GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I suspect the "Caidinism" behind the Italian P-38 had a grain of truth that he built into a legend.This is good but how are students going to understand this whole picture if they don't understand "the process" and not search archives to SEE was was ACTUALLY written by the decision makers of the day?
Again, forget Caidin - he was entertaining but in many cases, putting it bluntly a big liar!!!
Have you read "The Fork Tailed Devil"? He blatantly lied about an episode with a captured P-38 being operated by the Italians and about the destruction of P-38s in Korea just before the Korean War started. To me, unless his work is vetted against other sources, it's ALL suspect!
Yes, the captured Italian P-38 shot down a single bomber (flown by Col. Tondi, not some mythical Lt. Rossi), no it didn't operate as bait - due to lack of proper fuel, the P-38 was soon grounded.
Also, around the time of the P-38's capture, the Italians were testing a prototype by Savoia-Marchetti, the SM.91 which was similar to the P-38 and led to reported "sightings". The SM.91 reportedly never saw combat (except for being mistaken for a P-38 by an attacking MC.202) although there was a possibility it may have been tested against Allied bombers on one occasion. It never went into production and was later destroyed on the ground during an Allied bombing raid.
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