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| Regia Aeronautica | |
|---|---|
.svg) Aircraft insignia of theRegia Aeronautica | |
| Active | 1923–1946 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Type | Air force |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Chief of Staff of the Air Force |
| Notable commanders | During World War II: |
| Insignia | |
| Roundels |  .svg) .svg) |
| Flag |  |
TheRoyal Italian Air Force (Italian:Regia Aeronautica Italiana,RAI) was theair force of theKingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of theRoyal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, themonarchy ended and the Kingdom of Italy became theItalian Republic, whereupon the name of the air force changed toAeronautica Militare.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was at the forefront of aerial warfare: during the colonization ofLibya in 1911, it made the first reconnaissance flight in history on 23 October, and the first ever bombing raid on 1 November.
DuringWorld War I, the ItalianCorpo Aeronautico Militare, then still part of theRegio Esercito (Royal Army), operated a mix of French fighters and locally built bombers, notably the giganticCaproni aircraft. TheRegia Marina (Royal Navy) had its own air arm, operating locally built flying boats.
The Italian air force became an independent service—theRegia Aeronautica—on 28 March 1923.Benito Mussolini'sfascist regime turned it into an impressivepropaganda machine, with its aircraft, featuring the Italian flag colors across the full span of the undersides of the wings, making numerous record-breaking flights.Between 1 April 1939 (I think 1 April 1939 is an error - it must have been an earlier year - as this paragraph talks of records in 1933 and 1934 below) 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. After successful long-range flights around theMediterranean Sea,Charles Lindbergh's successfultransatlantic flight in theSpirit of St. Louis inspired the Regia Aeronautica to embark on a longer transatlantic voyage with stops inWest Africa andBrazil.[1] Possibly the most brilliant successes were the floatplane world speed record of 709 km/h (440.6 mph) achieved byFrancesco Agello in theMacchi-Castoldi MC-72 in October 1934[2] and the long-range formation flight to the United States and back to Italy in 1933, a total of 19,000 km (11,800 miles) withSavoia-Marchetti S.55flying boats. ThisDecennial Air Cruise included stops inAmsterdam,Derry,Reykjavík,Labrador,Montreal,Chicago,Brooklyn, andWashington D.C., with the highlight being a landing inLake Michigan in front ofChicago Navy Pier and a procession through the city before crowds of thousands of Americans to coincide with theCentury of Progress Exhibition.[1] This pioneering achievement was organized and led by General of AviationItalo Balbo.[3]
During the latter half of the 1930s, theRegia Aeronautica participated in theSpanish Civil War, as well as the invasions ofEthiopia andAlbania.
The first test for the new Italian Royal Air force came in October 1935,[4]with theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War. During the final stages of the war, theRegia Aeronautica deployed up to 386 aircraft, operating fromEritrea andSomalia. The Italian aviators did not have any opposition in the air, as theImperial Ethiopian Air Force had just 15 transport and liaison aircraft, only nine of which were serviceable. However, theRegia Aeronautica lost 72 planes and 122 aircrew[5] while supporting the operations of theRegio Esercito, sometimes dropping poison gas bombs against the Ethiopian army. After the end of hostilities on 5 May 1936, for the following 13 months theRegia Aeronautica had to assist Italian forces in fighting Ethiopian guerrillas.[6]
During theSpanish coup of July 1936, Italian pilots inSpanish Foreign Legion uniforms airliftedFrancisco Franco'sArmy of Africa fromSpanish Morocco to theSpanish mainland.[7] During theSpanish Civil War Italian pilots fought alongsideSpanish Nationalist and GermanLuftwaffe pilots as members of theAviazione Legionaria ("Aviation Legion"). 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". In Spain, the Italian pilots were under direct command of theSpanish Nationalists and took part in training and joint operations with the pilots of the German "Condor Legion".Mussolini sent to Spain 6000 aviation personnel as well as about 720 aircraft, including 80-90Savoia-Marchetti SM 81, 100Savoia Marchetti SM.79 bombers and 380–400Fiat CR.32 biplanes that dominated the air, proving superior to the SovietPolikarpovs of theSpanish Republican Air Force. TheAviazione legionaria achieved approximately 500 aerial victories, losing 86 aircraft in air combat and about 200 flying personnel.[8]But more important than the material losses were the wrong conclusions drawn from air war in Spain. 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 ofFiat CR.42 Falcos, the last war biplane in history.[9]
TheRegia Aeronautica played a limited role during theItalian invasion of Albania in 1939.[citation needed]
In July 1939, theRegia Aeronautica was seen as a splendid air arm, holding no fewer than 33 world records, which was more thanGermany (15),France (12), theUnited States (11), theSoviet Union (7),Japan (3), theUnited Kingdom (2), andCzechoslovakia (1).[10] WhenWorld War II began in 1939, Italy had a paper strength of 3,296 machines. While numerically a force to be reckoned with, it was hampered by the local aircraft industry which was using obsolete production methods. Only 2,000 aircraft were fit for operations, of which just 166 were modern fighters (89Fiat G.50 Freccias and 77Macchi MC.200s), both slower than potential opponents as theHawker Hurricane, theSupermarine Spitfire and theDewoitine D.520. TheRegia Aeronautica also had neither long-range fighters or night fighters.[11] Technical assistance provided by its German ally did little to improve the situation.
On 10 June 1940, during the closing days of theBattle of France, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom. On 13 June, Fiat CR.42s attackedArmée de l'air (French Air Force) bases and escortedFiat BR.20s that bombed the harbour ofToulon. Two days later, CR.42s from 3°Stormo and 53°Stormo attacked French air bases again and clashed withDewoitine D.520s andBloch MB.152s, claiming eight kills for five losses.[12] When a smallFrench Navy fleet shelled theLigurian coast on 15 June, the Italian air force was not able to prevent this action or attack the French ships, showing a lack of cooperation with theRegia Marina (Italian Navy).[11] TheRegia Aeronautica carried out 716 bombing missions, with Italian aircraft dropping a total of 276 tons of bombs on French fortifications, military bases, and airfields (some of the targets being Toulon, Briançon, Traversette, and Cap San Martin); during this short war,Regia Aeronautica lost 10 aircraft in aerial combat and 24 aircrew, while claiming 10 kills and 40 French planes destroyed on the ground.[13] According to a book published after the war byGeneraleGiuseppe Santoro, critical of the unplanned use of the Air Force, which had not been prepared for operations of aerial bombing against fortifications, only about 80 long tons (81 t) of the bombs were dropped on the targets. Despite this misuse of resources, the bombing missions made possible and supported the limitedItalian advance into southern France by theRegio Esercito, with the Italian air force retaining its reputation until the Battle of Britain showed its limitations.[14]
After the war, there was a widespread rumour in France, especially betweenParis andBordeaux, of Italian aircraft strafing civilian columns, with many people claiming to have seen the tricolour roundels painted on them. 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 threefasci littori, having replaced the tricolour ones). 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.[15]
Regia Aeronautica aircraft were involved in theMiddle Eastern theatre almost from the start of Italian involvement in World War II. During theAnglo-Iraqi War, German and Italian aircraft of "Flyer Command Iraq" (Fliegerführer Irak) stopped to refuel in theVichy French-controlledMandate of Syria as they flew toIraq. These masqueraded asIraqi Air Force aircraft and were painted as suchen route. Continued concern over German and Italian influence in the area led to the Allies'Syria-Lebanon Campaign.
In one of the lesser known incidents of the war, starting in July 1940,Italian aircraft bombed cities in the British Mandate of Palestine. This was aimed at pushing the British back and retaking the greater Mediterranean, as inancient Roman times. The bombing ofTel Aviv on 10 September killed 137 people. In mid-October, the Italians alsobombed American-operated oil refineries in the British Protectorate ofBahrain.[16]
InItalian East Africa theRegia Aeronautica performed better than in other war theaters.In June 1940, the Italian Royal Air Force had here 195 fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, plus 25 transport planes.[17] Some of these aircraft were outdated, but the Italians hadSavoia-Marchetti SM.79 (12 examples) andSavoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers andFiat CR.42 fighters. In relative terms, these were some of the best aircraft on hand to either side at the beginning of theEast African Campaign. In addition, the Italian aircraft were often based at better airfields than those of the British and Commonwealth forces. When the war began, Italian pilots were relatively well trained and confident of their abilities. 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 armedHawker Hurricane monoplanes. 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.[18] Cut off from Italy as they were though, problems with lack of fuel, munitions, spare parts and replacements became a serious problem and theRegia Aeronautica was worn down in a war of attrition. By 31 January,Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, reported that the Italian military forces inEast Africa were down to 67 operational aircraft with limited fuel.By the end of February, theRegia Aeronautica had only 42 aircraft left in East Africa, and the British now had the upper hand. In March, surplus personnel of air force units had to fight as infantry. By the end of the following month, Italians had only 13 serviceable aircraft left in East Africa.[19]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.[20]
On 10 September 1940, an independent air corps for supportingLuftwaffe in theBattle of Britain was established. It was namedCorpo Aereo Italiano, or CAI. It was under command ofGeneraleRino Corso Fougier. It comprisedapproximately 170 aircraft[13] including 80Fiat Br.20 bombers and 98Fiat G.50 Freccia and CR.42 fighters. The transfer of the planes was completed by 19 October. The CAI was based inNazi-occupied Belgium.[21] Bad weather and planes inadequate to that war theater hindered effective action by the CAI.The CR.42s clashed with BritishHawker Hurricanes andSupermarine Spitfires just two times, in November. The Italians claimed five victories and nine probables, but five Fiat biplanes were shot down.[12] The RAF, however, reported no losses.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 inCyrenaica[22] so in January 1941 the bombers and CR.42s started to be withdrawn to Italy. Just two squadrons of G.50s remained until mid-April 1941.[23][24][25] During this campaign,Regia Aeronautica lost 36 planes, (including 26 in accidents) and 43 aircrew personnel, without achieving a single confirmed air victory.[22]
Initially, theWestern Desert Campaign was a near equal struggle between theRegia Aeronautica and the BritishRoyal Air Force (RAF). Early on, the fighters available to both sides were primarily older biplanes, with ItalianFiat CR.32 andFiat CR.42s flying against BritishGloster Gladiators.
After the Italian disasters duringOperation Compass and the arrival of GeneralErwin Rommel and hisGerman Africa Corps, theRegia Aeronautica fought side by side with the GermanLuftwaffe in theWestern Desert.
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. During the first British counter-offensive, theRegia Aeronautica had suffered heavy losses (over 400 aircraft) until theAxis 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. New Italian aircraft and units were supplemented by the arrival of the GermanAfrika Korps, and the attached Luftwaffe contingent deployed almost 200 airplanes in Libya and another 600 in Sicily. Working with the Luftwaffe, theRegia Aeronautica performed better due to the exchange of tactical doctrine and the arrival of more modern aircraft.In mid-1942, during theBattle of Bir Hakeim (26 May 1942 – 11 June 1942) the newMacchi C.202 fighter outperformed all of theDesert Air Force's fighters,[26] achieving an unprecedented ratio kill/loss of 4.4/1, better than that of famedMesserschmitt Bf 109s (3.5/1) fighting the same battle.[27]During Rommel's first offensive, the Italians managed to divert RAF attacks from his forces and covered his retreat during the BritishOperation Crusader, while inflicting heavy losses on RAF bombers.
During Rommel's second offensive, theRegia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe suffered considerable losses due to stronger Allied resistance during air battles overEl Alamein and bombing raids over Alexandria and Cairo.TheRegia Aeronautica, having suffered heavy losses in Egypt, was withdrawn progressively to Tobruk, Benghazi, Tripoli and, eventually, Tunisia.
TheRegia Aeronautica participated in theair 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.Up to the end of 1940, theRegia Aeronautica carried out 7410 sorties against the island, dropping 550 tons of bombs, but losing 35 aircraft. The Italians claimed 66 British planes in these first six months of combat, but these claims were exaggerated.[28]In 1941,Regia Aeronautica carried out further attacks on Malta, but less intensely than in 1940. The Italian airmen started to fear Maltese fighters and AA artillery, so much that the flight to the besieged island became known as therotta della morte, the "route of death".[29]In 1942, for its operations against Malta, between 1 January and 8 November, theRegia Aeronautica had 100 more aircraft lost in action.[30]
Malta suffered heavy loss of equipment, ship, and vehicles, and was to the edge of starvation. However the besieged island managed to withstand the attacks from the Italian and German air forces and claimed almost 1,500 Axis planes,[30] three times the real losses: up to November 1942, theLuftwaffe admitted to losing 357 aircraft and theRegia Aeronautica 210.[31] 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.[32]
TheRegia Aeronautica began its attacks on the British crown colony ofGibraltar and its important naval base from July 1940.[13]In 1942, ItalianPiaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar fromSardinia, flying a number of long-range night raids.[33]Up to October 1942, theRegia Aeronautica carried out 14 raids with a total of 32 bombers.[13]
The last raids on Gibraltar were flown during the1943 Allied landing inAlgeria, when those bombers also made a successful strike on the port ofOran.The only unit of theRegia 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.[citation needed] Training and achieving full operation strength took far longer than anticipated, and the 274th only became operational in June 1942.
When theGreco-Italian War started on 28 October 1940, theRegia Aeronautica fielded 193 combat aircraft, which initially failed to achieve air superiority against theRoyal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF), which had 128 operational aircraft out of a total of 158.[34] The poor infrastructure forAlbania air bases hindered communications and movements between the Italian flying units. Only two airfields –Tirana andValona – hadmacadamrunways, so autumn and winter weather made operations more difficult. There was also the usual lack of co-operation between the Italian Navy and Army. Finally, just few days after the start of the war, Italian pilots were confronted byNo. 80 Squadron, led by the outstanding aceMarmaduke Pattle and equipped withGloster Gladiators,No. 30 Squadron, No. 211 Squadron andNo. 84 Squadron withBristol Blenheims, and No. 70 Squadron withVickers Wellingtons. Gradually, Italian air power (includingSquadriglie flying from Italian air bases) grew to over 400 aircraft against the dwindling numbers of the Greeks.[35] However, this advantage did not stop theHellenic Army from forcing theRegio Esercito onto the defensive and back into Albania. In early 1941, the tide was turned as the GermanWehrmacht launched its simultaneous invasions ofYugoslavia andGreece.
For the 11-day campaign against Yugoslavia, theRegia Aeronautica deployed 600 aircraft, claimed five air victories (plus 100 planes destroyed on the ground) and suffered five losses.[36] However, from that point on, the role of theRegia Aeronautica in theBalkans Campaign was primarily that of supporting theLuftwaffe.This support role continued during the occupation ofGreece andYugoslavia that followed.
TheRegia 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. Actually the air war against Greece cost the Italians just 65 losses (but 495 damaged)[37] while RAF losses in the Greek campaign were 209 aircraft, 72 in the air, 55 on the ground, and 82 destroyed or abandoned during the evacuation.[38]
In August 1941 the Regia Aeronautica sent an Air Corps of 1,900 personnel to theEastern 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). These squadrons, initially consisting of22° Gruppo CT with 51 Macchi C.200 fighters and61° Gruppo with theCaproni Ca.311 bomber, supported the Italian armed forces from 1941 to 1943. They were initially based in theUkraine and ultimately supported operations in theStalingrad area. In mid 1942 the more modern Macchi C. 202 was introduced to operations in Russia. The CSIR was subsumed by the ARMIR in 1942 and the ARMIR was disbanded in early 1943 after disaster during theBattle of Stalingrad. The Air Corps pulled out of operations in January 1943, transferring toOdessa.
From 1944 to 1945, Italian personnel operated from theBaltic 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)). This group was part of theNational Republican Air Force of theItalian Social Republic.
By the time of theTunisian Campaign, the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe rarely enjoyed parity let alone air superiority inNorth Africa.
TheRegia Aeronautica was forced on the defensive during theSicilian Campaign. Italian pilots were constantly fighting againstAllied efforts to sinkRegia Marina ships. Just before the Allied invasion, a huge Allied bomber offensive struck the airfields inSicily in an effort to gain further air superiority. This left theRegia Aeronautica very weak, but aircraft continued to arrive fromSardinia,southern Italy, andsouthern France.The last mission of theRegia Aeronautica before the truce with the Allies was the defence during theUnited States Army Air Forces'bombings of Frascati andRome on 8 September 1943.
After theItalian armistice, theRegia Aeronautica was briefly succeeded by two new Italian air forces. Headquartered atSalerno in southern Italy, the RoyalistItalian Co-belligerent Air Force (Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, or ACI) fought alongside theAllied forces. In northern Italy, the National Republican Air Force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, or ANR) flew for theItalian Social Republic and theAxis. The first ANR fighter unit was the 101stGruppo Autonomo Caccia Terrestre, based inFlorence.Aircraft of the Royal and Republican air forces never fought each other. The ACI operated in theBalkans and the ANR innorthern Italy and the area around theBaltic Sea.
From 10 June 1940 up to 8 September 1943, theRegia Aeronautica lost 6483 aircraft[39] (other sources report 5201[40]), including 3483 fighters, 2273 bombers, torpedo-bombers and transports, plus 227 reconnaissance planes. The Royal Italian Air Force itself claimed 4293 enemy aircraft, including 1771 destroyed on the ground.[39]Personnel losses suffered during the conflict consisted of 3007 dead or missing, 2731 wounded and 9873 prisoners of war.[41]
TheRegia Aeronautica tended not to keep statistics on the individual level, instead reporting kills for a certain unit, attributed to their unit commander. However, pilots were able to keep personal log books, so the few that survived through World War II give individual statistics. Here is a list of the aces attributed with ten or more kills:[42]
The Regia Aeronautica was succeeded by Aeronautica Militare when Italy became a republic on 2 June 1946.
