OSPREY Aviation Elite Units PUBLISHING 53° Stormo RICHARDCARUANAisa Malta-basedartistwhose profileartworkiswellknown andrespected inaviation modellingperiodicalssuch asScaleAviationModellingand ScaleModels. Hehas illustratedallofOsprey'stitles onItalianmilitaryaviationin the 1930sandWorldWar2. OSPREY Aviation Elite Units • 38 PUBLISHING 53° Stormo Marco Mattioli Series editor Tony Holmes FrontCover Dedication On12August194214MacchiC.202 To myfatherFabrizioand myfamily. Dad,Jwill rememberyou forever. CONTENTS Folgoresof1530 Gruppo'Assodi Bastoni'('AceofClubs'),ledbythe Firstpublished inGreat Britain in 2010 byOspreyPublishing, gruppocommanderMaggiore AndreaFavini,setoffat1135hrs Midland House, \'(lest\'(lay, Borley,Oxford0X2OPH, K fromDecimomannuairfieldin 44-2023rdSt,Suite219, Long IslandCity, NY 1110I, SA Sardinia.Theyweretaskedwith escortingItalianSM.84bombers, E-mail;[email protected] INTRODUCTION 6 SM.79torpedo-bombersandCR.42 dive-bombersthatweretargeting theincomingMalta-boundPedestal ©20I0OspreyPublishingLimited navalconvoy.SouthofSardiniathe CHAPTER ONE Macchiswereheavilyengagedin All rightsreserved.Apartfrom anyfairdealingfor thepurposeofprivatestudy, combatwithcarrier-basedBritish FRANCE AND THE BALKANS 10 research,criticismorreview,aspermirred undertheCopyright, Designand fighters,Italianpilotsclaimingfive SeaHurricanesshotdownandone PatentsAct 1988, nopartofthis publication maybereproduced,srored in probablefornoloss. aretrievalsystem,ortransmirred inanyform orbyany means, electronic, CHAPTER TWO Followingthelatemorning electrical,chemical,mechanical,oprical, photocopying, recordingorotherwise combatonthe12th,800NAS withoutpriorwrirren permission. All enquiriesshould beaddressed torhe AUTONOMOUS IN AFRICA 29 reportedthelossofSeaHurricane publisher. V7659flown bySubLtJohnLucas (missing),whilean885NASSea HurricaneflownbyLtBrianPaterson ACIPcataloguerecord for Ihisbook isavailablefrom the British Library CHAPTER THREE wasbadlydamagedbyfighters. Inthisspeciallycommissioned ISB :978 I84603977 5 OUT OF AFRICA 40 coverartworkbyMark E-book ISB :978 1846039782 Postlethwaite,MaggioreFaviniflies pasttheSeaHurricaneofSubLt Lucasattheverymomentthe Edited byTony Holmes CHAPTER FOUR strickenfighterstruckthe Pagedesign byMark Holl MediterraneanSeaafterbeing THE STORY OF 1570 GRUPPO 62 CoverArtworkbyMark Posrlelhwaile attackedbyaC.202.Thisactionwas AircraftProfilesby Richard Caruana brieflydescribedinFavini'sflight book,althoughhereportednotinga Index byAlanThatcher differenttallyforhisunit- thiswas Originated by PDQDigital j\lediaSolutions,Suffolk, UK CHAPTER FIVE probablyhisownpersonalscore; Printed inChinaIhrough Bookbuilders 'EscorttoSM.84sandCR.42sover THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN 81 theconvoy.Combatagainstten Hurricanes.Oneaircraftshotdown 10 11 121314 10987654321 andfoureffectivelyfiredon'. CHAPTER SIX At1715hrsthatsameday anotherescortmissionwasflownby OspreyPublishingissupportingtheWoodlandTrust, the K's leading THE LAST BATTLES 104 14'AceofClubs'FolgoresforItalian woodland conservationcharilYbyfunding thededication oftrees. torpedo-bombersagaintargetingthe convoy.Threedayslater,on15 www.ospreypublishing.com August,theC.202sof1530 Gruppo APPENDICES 115 returnedtotheirhomeatTurin Aclmowledgements CaselleairfieldinPiedmontInorthern COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 120 ItalyllCoverartworkbyMark Theauthorwould thank rhe following individualsfor theirkindsupportin Post/ethwaitel thepreparalionofthisbook- Maurizio DiTerlizzi,Gianni Panebianco, Nino BIBLIOGRAPHY 125 Arena, IginoCoggi,GeneraleIMouzis HAlO, Ilaniio Palmieriand MrMoruzzi. Manythanksalsoro theTaranrola family, iorgiodi Giorgioon behalfof C ~PR(Ravenna, Italy), Riccardo dienteand MrTalienro.Thankyoualso INDEX 128 ro thepersonnelofthe Italian Air ForceHisroricalService(A SSMA), namely TenenreColonelloMassimiliano Barlarrani,Marescialli Pasquale Rubenone, Anronio Palmieri, Ruggero Liberorri, Massimo Pasquali, Eleonora Pitaroand Alessandra Maturi. Finally, thanksagain rothepersonnelofthe ItalianCenrral ArchiveofState(ACS),especiallyAnnalisaZanottin;and Mrs Ecker. aZ INTRODUCTION CR.32softheRegiaAeronautica Z aerobaticteamsfrom1°and53° -l f Stormiperformedatairshowsin a:0 G=> LatinAmericabetweenAugust1937 o a c a andFebruary1938(AM) n ex: -l f a Z The 530 Stormo Caccia Terrestre (land fighter wing) of the Regia Z Aeronautica was formed on 15 May 1936 at Mirafiori airfield near Turin, in Piedmont, northwest Italy. The new unit was comprised of 1500 Gruppo (363a and 36'P Squadriglie, and }Gsa Squadrigliafrom IJune) and 1510 Gruppo (366aand 367aSquadriglie, and 368a Squadriglia from 1July). All these squadrons were equipped with FiatCR.32 biplane fighters, although thereweresomeexamplesof old Fiat CR.20, CR.30 and IMAM Ro.41 biplanes also on strength that were used for training. The unit's first CO was olonello (group captain) Vincenzo Velardi. The basic tactical unit of the Regia Aeronautica during this period ThesepilotsfromthetouringItalian and throughout World War 2 was the squadriglia (squadron), which aerobaticteamsareobviouslyhappy withtheirperformanceatyet normally comprised nine aircraft plus three more in reserve. Two or Aline·upofCR.32sfrom151°Gruppo anotherLatinAmericanairshow three squadriglie formed a gruppo (group) and twO or more gruppi atTurin-Mirafioriairfieldin1936. (AM) comprised a stormo (wing). The stormo represented the basic tactical Thesenimblebiplanefighters formedtheequipmentof53°Stormo formation, and its strength could reach 72 aircraft, although this figure uponitsformation inMayofthat was rarely ifever reached, especially in the laterstagesofthe war. Often year.Visibleintheforegroundis gruppi and squadriglie were given autonomous status and operated CR.32366-8of366"Squadriglia, whichwascommandedbetween independentlyofspecific stormi. 0 MayandDecember1936byCapitano Tasked with the air defence of northwestern Italy, 53 Stormo ArmandoFrancois(Aeronautica established an aerobatic team in 1937. Called the Pauuglia Mirafiori Militarel (Mirafiori Patrol), the team comprised six aircraft led by apltano (flight lieutenant) Oscar Molinari. Between August 1937 and February 0 1938, the team, together with another from 1 Stormo, toured South America to honour the Peruvian flyer Ceo Chavez, who had rashed fatally near Domodossola, in northern Italy, after he had flown over the Alpson 23 September 1910. During the tour the team performed in Lima, Santiago, Buen Aires, Monrevideo, Rio de Janeiro and an Paolo. The Italian pilot At1445hrson23September1937, theCR.32softheItalianaerobatic teamsinauguratedamonumentto PeruvianflyerGeoChavezinLima, Peru,withaflypast.Watchedby enthusiasticspectators,theFiats appearedoverheadina'double wedge'formation madeupoftwo patrolsoffiveaircraft,withthatfrom 6 53°Stormobringinguptherear(AM) 7 z o - Inline-abreastformation,theItalian Z - pilotsoverflyaSouthAmericancity. -l lt. .) Theywerewarmlyreceivedduring o:xJ => theirtourofLatinAmerican o o c o countriesthankstotheir n a: remarkableaerobaticskill(AM) -l I o Z Z Bottomleft Thisline-upofCR.32sfromXXIII GruppoCacciaispicturedduring proved their skills by performing aerobatics during II airshows, and theSpanishCivilWar.Theaircraft 53°Stormopersonnelandtheir team, led by Capitano Simeone Marsan, quickly re-equipped with five also by flying in formation at 25,700 ft over the Andes. Ten CR.32s intheforegrounddisplaysablue CR.32slineupforanofficial CR.42s and performed at an airshow held at Caselle in May 1939. In red-stripedgruppocommander's ceremonyatTurin-Caselleairfield took off on this historic flight from Santiago at 2200 hrs on doing so it became the only aerobati team ro fly the R.42, and the pennantaftoftheunitbadge. in1937(AM) 8 November 1937, taking 30 minutes ro overfly the mountains before Duringthewartheunitwasledby last ro represent the Regia Aeronoutica before the outbreak ofWorld eventually landing at the EI Plumerillo airfield at Mendoza, in aceMaggioreAndreaZottiandthen War 2. Argentina, at 0330 Ius. The flight was lauded in the Latin American byMaggioreAldoRemondino(AM) Between 1937and 1939, the stormo, initially under th command of press, and the Italian pilots subsequently performed ro large audiences Tenente Colonello Giuseppe Borri and then olonello Alberto for the remainder of their rour. This event greatly boosted Italian Below Canaveri, performed at manyairshows, and also participated in military AmongthesevenpilotsofXXIII prestige in Latin America, and helped introduce the Italian aviation exercises with the Royal Italian Army. GruppoCacciatobeposthumously industry ro local markets. awardedtheGoldMedalforMilitary In April 1939 the storrno supported the Italian invasion ofAlbania Between June 1937 and February 1938,53° Stormo's units moved ValourduringtheSpanishCivilWar, when six of its Caproni Ca.133 transport aircraft ferried troops and onlyTenenteGilbertoCasellicame from Mirafiori ro Turin-Caselle. The first to arrive, on 20 June, was equipment across the Adriatic from Apulian airfield. In little more fromtheranksof53°Stormo.Shot 151° Gruppo. Jt was joined on IS Ocrober by stormo staffand, in than a year's time, Italy would find it elfengulfed in a wider and far downandwoundedincombatover February, by 150° Gruppo. The stormo's six squadriglie began an Villamayoron26August1937, more destructive conflict that would see 53° Storrno's fighter units put intensive training programme, the results ofwhich were considered so Caselliwascapturedbutdiedofhis ro the test. woundsinhospital.Allfighterstormi good that, in March 1939, 53° Stormo became the first Regia withintheRegiaAeronautica Aeronautica fighter unit ro be equipped with the Fiat R.42 Falco volunteeredpilotsforthewarin aircraft were initially issued to 3673 Squadriglia. The stormo'saerobatic Spain(AM) Ayoungunnamedairmanposesfor thecamerawitha367"Squadriglia CR.321151°Gruppo,53°Stormo)at Turin-Mirafioriairfieldin1936.This aircraft'smatricolamilitare IMM2614)identifiesitasbeing fromthefirstproductionbatchof 50CR.32sbuiltbetweenMarchand 8 August1934(AM) 9 L.I.J FRANCE AND THE "'T1 Z :::D o J> a:: Z L.I.J n l m «e... J> BALKANS Z :I: o u -l :I: m co J> r ;;<; W hen Iraly declared war on rhe wesrern Allies in June 1940, J> Z rhe sub-unirs of 530 Stormo were deployed ar norrhern en IraJian airfields, while stormosraFFand 1500 Gruppo were ar Turin-Caselleand 1510 GruppoarCasabianca. The war againsr France was brieFbur fierce. On 13 June IS CR.42s of 1510 Grupposrhree squadrigLie, led by Maggiore Carlo Calosso and escorred by nine orhers From 1500 Gruppo, rook oFF From Ligurian Albenga airfield ro arrack Hyhes air base near Toulon. There, rhey desrroyed 15 French aircraFr on rhe ground. Sergenre Maggiore Dino ACR.42of1510 Gruppo's366" The lralian raiders were inrercepred by rwo secrions each of rhree Carra oF366a SquadrigLia (I51° Gruppo) shor down a Voughr V-l56F SquadrigliafliesovertheAlps.As MB.151 fighrers From EscadriLLe AC 3 thar had raken oFF From Cuers. dive-bomber ofArlronavaLeEscadriLLeAB 3, coded AB 3-6 and crewed theItaliantri-colourflagdisplayed Te sari's seven 364a SquadrigLia R.42s pounced on rhem wirh ontheruddersofRegiaAeronautica by Second-Mal(('e Droucpeer and Quarrier-Mal(('e Lucas. The French devasraring resulrs. All rhree Blochs in rhe Firsr secrion were hir, aircraftwasofficiallyreplacedbythe aircraFr, which had been approaching irs base ro land, crashed inro rhe whitecrossofSavoyfollowingthe Formarion leader Lr de Vaisseau Ziegler (AC 3's CO, flying aircraFr sea ofFHyhes, killing borh crewmen. This represenred rhe firsr Iralian issuingofanorderon12June1940, coded 3-1 no 77) being wounded and Forced ro crash-land back ar his kill on rhe norrhwesrern Fronc Despire inrense anri-aircrafr fire, all rhe thisphotographmusthavebeen airfield. MB.151 3-3 no 69, flown by Second-Mfrirre Miramonr, and takenjustbeforethewar,orsoon CR.42s rerurned ro rheir base, wirh only rhe Fighrer of Sergenre afterthestartofhostilities(AM) 3-2 ( econd-Mfrirre Brier) were borh seriously damaged, bur Miramonr MaggioreGiulioCesareoF366aSquadrigLiabeingslighrlydamaged. shor down R.42 MM5579 in rerurn, killing pilor Capirano Nino On 15 June ir was rhe rurn of 1500 Gruppo ro see acrion when irs Caselli of364aSquadrigLia. Thesecond secrion ofFrench fighrers Fared Anotherprominentacetoservewith crews arracked rhe French airfield of Cuers-PierreFeu, home ro rhe worse, wirh all rhree machines being downed by rhe R.42s. The 1500 GruppowasMarescialloGuido AhonavaLes EscadriLLes AC 3 (wirh II Bloch MB.151 Fighrers) and Fibbia,whowascreditedwithsixkills secrion leader, Adjuranr-CheFAndre Hourcade, flying MB.151 3-15 AB 3 (wirh II V-I56Fs). Twenry-seven CR.42s rook oFFFrom Albenga inWorldWar2toaddtohisthree no 51, was killed and his squadronmares in 3-S no 34S (pilor airfield and headed For uers, where rhey desrroyed six V-156Fs of victoriesinSpain.Fibbiaservedwith Soulimonr) and 3-9 no 37 ( econd-Mfrirre Marcel Le Bihan) crash 365"and95"Squadrig/ieoftheRegia AB 3. Gruppo CO Tenenre Colonello Rolando Prarelli led 12 pilors, landed. Le Bihan's aircraFr bursr inro flames when ir came down ar Aeronauticaandendedthewarwith including 365a SquadrigLia CO, Capirano Giorgio raFFer. The 2.Squadrig/iaof10 GruppoANRin Rocbaron and he larerdied ofhiswounds. a arrackers werecovered by 15 more R.42s led by stormo Colonello 1944-45.Asasergentemaggiore,he In rhis fierce combar rhe lralians had shor down Four MB.151s For Arrigo Tessari, wirh eighr 363a SquadrigLia Fighrers, led by Capirano tookpartinthestrafingattackonthe rhe loss of rwo CR.42s, alrhough only one ofrhe larrer machines had Luigi Mariorri, providing rop cover and seven From 364a quadrigLia FrenchairfieldofCuerson15June acrually been shor down. MM5590 of364a SquadrigLia, flown by 1940,earninghimtheWarCrossfor flying araloweralrirude. MilitaryValourlA/aTric%re) Tenenre Giuseppe Enrico Zuffi, Force-landed on rhe runway ar Cuers due ro amechanical Failureand rhe pilorwas caprured. The undamaged fighter was rheonly Iralian aircraFrcaprured by rheAeronautiqueNavaLe in June 1940, and ir was larer repainred in French colours and pur on display as a war prize. AFrer rhe end of Franco-Iralian hosriliries rhe lralian pressed rhe Vichy aurhoriries For rhe rerurn of rhe fighrer, which was handed over in Augusr 1940. Following rhe French surrender Zuffi was released, and on 5 Augusr 1940 he was posred ro 36Sa SquadrigLiaof1510 Gruppo. During rhe arrack on Cuers, rhe 365a SquadrigLia aircraFr of Capirano GraFfer and orrorenenre Lorenzo Clerici were damaged by 1510 Gruppoarmourersprepare French fighrers. GraFFer larer received rhe Bronze Medal For Milirary ammunitionbeltsatCasabianca Valour Following rhis mission, while the War Cross For Milirary Valour airfieldinJune1940.Theunitwas deployedhereon3June,justbefore went to his seven wingmen, among whom were Clerici and Future 10 ItalyenteredWorldWar2(AM) six-kill aceSergenre MaggioreGuido Fibbia. 11 L.U Bresso. Intercepting a marauding bomber that was thought to have " oZ been another Whirley Vnear Milan, he fired a long burstat it but was :»xl z CI: wounded by return fire and forced ro disengage. On 25/26 August two n fL. U 368a SquadrigLia CR.42s flown by Tenenre Zuffi and Sottotenenre m» «CL z Furio Lauri were scrambled from Bresso and Cameri to intercept :r: o u British bombers attacking Milan and Gallarate. In the ensuing actions -l :r: both pilots fired at a Whitley V, Lauri earning a War ross for m Military Valour. ,»co GREECE AND THE BALKANS »A z After briefly transitioning to new Macchi C.200 monoplane fighters, (/) which were then handed over to the Caselle air depot, much to the disappoinrmentofthose that had flown them, 1500 Gruppowasordered to AJbania on the eve of the Italian attack on Greece on 28 Ocrober 1940. With an establishmenr of37 CR.42s and 44 pilots, the gmppo, comprising 363a, 36 a and 365a SquadrigLie, and led by Tenente TenenteFurioLauriwasamongthe Colonello Rolando Pratelli, reached AJbania on I ovember. Once in mostdistinguishedof53°Stormo's Albania the gruppo would fly almost daily in support ofItalian ground fighterpilots,servingwith 151° Gruppo's368" Squadriglia. Between unitsand engage in fierce combatwith Greekand British opponents. June1940andDecember1941 he Initially, 364a and 365a SquadrigLie flew from Valona and earnedaWarCrossforMilitary Argyrokastron airfields, while 363a SquadrigLia was transferred to Valourandtwicereceivedthe SilverMedalforMilitaryValour 1600 GmppoAutonorno,operatingfrom Tiranaairportfrom 24 Ocrober. foroperationsoverItaly,the On 2 November, 363aSqlladrigLiawasdeployed ro Drenovaairstrip, but MediterraneanandNorthAfrica. CR,42spreparetotakeofffroman Aside from combat losses in the Franco-Italian war, which ended on by the 12th the unit had been forced back to Koritza by a Greek Later,Lauriflewgroundattack ItalianairstripneartheFrenchborder 25 June 1940, 530 Stormo had also had three fighters from 1510 offensive. It rerurned to Tirana on the 21 r. When not movingairfield, missionsinG.50bisfighter-bombers duringtheshortconflictwithFrance Gruppo written offin flying accidents. On 17 June Maresciallo Giulio the unit's CR.42s were embroiled in aerial combats. For example, on andwasdownedandwoundedby inJune1940.53°Stormofighter USanti-aircraftfireon22January pilotswoulddistinguishthemselves Bernardi of 366a quadrigLia was killed in MM5589, and 368a 2 NovemberCapitano Luigi Mariotti was leading 12 Fiatscharged with 1943.AftertheItalianarmisticehe throughoutthisshortbutsharp SquadrigLia lost MM4295, with Sergenre Luigi Papa killed, four days escorting Cant Z.1007bis bombers ro Salonika when they engaged eight chosetofightalongsidetheAllies, operationaltour(AM) later. Finally, Sergente Piero Hosquet bailed out ofMM4331. For this PZL P.24s. Four of the Greek fighters were claimed to have been shot flyinghazardousmissionsina FieselerFi156Storchrescuing short but hard operational rour, 530 Storrnoearned its first Silver Medal AlliedpilotsdownedinGerman-held for Military Valour. territory.ForhiscourageLauri In the following months the storrno, operating mainly from Caselle becametheonlyformer53°Stormo pilottoreceivetheGoldMedalfor and ovi Ligure airfields, was tasked with patrolling the skies of MilitaryValourwhilestillalive.Lauri Piedmont and Liguria. Its pilots encountered several enemy aircraft claimedatotalof11 killsduringthe during this period, with the first successful night interception taking war,althoughthisisnotconfirmed placeon 13/14Augustwhen CapitanoGrafferinrercepted RAF Whirley byofficialdocuments.However, 368"Squadrigliawardiariescredit VP4965/ZA-H of 0 J0Sqn overTurin. himwithtwoindividualandone Accurate return fire from the bomber's tail gunner hit the biplane, sharedkillsachievedinthreeaerial forcing its pilot ro attack from below. With his CR.42 badly damaged combatsinNorthAfrica. Afterthe and its guns jammed, the slighrly wounded Graffer was unable to warhebecameasuccessful businessmanintheaviationindustry rerurn ro base. He therefore decided to ram the Whirley, and in doing andpassedawayin2002(AM) so he severely damaged the bomber's starboard aileron. Graffer then bailed out and later received the Silver Medal for Military Valour for this bold action. The Whirley fared less well. With one engine out of action, the crippled bomber was able to limp across France, only to cra h into the sea off the Kent coast. The two pilots, Pit Off E I DisplayedintheItalianAirForce Par ons and Sgt A Campion, were killed but the remaining three MuseumatVignadiValle,Rome, StorchFi 156C-3MM12822isthe crewmen, SgtS Chamberlain, Marshall and Sharpe, escaped. This was aircraftinwhichTenenteFurioLauri the war's first confirmed nightsuccess for an Italian pilor. flewmissionsbehindenemylinesin Other night actions followed. On 18/19 August R.42 MM5580, 1944-45toretrievedownedAllied 12 flown by Tenente Giuseppe Zuffi of 368a SqlladrigLifl, set off from airmen(GianniPanebiancol 13 UJ from 1540 Gruppi. The fighrers shordown T273J, flown by FirLr AE ""Tl Z :0 o Brian, killing four crewmen and sending rwo more inw capriviry. They l> a: Z UJ also accounred for Sgr G Brooks' T2734, all six crew being killed. ("") le. .. Two orher Wellingwns were damaged. Tenenri Albeno Spigaglia and lm> <:r:i Alberw Triolo and Maresciallo Guglielmo Bacci of364a SquadrigLia oZ u were rhe successful pilors from 1500 Gruppo, sharing cwo bombers and -l :r: anorher probable berween rhem. m On 9 November 363a SquadrigLia losr irs firsr CR.42 in acrion when ">orwrenenre PierroJanniellowasshordown and killed byanri-aircrafrfire whilesrrafingGreek rroops nearVisrrica's upperbasin. Fourday larer rhe Blenheim Is of 0 84 qn's 'A' Flighr bombed Argyrokasrron airfield shorrlyafrer dawn, desrroyingaIMAM Ro.37 reconnaissanceaircrafrand a Ca.l33 rransporr and damaging a CR.42. 363a SqlladrigLia duly scrambled Sorwrenenre Ernesw Trevisi and ergenre Mario Scagliarini, ,md rheymanaged w damageoneofrhe raiders. 14 ovember saw rhe Royal Hellenic Air Force arrack Korirza airfield in supporr ofa major Greek ground offensive. This raid led w oneofrhe grearesraerial bartles ofrhe Greekcampaign when nine PZL f'ghrers of 23 Mira, led by unir 0 Episminagos (major) Gregorios I'heodoropoulos, were inrercepred by rwo 363a SquadrigLia CR.42s flown by Sorwrenenri Enea Ani and Maurizio di Robilanr. The P.24s evaded rhe rwo Fiars, which rhen rurned rheir arrenrion ro rwo Blenheim Is of32 Mira rhar were rargering Korirza. They claimed one Between17and19September1940, down, wirh rwo CR.42sdamaged. TheGreeksadmined rharone PZLof probablevicwry. 1500 Gruppounexpectedlybut 22 Mira had indeed been hir and forced ro land, Capr John Kyriazes Meanwhile, orher CR.42s of363a quadrigLiaand 1600 Gruppo had temporarilyreceived37C.200smuch beingwounded. arrived w engage rhe Greek aircrafr. A Bartle lighr bomber of33 Mira tothedelightofthepilots.Within daysofcompletingtheirtransition Thar same day five CR.42s of apirano Giorgio Graffer's 365a was severely damaged by rhe CR.42s ofSorwrenenre Ugo Drago and ontothenewmonoplanesthepilots SquadrigLia engaged rhree PZLs of 21 Mira over Yanina, Graffer Maresciallo Giuseppe alvadori of36Y SqlladrigLia, rhe Iralian pilors hadtohandthemovertotheTurin himselfsharing rhree kills wirh orrorenenre Lorenzo Clerici and claiming iras a probable. The CR.42s rhen clashed cwice wirh rhe nine Caselleairdepot(AM) Sergenri Bruno Zoni and Pierro Secchi. The Greek unir recorded rhe PZLs of 23 Mira, six of which were credired ro rhe Fiar pilors as loss of rwo PZLs and rheir pilors, 1Lr John Sakellariou and Cpl desrroyed. In rhe firsr engagemenr, Dragoshared one kill wirh Sergenre Chrisros Papadopulos. Maggiore Teofilo Biolcari while Sorwrenenre Romeo Della Cosranza Anorher opporruniry for 365a SquadrigLia ro increase irs score came claimed a second vicwry wirh Sergenre Maggiore Bruno Benassi. The on 4 November when rwo CR.42s flown by Clerici and Sergenre second dogfighr saw Drago share rhe desrrucrion of four PZLs wirh Pasquale Facchini inrercepred rhreeelderly BreguerXlXs of2 Mira rhar Salvadori and Sergenre Mario Scagliarini. In realiry, no 23 Mira pilors were srrafing Alpini mounrain rroops near Smolika. Fire from rhe Iralian biplanes hir rwo of rhe Breguers and one of rhem crashed in flames, killing Maj Fridericos Karassos, CO of2 Mira, and his observer 2LrAlexandros Sarvanis. The orher Breguer force-landed ar Xyrolimni wirh awounded observer, while rhe rhird oneescaped. On 6 ovember 364a SquadrigLia encounrered RAF aircrafr for rhe firsr rime when rhree CR.42s led by Capirano icola Magaldi scrambled ro inrercepr rhree Blenheim Isof 10 30Sqn, led by qn Ldr Shannon, rhar were arracking Valona airfield. The Iralian fighrers pressed home rheir arracks, badly damaging all rhe Brirish bombers. Indeed, SgrJohn Merifield, gunner in gr G W Ratlidge's aircrafr, was killed by fire from Capirano Magaldi. The Iralian pilor reponed A364"$quadrigliapilotat downing rhe bomber, bur all rhree crippled Blenheim Is managed w readinesswithhisCR.42atValona make ir back w rheirbasear Eleusis. airfield,Albania,inlate1940when theunitoperatedseparatelyfrom The nexr day, six Wellingwn ICs of 0 70 qn senr ro srrike ar 1500 Gruppo.Itre-joinedon 14 Valona once again were inrercepred by five CR.42s from 1500 and cwo 20November(AM) 15 Zu.J were Ii ted as killed or wounded following these combars, alrhough rhe Anorher blow was suffered by 1500 Gruppo rhe nexr day when " o Greeksdid admir rhar four PZLs had been damaged. :JJ \IX Gladiator lis of 0 80 Sqn's 'A' Flighr, led by Fir Lr E G Tap' 1> Cu.IJ: However, the unir's fighrers shor down rwo CR.42s in rerurn, lones, engaged five CR.42s of 3643 quadriglia and five from 3653 nZ l«e. .. SMoerrdoarlenfeonrreMEilrinreasrryoVTarelovuisri)(pwehroishwiansgawinarMdeMd 6a2p5o!srahnudmoSuesrgGeonlrde \fJl/adrigliaover Delvinakion. A Fiar from 3643Squadriglia, flown by 1m> :J: Sergenre Corrado Mignani, collided wirh Gladiaror II N5812 of Fig Z u o ALWUSro Manerri bailin" our ofMM5578 behind Italian lines. Finally, b b Off H U Sykes and borh pilors were killed. In rhe whirling combat, -j Sergente Maggiore Virrorio Pirchio was wounded in rhe lefr foor when rlt LrJones in 5816 claimed ro have shor down two R.42s before :J: m his CR.42 MM5035 wa badly shor-up - rhe crippled aircraft nosed .1 hail ofbullersshatrered his insrrumenr panel. Despirea neck wound, CD overon landing. 1> Jones flew his crippled Gladiaror II back ro irs base ar Trikkala, r The nexr day, arisrocratic Sorrotenre Maurizio di Robilanr of A l"SlOrted by Sgr Don 5 Gregory in Gladiaror II 5776. Another rhree 1> 3633 Squadriglia, serving wirh 1500 Gruppo, wa escorting a Z RAF fighrers were badly damaged, namely 5854 (Fig Off H D (I) reconnaissance Ro.37 of 720 Gruppo OA (Osservazione Aerea) when Wanklyn Flower), N5788 (FigOffW BPrice-Owen) and N5786 (Fig he engaged four Barrles of 33 Mira thar had jusr bombed Korirza (HTFW Hosken). Sourh airfield. A few hours earlier rhe same unir had arracked Korirza Apart from Mignani's R.42, 1500 Gmppo had losr rhe aircrafr flown orth, destroying a Ca.133 and four fighrers on rhe ground. Keen h} Sergenre Achille Pacini of3643 Squadriglia after he bailed our, 3nd ro seek revenge for the raid, di Robilanr shor down B272, flown lhe machine of five-kill ace, and 3653 Squadriglia CO, Capirano SottotenenteErnesto'Tino'Trevisi, by Episminias (flighr sergeant) Frangoulis Arnidis, and B276, pilored (t1orgio Graffer, who losr his life. The larrer was posthumouslyawarded CapitanoGiorgioGraffer,COof afighterpilotwith150·Gruppo's by Anrhyposminagos (second lieurenanr) Kondides. The aircrafr Ilaly's highesr award, rhe Gold Medal for Milirary Valour. Two more 150·Gruppo's365"Squadriglia,was 363"Squadriglia,wasshotdown andkilledincombatwithGreekP.24 crashed in nearby mounrains, wirh borh pilorsand one observer being I;iar fighrers were damaged and rheir pilors, Maresciallo Guglielmo afive-victoryacewhowaskilledin fightersof23Miraon 14November killed. Di Robilanr also seriously damaged Barrie B274, pilored by B.lCci of3643 qlladrigliaand Sergenre Bruno Zorri of3653 Sqlladriglia, combatwithNo80SqnGladiators overAlbaniaon28November1940. 1940overKoritza.Atthetimehe Sminagos (caprain) Demetrius Pirsikas. The aircrafr struggled back ro wounded. The Iralians claimed ro have accounred for four Gladiators, Aremarkablepilot,hewas wasflyingaswingmanto150· base, however, where Pirsikas' observer, Anrhyposminagos Arisrofanes hut 1500 Gruppo had losr rwo squadrigliecommanders in as many days. posthumouslyawardedtheGold GruppoaceSottotenenteUgoDrago. Trevisiwasposthumouslyawarded Papas, latersuccumbed ro his wounds. ()n a more posirive nore, rhe 28rh also saw R.42s of 1500 Gruppo MedalforMilitaryValourattheage theGoldMedalforMilitaryValour Alrhough Pirsikas had escaped unhurt, he was destined not ro survive daim a Blenheim I as a probable over Korirza while rerurning from of28.Grafferachieved53·Stormo's firstconfirmednightkillwhenhe lAM) rhe war. On 11 March 1941 he was flying as observer in rhe Barrie l'slOrting SM.79 bombers. No 84 Sqn losr L1385 on rhis dare, wirh rammedaWhitleyVbomberof pilored by Antisminarchos (Iieurenanr colonel) Demetrius Starhakis, Pit OffD R Bird and his crew beingcaprured, alrhough rhe aircraft was No10SqnoverTurinduringthe CO of33 Mira, when ir was shor down by 1ralian fighrers between probablydowned byG.50s from 240 rllppo. nightof13/14August1940. CapitanoNicolaMagaldi,COof ivirsaand Slarinia. Borh men were killed. Althoughwoundedintheprocess, On 2 December ren CR.42s of 1500 Gruppo (six from 3653 and four k1i5ll0e·dGdruurpinpgo'san36e4n"gSagqeumadernigtlwiai,thwas On 18 November ergenre Maggiore Teofilo Biolcari of 3633 from 3643Sqlladriglie) inrercepred nine Blenheim Is of 0 21 J qn thar aGnrdafwfearsmlaanteargaewdatordbedaitlhoeutSsilavfeerly RAFGladiatorsofNo80Sqnnorth Squadriglia, flying wirh 1600 Gmppo, shared in rhe destrucrion ofa h.ld justbombed Valonaairfield. The RAF aircrafrsuffered lirtledamage, MedalforMilitaryValour(AM) ofVaninaon27November1940. P.24 wirh a 3933 Squadriglia pilot. It was one of rhree Greek PZL .t1though Sqn Ldr Gordon-Finlayson reported losing rhe aerial from Hewasanotherof150·Gruppo's fighrers shor down by CR.42s that day, rwo of which were from his Blenheim and rhar a buller had passed rhrough Fir Lt George B psqousathdurimgloiauscloymamwaanrddeedrsthtoebGeold 22 Mira and rhe orher from 23 Mira. The 19rh saw 36Y Squadrig/ia [)oudney's flying helmer! The next day 18 CR.42s of3633Squadriglia MedalforMilitaryValourfollowing encounrer rhe RAF in Greece for rhe firsr rime when nine Gladiaror lIs .md 1600 Gruppoengagedsix PZLsof23 MirasouthwesrofMoschopoles. hisdeathattheageof29(AM) of 080 Sqn's 'B' Flighrdowned a FiatG.50 Frecciafrom 240 Gruppo Ihe Greeks losr Anrhyposminagos onsranrine Tsit as, who was killed. and rhree CR.42s of 1600 Gruppo. Two of rhe larrer were flown by 3633 Squadriglia pilots, with Sergenre Maggiore Narale Viola and Maresciallo GiuseppeSalvadori borh being killed. Sorrorenenre Drago's CR.42 was also hit, although he managed ro make ir home. Ten 3633Squadriglia R.42s, led by Capirano Luigi Mariorri, joined fighrers from 1600 Gruppo in a srrafing arrack on Kozani airfield on 27 O\'ember. Pilots claimed ro have desrroyed five Breguer XJXs from 2 Mira and damaged rhree more. In facr, rhis arrack deprived rhe Greek unir ofall of irs Breguers, and pilor Anrhyposminagos Panayioris Maroulakos, was killed. Other personnel were injured. Thar same day, six CR.42s of 1500 Gruppo, led by Capirano Nicola Magaldi, CO of 3643 quadriglia, were inrer epred norrh ofYanina by nine Gladiaror lis ThisisValonaairfieldafterRAF Blenheimshadvisited150·Gruppo ofNo 80 Sqn led by qn Ldr WJ Hickey. In rhe fierceswirlingdogfighr duringthewinterof1940-41.Clearly rhar ensued, Magaldi was killed and Sergenre Giovanni Negri wounded. visibleisthetailunitofCR.42 egri made ir back ro base wirh his badlyshor-upCR.42, while Magaldi MM6928,coded364-11,of364" 16 wasawarded aposthumousGold Medal for MiliraryValour. Squadrigliawhichseemstohave escapeddestruction(AM) 17