Sm 91

[gaynako]

In the film "Fighter squadron", we can see in a gun camera footage, the strafing of an italian airfield. On this footage we see a bi fuselage aircraft which is not a FW 189. Could it be the only one Savoia SM.91 ?
Has this aircraft not been transfered to Germany ?

Best

Christian

[veltro]

I have a VHS of that movie but, to the best of my memory, I cannot recall any strafing that could be positively identified as effected on an Italian airfield (there are many sequences cut and pasted from strafings of Japanese airfields, BTW...).

Could you please tell me at what exact timing in the movie is such sequence shown? Thanks.

[gaynako]

The sequence is between 1 hour 09' 26'' and 1 h 09' 29'', so you must see it in slow motion.
In the middle of the picture, you can see a He 177 without wing, in the middle of green aircrafts with big white band on fuselage.
At the left of He 177, you san see the bi fuselage aircraft; just below it, a kind of SM 75. Above the He 177, may be a SM 81 (look at the stabilizer's shape).
After, come the japanese sequences.

It is a 3 seconds sequences, but with hold frame, it's quite clear.

Best

Christian

[veltro]

Thanks for the indication. However, if there is an He 177 in the scene, it cannot have been taken in Italy, as those aircraft operated in France (from French airfields, I mean) but were not based in Italy and (AFAIK) never were here.

Tomorrow I'll check the scene (my VHS recorder is out of reach at this hour of the night), but if the presence of the Greif is confirmed, I have very serious doubts that the localization is correct, IMHO.

[gaynako]

I remember He 177 of I/KG 40 were utilised at Anzio in june 1944 and bombers were based in Northern Italy. Perhaps one had problem and was forced to stay in Italy.
The planes we can see are in a kind of scrap yard; some stay without one wing or both.

Best

Christian

[veltro]

You are correct that He 177s were used over Anzio bay and bridgehead, but KG 40 was based entirely in France and never in Italy (I studied a bit the subject and I am quite confident in what I say...)

The bases of KG 40 in 1944 results to me the following:

• Stab/KG.40 (Bordeaux-Merignac)
• 1./KG.40 (Tolouse-Blagnac)
• 2./KG.40 (Bordeaux-Merignac)
• II./KG.40 (Bordeaux-Merignac)
• 7./KG.40 (St.Jean d Angely)
• 8./KG.40 (Cognac)
• 9./KG.40 (Cognac)

At any rate, in relation to your hypothesis of an He 177 landed on an Italian airfield in distress and remained there, no data emerged so far from the very few Italian airfields capable of being used by such plane for an emergency landing. And, considering the thorough work of my friend Nick Beale on the ULTRA documents, the absence of any hint of such an event, coupled with the fact that such a landing would not pass unnoticed (all such bases at the time were shared also by ANR personnel), makes me say that, although theoretically possible, the happening of such fact is in reality highly improbable and it is very difficult to determine an identification of the airfield (let alone its nationality) on such basis.

Thus, (given the He 177 as not "logically" connected to any Italian airfield), to determine an airfield as Italian mainly because an S.81 has been apparently identified is at least debatable, considering that such aircraft was found abandoned also on several German airfields.

Moreover, you cannot certainly exclude the possibility that the "twin fuselage" aircraft was nothing but a captured Fokker G1, several exaples of which were used by the Germans.

No sooner I'll be able to check the VHS I will certainly post further comments, but IMHO the starting assumptions could be wrong and this would unavoidably change the ensuing deductions.