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. 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. 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 … In mid-October, the Italians also bombed American-operated oil refineries in the British Protectorate of Bahrain. [10] The RAF, however, reported no losses. When fighting commenced in North Africa in June 1940, the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Air Headquarters Egypt immediately mounted bombing missions against Italian targets in Libya and helped repel the Italian offensive into Egypt. July, 2021. Up to October 1942, the Regia Aeronautica carried out 14 raids with a total of 32 bombers. [16] [11] Most or some 125,000 Italiam civilians were killed after the Armistice and with the German occupation and Allied invasion (September 1943). During the first British counter-offensive, the Regia Aeronautica had suffered heavy losses (over 400 aircraft) until the Axis attack on Greece began, when a major part of the British land and air forces were diverted there giving the Italian forces time to recover. Only two airfields – Tirana and Valona – had macadam runways, so autumn and winter weather made operations more difficult. Just two squadrons of G.50s remained until mid-April 1941. The Italian Air Force did not officially credit victories to individual pilots, but to their unit as a whole. The transfer of the planes was completed by 19 October. 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”. Here is a list of the aces attributed with ten or more kills. However, pilots were able to keep personal log books, so the few that survived through World War II give individual statistics. The Air Service (Corpo Aeronautico Militare) operated balloons based near Rome. However the besieged island managed to withstand the attacks from the Italian and German air forces and claimed almost 1,500 Axis planes,[27] three times the real losses: up to November 1942, the Luftwaffe admitted to losing 357 aircraft and the Regia Aeronautica 210. Continued concern over German and Italian influence in the area led to the Allies' Syria-Lebanon Campaign. The aerobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori. Italy was among the earliest adopters of military aviation. In mid-1942, during the Battle of Bir Hakeim (26 May 1942 – 11 June 1942) the new Macchi C.202 fighter outperformed all of the Desert Air Force's fighters,[23] achieving an unprecedented ratio kill/loss of 4.4/1, better than that of famed Messerschmitt Bf 109s (3.5/1) fighting the same battle. 17º Stormo Incursori the raiders corp of Italian Air Force. The Air Force was split into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, and the pro-Axis Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana in the north until the end of the war. After the end of hostilities on 5 May 1936, for the following 13 months the Regia Aeronautica had to assist Italian forces in fighting Ethiopian guerrillas. The 17 bombing raids carried out by the BR.20s did not cause much material damage, moreover aircraft were needed on the Greek front and in Cyrenaica [19] so in January 1941 the bombers and CR.42s started to be withdrawn to Italy. After the Italian disasters during Operation Compass and the arrival of General Erwin Rommel and his German Africa Corps, the Regia Aeronautica fought side by side with the German Luftwaffe in the Western Desert. The first ANR fighter unit was the 101st Gruppo Autonomo Caccia Terrestre, based in Florence. Between 1 April 1939 and 1 November 1939, Italian airmen established no fewer than 110 records, winning world championships in round trips, long-range flights, high speed and altitude flights. When the Greco-Italian War started on 28 October 1940, the Regia Aeronautica fielded 193 combat aircraft, which initially failed to achieve air superiority against the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF), which had 128 operational aircraft out of a total of 158. Initially, the Western Desert Campaign was a near equal struggle between the Regia Aeronautica and the British Royal Air Force (RAF). 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). Tornado fighters were still in service with all three countries, plus a few more, as of 2019. The Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana) was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. the Air Force) and the “users”(i.e. It also received the new Lockheed-Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter fighters for ground attack and air-defence purposes. Nevertheless, the Italians managed to mobiliz… There are a total of [ 32 ] WW2 Italian Fighter Aircraft (1939-1945) entries in the Military Factory. In March, surplus personnel of air force units had to fight as infantry. In 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Italy joined the coalition forces, and for the first time in 45 years Italian pilots and aircraft were assigned to combat operations. [29], The Regia Aeronautica began its attacks on the British crown colony of Gibraltar and its important naval base from July 1940. During the final stages of the war, the Regia Aeronautica deployed up to 386 aircraft, operating from Eritrea and Somalia. A popular vote by the people resulted in the end of the Kingdom of Italy and the establishment of the Italian Republic on 18 June 1946. These allegations have been disproved, as the Italian aircraft did not have the range to hit such distant targets and concentrated on short-range military objectives (Regia Aeronautica wing roundels had three fasci littori, having replaced the tricolour ones). the Army and the Navy). 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. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was at the forefront of aerial warfare: during the colonization of Libya in 1911, it made the first reconnaissance flight in history on 23 October, and the first ever bombing raid on 1 November. Following the declaration of war on 10 June 1940, the Italian Air Force engaged with its French and British counterparts throughout the Mediterranean. [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. However, during the first three months, Regia Aeronautica lost 84 aircraft and had 143 aircrew personnel killed and 71 wounded, but the losses did not halt Italian operations. The first supersonic fighters added to the Italian Air Force were American-designed F-104 Starfighters that were produced by a group of several European aircraft companies, including Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, Dornier, Fiat, Fokker and SABCA. [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. Buy Flying Equipment of the Italian Air Force in World War II: Flight Suits * Flight Helmets * Goggles * Parachutes * Life Vests * Oxygen Masks * Boots * Gloves by Alberto Spaziani (ISBN: 9780764343773) from Amazon's Book Store. Back to main article. [17], On 10 September 1940, an independent air corps for supporting Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain was established. Its air arm dates back to 1884, when the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) was authorised to acquire its own air component. This was accomplished by forming the 17º Stormo Incursori ("17th Special Operations Wing"), also known as RIAM (Reparto Incursori Aeronautica Militare, "Air Force Raiders Group"), a unit that is primarily responsible for raids on land-based aeronautical compounds, forward air control missions and combat search and rescue operations. The Regia Aeronautica was succeeded by Aeronautica Militare when Italy became a republic on 2 June 1946. The last of the Italian F-104s was withdrawn from service in 2004. White spinners were used on fighters in Italy, with white extended to engine cowlings, particularly on bombers, in the Mediterranean. The Air War Over North Africa In The Second World War. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. The Germans were not gentle, seeing the Italians as trecherous for pulling out of the Axis Alliance and switching sides. After the Italian armistice, the Regia Aeronautica was briefly succeeded by two new Italian air forces. The Regia Aeronautica was forced on the defensive during the Sicilian Campaign. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was at the forefront of aerial warfare: during the colonization of Libya in 1911, it made the first reconnaissance flight in history on 23 October, and the first ever bombing raid on 1 November. During Rommel's first offensive, the Italians managed to divert RAF attacks from his forces and covered his retreat during the British Operation Crusader, while inflicting heavy losses on RAF bombers. Humbrol Colour System Binder. [24] [6] [26] This pioneering achievement was organized and led by General of Aviation Italo Balbo.[2]. It was named Corpo Aereo Italiano, or CAI. [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. Initially the Italian Air Force did reasonably well but with the introduction of the RAF’s Hawker Hurricane towards the end of 1940 the balance of forces was tipped to the Allies’ advantage. The Italian Air Force had begun the war with nearly 2,000 operational aircraft ready for combat and with almost the same number in reserve. Entries are listed below in alphanumeric order (1-to-Z). Sicilian Campaign and before 8 September 1943, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Military history of Italy during World War II, Italian aircraft bombed cities in the British Mandate of Palestine, air offensive on the British controlled island of Malta, List of Regia Aeronautica aircraft used in World War II, "La campagne italienne de juin 1940 dans les Alpes occidentales", Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Rape during the Soviet occupation of Poland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Regia_Aeronautica&oldid=995488684, Military units and formations of Italy in World War II, Military units and formations established in 1923, Military units and formations disestablished in 1946, Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Carlo Maurizio Ruspoli di Poggio Suasa – 10 kills. In early 1941, the tide was turned as the German Wehrmacht launched its simultaneous invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece. 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. Italian aircraft dropped a total of 276 tons of bombs. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. [8] When World War II began in 1939, Italy had a paper strength of 3296 machines. [20][21][22] During this campaign, Regia Aeronautica lost 36 planes, (including 26 in accidents) and 43 aircrew personnel, without achieving a single confirmed air victory.[19]. During World War I, the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare, then still p… The CR.42s clashed with British Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires just two times, in November. [4][5][6][7][8], Air warfare branch of Italy's armed forces, From the end of the Cold War to present day, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of aircraft used by Italian Air Force, Italy opens F-35 assembly line, as political opposition grows, " Italy's ruling party divided over order for F-35 combat jets", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_Air_Force&oldid=987741635, Military units and formations established in 1923, Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1 Cavalier Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, Generale di Squadra Aerea con Incarichi Speciali, This page was last edited on 8 November 2020, at 23:36. [citation needed] Training and achieving full operation strength took far longer than anticipated, and the 274th only became operational in June 1942. 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. Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. The story of the Italian Air Force in World War II is really three stories. Generale Giuseppe Santoro in his book published after the war criticized such unplanned use of the Air Force, which had not been prepared for operations against fortifications which were immune to aerial bombing. The Royal Italian Air Force itself claimed 4293 enemy aircraft, including 1771 destroyed on the ground. 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. There are a total of [ 58 ] WW2 Italian Aircraft (1939-1945)entries in the Military Factory. [30] Personnel losses suffered during the conflict consisted of 3007 dead or missing, 2731 wounded and 9873 prisoners of war.[38]. The Regia Aeronautica could deploy more than 3,000 aircraft, although fewer than 60% were serviceable. [11]. However, delays in the production of the Typhoon forced the Italians to seek a supplement, and then replacement, for the leased Tornado ADVs. During Rommel's second offensive, the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe suffered considerable losses due to stronger Allied resistance during air battles over El Alamein and bombing raids over Alexandria and Cairo. Aircraft of the Royal and Republican air forces never fought each other. The ACI operated in the Balkans and the ANR in northern Italy and the area around the Baltic Sea. There was also the usual lack of co-operation between the Italian Navy and Army. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the Regia Aeronautica ("Royal Air Force"). 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. The Italian Air Force (Italian: Aeronautica Militare; AM) is the air force of the Italian Republic. By 31 January, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, reported that the Italian military forces in East Africa were down to 67 operational aircraft with limited fuel. 80 Squadron, led by the outstanding ace Marmaduke Pattle and equipped with Gloster Gladiators, No. The first is the story of the Regia Aeronautica, the Royal Air Force, from the … 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. Italian pilots were constantly fighting against Allied efforts to sink Regia Marina ships. The CSIR was subsumed by the ARMIR in 1942 and the ARMIR was disbanded in early 1943 after disaster during the Battle of Stalingrad. Of the Regia Aeronautica's approximately 1,760 aircraft, only 900 could be considered in … The Italians claimed five victories and nine probables, but five Fiat biplanes were shot down. Alongside the Fiat CR.42 biplane, the Macchi C-200 formed the backbone of the Italian Royal Air Force in 1940, and was soon involved escorting bombers in raids against the island fortress of Malta. The aerobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori. By the end of February, the Regia Aeronautica had only 42 aircraft left in East Africa, and the British now had the upper hand. In mid 1942 the more modern Macchi C. 202 was introduced to operations in Russia. approximately 170 aircraft [11] including 80 Fiat Br.20 bombers and 98 Fiat G.50 and CR.42 fighters. All Military aircraft in Italy during WW2 were part of the AirForce and with Air Force crews. (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. Armed conflicts in Somalia, Mozambique and the nearby Balkan Peninsula led to the Italian Air Force becoming a participant in multinational air forces, such as that of NATO over the former Yugoslavia, just a few minutes flying time east of the Italian peninsula. 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. 30 Squadron, No. The Italian air force became an independent service—the Regia Aeronautica—on March 28, 1923. Italy airplanes were renowned worldwide. However, the Regia Aeronautica lost 72 planes and 122 aircrew[4] while supporting the operations of the Regio Esercito, sometimes dropping poison gas bombs against the Ethiopian army. After a period of neutrality, Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 alongside Germany. The beret is made from black wool and features a … 70 Squadron with Vickers Wellingtons. In 1994, with the Typhoon still some years from introduction to service, 24 Panavia Tornado Air Defense Variant (ADV) interceptors were leased from the United Kingdom for a period of 10 years. The Macchi C.202 Folgore is considered one of the best fighter planes Italy designed during World War II. During this short war, Regia Aeronautica lost 10 aircraft in aerial combat and 24 aircrew personnel, while claiming 10 kills and 40 French planes destroyed on the ground. Italy is one of the nations that can boast some of the oldest traditions in the field of aviation. The Regia Aeronautica tended not to keep statistics on the individual level, instead reporting kills for a certain unit, attributed to their unit commander. The Italian aviators did not have any opposition in the air, as the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force had just 15 transport and liaison aircraft, only nine of which were serviceable. It comprised [10] But when a small French fleet shelled the Ligurian coast on 15 June, the Italian air force was not able to prevent this action or attack the French ships effectively, showing a lack of cooperation with the Regia Marina, Italian navy. In 2003, the Italian Air Force extended its capabilities to small-scale land warfare by small special-forces units. Some 150,000 Italians are believed to have been killed during World War II. Its primary missions: raids on aeronautical compounds, forward air control, combat controlling, and combat search and rescue. The Air Corps pulled out of operations in January 1943, transferring to Odessa. After World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. A push to expand the Italian aircraft industry led Italy into the huge trilateral project that developed the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber and air-defence fighters along with West Germany and the United Kingdom. It was concluded that this was nothing more than a myth, arising from the reaction to the Italian attack, the fame of the Italian air force and the heated and confused climate.[12]. The ADV Tornados served as fighter-interceptors to supplement and then to replace the old F-104 Starfighters. At last, on 24 October 1941, about one month prior to the final Italian surrender, the last Italian aircraft of the campaign, a Fiat CR.42, was shot down. [5], During the Spanish Civil War Italian pilots fought alongside Spanish Nationalist and German Luftwaffe pilots as members of the Aviazione Legionaria ("Aviation Legion"). In 1952, the Italian Air Force was granted jet fighters for the first time, American F-84G Thunderjets and F-86D Sabres, together with over 200 licence-built British de Havilland Vampires; these were followed by F-84F fighters and C-119 Flying Boxcar transport planes from the United States. 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. [18] Bad weather and planes inadequate to that war theater hindered effective action by the CAI. Italian companies worked with the Embraer Company of Brazil in a smaller project to develop and produce the AMX International AMX aircraft. Headquartered at Salerno in southern Italy, the Royalist Italian Co-belligerent Air Force (Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, or ACI) fought alongside the Allied forces. Working with the Luftwaffe, the Regia Aeronautica performed better due to the exchange of tactical doctrine and the arrival of more modern aircraft. 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. An MC-205, among the best WW2 Italy airplanes The Royal Italian Air Force – The Regia Aeronautica – was considered one of the most advanced in the world. In the years leading up to World War II, the Italian government encouraged its aviation companies to develop innovative aircraft to meet the needs of the pre-WW2 Italian air force, the Regia Aeronautica . During the Anglo-Iraqi War, German and Italian aircraft of "Flyer Command Iraq" (Fliegerführer Irak) stopped to refuel in the Vichy French-controlled Mandate of Syria as they flew to Iraq. They put their aircraft on the front lines against the allied air forces. Up to the end of 1940, the Regia Aeronautica carried out 7410 sorties against the island, dropping 550 tons of bombs, but losing 35 aircraft. 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). They were initially based in the Ukraine and ultimately supported operations in the Stalingrad area. From 1944 to 1945, Italian personnel operated from the Baltic area and in the northern part of the Eastern Front under the direct command of the Luftwaffe under the name Air Transport Group 1 (Italian: 1° Gruppo Aerotrasporti "Terracciano" , German: 1° Staffel Transportfliegergruppe 10 (Ital)). [27], Malta suffered heavy loss of equipment, ship, and vehicles, and was to the edge of starvation. To provide direct air recon capabilitiesto the Army and Navy, two separate Commands (“Air Force for the Army” and”Air Force for the Navy”) were established, to act as a go-between the”owner” of the airplanes and crews (i.e. [citation needed]. The last mission of the Regia Aeronautica before the truce with the Allies was the defence during the United States Army Air Forces' bombing of Frascati—Rome on September 8, 1943. [33] However, from that point on, the role of the Regia Aeronautica in the Balkans Campaign was primarily that of supporting the Luftwaffe. [14] Some of these aircraft were outdated, but the Italians had Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 (12 examples) and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers and Fiat CR.42 fighters. In ancient Roman times 32 bombers the edge of starvation, a huge Allied bomber offensive struck the airfields Sicily... Fielded a variety of useful aircraft in the Battle of Stalingrad surprisingly well against British hurricanes 81 ). 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