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The National Republican Air Force (Italian : Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, ANR) was the air force of the Italian Social Republic, a World War II German puppet state in Italy.
This air force was tasked with defending the industrial areas of the region, intercepting Allied bombers en route to southern Germany and the allied and occupied territories of the Axis, and giving close support to German and Italian land forces. Later during the war various units served with German forces based at Spilve, near Riga ( Reichskommissariat Ostland ), on the northern Russian Front, amongst others in the central and south area (Crimea) on the front.
The ANR, after the 1943 armistice that divided Italy, received numbers of Italian aircraft, later augmented with their own local production, and further aircraft from Germany. This force was opposed to the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (Aviazione Cobelligerante Italiana, or ACI, or Aeronautica Cobelligerante del Sud), the Italian pro-Allied air force, though they never actually met in combat.
Combat operations began in December 1943, leading, in the following January, to the attack performed by the 1st Squadriglia "Asso di Bastoni", against a formation of US P-38 Lightnings, three of which were shot down. Starting from June 1944, ANR started to receive Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6s for its fighter force. From October 1944 to February 1945, when the 1st Fighter Group "Asso di Bastoni" returned from training in Germany, 2nd Fighter Group "Gigi Tre Osei" was the only ANR fighter unit active in the defence of the northern Italian territory. From mid-1944, the casualty ratio started to outbalance the victories of the Italian pilots. The last interception missions were carried out on 19 April 1945.
Bomber units included the Gruppo Aerosiluranti "Buscaglia Faggioni", led by Carlo Faggioni and named after Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia who, at the time, was presumed dead but was instead held in an Allied Prisoner of War camp and later fought with the Aeronautica Cobelligerante. The unit, using old Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, performed several raids against the Allied bridgehead of Anzio. Its only two recorded victories were the sinking of a British transport ship north of Benghazi (at the time the group was based in Greece), and an enemy cargo vessel off Rimini on 5 February 1945.
The first Chief of Staff of the ANR was Colonel Ernesto Botto, replaced in March 1944 by General Arrigo Tessari, who in turn was replaced by Colonel Ruggero Bonomi in August of the same year.
Armed Forces of the Italian Social Republic | ||
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| National Republican Air Force | ||
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The Macchi C.205Veltro was an Italian World War II fighter aircraft built by the Aeronautica Macchi. Along with the Reggiane Re.2005 and Fiat G.55, the Macchi C.205 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the powerful Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The C.205 was a development of the earlier C.202 Folgore. With a top speed of some 640 km/h (400 mph) and equipped with a pair of 20 mm cannon as well as 12.7 mm Breda machine guns, the Macchi C.205 Veltro was highly respected by Allied and Axis pilots alike. Widely regarded as one of the best Italian aircraft of World War II, it proved to be extremely effective, destroying a large number of Allied bombers. The Macchi C. 205 proved capable of meeting fighters such as the North American P-51D Mustang on equal terms, which encouraged the Luftwaffe to use a number of these aircraft to equip one Gruppe.
The Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, or Air Force of the South, was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in Southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in Southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September. As by this point the Italian Kingdom had defected from the Axis and had declared war on Germany, the ACI pilots flew for the Allies.
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero was a three-engined Italian medium bomber developed and manufactured by aviation company Savoia-Marchetti. It may be the best-known Italian aeroplane of the Second World War. The SM.79 was easily recognizable due to its fuselage's distinctive dorsal "hump", and was reportedly well liked by its crews, who nicknamed it il gobbo maledetto.
Major Adriano Visconti di Lampugnano was one of Italy's top flying aces of the Second World War, shooting down between 10 and 26 enemy aircraft. He was awarded with four Medaglia d'argento al Valor Militare and two Medaglia di Bronzo al Valor Militare "in action".
The Fiat G.55 Centauro was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana in 1943–1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat. The Fiat G.55 was arguably the best type produced in Italy during World War II, but it did not enter production until 1943, when, after comparative tests against the Messerschmitt Bf 109G and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Luftwaffe itself regarded the Fiat G.55 as "the best Axis fighter".
The CANT Z.1007 Alcione (Kingfisher) was an Italian three-engined medium bomber, with wooden structure. Designed by Filippo Zappata, who also designed the CANT Z.506 it had "excellent flying characteristics and good stability" and was regarded by some as "the best Italian bomber of World War II" although its wooden structure was easily damaged by the climate, as experienced in North Africa and in Russia. It was used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica, Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and Luftwaffe during World War II.
Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia was an Italian aviator, and one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II.
The Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario was an Italian monoplane fighter and fighter-bomber produced for the Regia Aeronautica during the later years of World War II. Along with the Macchi C.202/C.205 and Fiat G.55, the Reggiane Re.2005 was one of the three Serie 5 Italian fighters. The lines of the fuselage were aerodynamically efficient, and the design was intended to exploit the famous Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. The only drawback was a certain structural weakness in the rear section of the fuselage. Only 48 examples had been delivered before the Armistice, and these fighters took part in the defence of Naples, Rome and Sicily, with the survivors battling above the crumbling ruins of Berlin, in German insignia. British ace and military observer, Group Captain Duncan Smith, DSO DFC, said that "The Re.2005 was altogether a superb, potent aeroplane".
Breda-SAFAT was an Italian weapons manufacturer of the 1930s and 1940s that designed and produced a range of machine-guns and cannon primarily for use in aircraft. Based on the M1919 Browning machine gun, the Italian guns were chambered to fire indigenous ammunition with 7.7 mm (0.303 in) and 12.7 mm (0.500 in) calibres, predominantly ball, tracer for the 7.7mm, including high explosive incendiary tracer (HEI-T), or armour-piercing (AP) for the 12.7mm.
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.84, not to be confused with the Savoia-Marchetti S.84 airliner prototype, was an Italian bomber aircraft of World War II. It was designed by Savoia-Marchetti as a replacement for its successful SM.79, and shared its three-engine layout. Despite entering service with the Regia Aeronautica in 1941, it was retired from service before the SM.79 and never fully replaced it.
Furio Niclot Doglio, MOVM was an Italian test pilot and World War II fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica. Doglio set nine world aviation records in the 1930s during his time as a test pilot. During the war, he claimed seven kills, flying FIAT G. 50s and Macchi C. 202s, establishing himself as one of Italy's aces. Doglio was killed in combat on 27 July 1942 during the Siege of Malta by George Beurling, who became Canada's top ace of the war. He was awarded a Medaglia d'oro al Valor Militare alla memoria.
The Italian Air Force Museum is an aircraft museum at Vigna di Valle, on Lake Bracciano (Lazio), in central Italy. It is operated by the Aeronautica Militare. The museum's collection has an emphasis on Italian machines and seaplanes. While maintaining the technical and historical aspects, the museum is also dedicated to the influence aviation has had on Italian art, featuring works by Futurist painters Pietro Annigoni, Giacomo Balla, and Tato; and contemporary art such as Flight: Papiers froissés by Antonio Papasso.
Franco Lucchini, MOVM, was an Italian World War II fighter pilot in the Aviazione Legionaria and in the Regia Aeronautica. During World War II he achieved 21 individual air victories, plus 52 shared, to add to the five kills in Spain, during the Civil War.
Vittorio Sanseverino was an Italian pilot. Besides his combat experience in World War II, he is known for having test-flown a large part of the aircraft built by FIAT for the postwar Italian Air Force, including the Fiat G.91, the Fiat G.222, the North American F-86D Sabre and the F-104 Starfighter.
Guido Fibbia was an Italian Second World War fighter pilot in the Regia Aeronautica and in the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana. He was credited with 9 enemy planes shot down flying with biplanes Fiat C.R.32, Fiat C.R.42 and monoplanes Macchi C.200, C.202, C.205, Fiat G.50, G.55 and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was decorated with two Silver Medal of Military Valor, one Bronze Medal of Military Valor, one Croce di Guerra and one German Iron Cross 2nd Class.
