Did 79th FG (MTO) sink an aircraft carrier?

[Lagarto]

Hello everybody,

I just finished reading a book titled "WWII Fighter Bomber Pilot" by Maj. Bill Colgan. I found a puzzling piece of information in there. I'm quoting:

"While we were away (May/June 1944), our squadron had bombed a rather unusual target for fighter-bombers - an aircraft carrier. It was hit with thousand-pounders and rolled upside down in the harbor. [...] The hits on the ship sent it over so fast that some following pilots bombed the bottom of the upturned hull".
That's all, unfotunately, no exact date, no location. The unit flew P-47s at that time, it was stationed in Corsica. The ship must have been Italian. Does anyone know any further details? Thanks in advance!

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Lagarto,

Much to my surprise this is substantially correct. A HOSTILE SKY (The Mediterranean Airwar of the 79th Fighter Group) by DON WOERPEL published by The Andon Press in 1977 records this incident.

Apparently this happened on 20 June 1944 when 12 P-47s of the 87th Fighter Squadron attacked it at anchor in Genoa harbour. It was reputedly hit by five 500-lb bombs and badly damaged but did not sink or turn turtle. It was further damaged in April 1945 by Italian frogmen on 'human' torpedoes.

Another source mentions 16 June 1944 as the date for an air attack on it.

Hope this helps,

Martin Gleeson.

[Lagarto]

Thank you very much. Colgan wasn't there in person, so he might have heard a bit over-enthusiastic version of the "carrier story". Does the book mention the name of the ship? Was it Aquila?
This is what a friend of mine, an expert on Navy operations, wrote to me on the subject:
Aquila certainly didnt "roll upside down", so it couldn't be her.
I've seen photos of her after she was demolished and she still looks quite
ok. She was just holed by demolition charges and settled on the harbor, so
the germans couldnt use her as a blockship.

[Martin Gleeson]

Hallo Lagarto,

Yes, the book specifically names the ship as the 'Aquila'.

Martin Gleeson.