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Re: French Italian War June 1940
Dear Robert,
an additional claim was submitted on June the 13th by future top scoring ace of Regia Aeronautica Serg. Teresio Martinoli, then part of 384a Squadriglia 157° Gruppo based in Trapani. That morning together with fourteen more pilots of his Gruppo he was escorting SM 79 bombers from 30° and 36° Stormo attacking airfields in the Tunis area when he claimed a twin-engined aircraft over Tunis. This claim was found in his logbook and first reported by Italian historian Giovanni Massimello and apparently is not present in any other available document of his unit ( the Squadriglia diary however didn't survive until today). Martinoli flew a CR 42.
The last claim of which I'm aware was submitted by future seven victory ace Tenente Clizio Nioi of 80a Squadriglia 17° Gruppo also based in Trapani. Nioi had scrambled at around 18.30 or so with Tenente De Tecini in a CR 32 to intercept French bombers signalled over Palermo. Once arrived off Capo Gallo (west of Palermo's harbour) a lone aircraft identified as a "Potez 63" was seen by him, attacked and left nose diving engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke. He didn't claim any victory but was later gven credit of this aircraft by land observers. It is a fact that seven Glenn-Martin 167F from GB I/62 and GB II/62 had attacked Palermo harbour followed in the late afternooon by five LeO 451 from GB II/11. In particular one of those planes, that piloted by Lieutenant Drougue, lost touch with the rest of the formation and , returning at night, possibly disoriented and short of fuel, tried to force land in a beach near Cap Bon exploding with the loss of the crew. It is possible that this was the lone plane previously attacked and perhaps damaged by Nioi.
Ciao
Ludovico
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