Courage Alone - The Italian Air Force 1940-1943 (Book)

Courage Alone The Italian Air Force 1940-1943 Chris Dunning
Hikoki Publications (Crecy Publications Ltd) - ISBN 9 781902 109091

Courage Alone, p315
… Count Caprioni vainly tried to dissuade Mussolini from entering the war as the Caprioni company has a large order for Ca 313s from the RAF!
The RAF buying commissions in America are well known, I hadn’t known they were looking in Italy. How different would things have been if Mussolini had listened to the count?

How many of our campaigns are flown in the desert or the Med?
For our opponents, we have a glut of information about the LW, but information about the Regia Aeronautica (RA) has been lacking.
Courage Alone offers a good general introduction to the RA from the Battle of France to the Armistice.

I list a selection from the the 20 (approx) chapter headings:[ul]
[li]Unit histories Groupi, including equipment and theatre of opperation.
[/li][li]Unit histories Independant Squadriglie, including base of operation and aircraft used.
[/li][li]Orders of Battle for major campaigns
[/li][li]Figther Aces
[/li][li]Aircraft types
[/li][li]RA camoflage
[/li][/ul]Are you are planning a war, a general co-op, or a DF involving RA units?
This volume will give you most of the information you need to select types, allocate forces, and plan the action.

Good review Painter. I’ll add that one to my wish list. Didn’t know about the Caproni order but I read somewhere that a couple of hundred Reggianes where on order for the RAF. Air war Italy 1943-45 is another good reference for operations conducted by all sides but generally good references on the RA and the ANR are hard to come by.
Billy

generally good references on the RA and the ANR are hard to come by.

Some more titles (in English language)

RA and ANR:

G. Massimello/G. Apostolo – Italian aces of WW2 – Osprey Aircraft of Aces n.34 - Osprey Publishing, 2000
N.Beale/F.D’Amico/G.Valentini – Air War Italy 1944-45 – Airlife, 1996
Peter Haining - The Chianti Raiders - Robson Books
Andrew Brooks - Air War Over Italy - Ian Allen
Ferdinando D’Amico & Gabriele Valentini - The Messerschmitt 109 in Italian Service 1943-1945
Chris Shores - Regia Aeronautica Vol. 1
Regia Aeronautica vol.2, Pictorial History of the Aeronautica Nazionale
Repubblicana and the Italian Co-Belligerant Air force 1943-45 - Squadron signal publications - Carrollton
F. d’Amico and G.Valentini - Camouflage and Markings of the Aeronautica Nazionale Republicana, 1943-1945: A Photographic Analysis Through Speculation and Research
George Punka - Reggiane Fighters in Action
G.Alegi and B.Catalanotto - Wings of Italy: The Italian Air Force in Original WWII Colour Pictures- Giorgio Apostolo Editore
G.Apostolo/G.Cattaneo/G.Massimello - Aermacchi C.205 - Ed. Bancarella Aeronautica (double language Italian/English)
G.Apostolo- Aermacchi C.202 - Ed. Bancarella Aeronautica (double language Italian/English)

ICAF

Marco Mattioli - Bell P39 in Italian Service - IBN EDitore (double language Italian/English)
Marco Gueli - Martin Baltimore - Ed. Bancarerlla Aeronautica (double language Italian/English)

Luftwaffe in Italy

Johannes Steinhoff – The Straits of Messina: diary of a fighter commander – Corgi Books Paperpbacks, 1973 (also printed with the title “Messerschmitt over Sicily”)