Hello Andy!
Yes, the records seems a bit troubled. I found, after you gave me a name to search for this information on Italian Biplanes Aces site ( Italian biplane fighter aces - Ranieri Piccolomini Clementini Adami.htm ):
In the morning on 12 June, 14 MC.202s from the 10o Gruppo led by the Gruppo commander Maggiore Paolo Tito Maddalena, together with German Bf109s were escorting Luftwaffe Ju87s to attack targets south-east of Acroma. At 3500 meters halfway between Ain el Gazala and Acroma the 84a Squadriglia (Capitano
Franco Lucchini, Sottotenente Paolo Berti, Maresciallo Luigi Bignami, Sergente Maggiore
Mario Veronesi, Sergente Roberto Ugazio and Sergente
Piero Buttazzi) was attacked by three diving Spitfires. The formation broke up, while the 90a Squadriglia (Capitano Piccolomini, Sottotenente Virgilio Vanzan and Sergente Gregorio Taverna) counter-attacked and scattered the Spitfires. Soon after this, these three pilots spotted a lone P-40, which was hit several times. The P-40 made a wheels-up landing at Gambut and was claimed as a shared victory. After this was, Taverna shot down by ground fire. Vanzan was also hit over Tobruk, but was able to return at Martuba. Meanwhile
Lucchini,
Buttazzi and
Veronesi had met eleven RAF fighters (Spitfires and P-40s) north-east of El Adem. In the combat, they claimed a shared Spitfire and damaged many others.
On 1 July the 10o Gruppo transferred to Fuka. Next day, on 2 July whilst leading the 90a Squadriglia, Piccolomini encountered nine Bostons escorted by twenty P-40s north of Fuka. The Italian fighters attacked and Piccolomini claimed a Boston while the other bombers hid in a cast of clouds.
The escorting fighters engaged the Italians and Sottotenente Virgilio Vanzan claimed one and one probable P-40s while Sergente Maggiore
Amleto Monterumici claimed a second P-40. A third P-40 was claimed as a shared by all the pilots of the 90a Squadriglia. Several more aircraft were claimed damaged by Vanzan,
Monterumici, Sergente Elio Trevisan and Tenente Italo Alessandrini (MC.202 "90-12" MM 7792). The latter was subsequently hit by P-40s, made an emergency landing on the desert, and was captured to become a POW.
You can see that on 2nd July the Italians met some P-40! Were they so wrong in identifying their enemy counter-part? There is a good difference between a P-40 and a Spitfire, even in the air!
Will keep researching...principaly about 17th June!
Glad for answering