Corsica, September 11th, 1943

[Gianandrea Bussi]

Dear Jochen,

at that time, the only Breda in service - some aircraft modified as dive bombing trainers - operated as training aircraft at the Nucleo Addestramento Tuffatori at Lonate Pozzolo (VA).
AFAIK,none of them reached the south of Italy, Sardinian or Sicily: no mention of that in any book or document I've seen.
Because they were twin finned aircraft, I think that CZ.1007 - twin finned too - could be erroneously identified as Breda 88.

Aircraft of Raggruppamento Bombardieri and Raggruppamento Aerosiluranti were ordered to go to Sardinia in order to avoid seizure by the german and to reach areas not controlled by germans (Sardinia, even though situation was not so clear...) or controlled by allied: remember that italian government and the king with his family went to Brindisi too....
Many bombers, seaplanes and transport aircraft, plus some fighters and training aircraft coming from north and center Italy, dalmatian or grecian bases managed to reach South of Italy, or the two main island in the days that followed the armistice: many obeying to orders, other ones disobeying to orders....
So, for exemple, on 13 september 1943, the torpedo bomber ace Giulio Cesare Graziani "stole" an S.79 and flew from Fano to Catania with 4 other airmen; on 11 september 8° Gruppo CT (22 C.200, 2 Ca.133, 2 S.81) went to Decimomannu Sicily from Castiglione del Lago; in one of those days a lonely S.79 flew from Malpensa Bomber School to Sicily.
The number of aircraft that crossed the war lines in order to reach south of Italy or the two main isles has been calculated in more than 200.

Best regards

Gianandrea