Documenting the Italian political and military actions of World War Two
In 1940, well over 1/2 of Italy’s 1,000 bombers were SM.79s, which also turned out to be one of the best land based torpedo bombers of the war. The SM.79 was used to bomb Malta and, in the summer of 1942, had one its best successes against Operation Pedestal, the Royal Navy effort to relieve Malta. The SM.79II also saw extensive service in North Africa, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. After the armistice, the series III was built for use by the pro-axis Italian Air Force.
In 1935, the SM.81 Pipistrello (Bat) made its debut and marked a definite step forward in the development of military aviation. The excellent overall qualities of this aircraft were first tested in the Ethiopian campaign and then in the Spanish Civil War.
Production totaled about 400 aircraft and these were used mainly as transports during Italy’s participation in World War II. About 80 survived the Italian armistice in 9/43 with 50 surviving with the Italian Fascist side and 30 with the co-belligerent side.
The SM.84 began its operational career with the 41st Bomber Group in 2/41 and several months later it went into service with the 36th Stormo Aerosiluranti. The SM.84 served in the torpedo-bomber role for about a year, until autumn of 1942, when it was reassigned to bomber units.
The training of the crews lasted far longer than anticipated and in 6/42 the 274th became operational. The most spectacular raids with the P. 108 B were flown in 10/42 when several night attacks against Gibraltar were undertaken from Sardinia.
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