The Corpo Aereo Italiano (C.A.I.) was an Italian expeditionary force participating in the Battle of Britain during the final months of 1940. The C.A.I.'s contribution to the battle was minor, being hampered by the inadequacy of its equipment. Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1,963 total...

Aircraft

Fiat CR.42 of 18 Gruppo, 56 Stormo. A manoueverable but slow biplane fighter which was outclassed by the Hurricane and Spitfire of the RAF Fiat CR.42 Falco The Fiat CR.42 Falco (Falcon) was a biplane which served as the primary fighter aircraft of Italys Regia Aeronautica at the outbreak of World War II. // Development The epitome of a biplane fighter, CR.42 represented evolution of the Italian designs starting with Fiat... This article is about weather phenomena. ... Spitfire may refer to: Supermarine Spitfire, a single-seat fighter plane used in World War II Triumph Spitfire, a small two-seat British sports car from Triumph Motor Company Spitfire, a slang term for a highly-excitable or passionate person, especially a woman. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF...

Fiat G.50 of 20 Gruppo, 56 Stormo. This monoplane fighter was restricted by its short range of barely 400 miles, and its lack of a radio in most participating aircraft. Fiat G.50 The Fiat G.50 Freccia (Italian: Arrow) was an Italian fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first Italian low-wing monoplane fighter with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production (without the enclosed cockpit though, as Italian pilots felt uncomfortable with...

Fiat BR.20 bombers of 13 and 43 Stormo. The Fiat BR.20 Cicogna (Italian: stork) was a twin engined bomber in the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II. History The BR.20 was first flown at Turin in 1936, and shortly after this first flight the aircraft became central to the propaganda campaign showcasing Italian engineering achievements. ...

Supporting aircraft included the CANT Z.1007 used for reconnaisance and the transport plane Caproni Ca.133 The CANT Z.1007 Alcione was a three engine medium bomber used by the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II. // The first prototype flew in March 1937 and the CANT Z.1007bis went into production in 1938. ... The Caproni Ca. ...

The bombers arrived at their airfield, Melsbroek in Belgium, on the 25th September after an eventful journey which saw several planes force landed or even crashed due to malfunctions and poor weather. The fighter element arrived later at Ursel, also in Belgium.

Operations

The first raid conducted by the C.A.I. took place on the night of the 24th October when eighteen BR.20s took off to attack Harwich and Felixstowe. Not all aircraft found their targets and three were destroyed in accidents or after becoming lost. The next major operation was on the 29th October, regarded by some historians as the last day of the Battle of Britain. Fifteen BR.20s with a strong fighter escort bombed Ramsgate by day, with five suffering damage due to flak. The next few days saw several small raids. Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1,963 total... Ramsgate is an English seaside town on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent. ... FLAK was a punk rock side project of members of the band Machinae Supremacy in 2001. ...

The C.A.I. saw its first major combat against the RAF on the 11th November. Ten bombers were escorted by forty-two CR.42s, the G.50s and Bf 109s assigned to them having aborted due to bad weather. Hurricanes from 257, 46, and 17 Squadrons intercepted them and destroyed three bombers and three fighters. In addition, four bombers eventually force landed, two fighters were destoyed on landing, and another eight fighters landed with damage. British losses were two fighters damaged. One of the Fiats was repaired by the British and subsequently evaluated. RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late_war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ...

Fighter to fighter combat was no more successful for the C.A.I. On the 23rd November, the Italian biplanes were bounced by Spitfire Mk.IIs and two were lost with several damaged, in return for one Spitfire damaged. Spitfire may refer to: Supermarine Spitfire, a single-seat fighter plane used in World War II Triumph Spitfire, a small two-seat British sports car from Triumph Motor Company Spitfire, a slang term for a highly-excitable or passionate person, especially a woman. ... Spitfire may refer to: Supermarine Spitfire, a single-seat fighter plane used in World War II Triumph Spitfire, a small two-seat British sports car from Triumph Motor Company Spitfire, a slang term for a highly-excitable or passionate person, especially a woman. ...

Further bombing raids were carried out, mainly on the Ipswich and Harwich areas, but near the beginning of January all the bombers and biplanes were redeployed, leaving only the Fiat G.50s which remained until mid-April 1941. Timber framed buildings in St Nicholas Street The Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of pargeting Ipswich (pronounced ) is the county town of Suffolk and a non-metropolitan district in East Anglia, England on the estuary of the River Orwell. ... Arms of Harwich Town Council Harwich (IPA, /hɑːˈɹɪtʃ/) is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. ... Fiat G.50 The Fiat G.50 Freccia (Italian: Arrow) was an Italian fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first Italian low-wing monoplane fighter with enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production (without the enclosed cockpit though, as Italian pilots felt uncomfortable with...

Bibliography

Gunston, Bill (2001), The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Salamander, ISBN 1 84065 092 3

Mondey, David (1984), The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, Chancellor Press, ISBN 1 85152 966 7

Townshend Bickers, Richard (1990, The Battle of Britain, Salamander, ISBN 0 86101 477 4

External links

Extensive article on the C.A.I. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/falco_bob.htm [1]

Battle of Britain daily reports. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/calendar.html [2]

This article is uncategorized. Please help improve this article by adding it to one or more categories, so it may be associated with related articles (how?). Please remove this tag after categorizing, but not before. This page has been tagged since April 2007. Image File history File links Information_icon. ...