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asl3d · Post by **asl3d** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:37 pm

67 Italian Savoia Marchetti SM79 Sparviero

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation company Savoia-Marchetti. It was the best-known Italian aeroplane of the Second World War. The SM.79 was originally developed in the early 1930s as a cantilever low-wing monoplane of combined wood and metal construction.
The SM.79 first saw combat during the Spanish Civil War. The SM.79's performance during the Spanish deployment was encouraging and stimulated demand for the type, including a decision to adopt it as the backbone of Italy's bomber units. Almost 600 SM.79 aircraft were in service when Italy entered the Second World War in May 1940; thereafter, they were deployed in every theatre of war in which the Italians fought.
It was the most numerous Italian bomber of the Second World War, with about 1,300 built. The SM.79 was operated in various capacities during the Second World War, initially being used mainly as a transport aircraft and medium bomber. Following pioneering work by the "Special Aerotorpedoes Unit", Italy put the type to work as a torpedo bomber; in this role, the SM.79 achieved notable successes against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean theatre of the war.
A small number of SM.79s saw service in Ethiopia. The SM.79s of Italian East Africa first saw action on 13 June 1940, when nine of them took off from Diredawa to attack Aden. During the North African campaign, around 100 SM.79s served in 10, 14, 15 and 30 Wings, bombing mainly non-strategic targets in the desert. The British offensive in December hit the Regia Aeronautica hard and many wings (a total of nine by May 1941) were phased out because of losses caused by enemy aircraft and ground fire. At the beginning of 1941 only around 40 SM.79s were still present in Libya, and by the end of 1941 only one operational squadron remained. In the Second Battle of El Alamein, many Sparvieros were used for defensive tasks, such as countering SAS teams in the desert, and in anti-ship roles. From autumn 1940, SM.79s were used against the Kingdom of Greece, then Yugoslavia.

asl3d · Post by **asl3d** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 6:58 pm

68 Italian CANT Z1007 Alcione

The CANT (Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini) Z.1007 Alcione was an Italian three-engined medium bomber, with wooden structure. Designed by Filippo Zappata had excellent flying characteristics and good stability and was the best Italian bomber of World War II. The Z.1007 was a mid-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. It had a crew of five, consisting of two pilots, a flight engineer, a radio operator and a bombardier/navigator. It could carry 800 kg of bombs, and was fitted with a defensive armament of a 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun in an open dorsal position and a 7.7 mm machine gun in a ventral tunnel. Delivery of production Asso powered Z.1007s started in February 1939, with production ending in October that year.
When Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940, Regia Aeronautica had two Stormi equipped with the "Alcione". One was the 16°, with 31 aircraft. The 47° Stormo had just received four CANT Z.1007bis. CANT Z.1007 Asso replaced SM.81s in 16° Stormo, 47° Stormo had Z.1007Bis and operational readiness was only reached in August, when around thirty machines were sent to Sicily to attack Malta. Stormi 16°, 12°, 35°, and 47° operated over Greece with some losses. 175a Squadriglia da ricognizione (reconnaissance squadron), and later 176a, were used in Africa. The British destroyer HMS Juno was sunk by an explosion caused by a Z.1007 bombing in 1941. 35° Stormo was sent to Africa in the bombing role. These three-engine aeroplanes were used occasionally in Russia too. In 1942, Z.1007s were used by four groups and two wings in the Mediterranean theatre, in anti-ship role and against Malta, often escorted by Italian and German fighters. In November 1942, there were 10 Gruppi equipped with 75 Z.1007s, with just 39 serviceable aircraft. As part of Italian and German efforts to stop the British Operation Pedestal convoy to re-supply Malta in August 1942, a few Z.1007 Alcione of 51° Gruppo Autonomo based in Alghero, Sardinia, flew reconnaissance missions on the convoy between bombing and raids.