[烛光生存狂]-地中海上的意大利空军

VILLACIDRO: A WARTIME AIRBASE IN SARDINIA.

A few months before Italy's entry into W.W.2 a number of auxiliary airfields were established m Sardinia, among them one at Villacidro, near Cagliari.

A large part of a plain existing on the spot was levelled, some 10 km(about 6 miles) off the little town. A large airstrip was created that allowed take-offs and landings to be carried out in any directions. The result was the largest airfield in Sardinia throughout W.W.2.

On 3 june 1940,8° Stormo B. T. (land-based bombers), led by colonnello pilota Vittorio Ferrante, and which formed - together with 32°Stormo based at Decimomannu - the 10 a Brigata Aerea under generale Cagna, was flown into the new air base from Alghero.

8° Stormo was formed by two Gruppi: 27°Gruppo with 18° and 52° Squadriglie and 17 aircaft, and28° Gruppo with 10° and 19° Squadriglie and 15 aircraft, their equipment consisting of S.79 three-engine bombers. Its personnel included 429 men, among them 43 CO and 38 NCO pilots.

Facilities were quickly procured and arranged to make the base fully operational. The main runways featured lengths ranging from 1,300 to nearly 2,000 m (about 1,421 and 1,830 yds., respectively), plus a number of decentralised airstrips had been mode available where aircraft could be parked. In summer, however, wind and taxiing aircraft lifted clouds of dust,

whereas in winter the clayey ground melted and sensibly hampered aircraft ground movements.

By l0 June 1940 the air base was fully operative. From there, in the following days, the S.79s took off and attacked French targets in Corsica (airfields at Valinco, Ajaccio and Calvi)and the Bizerte harbour in Tunisia. The mission over the last target found the harbour fully lit, so the Italian bombers could carry out their jobs easily and, undisturbed.

On night missions, all aircraft took off individually, so that no mass attacks were carried out.

After France surrendered, the units starting from this base were able to cause heavy losses among British ships sailed from Gibraltar in attempts at bringing supplies to beleaguered Malta.

In the afternoon of 21 June, 52° and 10° Squadriglie under Generale Cagna took off from Villacidro and succeeded in sinking a British warship.

On 9 Juny, Italian secret agents operating in Spain reported that the British "H Force" had left Gibraltar bound for the eastern Mediterranean.

The formation included battleships Hood, Revenge and Valiant, aircraft carrier Ark Royal and 16 miscellaneous destroyers and heavy cruisers.

On 9 July, about 07.00 p.m., 40 bombers from 10a Brigata, including 8° Stormo from Villacidro and 32° Stormo from Decimomannu, led by generale Cagna intercepted the British naval force near the island of Ma/orca and for more

than one and half hours, attacking in successive waves, bombed the enemy units. Battleship Hood was heavily damaged, aircraft carrier Ark Royal had its flying deck heavily hit with the loss of 7 aircraft aboard. Some escorting destroyers

were also heavily hit. One S. 79 was shot down, 5 others were damaged but the rest could be flown back to their bases. For this exploit, 8° Stormo was awarded a silver medal.

On 1s August, 10a Brigata, led by generale Cagna, took off bound for the island of Formentera to intercept a British convoy mode up of three battleships, two aircraft carriers and 16 cruisers and destroyers. Out of 8° Stormo, 18°, 52°

and 10° Squadrìglie took part in the attack. Battleship Resolution and a destroyer were hit.

Some S.79s, including the one with generale Cagna aboard, were shot down with the loss of their crews.

One week later the air base command was transferred from colonnello Ferrante to colonnello Bonini. In the next month the 10" Brigata

command moved to Cagliari and 8° Stormo was deployed elsewhere. The air base was practically demobbed and a small force led by a lieutenant was left to guard its facilities.

But less than two months later the s.79s of 28° Gruppo, 8° Stormo B.T., reappeared and maggiore Michele Banchio was appointed the new base commander.

In April I941 all refitting works to the already existing facilities were resumed and erection of new buildings was started, while28°Gruppo was being moved to another air base.

Only a few aircraft were left on the spot and the base activity dropped to a minimum. Maggiore Banchio was replaced by tenente Gasole. In the meantime 51° Gruppo, equipped with three engine Cant Z 1007 bis had been flown in. In November the air base command was entrusted to maggiore Bonacossa, the former leader of 51 ° Gruppo A.O. (Eastem Africa) equipped with 10 Ro.37 recce machines from 28°Squadriglia.

In January 1942 the base command was entrusted to tenente colonnello Manenti, who had arrived there with 51° Gruppo B.T./R.S. (R.S.standing for strategical reconnaissance unit), made up of 212° and 213" Squadriglie, both

equipped with Cant Z 1007 bis. In the following months the Villacidro airfield was temporarily made the base of famed units, such as 9°, 11°, 32" and 37° Stormi. These units successfully took part in the famous air-sea battles waged in mid-June and mid-August 1942.

Thè 51° Gruppo carried out, in both encounters, reconnaissance and shadowing missions against the British air and sea forces.

Its activity was fiercely opposed by British fighters, which shot down many aircraft in the course of hard clashes.

Part of the Italian crews involved could escape with difficulty, but casualties were nevertheless high.

On 12 August a strange aircraft wholly yellow-painted was taken of from Villacidro. This was a special one-off crewless radio-controlled flying bomb in the history of aviation. It was being guided towards the British fleet but, owing to a defective capacitor, the pilotless aircraft went out of control and ended up crashing against the Little Atlas mountains. The bewildered local French authorities in vain searched for the corpses of a crew among the wrecks.

Throughout 1942 Luftwaffe units began increasingly pouring in Villacidro, in particular Ju 88-equipped KG.26, 60 and 77 (KG stood for Combat Wing), although the base command was left in Italian hands. Italian and German

crews jointly operated against enemy forces.

In December 88" Gruppo B.T. joined the air base, but more and more aircraft were missing from their missions while the German presence was growing increasingly pressing.

January 1943 saw the Germans taking everything in their hands and starting the project and execution of new works. Then more German units poured in: KG.30 and 60 permanently, other units only occasionally. At this point, the Allies started to seriously consider the elimination of that airfield.

On 17 February two American medium bombers formations were bound for Villacidro airfield. One of them, 17th Bombing Group, personally led by Tokyo raid-famous general Doolittle, reached the air base but could not bomb it

because of bad visibility. The other unit, 310th Bombing Group mistakenly flew into another valley and bombed the built-up area of Gonnosfanadiga, where its fragmentation bombs caused several casualties among civilians.

On 16 March, 88° Gruppo left Villacidro and on 31st of the some month several B-17 Flying Fortresses dropped over 3,000 fragmentation bombs and caused heavy damage. More similar raids followed on 15 and 27 April, on 11,19, 20, 21, 26, 27 May and on 7 and 18 June. In that month about 1,500 German flyers were staying at Villacidro.

On l0 July the Germans, both because of their increased distrust towards their Italian allies and for fear of possible landings by Amerìcan commando units in Sardinia, began burying mines all over the airfield. On

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