935), primarily by using poison gas in the country side and bombing cities, especially Addis Ababa. It is necessary to emphasize that the question of assessing and comparing the success rate of fighters by number of victories is one of the more problematic. During the 1930s, the fledgling Regia Aeronautica was involved in its first military operations, first in Ethiopia in 1935, and later in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. On 28 March 1923, the Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the Kingdom of Italy. [7], The Regia Aeronautica played a limited role during the Italian invasion of Albania. In 1942, for its operations against Malta, between 1 January and 8 November, the Regia Aeronautica had 100 more aircraft lost in action. The Air War Over North Africa In The Second World War. The reborn Italian aviation industry also began to develop and produce a few ingenious aircraft designs of its own, such as the Fiat G91, the Aermacchi MB-326, the Piaggio Aero P.166 and the line of Agusta-Bell helicopters. Italian companies worked with the Embraer Company of Brazil in a smaller project to develop and produce the AMX International AMX aircraft. The Italian Air Force (Italian: Aeronautica Militare; AM) is the air force of the Italian Republic. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished and the Kingdom of Italy became the Italian Republic, whereupon the name of the air force changed to Aeronautica Militare. Most or some 125,000 Italiam civilians were killed after the Armistice and with the German occupation and Allied invasion (September 1943). The Regia Aeronautica was succeeded by Aeronautica Militare when Italy became a republic on 2 June 1946. These masqueraded as Iraqi aircraft and were painted as such en route. [8] When World War II began in 1939, Italy had a paper strength of 3296 machines. With the UK lease due to expire in 2004, the Italian government wished to avoid a costly lease extension and instead opted to lease 34 F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role fighter planes on multi-year leases from the US. The Macchi C.200 Saetta (Italian: both Arrow or Lightning), or MC.200, was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Aeronautica Macchi in Italy, and used in various forms throughout the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force). Not quite on par with her contemporaries of World War 2, Italy nonetheless fielded a variety of useful aircraft in the conflict. The transfer of the planes was completed by 19 October. After World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. The Air Corps pulled out of operations in January 1943, transferring to Odessa. In 2003, the Italian Air Force extended its capabilities to small-scale land warfare by small special-forces units. The Air Ministry, blinded by the success of the Fiat CR.32, persisted in its belief that the biplane could still dominate the sky, and ordered large numbers of Fiat CR.42s, the last war biplane in history. [33] However, from that point on, the role of the Regia Aeronautica in the Balkans Campaign was primarily that of supporting the Luftwaffe. [15] Cut off from Italy as they were though, problems with lack of fuel, munitions, spare parts and replacements became a serious problem and the Regia Aeronautica was worn down in a war of attrition. The Typhoons are intended to replace all of the F-104, Tornado ADV and F-16 aircraft. All Military aircraft in Italy during WW2 were part of the AirForce and with Air Force crews. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 84 Squadron with Bristol Blenheims, and No. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. It fought from the icy steppes of Russia to the sands of the North African desert, losing men and machines. This air force was known as the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force). [citation needed] Training and achieving full operation strength took far longer than anticipated, and the 274th only became operational in June 1942. On 10 June 1940, during the closing days of the Battle of France, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom. Since its formation, the service has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history. 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