The truth about Regia Aeronautica

Saetta66 said:

The truth, for the memory of the hundred of thousands of Regia Aeronautica dead pilots and specialist, is my personal crusade.

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Vincenzo said:

hundred of thousands? the truth it's very less under twenty thousands?

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Timppa said:

"Good soldiers, bad officers; however don't forget that without them we would not have any Civilization " - Erwin Rommel on Italians, as quoted in The Rommel Papers (1982) edited by Basil Henry Liddell Hart

"The German soldier has impressed the world, however the Italian Bersaglieri soldier has impressed the German soldier."-On the plaque dedicated to the Bersaglieri that fought at Mersa Matruh and Alamein


One of the most competent volunteer pilots in Finland was a very experienced Italian Staff Sergeant Diego Manzocchi who was killed in his wounds after forced landing. A bullet had gone through his chest in aerial battle but he still tried to fly his valuable plane back to a temporary ice airfield of LLv.26 at Haukkajärvi near Utti airbase. Probably because of the weakness caused by bleeding blood he got lost and forced landed landing gears down on the ice of a frozen lake west from Utti airbase with the last drops of fuel. His plane turned upside down in deep flush which also packed into the open cabin of FIAT G.50. Manzocchi couldn't release himself away from the belts but was still alive when the rescue patrol found him six hours later. He had already hung too long time upside down and died soon afterwards. Diego Manzocchi was buried in Helsinki, Finland at Hietaniemi military cemetery.

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parsifal said:

The RA was like every other air force that participated in the war, it had its strengthss and its weaknesses. Its pilots and other aircrew were brave.

As an example, the RA were effective in the torpedo bombing role.

They were weak in their fleet co-operation. as you already noticed there was no radar and no radios. No air carrier too
A fundamental problem for them was the low serviceability rates in their air formation, could you please explain what this means? thanks
brought about by a weak support and industrial basevery true , and a political system that was iherently inneffiicient and corrupt. Replacement ratesw were low yes, is true, and the force as a whole too thinly spread out to be effective. The fascists or the italian industrial system? tended to disdain technological developments like radar, which downgraded the overall effeectiveness of a brave forceyes, it was like that, unfortunately

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LWulf said:

There's no absolute worst airforce. Any airforce you look at had its own failings and issues. But I would say that RA wasn't very successful.
They had excellent pilots, that in general weren't as proficient in combat flying and tactics as the other successful airforces. Maybe because their weapon and motor engine power support was too low and poorThey had some excellent aircraft that too often sacrificied ease of production for a bit of performance more in a design that was already lagging behind competition. IMHO I think that our aircrafts were average stuff but absolutely already old when we went into the warThey had some leaders that understood things and wanted well for their pilots and airforce in general, but had superiors who had no clue and didn't give a **** about the people they were sending to die. I AGREE WITH YOU 1000%
So in short, any failings of the RA came from the top and affected the tactical level. Despite the best will and skill of pilots, mechanics and other soldiers involved, there wasn't much more they could've done YES. And while I sympathize with everyone involved in a war I am happy the RA didn't fare better.Sorry but I have not understand. could you use other words, please? thanks

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Saetta66 said:

Sorry but I have not understand. could you use other words, please? thanks

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michaelmaltby said:

Saetta66 - I don't know anything about the "truth" of your quest - but as anecdotal comment, I read when young in either's Baeder's or Stanford Tuck's autobiosI don't want to seem like the typical victmist but would you believe me if I say that reading pilot allied biographies there a lot of venom deserved for the Regia Aeronautica? Seems always like we were kind of invisibles or jokers but then when a more object point of view grows up you discover is not excatly like that .... that when the RA came to France to Support the LW during the B of B they only flew a very few missions. The tri-motor bombers were savaged by the RAF. At a crash site they found a superbly packed wicker picnic hamper (basket). Unused. Might that say something about these men. Brave. Romantic. Perhaps a little misguided.Well, is like the italian army and the afrikakorps found jam, tea, pudding and excellent scotch whisky in Tobruk. Very typical, but didn't add or less anything form the bravery of english troops

No criticism intended in this comment.Your opinion is not only always welcome but important, too !

MM

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vikingBerserker said:

IMHO their biggest weakness appeared to be their training program. I wish I could remember where I had read it, but there was an article comparing Italian training soldiers vs the ones trained by Germany and there was a significant difference.[/QU

Well italian pilots trained more acrobatics then tactical and strtegic, but IMHO I always thougt that like pilots, that means like men who felt and ride the planes, they were second to none.
But probably I let my heart speaking ....

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LWulf said:

I just said that I am sorry for everyone that had to suffer through that terrible war, no matter which country or side they represented. But I am also happy the RA wasn't more successful since they would've caused more losses on both sides.

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