Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana Units

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Folgore_09
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Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana Units

Post by Folgore_09 » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:39 pm

Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana Units

From the little reading on the ANR that I have done, it appears that the ANR only comprised two Gruppo-sized units and one Squadriglia-sized unit: I◦ Gruppo Caccia, Squadriglia Complementare ‘Montefusco,’ and II◦ Gruppo Caccia.

From the Osprey book Italian Aces of World War 2: “Mirroring the split in Italy in the wake of the Armistice, the air forces also broke up into two factions which, in many respects, were very similar. Indeed, it often appeared as if they were only divided by the insignia they carried on their respective aircract—the pre-Fascist roundel in the south and the Italian flag, with fasces, in the north.

“The men on either sides drew their heritage from a common history which bred the same heroes—both air forces, for example, named units after leading World War 1 ace Francesco Baracca! And as in the days of the Regia Aeronautica, pilots and groundcrews struggled on with poor equipment and little logistical support.

“At the time of the Armistice, the majority of what remained of the Regia Aeronautica was based in the central and northern regions of the Italian peninsular, where it had gradually retreated under the constant pressure of Anglo-American air power. With the announcement of the Armistice, such geographical locations facilitated the capture of many aircraft by the Germans. With a substantial number of units in the south now lacking any equipment, most opted simply to disband.

“In the north, an agreement was reached in October between the Sottosegretario all’Aviazione (Undersecretary for Aviation), Tenente Colonello Ernesto Botto, and the Luftwaffe commander in Italy (Luftflotte 2), Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram von Richtofen, for the creation of a temporary air force nucleus. With Tenente Colonello Guiseppe Baylon chosen as deputy head of the air ministry, Botto gave the new air force the name Aeronautica Repubblicana (Republican Air Force), to which was added the word Nazionale (National) in June 1944.

“Paramount among the many problems facing the new air arm was a solution to the difficult relationship the Italian forces now had with their German allies, who viewed them solely as a subordinate partner for the provision of labor and resources. As an example of this mentality, while the Aeronautica Repubblicana was struggling to form and equip its own autonomous units, the Germans requisitioned over 1000 aircraft of all types. The situation was only solved towards the end of 1943 when a number of C.205Vs were handed back by JG 77 to enable the formation of I◦ Gruppo Caccia, which made its combat debut over Turin on 3 January 1944.

“Point defence became the primary mission of the Aeronautica Repubblicana, with the next unit to be formed being Squadriglia Complementare ‘Montefusco’, equipped with G.55s, followed by II◦ Gruppo Caccia in April. When supplies of Italian-built fighters began to run out, these units began to convert onto Bf 109Gs handed over by JGs 53 and 77 in mid 1944. Just prior to this, at the end of April, I◦ Gruppo had been transferred from Campoformido to Reggio Emilia—it moved again, at the end of June to Thiene (Vicenza). By then II◦ Gruppo had also been shifted from Bresso (Milan) to Bologna, before transferring to Aviano for conversion training onto the Bf 109. It was then sent to the new base at Villafranca.

“Apart from suffering high losses in the face of overwhelming opposition, Italian morale was further eroded by the German reluctance to replenish units with much needed aircraft. Indeed, the Luftwaffe high command constantly pushed for the absorption of the entire ANR within its own ranks on the Italian front. It even went so far as to attempt such an objective through the formation of the Legione Aerea Italiana in late August 1944, but this only succeeded in bring [sic] a total halt to all ANR activity for nearly three months.

“With all Luftwaffe fighter assets pulled back from Italy to help in the defence of Germany, II◦ Gruppo at last resumed operations in November. The following month I◦ Gruppo was transferred to Germany to undergo conversion training onto the Bf 109G, and it returned to Italy just in time to participate in the final days of the conflict. Despite the futility of intercepting vast numbers of allied aircraft, I◦ Gruppo nevertheless engaged the enemy, and paid a high price in terms of both aircraft and men lost.“2 April 1945 marked the blackest day in the brief annals of II◦ Gruppo. Twenty-four Bf 109s took off from Aviano and Osoppo, and although three turned back due to technical problems, the rest flew towards Lake Garda and thence to Ghedi (Brescia). There, they intercepted a large formation of B-25s, escorted by P-47Ds of the 347th Fighter Squadron. In the one-sided battle that ensued, the Italian pilots suffered a catastrophic defeat, losing no fewer than 14 Bf 109s and six pilots killed without scoring a single victory.

“The last fighter missions flown by the ANR took place on 19 April, and involved both gruppi. Pilots of I◦ Gruppo claimed a B-24 destroyed, while their counterparts in II◦ Gruppo, which sortied its entire complement of 26 Bf 109s in an attempt to intercept a formation of Mitchells, were jumped by escorting P-51Ds and lost five aircraft without ever getting close to the medium bombers.

“Having defended the skies of Italy up to the very end of the war, Maggiore Adriano Visconti, CO of I◦ Gruppo (and a very notable fighter ace), negotiated the surrender of his unit, with full military honours, with local Italian partisans. A few hours later he was killed in the courtyard of a Milan barracks, shot in the back by an unknown partisan, together with his flight adjutant, Sottotenente Stefanini.”

There also appears to have been a third Gruppo-sized unit in the ANR, III◦ Gruppo Caccia, but this unit never saw any combat, as its training on Bf 109s had just been completed when the war in the ETO ended.

Also, it appears that I◦ Gruppo Caccia had the old unit nickname/emblem of the 153◦ Gruppo of 53◦ Stormo: “Asso di Bastoni.”

Any additional information regarding the ANR and its constituent units would be appreciated, especially reports of specific combat actions, if any exist.

I recently received the Osprey Italian Aces of World War 2 book for Christmas (it was rather hard to find, as apparently it has been out of print for some time, even though it was first published only in 2000), and, while I have liked Italian WWII aircraft since the age of 10 (seven years ago), I am know delving into the subject and reading about it in-depth. As with all history/military history topics, I find it fascinating, especially the stories of the two Italian air forces, the ANR and Aeronautica Co-Belligerante, following the Armistice.

Regards,
Alex
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Last edited by Folgore_09 on Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Flying aircraft such as the Macchi C.200, C.202 and C.205, Fiat G.50 and biplane CR.42, Italian fighter pilots were recognised by their Allied counterparts as brave opponents hampered by under-gunned and underpowered equipment." - from Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #34: Italian Aces of World War 2.

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Post by Aeroal » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:52 am

Alex,

Try 'Camouflage and markings of the ANR 1943 - 1945', by Ferdinando D'Amico and Gabriele Valentini by 'Classic' (Ian Allan Publishing),2005, which gives a history of the ANR units together with an exhaustive analysis of their camouflage schemes.This book was fairly pricey - about £35 sterling here in the U.K. I don't know who stocks Ian Allan in the U.S. but you should be able to view it on the internet at www.aviationbookcentre.com or www.midlandcountiessuperstore.com

Regards,

Aeroal.

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Post by Folgore_09 » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:44 am

Aeroal,

Thank you very much for the book suggestion. I'll look into it and see if I can find it here in the USA; my problem is usually that the books I want are hard to find...

Regards,
Alex
Folgore_09
"Flying aircraft such as the Macchi C.200, C.202 and C.205, Fiat G.50 and biplane CR.42, Italian fighter pilots were recognised by their Allied counterparts as brave opponents hampered by under-gunned and underpowered equipment." - from Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #34: Italian Aces of World War 2.

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Post by Mike Powell » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:08 am

Camouflage and markings of the ANR 1943 - 1945 can be found in the US thru Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Camouflage-Markin ... 276&sr=8-1

Yours,

Mike Powell

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Post by Folgore_09 » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:08 pm

Thank you Mike! I will definitely look into buying this book. :)

Regards,
Alex
"Flying aircraft such as the Macchi C.200, C.202 and C.205, Fiat G.50 and biplane CR.42, Italian fighter pilots were recognised by their Allied counterparts as brave opponents hampered by under-gunned and underpowered equipment." - from Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #34: Italian Aces of World War 2.

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Post by Gabriele Luciani » Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:42 am

hi Alex
the last book of Ferdinando D'Amico is the best about the camouflage on ANR warplanes; others books (also in italian language) are not so good...There are only some issue of Aerofan magazine (also in english text) by Giorgio Apostolo Editore with some articles

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Post by Folgore_09 » Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:43 pm

Gabriele Luciani wrote:hi Alex
the last book of Ferdinando D'Amico is the best about the camouflage on ANR warplanes; others books (also in italian language) are not so good...There are only some issue of Aerofan magazine (also in english text) by Giorgio Apostolo Editore with some articles
Thank you Gabriele. Is there any chance I could find these issues of Aerofan in English with the articles you mentioned, or would they be too hard to locate?

Regards,
Alex
Folgore_09
"Flying aircraft such as the Macchi C.200, C.202 and C.205, Fiat G.50 and biplane CR.42, Italian fighter pilots were recognised by their Allied counterparts as brave opponents hampered by under-gunned and underpowered equipment." - from Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #34: Italian Aces of World War 2.

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Post by Capitano » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:52 pm

Mike Powell wrote:Camouflage and markings of the ANR 1943 - 1945 can be found in the US thru Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Camouflage-Markin ... 276&sr=8-1

Yours,

Mike Powell
Yes. Highly recommended.

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Post by Capitano » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:55 pm

Gabriele Luciani wrote:Ferdinando D'Amico... others books (also in italian language) are not so good...
Which books? So we don't waste our money buying them. Thanks.

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