Regia Aeronautica
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Inignia applied with a decal on the tail of the Règia Aeronautica aircrafts (reconstruction). |
The
Règia Aeronàutica (meaning
Royal Air Force) was the
Italian air force from
1923 until
World War II.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was at the forefront of aerial warfare: during the colonization of
Libya in
1911, it made the first reconnaissance flight in history on
October 23, and the first ever bombing raid on
November 1.
During
World War I the Italian
Corpo Aeronàutico Militàre, then still part of the army, operated a mix of French fighters and locally-built bombers, notably the gigantic
Caproni aircraft.
Règia Marìna (the navy) had its own air arm, operating locally-built flying boats.
The Italian air force became an independent service - the
Règia Aeronàutica - on
March 28,
1923. The
Fascist regime of
Mussolini turned it into an impressive
propaganda machine, with its aircraft, featuring red-and-buff "rising sun" livery on the wings, making numerous record-breaking flights. It reached its zenith when two fleets of
flying boats, led by General
Italo Balbo, crossed the
Atlantic Ocean in
1931 and
1933 respectively. During the latter half of the 1930s, the
Règia Aeronàutica participated in the
Spanish Civil War, as well as the invasion of Abyssinia (now
Ethiopia).
When
World War II began in
1939, Italy had the smallest air force among the three major
Axis powers. With a paper strength of 3,296 machines only 2,000 were fit for operations, of which just 166 were modern fighters, the
Macchi MC.200 and
Fiat G.50 were still slower than their potential Allied opponents. While numerically still a force to be reckoned with, it was hampered by an inadequate local aircraft industry; technical assistance by its
German ally did little to improve the situation.
The last mission of Italian Règia Aeronàutica was the defence of USAF bombing on
Frascati - Rome in September 8th 1943.
The
Règia Aeronàutica officially ceased to exist when Italy became a republic on
June 2 1946, succeeded by the
Aeronàutica Militàre.
Ethiopian Campaign
During the Ethiopian campaign, the Règia Aeronàutica became the living proof of Mussolini's autistic regime, showing no respect or concern for the international point of view. The RA performed massive poison-gas bombings over the Ethiopian soldiers, most of them only armed with spears and wooden shields. Despite being inadequately equipped, the RA managed to decimate Ethiopian forces and undertook massive bombings of Ethiopian cities (particularly Addis Abeba). Although controversial, the support of the Règia Aeronàutica was invaluable for the
Règio Esèrcito (It. army) and was enhanced by the total lack of Ethiopian air forces.
Libyan Campaign
Although the Libyan campaign was seriously limited because of desert conditions, the Règia Aeronàutica managed to retain a force of nearly four hundred airplanes, most of them obsolete biplanes such as the
Fiat CR-32 and
Fiat CR-42. During the first offensive towards Sidi Barrani, the Règia Aeronàutica performed poorly, despite minimal enemy resistance. During the first British counter-offensive, the Règia Aeronàutica suffered heavy losses (over 400 aircraft) until the German attack on Greece, when British forces had to divert a major part of their land and air forces thus giving the Italian forces enough time to deploy more units and strengthen their air forces. These were supplemented by the arrival of Rommel's
Afrika Korps, and the attached Luftwaffe forces deployed almost 200 airplanes in Libya and another 600 in Sicily.
Next to the Luftwaffe, the Italian air force performed better due to exchange of tactical doctrine between services and the arrival of more modern aircraft. During Rommel's first offensive they managed to keep the RAF fighters away from Rommel's forces, and covered Rommel's retreat during the British
Operation Crusader while inflicting heavy losses on the RAF bombing airplanes.
During Rommel's second offensive the Règia Aeronàutica and the Luftwaffe suffered considerable losses due to stronger Allied resistance until its almost entire destruction during the air battles over El Alamein and the bombing raids over Alexandria and Cairo.
The Règia Aeronàutica, almost destroyed in Egypt, was quickly retired to Tobruk, Benghazi, Tripoli and eventually Tunisia.
The Règia Aeronàutica also participated in the air offensive on the British controlled island of Malta in an atempt to gain control of the sea routes from Sicily and Italy to North Africa from its bases in Sicily, Italy and Sardinia. Although on the edge of starvation and suffering heavy losses, Malta managed to withstand the attacks from the Italian and German air force, and inflicted losses of almost 1500 planes. The battle cost the British 800 planes and considerable amounts of transport ships, but the price was worth it: 60% of Axis supplies sent to Africa were sunk thanks to Malta's aircraft, submarines and destroyers.
Battle of France
During the
Battle of France the
Règia Aeronàutica carried out 716 bombing missions in support of the Italian invasion, dropping a total of 276 tons of bombs.
Battle of Britain
From
October 25 1940, some 170 Italian planes (including 73
Fiat Br.20 bombers) were sent to occupied
Belgium formed the
Corpo Aero Italiano (CAI) to participate in the
Battle of Britain. They fared poorly against the British defenders; about a quarter of the Fiat Br.20 were lost in 2 months of operations. The Corps was withdrawn to Greece in December 1940. [
1]
Tunisian Campaign
Sicilian Campaign
Fighters and fighter-bombers
*
Ambrosini S.A.I.207*
Fiat CR.32*
Fiat CR.42 Falco*
Fiat G.50 Freccia*
Fiat G.55 Centauro*
Macchi C.200 Saetta*
Macchi C.202 Folgore*
Macchi C.205 Veltro*
Reggiane 2000 Falco I*
Reggiane 2001 Falco II*
Reggiane 2002 Ariete*
Reggiane 2005 Sagittario*
Caproni Vizzola F.5Heavy fighters and fighter-bombers
*
Breda 65*
Breda 88 Lince*
S.M. 85*
Fiat CR.25*
CANSA FC.20*
IMAM Ro.57Bombers
*
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero*
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 Pipistrello*
Savoia-Marchetti SM.82 Canguro*
Savoia-Marchetti SM.84*
Fiat Br.20 Cicogna*
CANT Z.1007 Alcione*
CANT Z.1018 Leone*
Caproni 135*
Piaggio P.32*
Piaggio P.108Recon and/or Transport
*
Caproni 111*
Caproni Ca.133*
Caproni 309/310/311/313/314*
IMAM Ro 37*
IMAM Ro 43/44*
CANT Z.501 Gabbiano*
CANT Z.506 Airone*
Fiat RS 14*
S.M. 73/74/75/83*
Fiat G. 12Training and Auxiliary roles
*
Caproni 100*
Caproni 164*
Breda 25/28*
IMAM Ro 41*
Nardi Fn 305/315*
Saiman 200/202*
Avia L.3*
Cansa C.5Prototypes
*
Ambrosini**
Ambrosini S.A.I.403 Dardo
*
Breda**
Breda Bz.303 Leone II
**
Breda Ba.201**
Breda Bz.301 Leone III
*
C.A.N.S.A.**
C.A.N.S.A. F.C. 20bis*
Caproni**
Caproni F6M**
Caproni F6Z**
Caproni Ca.331 Raffica
**
Caproni CA.380 Corsaro
**
Campini Caproni CC.2*
CRDA**
CRDA Cant Z.516*
IMAM**
IMAM-Romeo Ro-58*
Piaggio**
Piaggio P.111**
Piaggio P.119*
Reggiane**
Reggiane Ca. 405C*
Savoia-Marchetti**
Savoia Marchetti SM.91**
Savoia Marchetti SM.92*
Italo Balbo*
Francesco Baracca (precursor)
*
Ettore Muti*
Vittorio Revetra
