Regia Aeroanutica pics

[Saetta66]

Finally a small place where to show pics of one of the most undervalued ww2 airforces: the italian Regia Aeronautica.
Poor in machines, rich in spirit ....

This is a very interesting one I found on the web: the cockpit of a Breda BA 88 one of the worst aircraft of ww2 also known among the pilots like the Flying Grave ....
Photo by Andrea Nicola
Strong impact pic IMHO

 

[vikingBerserker]

Very cool.

 

[al49]

Bella foto, se ne hai altre pubblicale!
Benvenuto in questo forum che, come avrai visto, è frequentato da gente molto preparata.
Ciao
Alberto
(For those who do not speak Italian, for once pls apologize if I say hello in my language to a new member of this very nice forum)

 

[v2]

Yes, really Bella foto !

Ciao,
Dominik

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[Saetta66]

ME 109 G2
Regia Aeronautica
365a sq. 150° Gruppo Autonomo Caccia Terrestre
Sciacca Airport, Sicily
1943. before the final defeat.

 

[Saetta66]

A rare colour image of our famous Savoia Marchetti 82 <<Marsupiale>> with Lw insignas.
Not as good (comparing it to the other italian planes ...) as SM 79 "Gobbo maledetto" but a good plane.

 

[Lucky13]

Great pics! Looking forward to more!

 

[Saetta66]

Great pics! Looking forward to more!

But honestly I have to tell you that the best pic is ... your avatar
Best regards

 

[Saetta66]

Here it is: could be a german aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica 3° gruppo aut. caccia terrestre in Comiso (Sicily) april 1943 or a plane used by the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, 2° gruppo caccia in 1944.
Honsetly I don't know.
Both the groups used the emblem Red Devil (but look at the italian flag on the back: could be ANR?)

 

[Saetta66]

the Diavoli Rossi (Red Devils) emblem .
One day I will tel you the birth of these mythical emblem ....

 

[vikingBerserker]

Very cool - always loved the Sm.82

 

[Saetta66]

Now I wanna start a simple photografic outlook - with a brief and easy technical support - to the most and less famous italian aircraft in ww2.
Let's start with the oldest biplane of the ww2.
By the late 1930s, most of the world's major air forces were gradually re-equipping with low-wing monoplanes fighters. Fiat still believed that there was a place for the biplane and designed the CR.42, with the prototype making its maiden flight in January 1939. It was instantly ordered into production for the Italian air force. With a number of export orders following, some 1784 had been built by 1943.

In service with the Regia Aeronautica, CR.42 were used as day fighters and escort fighters in the Mediterranean theatre and as night fighters for home defence.
They were used like assault planes too with wing attached bombs og 50 or 100 kgs.

By 1942, Fiat had managed to raise the top speed tp 518 km/h (322 mph) but the design still fell short in other respects. Biplane fighter production was at an end.

By the late 1930s most of the leading warplane producers were abandoning open-cockpit, fabric covered biplane designs in favour of stressed skin monoplanes with a retractable landing gear. But in Italy, Celestino Rosatelli of Fiat believed there was still a role for a highly manoeuvrable biplane fighter. Fiat thus produced the CR.42 Falco, the best fighter available to either side in North Africa from the start of the war unitl the arrival of the RAF's Hawker Hurricane.

 

[Saetta66]

This is the night fighter version
no radar and they got radio only late in the conflict.
Pilot made a night flight training only with experience and stars and lights down the countryside.
There was a night flight schhol but it worked only for a very short time,

 

[Saetta66]

another couple of good ones.
Assault type, expecially used in North Africa.
In the first you can see the wing bomb with rivets.

 

[Saetta66]

Hope this helps

 

[Adaing1976]

Ciao Saetta,

ti faccio i miei compliementi per la qualità delle tue immagini, davvero notevole!!

(I hope that my fast greeting using Italian language can be accepted in the right way, pls try to understand we are "compaesani" )

 

[vikingBerserker]

Nice profiles!

 

[Alexfly]

Ecco due foto fatte a Barce su un CR fermo a causa dell'alto consumo di olio. Anno 1941

 

[Alexfly]

Ecco due foto fatte a Barce su un CR fermo a causa dell'alto consumo di olio. Anno 1941