Turin Raids 1943

[Ludovico Slongo]

Dear smudger3,

I had a quick look into my books but was unable to find a positive answer to your question. From what I found in my sources (chiefly the official history of Regia Aeronautica 1939-43 by Nino Arena and the classic "Obbiettivo Italia" -target Italia- by Giorgio Bonacina) it seems that the defence of the industrial area of Milan and Turin was left to the Italian fighters and the Italian flak (called D.A.T), so no Luftwaffe involvement at all was possible over these cities, in fact is seems that all the fighter and nightfighter units of the Luftwaffe were based in Sardinia and in southern and central Italy.
According with my books the attacks of the night 12/13 cost the B.C. seven losses, five over Turin and two over Milan, additionally other machines were damaged -among which that of Sergeant Arthur Louis Aaron VC over Turin. All the RAF bombers were claimed by the Italian D.A.T.
Regarding the raid of the night 16/17 over Turin, my sources reported three (or four) losses all caused by the D.A.T. A recent study on Italian nightfighters written by Giuseppe Grande and published on April 2006 in the magazine Storia Militare identify Lancaster III DV 183 as the last Allied machine shot down by Italian nightfighter units, it was on the night of July the 17th, so no Italian nightfighter's victory at all for August.
Hope this helps.

Ludovico.