This book covers the Savioa-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero (Sparrowhawk) Torpedo-Bomber units of WWII, from their inception July 25, 1940 to April 26/27 1945. The book is part of the Osprey series Combat Aircraft #106. The author is a journalist and an historian and a frequent contributor to history and defence magazines as well as the author of a number of books on Italian aviation.

The book is well written and researched. This is one of those books you can’t put down. Covers the unit histories, inception and crews on a day to day operational basis. The book takes you into the “heat of the battle”. There are some areas of the book that have been edited by Osprey but otherwise the text seems largely unaltered, however some of the translations seem to have been lost (I believe the original text was written in Italian) for example:

p.64 – 1st paragraph – “That same day nine S.79s from 105o and 108o Gruppi and 280a Squadriglia (130o Gruppo) flew anti-shipping sweeps off the Algerian coast but achieved nothing.”

“That same day nine S.79s from 105o and 108o Gruppi and 280a Squadriglia (130o Gruppo) flew anti-shipping sweeps off the Algerian coast but failed to make contact with enemy shipping.”

On the same page, the heading “December Slaughter” could have been translated to “December Losses” since 4 aircraft were shot down in this one engagement. In comparison to earlier loses of one or two (or none at all) per mission, four aircraft lost was considerable but it certainly was not a slaughter and these loses were paid for by the loss of one confirmed and one probable Spitfire shot down by return fire.

Original research. Pilot accounts provided in great detail. Fast paced, easy to read, you feel like you’re in the middle of the action.

278a Sq – inception of the AS unit. 281a Sq, 67a and 68a Sq (first AS units).

Covers all the convoy battles on a day to day basis, pilot accounts provided.

Attacks on the carriers Argus and Eagle covered in much detail, lots of action.

Pedestal Battle – surprisingly 1 hit from 87 torpedo launches and 110 sorties by 93 torpedo-bombers – more claims made but not verified or not recorded by the Allies?

Torch landings covered – tough battles, S.79s flying deep into well-protected territory without escort during daylight missions.

"December Slaughter" - 2 December 1942: 5 unescorted S.79s, 4 shot down – a Spitfire shot down and 1 probable Spitfire shot down (damaged, smoke trailing) – see above for comments.

By the end of 1942 it was clear the S.79 required escorts during daylight missions, incredibly often being jumped by enemy fighters and still managing to shot down enemy P-40s and Spitfires, however strangely these planes were always sent into battle without escorts during daylight hours which surely would have saved some crews - likely the range of the missions preventing fighters from escorting the bombers (there are photos of Bf.110s - not in this book - escorting S.79s).

Husky Landings – fiercely contested with many observed hits and claims, primarily night engagements. However, Appendix B and C do not include these (observed) claims (hits and sinkings). Here, the reader is left asking why these hits and claims were not recorded by the Allies even though the claims were independently reported? Perhaps more work is needed by the author to research and confirm these claims using postwar secondary sources? Perhaps these hits were never recorded due to the chaos of the battle?

Carrier HMS Indomitable hit by S.79 Rgpt AS on 16 July 1943 during a night attack. Port side hit killing 7 sailors and resulting in extensive damage and repairs needed in Great Britain.

The book briefly touches upon the S.79 in ICAF use, mainly used in the transport role with the Allies.

ANR – again claims of hits but no record of confirmed hits by the Allies:

Attack on Gibraltar Harbor June 5, 1944 – 10 attacking Sparvieri - defenses taken completely by surprise (second time!)) with four freighters claimed hit. English report no hits, anti-torpedo nets detonated torpedoes?

Bari Harbor Attack – 6 July 1944 – 5 attacking Sparveri, destroyer struck, a freighter hit and two ships sunk. Allies claim no hits.

"From 1940 to 1944 the Regia Aeronautica and ANR torpedo-bombers struck horne 40 times (two torpedoes failed to explode), sinking 21 ships and damaging 17 others. These comprised nine warships (including three auxiliary units) and 12 freighters. In addition, 11 warships and six merchantmen were damaged. Comparing these results with those achieved by German torpedo-bombers, the Italians scored more warship successes (nine sunk and 11 damaged) than the Germans (three sunk and four damaged). As regards heavy-tonnage warships, the Italians damaged one battleship (using S.84s), one carrier and six cruisers, while the Germans could boast only the cruiser HMS Arethusa damaged. However, the Germans sank more merchant ships - a total of 31."

"No one can deny that Italy's torpedo-bomber crews well deserved the laurels of fame they earned both during and after the war, not only in Italy but also abroad."

There are 84 b/w photos, many never before seen, 30 color plates (profiles) with descriptions and 12 unit badges also with brief descriptions in the back of the book.

Appendices:

There are three Appendices.

Appendix A - provides a list of the main Aerosilunarnti units: Sperimentale, Addestramento, Squadriglie and Gruppi – short description of locations and movements of these units.

Appendix B - provides a list of Warship kills.

Appendix C - provides a list of Merchant Ship kills.

Colour Plates:

The color plates seem to be a bit of a problem concerning correct colors, specifically the Serie Mimetica colors and the Tavola X colors are mixed together (see descriptions for Colour Plates especially those dated in 1941) e.g., GAC1 undersurface color mixed with upper surface Serie Mimetica colors (giallo, verde and marrone mimetico). See below for corrections.

Colour Plate 5 - Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 (applied to leading edges and front of aircraft) likely applied late 1941 or 1942.

Colour Plate 6 - undersides Grigio Mimetico – plane was likely constructed early 1941 or earlier:

Colour Plate 6 - S.79 1o Nucelo Addestramento Aerosiluranti, Gorizia, northern Italy, late 1941. Although GAC1 may have been used for aircraft interiors (see Fiat G.50 Interiors, Riccardo Trotta: Stormo CMPR Color Guide), before the Tavola X colors, there is no evidence GAC1 was used for exterior lower surfaces (even interior colors). Assuming this plane left SIAI factories, the finish was Giallo Mimetico 3 base, Verde Mimetico 53192 and Marrone Mimetico 53193 splotches with Grigio Mimetico lower surfaces.

Colour Plate 8 - undersides Grigio Mimetico – plane was likely constructed early 1941 or earlier.

Colour Plate 10 - Verde Oliva Scuro 2 upper surfaces with GAC1 lower surfaces.

Colour Plate 11 - plane constructed before Tavola X colors – undersides Grigio Mimetico.

Colour Plate 14 - undersides Grigio Mimetico.

Colour Plate 15 – Rudder in VOS2. Top surface color non-standard light blue/gray.

Colour Plate 15 (and original b/w photo not provided in the book) - S.79 MM.23976 280-6 of Capt. F. Melley CO of 130o Gruppo Autonomo Aerosiluranti, Sardinia, Spring 1942. Note the rudder is in VOS2 with white cross of Savoy and no crest. Note the demarcation line between the upper and lower surface colors on the port side wing leading edges. Also note the color of the command pennant under the dorsal gun on the fuselage side; the color is a fair bit darker than the upper surface color. The upper surface color is not Grigio Azzurro Scuro but a (non-standard) light (blue/gray) color similar to the upper surfaces of some maritime aircraft. This plane belonged to a production batch that was ordered in 1941 and built by OMI-Reggiane. Lower surfaces are GAC1. The individual aircraft number 6 and the hyphen are partially shaded appearing darker than the unit number.

Colour Plate 17 – torpedo (cap) colors: Stormo Forum: Torpedo Colors

Colour Plate 20 – see link for discussion of this plane 253-8, camo E8, VOS2 + GAC1 upper surfaces:
STORMO! Forum Discussion

Colour Plate 20 - S.79 253a Squadriglia, 104o Gruppo, 46o Stormo Aerosiluranti, Mediterranean mid-summer 1942. There's some debate as to the finish of this aircraft (see Stormo Forum: post by Stefano), although portrayed in this book as CMPR C1/C10B the camouflage scheme is likely CMPR E8 with upper surfaces Verde Oliva Scuro 2 and Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1 splotches; lower surfaces Grigio Azzurro Chiaro 1. Note the silohuttes of ships on the fin of this S.79, claimed hit or sunk by the whole 104° Gruppo (252a and 253a Squadriglie) during the big aero-naval battle of 14 June 1942.

Colour Plate 26 – refers to the S.79 III as the terza serie – the S.79-III was the 3rd mark or the final variant of the S.79 with no ventral gondola, machine gun flash suppressors for night operations, engine exhaust flame dampeners and three new Alfa Romeo A.R. 128 RC 18, 14-cylinder radial, air-cooled, 860 hp / Piaggio P.XI RC 40, 14-cylinder radial, air-cooled, 1,000 hp each and an improved radio and an improved DF apparatus.

“Serie” were equivalent to production batches, there were 58 Serie Prodcuzione ranging from 4-82 aircraft per Serie with production emanating form SIAI, Macchi, OMI, AUSA.

There were four sub-variants of the S.79 III as follows:

S.79 GA/bis: This was the most important evolution of the machine, initially designated S 79 G.A. (for long range), designed and built late in 1942. Developed in connection with "Operazione Scaglia" (an attack by S 79 torpedo-bombers on the Gibraltar naval base) this conversion was developed from suggetions of maggiore Buscaglia, wherein great importance was given to a large increase in range. The OMI-Reggiane and AUSA factories received the task of introducing the appropriate modifications to get the first examples of S 79 GA. The modifications included the adoption of the Alfa 128 RC 18 engines fitted with special SIAl airscrews, the ventral gondola was removed, a 720 l fuel tank was installed in the mid-fuselage section, a German "Patin" compass was adopted, a torpedo-dropping device was added for the co-pilot, and minor improvements to the armament. Owing to the unfavourable course of the war for Italy, which also affected aircraft production, by May 1943 only half the S 79 GAs ordered had been produced and delivered to operational units, while other existing S.79s were modified at other factories and SRAM (the aircraft and engine repair service). Consequently, no less than three distinct versions appeared to be in service: S 79 bis/N (basic version), S 79 bis/P.M. (partially modified) and S 79 bis/T.M. (entirely modified). Pilot reports of the new S.79bis were highly favorable, referring to it as different machine [1].

S 79 bis (ANR). Extensive improvements and changes were introduced in the upper rear and lateral defensive installations integrated by the addition of armor plates; the armament now consisted of four 12.7-mm machine-guns, one fixed forward-firing (20 mm canon [2]) and three swiveling guns for upper rear and lateral defense; a new RDG, RGM-37 receiver was introduced, the access door was modified and strengthened, fuel tank capacity was increased by 1,165 l, the Alfa 128 engines (Piaggio P.XI RC 40 [2]) were fitted with new exhaust pipes and newer variable-pitch, constant-speed adjustable air screws, a new 24 V electric system, updated air navigation equipment including a FuG 101 radioaltimeter [1].

Unit badges:
Unit Badge 2 - description corresponds to unit badge 3

Unit Badge 3 - description corresponds to unit badge 2

Unit Badge 8 – “Sotto a chi tocca” translates to “down go those that touch”, which loosely means “if you mess with me you’re going down”.

An index is provided.

This is an easy book to read, it’s fast paced with day-to-day operations discussed in some detail and pilot accounts are provided. This book has quiet allot of detail and because of this it’s thrilling to read and draws you into the action. One thing that should be mentioned is that the book seems to have been prepared in two parts: the Profiles (Colour Plates and Unit Badges) were worked on separately (independently) by the illustrators (perhaps with some input from the author) while the text was worked on by the author. I didn’t give the book five stars because of some inaccuracies in the profiles and some translations (the original text was likely written in Italian and then translated into English). The Appendices seemed to be missing hits and claims, for example during Operation Pedestal and the Husky landings – these claims might have been augmented into a third Appendix (D) with Unconfirmed Kills or perhaps some more work is needed by the author to confirm these claims via post-war secondary sources. Other than that we’re really scrapping the barrel for deficiencies in this book, it really is a great read and a must for RA/ANR fans. This book is undoubtedly the best on the subject in English and the author did a first rate job. Recommended.

Recommended Reading:

[1] For those that can read Italian, the recommended (authoritative) text book on this subject is Gori. C., “Il Savoia Marchetti S.M.79 nel Secondo Conflitto Mondiale”, Aeronautica Militare, 2004



[2] Stormo recommended articles are by dott. Stefano Lazzarro:
Lazzaro S., A Famous Torpedo-Bomber S.79, Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia's “281-5” - Part I, Stormo Magazine, 2007.

References:

[1] Gori C., SIAI S.79 2a Parte, Ali D’Italia, La Bancarealla Aeronautica, Torino,1999
[2] Angelucci, E. and P. Matricardi, World Aircraft, World War II – Part I, Samspon Low Guides, Berkshire House, 1978