7^o Gruppo Combattimento; 76^a, 86^a, 98^a Squadriglie
On 6 May 5 Stormo received the Breda 88 at Lonate Pozzolo. One 11 June 1940 7^o Gruppo Autonomo, moving to Squadra 1 control for operations over the French Alps. It rejoined 5^o Stormo on 13 July after flying in the final phase of the French campaign.

On 9 August the unit left the Stormo again and moved to Libya to support the advance on Sidi Barrani. The sand filters added to the 32 Bredas slowed them down and caused engine overheating. By the 11th only 13 aircraft were serviceable. The unit did operate over the Sidi Barrani area but only with limited results. It was seconded to local defence duties by mid-September. 76^a Sq was at Derna N1, 86^a Sq at Benina and 98a Sq at T2. On 14 October only 10 Bredas were flyable out of 29 on charge. When the Gruppo returned to Italy the Bredas were left behind as decoys on various bases.

In March 1941 the unit joined 54^o Stormo, re-equipping with the C.200. It then became involved in operations against Yugoslavia. Two months later it was in Sicily protecting shipping, escorting bombers over Malta and on local defense duties.

In early 1942 a detachment was sent to Palermo. In June the Gruppo was escorting bombers over Malta again, followed by convoy escorts in July. 76^a Sq stayed in Pantelleria until early August on escort duties.

Moving to Greece and adding some CR 42 night-fighter variants, the unit resumed escorting ships and bombers, together with local defence patrols. 76^a Sq was still at Pantelleria and acquired some MC 202s and CR 42s by August.

The enthusiasm of 76^a Sq for the C.202 sped up the re-equipment of the Gruppo with this fighter in Italy. From March 1943 they were thrown into action in Tunisia. Detachments sent to K34 and K41 Landing Grounds were the last Italian units to leave the continent. Fourteen Macchis, taking off from Soliman ended up dogfighting P-40s near Capo Bon on 6 May in the last Regia Aeronautica action from Tunisia. The unit then joined 16 Gruppo at Korba. By 18 May it had no aircraft or crews left and was disbanded on the 27th.

Source:
[1] Dunning, C., "Courage Alone, The Italian Air Force 1940-1943", Hikoki Publications, Manchester, United Kingdom, 2010

Macchi C.200 86-5, 86a Sq., 7° Gruppo, 54° Stormo. The aircraft number is repeated on a red disc on the wheel door. The unit badge on the forward fuselage is that of 54° Stormo. C8 camo scheme. Note the Re.2000s of 377a Squadriglia in the background. The photo was likely taken at Comiso May 1941. Ref.[1]

This is my next Italian project. Contrary to popular opinion about the weakness of PCM sets, the model is quite pleasant to build. Of course, in a typical for short a run kit way. You must check the fit of all parts, correct if needed – and check again. The resin cocpit interior is well done and full of details. A lot of work is required at the landing gear bay due to typical for Macchi “spaghetti like” tubes and wires. The most serious imperfection of this kit is the fuselage – wing joint. The upper half of the left wing turned out to be too short by about 1.5 mm. The gap had to be eliminated with a plastic sheet of appropriate thickness – but it was not difficult at all. After sanding the joints and rescribing some panel lines, the entire model was riveted using single and double wheel Rosie the Riveter riveting tools. I decided to make this kit in the livery of 86e Squadriglia 7e Gruppo 54 e Stormo from Sicily, 1941. Fascis, white crosses on the rudder and white stripe on the fuselage have been airbrushed – the rest are excellent Spada Decals. It was the first time I'd dealt with laser-printed decals – I had some concern about their thinness – but they worked perfectly. Panel lines were treated with Tamiya Panel Line Dark Brown, rivets – with Ammo Mig Panel Line Wash Medium Tan. And so – another Regia Aeronautica aircraft in my collection.

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Scribing and riveting:

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