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MM 22278 or 22279, Ten. Col. Mario Giuliano, 193
a
Squadriglia,
87
o
Gruppo BT, 30
o
Stormo, Sciacca, Sicily, December 1940
MM 22593, 252
a
Squadriglia, 104
o
Gruppo BT, 46
o
Stormo,
Skadar, Albania, end of 1940
The 192
a
and 193
a
Squadriglia, forming the
87
o
Gruppo, received their first Sparvieros in
1938 and used them in Albania the following year.
In early June, 193
a
moved to Sciacca airfield
in Sicily, from where its crews flew their first
wartime missions against airfields in Tunisia.
From June 6, Sparvieros of 193
a
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.
The 252
a
Squadriglia, which formed, together with
253
a
Squadriglia, 104
o
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 252
a
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.
KITS 02/2024
INFO Eduard42
February 2024