Markings for Sparviero 1/48
MM23838, Capt. Carlo E. Buscaglia, 281a Squadriglia, 132o Gruppo AS, Gadurra, Rhodes, summer 1941
Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia started his military career with the 50a Bomber Squadriglia and in the ranks of 252a Sq., he took part in a combat baptism, a raid on the port of Marseille, on June 21, 1940. His fame began to rise after training for torpedo attacks and his subsequent assignment to 278a Sq. operating from El Adem. Tenente Buscaglia hit the heavy cruiser Kent, the light cruiser Glasgow and several transport ships during his stay with the unit. On March 5, 1941, 281a Squadriglia was formed, and Capitano Buscaglia was appointed as commanding officer, subsequently becoming CO of the 132o Gruppo in early April 1942. On November 12, 1942, a Sparviero flown by Buscaglia was shot down by a Spitfire and Buscaglia was declared dead. However, he survived with severe injuries and burns and was transferred to a POW camp at Fort Meade, MD. After the surrender of Italy, Allies offered him command of the 28o Gruppo Bombardemento. Ironically, his former 132o Gruppo, now operating on the ANR side, was renamed 1o Gruppo Aerosiluranti Buscaglia. On August 23, 1944, Buscaglia crashed while taking off. His Baltimore exploded and Buscaglia succumbed to his injuries and burns the following day.
52a Squadriglia, 27o Gruppo BT, 8o Stormo BV, Son San Juan, Baleares, March 1938
The first Sparvieros destined to support the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War landed at Son San Juan airport in February 1937 and belonged to 12o Stormo BV. The crews of this unit participated in actions against the Republicans until November 1937, when the 12o Stormo pilots were replaced by colleagues from the 27o Gruppo of the 8o Stormo BV, known as the Falchi delle Baleari (Balearic Falcons). The Sparvieros, supplied from Italy, were painted in pre-war camouflage scheme, consisting of large color fields using the Marrone Mimetico 2, Verde Mimetico 1 and Giallo Mimetico 3 shades on the upper and side surfaces, while the lower surfaces were covered by Grigio Mimetico.
MM 22278 or 22279, Ten. Col. Mario Giuliano, 193a Squadriglia, 87o Gruppo BT, 30o Stormo, Sciacca, Sicily, December 1940
The 192a and 193a Squadriglia, forming the 87o Gruppo, received their first Sparvieros in 1938 and used them in Albania the following year. In early June, 193a moved to Sciacca airfield in Sicily, from where its crews flew their first wartime missions against airfields in Tunisia. From June 6, Sparvieros of 193a Squadriglia started raids on the island of Malta and on supplying convoys. The unit participated in the fighting against Malta until August 1941, when the rearmament of the unit to CANT Z.1007bis bombers began. The Sparviero, designated by the code 193-6, was camouflaged with Verde Mimetico 2, Marrone Mimetico 1 and Giallo Mimetico 2 on the upper and side surfaces, while the lower surfaces were sprayed with aluminum paint. The unit's emblem – Omino Elettrico – was painted on the fuselage sides, and the canvas punctures sustained during the Malta raids were covered with patches. It is not entirely clear whether these took the form of British or Italian cockades. The larger punctures were re-taped with pieces of canvas with the Italian tricolor and a label indicating when the damage occurred. Under the fuselage codes was the inscription CHI-MI-TOCCO'-CI-LASCIO'-LE-PENNE.
MM 22593, 252a Squadriglia, 104o Gruppo BT, 46o Stormo, Skadar, Albania, end of 1940
The 252a Squadriglia, which formed, together with 253a Squadriglia, 104o Gruppo BT, received the first Sparvieros on February 15, 1940. In June of the same year the crews took part in the first raids on targets in Corsica and Marseilles, followed by a move to an airfield in occupied Albania in November, from where the Sparvieros took off for bombing raids over Greece. The Sparvieros used by 252a Squadriglia were camouflaged in several camouflage schemes, consisting of both spots and irregular patches. The Sparviero with number 252-3 had the camouflage of irregular patches sprayed with Marrone Mimetico 53193, Verde Mimetico 53192 and Giallo Mimetico 3 shades on the upper and side surfaces, the lower surfaces were sprayed with aluminum paint.
253a Squadriglia, 104o Gruppo BT, 46o Stormo, Gadurra, Rhodes, August 1942
The crews of 104o Gruppo Sparvieros were retrained for anti-ship torpedo attacks in the spring of 1942, and the unit first moved to Decimomanu airfield on the island of Sardinia in May 1942 to conduct raids on ships of the Harpoon convoy. Later they moved to Rhodes in July, from where they undertook reconnaissance flights over the eastern Mediterranean and attacks against Allied shipping in the same area. The Sparvieros used by 252a Sq. and 253a Sq. against ships in the summer of 1942 were camouflaged with Verde Oliva Scuro 2 shade on the upper and side surfaces, the lower surfaces were painted in Grigio Azzuro Chiaro 1 shade. The olive color on upper surfaces was supplemented with irregular patches of GAC 1 paint before Rhodes deployment. The vertical fin of the aircraft number 253-8 was like the other aircraft of the unit adorned by silhouettes of the ships, which were hit during the operation against the Harpoon convoy by the entire 104o Gruppo BT.
256a Squadriglia, 109o Gruppo BT, 36o Stormo, Castelvetrano, Sicily, June 1940
The entire 109o Gruppo, consisting of 256a Squadriglia and 257a Squadriglia, was formed along with its sister 108o Gruppo in the spring of 1938 at Bologna Borgo Panigale airfield. These units were equipped with Savoias SM.79 and SM.81 and took part in the occupation of Albania with them. Subsequently, they were moved back to Sicily, from where they undertook raids on Malta and on convoys transporting much needed material destined for the struggling island and its inhabitants. The camouflage of this Sparviero consisted of a base color of Giallo Mimetico 3 on the upper and side surfaces, with irregular patches of Marrone Mimetico 53193 and Verde Mimetico 53192 shades. The lower surfaces were camouflaged with Grigio Mimetico. On both sides of the vertical fin, there was painted the emblem of 36o Stormo, the towers of Asinelli and Garisenda, monuments and landmarks of the city of Bologna, meant as a honor of the place of origin of this unit.