Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) in East Africa (Africa Orientale)
Capitano Ricci, commanding officer of the 410a Squadriglia,
had taken off in his CR.32 as the second wave of bombers approached, and he
chased these. He later wrote:
I look around; nothing
to see. But ... something is coming from the sunshine ... Here they are, six
diving bombers. It seems to me they are heading towards our secret airfields. I
hope they had been alerted! They are flying over Diredawa; I’ll chase them out
of the town border. They hadn’t bombed the town, so they’re really heading to
the airfields. They are going to pass at my side, at my same level, fast as a
bolide [meteorite]! I attack the front section of three from the side, the
other section still being to the rear. While I’m firing, I find myself in their
trail; I shoot at the leader, then at the right wingman; the two aircraft seem
to leave tiny trails of smoke, but I’m not sure of it. One of my machine-guns
jams, but I don’t recharge it because I don’t want to lose aim. Tracer shells
passed nearby my side, I hear shots behind me; I am attacked too. I evade with
a large, barrel-shaped tonneau; while I’m upside down I can see the second
section passing at my right side, slightly lower than me. At the end of the
manoeuvre I’m at six of the left wingman, but in the meanwhile I recharged the
jammed gun, so I shoot again, sharing my rounds to all three, while bombs are
falling. First section is far ahead, the two aircraft I fired at are still
smoking. ... I concentrate on the aiming: it’s the turn of the right wingman
now. The gun jams again! I recharge it. All three aircraft leave a light trail
of smoke, like the two of the first section. I shoot again ... the aircraft I’m
shooting at seems to slow down ... is it an illusion? No, it is really slowing
down: while the other two are going, it extracts the gun turret and begins to
shoot at me. I fire again; the British pilot manoeuvres to prevent me to hide
behind his tail. I discharge brief bursts ... I must slow down to not collide
with him. We are at ten metres from ground; the British extracts the flaps and
lands on the sand in a cloud of dust.
He had, in fact, shot down a Blenheim of 8 Squadron. At 0600
on 8 August Berbera airfield was attacked by two CR.32s and one CR.42 from 410a
Squadriglia, based at Hargeisa, led by Capitano Ricci flying in one of the
CR.32s. The Italian aircraft had taken off from Diredawa at 0500. Ricci later
wrote:
I was the first to
take off, with Tellurio at my wing; soon after started Cacciavillani and
Komienz, but the first skipped on ground, and then stood with tail up: what
could have happened to him? Komienz joined us. I checked my compass with a
pocket light to keep the course. After half an hour of flight the light is
coming, but we could not yet see Berbera; five minutes more: nothing again ...
I again checked the chart; the course is right, but I have no reference point
on the ground because it is so flat; I know that the wind is strong, and its
direction change as the sun rise, but I can’t evaluate it. I continue a little
bit on chance. At the end I decide to turn 90-degrees left; after a few minutes
a sparkling ahead makes me happy: it’s the sea! I start a light dive, and I
increase it as we are approaching, so we find us to fly grazing to the
yellowish sand: it’s the only way to come unseen! I can see the town, it’s
small, whitish; there’s a ship in the harbour. Here is the airfield: two dark
aircraft, side by side, stand out. They are Gladiators. My wingmen close at me,
and this bothers me; slowly, I gain speed and I put them away from me. We are
skimming the ground and some small hills cover us to enemy’s sight; just a
little bit ... Here we are! With a steep climb I gain 500 m height, then I dive
on the fighter at left; while I’m aiming a man leaves it and falls headlong ...
what a long-legged he is! I shoot: a strong wind disturbs my shoot, my rounds
are on ground, but some hit the target. I pull hard, quite skimming the wing of
the enemy aircraft; I hear behind my shoulders that Tellurio and Komienz are
firing too. The anti-aircraft weapons awake; bluish tracer shells, shrapnel
explosions; the ships fires like a volcano, the machine-guns in their nest at
the airfield’s edge are shooting: the air is hot! A big turn: the other Gloster
is burning, mine is not, but with a second burst I get it burning too. We can
go! I take a snapshot with my old camera that I bring with me at every flight:
I have to prove the results of the action. We go away, with a grazing flight. A
sand column rise just in front of me; here another and other around: they are
the British grenades. I climb to 200 m altitude: black burst around us, some
other sand gush here and there, then all is over.
At the beginning of December he made an emergency
crash-landing after the engine on his CR.32 had failed. After this incident
Capitano Ricci was sent for a period of convalescence. Six Blenheims of 8
Squadron from Aden bombed Diredawa early on 9 March 1941, six CR.42s and a
single monoplane being reported as seen on the ground, although only two or
three fighters were actually present; the monoplane was a S.81, already damaged
beyond repair, but retained as a decoy.
Three CR.32s of the 410a Squadriglia approached the bombers
head on, and the leader, Capitano Ricci, turned sharply to attack the
right-hand Blenheim. This manoeuvred to evade him, and Ricci found himself
right next to another Blenheim, piloted by Sqn Ldr Hanlon. Ricci opened fire as
it began to pull away from him, and saw his bullets exploding on the rear of
the right-hand engine nacelle. Sqn Ldr Hanlon had to force-land on Perim Island
during the homeward flight as a result of the damage sustained.
Capitano Ricci had been able to intercept the bombers and
attack them before they had dropped their bombs. He recalled:
A morning I scramble
with Puliti and I’m radio-guided to intercept two sections of three Blenheims
each, which were going to bomb Diredawa. I think I could made only a single
front attack, because, since they are faster than me, I could never reach them
for a second pass; so, I decide to attack them from the rear to increase my
possibilities. With a big turn I dive on the formation, which at a certain
point is hidden from my sight by my wing; I fear to collide with them, but
meanwhile I think that however they should take care to avoid me! Indeed I came
very close to the right wingman, which suddenly veered away from the patrol and
was soon attacked by Puliti, while I find myself right on the side of the
leader, after having risked to hit its wing with my plane. I immediately start
to fire, aiming at the right engine, but the slipstream shatters my aim, while
the rudder dangerously pass me by; but a long, black smoke trail came from the
engine, just while a piece tears off from the fuselage. I think to have got it,
and I go to attack another alone one, that escapes me by diving. Here is a
third one, it’s alone too: I attack it. He’s a courageous pilot: instead to
evade, he challenges to me with beautiful turns; I’m surprised to see little
smoke trails from its fuselage, but perhaps it’s the gunner that’s shooting at
me. During the manoeuvres my weapons continue to jam while I’m shooting in
tight turns, but at the end I find myself in a good advantage; the foe realises
it and, with a good overturn, go in a vertical dive, then heads towards
Dankalia while I’m pursue him, shooting, while it leaves me behind, more and
more. He disappears, apparently undamaged. The ground observers, however, don’t
see it pass: they spot only five while heading home. Sometime after, we knew
that a Blenheim force-landed in the Tajura area, in the French Somaliland, but
the crew should have been able to return to Arabia: perhaps they are those!
Ricci was allowed to return to Italy in April 1941 because
he was suffering from appendicitis. He ended the war with five victories, all
of them claimed while flying biplanes during the Spanish Civil War and the
Second World War.
Arnoldo Soffritti was born on 5 April 1913 in Bondeno
(Ferrara). He served with the 412a Squadriglia, equipped with Fiat CR.42s. On
the afternoon of 29 January 1941, in a dogfight between 1 SAAF Squadron and
412a Squadriglia over Gura, Soffritti’s CR.42 was damaged. On the morning of 2
February 1941 a Lysander of 237 Squadron, flown by Flg Off M.A. Johnson, was on
tactical reconnaissance, and the aircraft was claimed shot down by Soffritti.
On 7 February, two Wellesleys from 47 Squadron made a reconnaissance from
Barentu to Adi Ugri. They were intercepted by the 412a Squadriglia and both
were shot down, one being claimed by Soffritti. On 19 March 1941, two
Hurricanes of 1 SAAF Squadron were patrolling over the Keren area when they
were attacked by three CR.42s, Maresciallo Soffritti claiming to have shot down
one. Between 0710 and 0830 on 28 March 1941, Soffritti claimed to have shot
down a Hurricane in the Ad Teclesan area, and in Eritrea on 4 April 1941, he
claimed to have shot down a British bomber between 0730 and 0805. Soffritti was
captured at Dessie on 26 April 1941, by which time he was credited with eight
biplane victories, five probable, eleven destroyed on the ground. Soffritti won
two Medaglie d’Argento al Valor Militare.
Alberto Veronese was a veteran from the Spanish Civil War,
and in East Africa he served with 410a Squadriglia, equipped with Fiat CR.32s.
On 11 July 1940 a Blenheim of 8 Squadron, flown by Flg Off P.A. Nicholas, was
intercepted and attacked by Sottotenente Veronese and Sergente Maggiore
Giardinà, who claimed to have probably hit it.
Veronese made a head-on attack against one of three
Blenheims of 39 Squadron on 12 August 1940. He shot the aircraft down, but was
wounded in the encounter. Six days later, Sottotenente Veronese and Sergente
Maggiore Volpe of 410a Squadriglia shot down a Blenheim from 8 Squadron flown
by Sgt Gay to the north-west of Laferug. Veronese and Sergente Maggiore Athos
Tieghi shared a kill on 12 September when they tackled Lt Edward George
Armstrong DFC of 11 SAAF Squadron in his Fairey Battle over Shashamanna.
The last French Martin 167F in Aden was on a reconnaissance
mission over Diredawa on 16 December when it was attacked by a pair of CR.32s
of 410a Squadriglia. Veronese closed on the tail of the Martin and opened fire,
but the speed of the French aircraft was too much for the slower biplane.
Veronese had climbed too high and was hit by anoxia, and he had to land and be
taken to the sick bay.
Soon afterwards, Veronese was promoted to tenente, and on 4
February 1941 he and Tenente Folcherio attacked a pair of Blenheims from Aden
of 203 Squadron flown by Sqn Ldr J.M.N. Pike and Flt Lt Gethin. Both of the
Blenheims were hit and had to crash-land. Makale was attacked again on the
morning of 18 February by another pair of Blenheims from the same squadron.
Veronese shot down Sqn Ldr A.L.H. Solano and then chased Sqn Ldr Scott,
damaging his aircraft so badly that it had to crash-land when it got back to
Aden.
Seven Hurricanes of 1 SAAF Squadron strafed Makale on 23
February. Maj L.A. Wilmot, leading the lower section of three Hurricanes, was
shot down by Veronese, but then Lt Andrew Duncan shot him down. He parachuted
to safety, slightly wounded. Effectively, his wounds put him out of the combat
for good in East Africa. He had become the most successful pilot of 410a
Squadriglia, with six kills and two shared kills. He was evacuated to Italy,
and after the surrender in 1943 he joined up with the Italian Co-Belligerent
Air Force and served in 356a Squadriglia. Veronese was killed on 4 September
1944 by German anti-aircraft fire in Greece. During the war he was decorated
with two Medaglie d’Argento al Valor Militare.
Mario Visintini was born in Parenzo d’Istria on 26 April
1913. He was to become the top Italian biplane fighter ace. In January 1940 he
was promoted to tenente for war merits. After serving in Spain he was
transferred to East Africa on 5 April 1940. Initially he was posted to 413a
Squadriglia. Before the start of the war in June 1940 he was transferred to the
412a Squadriglia in Eritrea. His first kill of the war took place on 14 June
1940, when he shot down a Wellesley of 14 Squadron flown by Plt Off Reginald
Patrick Blenner Plunkett. He claimed a second Wellesley on 3 July over
Decamere, when Flg Off Samuel Gustav Soderholm was killed. On 12 July he shot
down another Wellesley, this time flown by Sgt Frederick (Freddy) Nelson of 47
Squadron. On 29 July he was decorated with the Medaglia d’Argento al Valor
Militare.
On 1 September Visintini shared a claim with another pilot
when they shot down a Wellesley of 14 Squadron flown by Sgt Norris. On 30
September, Sqn Ldr George Justin Bush in a Blenheim of 45 Squadron was victim
to Visintini. During the morning of 9 February Visintini took part, together
with four other pilots from 412a Squadriglia, in an attack on Agordat and its
satellite airfield. Sixteen aircraft were claimed shared destroyed on the
ground, including five Hurricanes, five Hawker biplanes, two Gladiators, two
Wellesleys, one Valentia and one Westland Lysander.
On 11 February Visintini shot down a Hurricane over Keren.
This claim was probably made in combat with Hurricanes from 1 SAAF Squadron,
which had eleven aircraft on patrols over the area during the day. Later in the
day Visintini took off to fly back to guide other pilots home. It seems,
however, that during the flight he was blown off course by high winds, and
while descending through clouds he crashed into the side of Mount Nefasit and
was instantly killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medaglia D’Oro al Valor
Militare for his outstanding combat record. According to Italian War Bulletin
No. 252 of 14 February 1941, he was credited with seventeen confirmed victories
in Italian East Africa. The document attached to his Medaglia D’Oro states
fifty combats, sixteen destroyed and thirty-two shared destroyed. At the time
of his death, Visintini had seventeen victories, all of them claimed while
flying biplane fighters.
What of French Somaliland? After the fall of France in 1940,
as we have seen, French Somaliland declared its loyalty to Vichy France. The
colony remained loyal to the Vichy regime throughout the East African campaign,
but tried to stay out of the conflict. By December 1942, with the Italians
defeated and the colony isolated, it was alone. Free French and Allied forces
recaptured the colony, and ultimately a battalion from Djibouti was involved in
the liberation of France in 1944.
B Flight had returned to Aiscia after the fall of Gondar to
patrol the border with French Somaliland. On 11 December 1941, Lt Gazzard took
off in a Mohawk to chase a French Potez 631 that had just buzzed the runway.
Gazzard shot at the Potez and saw it billowing smoke, but it escaped him.
Perhaps this was the last aerial combat of the war over the former Italian East
Africa.
It had been a campaign that had stretched the resources, the
minds and the bodies of British and Commonwealth troops; it had also seen a
more than creditable display by the Italians, particularly in the air. No. 47
Squadron was dispatched to Egypt to become a reconnaissance squadron, while 3
SAAF headed back to South Africa, where its Mohawks would be used to trained
pilots for the desert war. As for the Ansons and Ju86s, they would struggle on
for a time until they were finally too worn out and were replaced with
Marylands and Bristol Beauforts.
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