The Regia Aeronautica, having suffered heavy losses in Egypt, was withdrawn progressively to Tobruk, Benghazi, Tripoli and, eventually, Tunisia. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily the primary operator. 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. [14] Some of these aircraft were outdated, but the Italians had Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 (12 examples) and Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers and Fiat CR.42 fighters. Home Forums > WWII Forums > Theaters of the Second World War > North Africa and the Mediterranean > Air War in the Mediterrean > Stukas in the Italian Airforce Discussion in ' Air War in the Mediterrean ' started by us11thairborne , Mar 31, 2005 . This left the Regia Aeronautica very weak, but aircraft continued to arrive from Sardinia, southern Italy, and southern France. (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. 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. Just before the Allied invasion, a huge Allied bomber offensive struck the airfields in Sicily in an effort to gain further air superiority. This air force was known as the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force). 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. Tornado fighters were still in service with all three countries, plus a few more, as of 2019. 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. 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. Only in 1962 did the Air Force Historical Office release a partial list of Aces – 19 in total. 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 . 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. By the end of February, the Regia Aeronautica had only 42 aircraft left in East Africa, and the British now had the upper hand. [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. the Air Force) and the “users”(i.e. 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. There are a total of [ 58 ] WW2 Italian Aircraft (1939-1945)entries in the Military Factory. 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. The transfer of the planes was completed by 19 October. The first ANR fighter unit was the 101st Gruppo Autonomo Caccia Terrestre, based in Florence. 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. 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. Italy ArtItaly ItalyKingdom Of ItalyOrientalEmpire RomainNose ArtEast … 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). 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. 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. May 29, 2020 - Explore Johnno's board "Italian Airforce" on Pinterest. German and Allied artillery also took … [25] In mid-October, the Italians also bombed American-operated oil refineries in the British Protectorate of Bahrain. 70 Squadron with Vickers Wellingtons. Italy is one of the nations that can boast some of the oldest traditions in the field of aviation. 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]. 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". It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. The Italians claimed 66 British planes in these first six months of combat, but these claims were exaggerated. 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. However, delays in the production of the Typhoon forced the Italians to seek a supplement, and then replacement, for the leased Tornado ADVs. 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. However, pilots were able to keep personal log books, so the few that survived through World War II give individual statistics. The Regia Aeronautica participated in the air offensive on the British controlled island of Malta along with the German Air Force in an attempt to protect the Axis sea routes from Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy to North Africa. 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. [9] The Regia Aeronautica was forced on the defensive during the Sicilian Campaign. Back to main article. [citation needed]. [8] When World War II began in 1939, Italy had a paper strength of 3296 machines. Gradually, Italian air power (including Squadriglie flying from Italian air bases) grew to over 400 aircraft against the dwindling numbers of the Greeks. While numerically still a force to be reckoned with, it was hampered by the local aircraft industry which was using obsolete production methods. American military aid sent by the Mutual Defense Assistance Program brought about the introduction of American-made P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang propeller-driven fighter planes. Humbrol Colour System Binder. 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. 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. The aerobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori. 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. [27], Malta suffered heavy loss of equipment, ship, and vehicles, and was to the edge of starvation. In relative terms, these were some of the best aircraft on hand to either side at the beginning of the East African Campaign. Initially, the Western Desert Campaign was a near equal struggle between the Regia Aeronautica and the British Royal Air Force (RAF). After World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the Regia Aeronautica was given its current name. [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. 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. 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. In August 1941 the Regia Aeronautica sent an Air Corps of 1,900 personnel to the Eastern Front as an attachment to the "Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia" (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR) and then the "Italian Army in Russia" (Armata Italiana in Russia, or ARMIR) were known as the "Italian Air Force Expeditionary Corps in Russia" (Corpo Aereo Spedizione in Russia). Most or some 125,000 Italiam civilians were killed after the Armistice and with the German occupation and Allied invasion (September 1943). Only two airfields – Tirana and Valona – had macadam runways, so autumn and winter weather made operations more difficult. But more important than the material losses were the wrong conclusions drawn from air war in Spain. In mid 1942 the more modern Macchi C. 202 was introduced to operations in Russia. On 28 March 1923, the Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the Kingdom of Italy. Its air arm dates back to 1884, when the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) was authorised to acquire its own air component. After a period of neutrality, Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 alongside Germany. Continued concern over German and Italian influence in the area led to the Allies' Syria-Lebanon Campaign. [31] The poor infrastructure for Albania air bases hindered communications and movements between the Italian flying units. [citation needed] Training and achieving full operation strength took far longer than anticipated, and the 274th only became operational in June 1942. Mussolini announced in 1934 that he can mobilize 6 Million soldiers, in 1936 he increased the number to 8 million and in 1939 to 12 million. During World War I, the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare, then still p… 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. In March, surplus personnel of air force units had to fight as infantry. 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. [24] In July 1939, the Regia Aeronautica was seen as splendid air arm, holding no fewer than 33 world records, which was more than Germany (15), France (12), the United States (11) Soviet Union (7), Japan (3), the United Kingdom (2) and Czechoslovakia(1). Still, the Regia Aeronautica had no long-range fighters nor night fighters. Probable kills are usually left out of the list. 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. The Typhoons are intended to replace all of the F-104, Tornado ADV and F-16 aircraft. Of the Regia Aeronautica's approximately 1,760 aircraft, only 900 could be considered in … The last of the Italian F-104s was withdrawn from service in 2004. The Regia Marina (Royal Navy) had its own air arm, operating locally built flying boats. On 13 June, Fiat CR.42s attacked French air bases and escorted Fiat BR.20s that bombed the harbour of Toulon. [7], The Regia Aeronautica played a limited role during the Italian invasion of Albania. 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". Although the air campaign in Libya was seriously limited because of desert conditions, the Italian Royal Air Force managed to retain a force of nearly four hundred airplanes. Aircraft of the Royal and Republican air forces never fought each other. In 1941, Regia Aeronautica carried out further attacks on Malta, but less intensely than in 1940. Some 150,000 Italians are believed to have been killed during World War II. 30 Squadron, No. The commanders of the Italian Air Force soon saw the need to improve the Italian air defences. By the end of the following month, Italians had only 13 serviceable aircraft left in East Africa. It comprised [11] By the September 1943 the Air Force numbered 1,200 aircraft of which about half were serviceable. 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). It later saw action in Albania and Greece, where it acquitted itself surprisingly well against British hurricanes. [36] [33] However, from that point on, the role of the Regia Aeronautica in the Balkans Campaign was primarily that of supporting the Luftwaffe. The CR.42s clashed with British Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires just two times, in November. The Royal Italian Air Force (hereafter RIAF) won a stunning 96 international aviation awards during this period. This group was part of the National Republican Air Force of the Italian Social Republic. By the time of the Tunisian Campaign, the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe rarely enjoyed parity let alone air superiority in North Africa. 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. [32] However, this advantage did not stop the Hellenic Army from forcing the Regio Esercito onto the defensive and back into Albania. In one of the lesser known incidents of the war, starting in July 1940, Italian aircraft bombed cities in the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the declaration of war on 10 June 1940, the Italian Air Force engaged with its French and British counterparts throughout the Mediterranean. 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. The Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana) was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. BY DECADE. [17], On 10 September 1940, an independent air corps for supporting Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain was established. 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. Prior to World War 2 both Hitler and Mussolini were boasting about their military forces to each other. In 1942, Italian Piaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar from Sardinia, flying a number of long-range night raids. 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. In June 1940, the Italian Royal Air Force had here 195 fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, plus 25 transport planes. Working with the Luftwaffe, the Regia Aeronautica performed better due to the exchange of tactical doctrine and the arrival of more modern aircraft. Just two squadrons of G.50s remained until mid-April 1941. Regia Aeronautica aircraft were involved in the Middle East almost from the start of Italian involvement in World War II. [6] The Peace Treaty of Paris of 1947 placed severe restrictions on all of the Italian armed forces, but the establishment of NATO in 1949 with Italy as a founding member brought about the necessity for the modernization of all of the Italian armed forces, including the Italian Air Force. In 1942, for its operations against Malta, between 1 January and 8 November, the Regia Aeronautica had 100 more aircraft lost in action. 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