Biplane fighter aces

Italy

Sergente Luigi Bagato

In December 1940, Sergente Luigi Bagato served in the 90a Squadriglia, 10o Gruppo C.T., in North Africa. This unit was at the time equipped with Fiat CR.42s.

On 16 December and in a last futile attempt to help the garrison at Sidi Omar, six SM 79s from the 29o Gruppo led by Colonnello Mario Aramu took off from Derna at 14:40 for a low-level strike. The formation of what was to become one of the most famous ill-fated missions of the Regia Aeronautica was as follows:

  SM 79 from the 63a Squadriglia (shot down)
Colonnello Mario Aramu (KIA)
Sergente Maggiore Paolo La Torraca (KIA)
Capitano Pilota Victor Hugo Girolami (acting bomb aimer) (KIA)
Primo Aviere Motorista Bruno Zottarel (KIA)
Aviere Scelto Armiere Giorgio Menna (KIA)
Primo Aviere Radiotelegrafista Carlo Magno (KIA) 		 
SM 79 from the 63a Squadriglia
Sottotenente Martemucci
Maresciallo Canini
Primo Aviere Motorista Galli
Primo Aviere Armiere Giuseppe Tassoni (KIA)
Primo Aviere Radiotelegrafista Malara 		  SM 79 from the 63a Squadriglia (shot down)
Sottotenente Tonachella (POW)
Sergente Maggiore Filippo Cipriani (KIA)
Sergente Motorista Ugo Ferroni (KIA)
Primo Aviere Armiere Giovanni Musumeci (KIA)
Primo Aviere Radiotelegrafista Verna (KIA)
     
  SM 79 from the 62a Squadriglia (shot down)
Tenente Colonnello Guglielmo Grandjacquet (KIA)
Tenente Giacomo Padrone (POW)
Tenente Marco Sciavertini (KIA)
Aviere Scelto Motorista Luciano Lanzoni (KIA)
Primo Aviere Armiere Radames Medori (KIA)
Primo Aviere Radiotelegrafista Enrico Materazzo (KIA)		  
SM 79 from the 63a Squadriglia
Tenente Villa
Sottotenente Riva
Primo Aviere Motorista D’Angeli
Primo Aviere Armiere Giuseppe Vincenzi (KIA)
Primo Aviere Radiotelegrafista Diotallevi		   SM 79 from the 62a Squadriglia
Tenente Timolati
Sottotenente Malaspina
Aviere Scelto Motorista Cinti
Primo Aviere Armiere Bachini
Sergente Radiotelegrafista Ascione

The Savoias were intercepted by a reportedly 20 Hurricanes at 1200 meters altitude, in sight of their intended target, after an hour of flight. The two vics of SM 79s tightened up their formation, trying to fight back. The first to go down was the plane of Grandjacquet. The SM 79 of Tenente Timolati then closed formation with the leading vic only to witness the demise of Colonnello Aramu’s bomber and shortly after that Sottotenente Tonachella’s. The three surviving SM 79s fled towards the sea with Hurricanes on their tail and suffered the last damage, which caused the death of some crewmembers before the Hurricanes disengaged (due to the intervention of some fighters of the 10o Gruppo). The SM 79 then released their bomb-load into the open sea and returned to Derna where at 16:30 Sottotenente Martemucci’s bomber broke its landing gear and crash-landed, damaging the wing. Timolati reported that Aramu’s SM 79, the dorsal gunner was immediately killed and his place was taken by Capitano Girolami, who was killed soon after when a well placed burst hit the Savoia’s cockpit killing him and causing the demise of the aircraft. The returning crews claimed five Hurricanes in return.
Sottotenente Tonachella and Tenente Padrone were the only survivors of the missing SM 79s. They both escaped with parachute and were captured by British patrols. Padrone, back in Italy after the war left a description of the events:

“the morning of 16 December 1940 three SM79 planes led by Colonello Aramu (I don’t remember the left hand wingman but I was the right hand) attacked with small calibre bombs and strafed from very low level British mechanized vehicles south-west of Bardia.(…). Back at base, Aramu knew that another mission was to be flown in the afternoon, to attack armoured concentrations around Sollum. Two section of three planes in line astern one 500 metres from the other were to be employed. The overall formation had to be commanded by Tenente Colonnello Gradjacquet leading the first section while Capitano Girolami had to lead the second section. Aramu decided to take part also in this action so he took the lead of the first section with Girolami acting as a bomb aimer and Grandjacquet took the lead of the second section. The two sections could attack independently because they all had a bomb aimer. The formation took off at 15.00 and when over Tobruk waited without avail for some minutes for the escort fighters, then directed toward the target flying deep inside the desert to avoid interception. When in the area between Sidi Omar and Capuzzo, when I was preparing to turn on the intercom with the bomb aimer I heard the guns of our plane shooting so I understood that we were under attack. The enemy planes most likely arrived from astern because in front of us I could see only the section of Aramu. Immediately after a burst of fire hit our plane silencing the dorsal gun and also hitting the instrument panel. I tried to assess the damage suffered but saw Grandjacquet busy in flying the plane and the wingmen at their place. Then a fire started in the rudder pedals area. I tried to give the alarm shouting but nobody moved, neither Tenente Colonnello Grandjacquet that didn’t move even after I shook him (probably he was already dead and kept in position by the seat belts). Therefore, unable to take command of the plane because of the fire and fearing that the flames could ignite my clothes I open the emergency door on the roof and jumped with parachute. I immediately saw my plane falling on ground engulfed by flames, not so far two other planes were falling in flames. Once on ground I noticed two other parachutes (…). I walked in a north-westerly direction for two days and then I was captured by a British patrol. Two month later in Cairo a RAF Officer asked me about the fate of Colonnello Aramu, so I understood what happened to him, Capitano Girolami and their crew (…).
The loss of these three COs was a terrible blow for the bomber force of Va Squadra and in particular the loss of the forty-years-old Aramu. He was a beloved leader, previously part of the “Atlantici” having crossed the northern Atlantic under Italo Balbo in 1933. He had then fought during the Spanish Civil War where on 21 May 1937 he had disabled the Republican Battleship Jaime Io in Almeria harbour with a well-aimed salvo of bombs from 4000 metres. The three officers were immediately awarded posthumous Medaglie d’Oro al valor militare but in fact such was the severity of the loss suffered that 29o Gruppo was immediately ordered back to Italy.
Colonnello Aramu was not alone over this area because three SM 79s of 15o Stormo were up under Tenente Medun. (take-off from Z1 at 14:55 and landing at 16:35) and at 14:45 nine SM 79s of the 41o Stormo under Tenente Colonnello Draghelli and Capitano Ammannato took off from M2 for a low-level strike (900 metres). These bombers were attacked by RAF fighters for a long time but were effectively protected by CR.42s and landed back at 16:50 without suffering damage.
The CR.42s were 17 fighters from the 10o Gruppo, which had taken off from T4 at 14:40. At the head of the formation was as usual Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, with him were four fighters from the 91a Squadriglia (Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli, Sergente Maggiore Lorenzo Migliorato and Sergente Maggiore Natale Fiorito), three from the 84a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Sottotenente Paolo Berti and Sottotenente Luigi Prati) and nine from the 90a Squadriglia (Tenente Giovanni Guiducci, Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Maggiore Angelo Savini, Sergente Alfredo Sclavo, Sergente Luigi Contarini, Sergente Bruno Bortoletti, Sergente Bagato and Sergente Giovanni Battista Ceoletta). Capitano Monti and Maggiore Romagnoli didn’t record any action but the 90a Squadriglia formation was heavily engaged. Firstly four Hurricanes tried to attack the SM 79 formation but were prevented, then two more Hurricanes that had just successfully attacked another unescorted SM 79 formation were engaged and one of them was reputed probably shot down (later upgraded to confirmed in the unit’s documents) and assigned as shared to the whole formation. This shared victory is a bit strange considering that the complete Squadriglia uses only 820 round of ammunition during the prolonged actions, in fact it seems that it possibly was an individual victory of Tenente Lucchini. His biographer Antonio Trizzino described the action:
“in the fading light of twilight Lucchini discovered something on his port side, something like the striking of three wax matches. He left the formation and went in that direction. Gradually closing he better understood what had happened. Three S 79s were falling, burning like torches and four Hurricanes were orbiting over as if they were recomposing formation before turning back home. He attacked the last one and shot it down.”
The 10o Gruppo fighters were back at 16:40; Sergente Sclavo’s CR.42, damaged in the engagement, was classified R.S.
The British fighters responsible for this execution were ten Hurricanes from 274 Squadron accompanied by the four newcomers from 73 Squadron. The 274 Squadron pilots had taken off at 15 minutes interval starting from 12:20. The pilots included Pilot Officer Ernest Mason (Hurricane P3720) (13:00-15:40), Flying Officer Thomas Patterson (P2544/YK-T) (13:30-16:10), Flight Lieutenant Peter Wykeham-Barnes (V7293) (13:45-16:15), Sergeant Thomas Morris (V7300) (14:00-16:30) and Flying Officer H. C. Down (P2556). The four pilots from 73 Squadron were Flight Lieutenant J. D Smith, Pilot Officer McFadden, Sergeant Alfred Marshall and Sergeant Willis.
Back at base, the British pilots claimed six SM 79s shot down five miles south of Gambut between 15:35 and 15:45. Two by Flying Officer Patterson at 15:45, one by Flight Lieutenant Wykeham-Barnes at 15:35, two by Sergeant Marshall and one by Flight Lieutenant Smith. A CR.42 was damaged and claimed as “unconfirmed” at 15:20 by Pilot Officer Mason. Looking at the Italian losses (the three SM 79s of the 9o Stormo with a fourth that crash-landed and the other two damaged, plus Sergente Sclavo’s damaged CR.42), British claims seem really accurate.
Flight Lieutenant Wykeham-Barnes had been alone when he at 15:35 discovered a mixed formation of SM 79s and CR.42s with four more SM 79s scattered around. He was flying at 19,000 feet and the Italian aircraft were 1,500 feet lower and 15 miles away from him. He delivered an astern attack one an SM 79 that seems to have been part of the 9 the 9o Stormo’s formation already attacked by other British pilots. He reported:
“Arrived late in combat, 1 S79 fired on, guns silenced. A/c dropped and starboard engine set on fire. Confirmed shot down by Flight Lieutenant Smith. While attacking 79 1 CR 42 got on my tail and fired on me. Two other overhead. Didn’t see them approach. Obliged to break off [unreadable].”
Flying Officer Patterson was flying with another Hurricane (Sergeant Marshall) when at 15:45 they discovered six SM 79s flying in two vics of three (obviously Colonnello Aramu’s formation). He was flying at 17,000 feet while the bombers appeared to be at 4,000 feet. He approached unseen until he was half a mile away and delivered an astern attack while they return fire diving towards the ground. He reported:
“3 S79 shot down and burnt out on ground (confirmed by Sergeant Marshall) our casualties nil.”
Sergeant Marshall remembered:
“after breakfast and meeting Flying Officer Patterson of 274, we flew up to Sidi Barrani, where we refuelled and took off on an Offensive Patrol. I flew with Pat and at 17,000 feet west of Sollum we spotted some 79s at about 5000 feet. We dived and engaged them and I got two in flames, Pat two and Smithy 1. There were congratulations from Collishaw (AOC) on our return, but I still wished it was all over and I could get back to UK – my cold was still bad, which didn’t help, plus the food and conditions were awful with half a gallon of water per day per man (Perhaps!).”
They were highly likely the victors of Aramu, Grandjacquet and Tonachella.
Pilot Officer Mason was flying with Sergeant Willis when at 15:20 he saw a lone CR.42 below and ahead approaching. He was flying at 15,000 feet and the Italian biplane was 2,000 feet lower. He delivered a head-on attack from very close range. He reported:
“Enemy pulled up and spun. A further burst was fired by Sergeant Willis. Enemy observed to spin to a low height until lost sight of. Possible presence of other a/c precluded following down to see it hit the ground.”
Pilot Officer McFadden, was chased “up country” by two Italian CR.42s where he force-landed reportedly owing to lack of fuel. He returned to Sidi Haneish the day after and Sergeant Marshall noted:
“McFadden came back from Mersa after breaking his kite – What a prize pilot he is!”
Pilot Officer MacFadden’s Hurricane (V6737) was later recovered and repaired. Considering the 90a Squadriglia’s records it seems possible that the crash-landing of McFadden was not due only to lack of fuel but perhaps also to damage suffered from the fire of Tenente Lucchini.

On 25 December, the 23o Gruppo flew its first escorting missions after its arrival in the theatre, one of these was at 15:00 with 12 CR.42s in collaboration with 22 CR.42s from the 10o Gruppo, which had taken off at 14:35 to escort the 15o Stormo’s SM 79s bound to attack Sollum Harbour.
The fighters from the 23o included four from the 70a Squadriglia (Maggiore Tito Falconi, Tenente Claudio Solaro, Sottotenente Oscar Abello and Sergente Maggiore Balilla Albani), four from the 74a Squadriglia (Capitano Guido Bobba, Tenente Mario Pinna, Tenente Lorenzo Lorenzoni and Sergente Emilio Stefani) and four from the 75a Squadriglia (Tenente Pietro Calistri, Tenente Ezio Maria Monti, Sottotenente Giuseppe De Angelis and Maresciallo Giovanni Carmello). The fighters from the 10o Gruppo included six CR.42s from the 91a Squadriglia (Maggiore Carlo Romagnoli, Capitano Vincenzo Vanni, Sottotenente Ruggero Caporali, Sottotenente Andrea Dalla Pasqua, Sergente Maggiore Leonardo Ferrulli and Sergente Maggiore Lorenzo Migliorato), seven from the 90a Squadriglia (Tenente Giovanni Guiducci, Tenente Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Alessandro Rusconi, Sottotenente Neri De Benedetti, Sergente Alfredo Sclavo, Sergente Bagato and Sergente Enrico Botti) and nine from the 84a Squadriglia (Capitano Luigi Monti, Tenente Antonio Angeloni, Sergente Maggiore Salvatore Mechelli, Sergente Domenico Santonocito, Sergente Luciano Perdoni, Sergente Corrado Patrizi, Sergente Piero Buttazzi, Sergente Mario Veronesi and Capitano Mario Pluda (91a Squadriglia)).
The formation was attacked by some Hurricanes that were counter-attacked and obliged to flee. Two Hurricanes were claimed as probably shot down by the pilots of 90a and 91a Squadriglie (the 90a Squadriglia used 160 rounds of ammunition), which claimed them as shared with the 23o Gruppo even if the pilot from the 23o Gruppo in fact weren’t able to claim anything. Tenente Guiducci landed at T5 with engine trouble while the rest of the formation landed at Z1 between 16:50 and 17:00. No losses were suffered by the bombers, which claimed to have hit an aircraft carrier. In fact, they aimed their bomb load at a monitor, but it is not known if the ship was in fact hit.
The Hurricanes were probably machines of 33 Squadron with Flying Officer Peter Wickham and Flying Officer Vernon Woodward that encountered one SM 79 and one CR.42, damaging the CR.42. The action was however recorded in the morning.

In November 1941, Sergente Bagato served in the 376a Squadriglia, which was equipped with CR.42s and based at Derna.

Between 15:35-17:05 on 21 November 1941, Tomahawks from 112 Squadron patrolled near El Adem when two CR.42s from 376a Squadriglia were encountered at a height of 500ft as the British fighters were returning to their base. One was shot down by Sergeant Rudolf Leu (AK509) and the other was despatched after a chase by three of the unit’s pilots; Sergeant Kenneth Carson (AK436), Pilot Officer Neville Duke (AK402/F) and Pilot Officer R. J. D. Jefferies (AK541). Pilot Officer Duke recorded:

“Encountered two Fiat CR.42s south of El Adem. Attacked same with Plt Off ‘Butch’ Jefferies and Sgt Carson. Did three attacks on one which was flying at about 500 ft. He did a few turns and then went to land. Turned over, after running a few yards, onto his back and the pilot was out like a shot. Butch and Carson started to shoot the poor devil up but I couldn’t do it, so I set the machine on fire.
I went down to look at the pilot who was running with his hands up. His face was full of fear and the next time I saw him he was lying on the ground. There was no need to murder the poor devil as our troops were coming up, and as we came back from patrol we came over the crash and the army had his parachute in pieces.”
The Italian fighters were CR.42s MM5036 and MM7942 flown by Tenente Aldo Marchetti and Sergente Bagato, who both survived the encounter to became POWs

Bagato ended the war with 1 shared biplane victory.

Claims:
Kill no. Date Time Number Type Result Plane type Serial no. Locality Unit
  1940                
  16/12/40 14:40-16:40 1/9 Hurricane (a) Shared destroyed Fiat CR.42   Bardia area 90a Squadriglia
  25/12/40 14:35-17:00 1/13 Hurricane (b) Shared probable Fiat CR.42   Sollum area 90a Squadriglia
  25/12/40 14:35-17:00 1/13 Hurricane (b) Shared probable Fiat CR.42   Sollum area 90a Squadriglia

Biplane victories: 1 shared destroyed, 2 shared probables.
TOTAL: 1 shared destroyed, 2 shared probables.
(a) Claimed in combat with Hurricanes from 274 and 73 Squadron. 90a Squadriglia claimed one shot down Hurricane for one damaged CR.42. The RAF claimed one damaged CR.42 while suffering one force-landed Hurricane (V6737) from 73 Squadron due to lack of fuel.
(b) Possibly claimed in combat with Hurricanes from 33 Squadron, which claimed one damaged CR.42 without any losses. The CR.42s from 10o claimed two probables without losses.

Sources:
2o Stormo - Note storiche dal 1925 al 1975 - Gino Strada, 1975 USSMA, Rome, kindly provided by Ludovico Slongo
A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945: Volume One – Christopher Shores and Giovanni Massimello with Russell Guest, 2012 Grub Street, London, ISBN 978-1908117076
Quelli del Cavallino Rampante - Antonio Duma, 1981 Editore Dell'Ateneo, Roma
Shark Squadron - The history of 112 Squadron 1917-1975 - Robin Brown, 1994 Crécy Books, ISBN 0-947554-33-5
Additional information kindly provided by Stefano Lazzaro and Ludovico Slongo




Last modified 07 July 2016