20 Gruppo

  20 Gruppo CT Squadriglie 351,352, 353 Stormo 51

20 Gruppo CT Squadriglie 351,352, 353 Stormo 51
Arrival Base Country Aircraft Zone Duties
10 Jun 1940 Ciampino Sud Italy CR32 G50 SQA3 NF, DF
19 Oct 1940 Ursel Belgium G50 CAI AE. DF
Apr 1941 Castelbenito Tripolitan G50 SQA5 DF
May 1941 Misurata Tripolitan G50 SQA5 DF.CE
May 1941 El Ftehja Cirenaica G50 SQA5 DF, CE, GA
Jun 1941 Martuba Cirenaica G50 SQA5 DF, GA. AE
Aug 1941 Gambut Cirenaica G50 SQA5 AR. AE
18 Nov 1941 Sidi Rezegh Cirenaica G50 SQA5 DF. AE
12 Dec 1941 Derna Cirenaica G50 SQA5 TG, DF. AE
14 Dec 1941 Agedabia Cirenaica G50 SQA5 DF. AE
Dec 1941 El Merduma Tripolitan G50 SQA5 DF. AE
20 Dec 1941 Ciampino? Italy MC 202 SQA3 TG
May 1942 Chinisia Sicily MC 202 ASIC AE. AR
30 Jun 1942 Gela Sicily MC 202 ASIC AE. AR
Nov 1942 Castelvetrano Sicily MC 202 ASIC CE.DF
Mar 1943 Ciampino Italy MC 202 G55 SQA3 TG
May 1943 Chinisia Sicily MC 202 G55 ASIC DF
16 May 1943 Capoterra Sardinia MC 202 G55 ASAR DF
Jul 1943 Casa Zeppera Sardinia MC 202 G55 ASAR DF
31 Jul 1943 Fohgno Italy MC 202 G55 SQA3 DF
23 Aug 1943 Milis Sardinia MC 202 ASAR DF
27 Aug 1943 Foligno Italy MC 202 G55 MC.205V SQA3 DF

As part of the Rome defences, this unit had four CR 32s as interim nightfighters, plus 25 G 50s for day sorties. On 13 June 1940. the CR 32s were detached to Guidonia. From September the unit joined 56 Stormo. and took 45 G 50s and six Ca 133s to Belgium. Low range capability kept them from being more active in this theatre and several pilots suffered from severe frostbite due to lack of cockpit heating. However, escorts and sweeps were carried out over Ramsgate and Harwich, but without much opposition. The main sweeps were made over Margate and Folkestone by the CR 42s of 18 Gruppo. especially on 23 November. The Germans referred to the unit as 20/JG 56. After the main CAI units had left for Italy. 352 and 353 sq remained for patrols along the Dutch. Belgian and French coasts as far as Calais, until April.

With the Italian forces under pressure in Libya, the unit was rushed straight to the front there. It was about this time 351 sq went to 155 Gruppo and was replaced by 151 sq. During the Spring of 1941 they protected the troops and supply columns, and made local intercepts. Like most units they suffered from the sand, until filters could be fitted. In July they escorted 209 sq in attacks on Tobruk.

For the rest of 1941 they made many armed recces and escorted the dive-bombers, sometimes jointly with the Germans. On 19 November a commando raid on Sidi Rezegh cost them 18 G 50s. and five more on 22 December at Agedabia. With virtually no aircraft left they returned to Italy in the new year.

They now rejoined 51 Stormo. which had been disbanded from September 1940 to 1 January 1942. Receiving the MC 202 in March, the unit was then ordered to Sicily for operations around Malta, starting in June. On 21 March 1943 they were at Ciampino. receiving the third prototype G 55 for operational trials. The unit moved to Sardinia in May. where the G 55 successfully fought in several dogfights. During March the crews complained that the new' Macchis needed much modification to make them combat ready. Poor petrol quality and excessive oil loss caused problems. Hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical systems often caught fire. And the aircraft lacked radios!

Meanwhile, nine pre-production G 55s were taken on at Ciampino Sud. In June. 11 G 55/Is arrived and. together with the G 55/Os. were used by 353 sq for the defence of Rome from Ciampino Sud. The main unit was now at Foligno. On 5 August several aircraft and pilots were passed to 155 Gruppo.

On 23 August 151 and 352 sq went to Milis for interceptor duties, scoring well against USAAF P-40s. They were soon back at Foligno. where the unit also received a few MC.205Vs. They were hoping to fully equip with G 55s. but no more arrived before the armistice. 353 sq was still detached at Ciampino. with 12 G 55s on 7 September.

20° Gruppo C.T. 352a Squadriglia

20° Gruppo Autonomo C.T. 56 Stormo

Fiat G.50. MM.5372, flown by Maggiore Mario Bonzano, Commanding Officer of 20° Gruppo (56° Stormo C.T.), Maldegem (Belgium), November 1940. Three-tone scheme of Green and Brown blotches on Sand background. Light Grey lower surfaces. Black national insignia on white roundels under the wings, and lacking above. The aircraft of the Group Leader could be detected by an ordinal black Gruppo’s number, and by an appropriate red-blue command pennant displayed on fuselage. The spinner and a cowling band were painted yellow, as a further tactical theatre marking, soon after our pilots reached Maldegem nearly one month after departure, due to bad weather conditions. In spite of the fact that 20° Gruppo was no longer dependant by 51° Stormo, it should be noted that all aircraft retained the cat and (grey) mice badge during operations, where no G.50 ever had the occasion to meet a single enemy plane. The group returned back home at Ciampino on 17 April 1941.

Image Source and description from Ali E Colori Italian Colours Fiat G 50 by La Bancarella Aeronautica Torino No 3 Page 14

 Flight Simulators
 
IL-2 Sturmovik Cliffs of Dover - COD/CLOD skins
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G151SA Mario Bonzano Belgium 1940
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G151SA Mario Bonzano Belgium 1940 V0A
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G Belgium 1940
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G Belgium 1940 NM
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G Belgium late 1940
  COD game skin by SO Fiat G50 Freccia RA 20G variants Belgium 1940 V0A

  AS CLOD game skin by asisbiz

   IL-2 Sturmovik 'Cliff's of Dover' Blitz

   IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad

   DCS World - has no 3D model

 



Regia Aeronautica Aces (World War II)
Ace No of Kills
Teresio Vittorio Martinoli22 kills
Franco Lucchini22 kills (1 in Spain)
Leonardo Ferrulli21 kills (1 in Spain)
Franco Bordoni-Bisleri19 kills
Luigi Gorrini19 kills
Mario Visintini17 kills
Ugo Drago17 kills
Mario Bellagambi14 kills
Luigi Baron14 kills
Luigi Gianella12 kills
Attilio Sanson12 kills
Willy Malagola11 Kills
Carlo Magnaghi11 kills
Angelo Mastroagostino11 kills
Giorgio Solaroli di Briona11 kills
Mario Veronesi11 kills
Fernando Malvezzi10 kills
Giulio Reiner10 kills
Giuseppe Robetto10 kills
Carlo Maurizio Ruspoli di Poggio Suasa10 kills
Massimo Salvatore10 kills
Claudio Solaro10 kills
Ennio Tarantola10 kills
Giulio Torresi10 kills
Adriano Visconti10 kills

 

 Italy Map

 

    Fiat G50 Freccia Bibliography:

  • Cattaneo, Gianni. The Fiat G.50 (Aircraft in Profile Number 188). Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967. No ISBN.
  • Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Fiat G.50, Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 8 (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteos, 1977. ISBN 951-9035-26-5.
  • Malizia, Nicola. Fiat G-50 (Aviolibri Records No. 2) (in Italian/English). Roma-Nomentano, Italy: Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, 2005. ISBN 88-7565-002-0.
  • Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. New York: Bounty Books, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
  • Taylor, John W. R. "Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow)". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  • Tonizzo, Pietro. Fiat G.50 Freccia (Le Macchine e la Storia 9) (in Italian). Modena, Italy: Editore Stem-Mucchi. No ISBN.
  • Waldis, Paolo. Fiat G 50, Ali e Colori 3 (in Italian/English). Torino, Italy: La Bancarella Aeronautica, 2000.
  • Arena, Nino. I caccia a motore radiale Fiat G.50 (in Italian). Modena: Mucchi editore, 1996. NO ISBN
  • Avions Militaires 1919-1939 - Profils et Histoire (in French). Paris: Hachette, Connaissance de l'histoire, 1979.
  • Cattaneo, Gianni. "The Fiat G.50." Aircraft in Profile Number 188. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967.
  • Dunning, Chris. Solo Coraggio! La storia completa della Regia Aeronautica dal 1940 al 1943 (in Italian). Parma, Italy: Delta Editrice, 2000. NO ISBN.
  • Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft of World War II. Glasgow: HarperCollins/Jane's, 1995. ISBN 0-00-470849-0.
  • Gunston, Bill. Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Salamander Book Limited, 1988. ISBN 1-84065-092-3.
  • Gunston, Bill. Gli Aerei della Seconda Guerra Mondiale (in Italian). Alberto Peruzzo Editore, .
  • Keskinen, Kalevi, Kari Stenman and Klaus Niska. Fiat G.50, Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 8 (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteos, 1977. ISBN 951-9035-26-5.
  • Malizia, Nicola. Fiat G-50 (Aviolibri Records No. 2) (in Italian/English). Roma-Nomentano, Italy: Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, 2005. ISBN 88-7565-002-0.
  • Malizia, Nicola. Ali sulla steppa. La Regia Aeronautica nella campagna di Russia (in Italian). Rome: IBN Editore, 2008. ISBN 88-7565-049-7.
  • Massimello, Giovanni. Furio Nicolot Doglio Un pilota eccezionale (in Italian). Milano: Giorgio Apostolo editore, 1998.
  • Massimello, Giovanni and Giorgio Apostolo. Italian Aces of World War Two. Oxford/New York, Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-1-84176-078-0.
  • Mattioli, Marco. "Il G.50 nella Guerra d'Inverno" (in Italian). Aerei nella Storia magazine, Parma, January 2000
  • Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. New York: Bounty Books, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
  • Neulen, Hans Werner. In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945. Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press, 1998. ISBN 1-86126-799-1.
  • Rocca, Gianni. I disperati (in Italian). Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1991.
  • Santoni, Alberto. "L'Ultra vola in alto" (in Italian). Storia Militare, Albertelli editions, Parma, July 2007.
  • Savic, D. and B. Ciglic. Croatian Aces of World War II (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 49). Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-435-3.
  • Sgarlato, Nico. G.50/55 (in Italian). Parma, Italy: Delta editions 2004.
  • A Second String Arrow Part 1. Air International, May 1988, Vol. 34, No 5, pp. 251–258. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • A Second String Arrow Part Two. Air International, June 1988, Vol. 34, No 6, pp. 295–298, 308–311. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • Shores, Christopher. Ground Attack Aircraft of World War II. London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1977. ISBN 0356-0838-1.
  • Shores, Christopher, Air Aces , Greenwich, CT, Bison Books, 1983. ISBN 0-86124-104-4.
  • Spick, Mike. The Complete Fighter Ace: All the World's Fighter Aces, 1914-2000. London: Greenhill Books, 1999. ISBN 1-85367-374-9.
  • Taylor, John W. R. "Fiat G.50 Freccia (Arrow)". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  • Tonizzo, Pietro. Fiat G.50 Freccia (Le Macchine e la Storia 9) (in Italian). Modena, Italy: Editore Stem-Mucchi. No ISBN.
  • Waldis, Paolo. Fiat G 50, Ali e Colori 3 (in Italian/English). Torino, Italy: La Bancarella Aeronautica, 2000.
  • Thompson, Jonathan W. (1963). Italian Civil and Military aircraft 1930-1945. USA: Aero Publishers Inc.. ISBN 0-8168-6500-0. OCLC - 17621 63 - 17621.

    Magazine References: +

  • Airfix Magazines (English) - http://www.airfix.com/
  • Avions (French) - http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/rubrique10.html
  • FlyPast (English) - http://www.flypast.com/
  • Flugzeug Publikations GmbH (German) - http://vdmedien.com/flugzeug-publikations-gmbh-hersteller_verlag-vdm-heinz-nickel-33.html
  • Flugzeug Classic (German) - http://www.flugzeugclassic.de/
  • Klassiker (German) - http://shop.flugrevue.de/abo/klassiker-der-luftfahrt
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://boutique.editions-lariviere.fr/site/abonnement-le-fana-de-l-aviation-626-4-6.html
  • Le Fana de L'Aviation (French) - http://www.pdfmagazines.org/tags/Le+Fana+De+L+Aviation/
  • Osprey (English) - http://www.ospreypublishing.com/
  • Revi Magazines (Czech) - http://www.revi.cz/

    Web References: +

  • Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_G.50
  • letletlet warplanes - http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/2008/04/28/fiat-g50-history/
  • http://www.comandosupremo.com/G50.html

 

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This webpage was updated 21st December 2021

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