Savoia-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero Torpedo-Bomber Units (Combat Aircraft) by Marco Mattioli

Author:Marco Mattioli [Mattioli, Marco]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Savoia-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero Torpedo-Bomber Units
ISBN: 9781782008095
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2014-10-21T07:00:00+00:00

A rear view of an aerial torpedo slung under an S.79, clearly showing the weapon’s wooden aerodynamic tail stabilisers that were shed once the weapon had splashed into the water (SME)

‘We dropped down behind the commander, but even at full speed we couldn’t reach him. The first Spitfires singled out the leader and struck him with their opening bursts. Fire immediately broke out in his aircraft. I was behind Buscaglia when his S.79 was hit. I was a little out of line because although I was at full throttle, I had been unable to catch him. During the enemy fighters’ first pass I instinctively tried to increase speed, pressing the handwheel to get close to him. I gained a few tenths of metres but I lost altitude. I could see the underside of the S.79, and the carousel of Spitfires attacking him, ignoring us wingmen. They had realised that Buscaglia’s aeroplane was the bigger prey.’

Aichner’s account is at odds with the description of events given by 1° Aviere Armiere Rosario Salvatore D’Angelo, the gunner aboard Sottotenente Pfister’s aircraft;

‘Maggiore Buscaglia waggled his aircraft’s wings – this was the signal that the formation could open out, each crew choosing its target and dropping its torpedo, possibly to strike. The other four wingmen obeyed the order and, dropping further, we saw them heading away for the targets. Nothing more of them was seen until our return to base. However, our pilot, Sottotenente Pfister, still lingered, keeping himself close to the leader’s wing. He had correctly guessed Buscaglia’s thoughts – “Inside that hell, in Bougie’s port, there’s my target!”

‘Pfister gazed around into the fuselage as if questioning his flying companions. At that instant of perfect harmony he understood that one thought was in all our minds – together, close to the commander, where duty calls. Suddenly, the flak bursts and the crackle of splinters on our aircraft’s fuselage and wings ceased. The two torpedo-bombers, as if tied wing-to-wing, moved towards their selected prey in that false silence. Speed was at its highest, having applied the “+200” [maximum speed device]. In the aircraft we could smell fuel – the consequence of activation of the maximum speed device, caused by the escape of gas from the little vent pipe [of the fuel tanks] located near the dorsal turret.

‘Once the flak stopped, numerous enemy P-40s and Hurricanes [actually Spitfires] went after the two torpedo-bombers, and the crackling on our aircraft’s fuselage resumed. The attacks came from all directions, but mainly from the left. At some point an enemy fighter broke off, trailing black smoke and heading for the ground, its pilot looking for an emergency landing site. The balance was still in our favour, but the enemies were always overwhelming.

‘The sun, when the flak ceased, pierced the dirty haze and returned to shine. However, now it was our ally because it beat inexorably on the windscreens of the fighters coming from the left. Suddenly a P-40 stumbled into the crossfire of our machine guns. A trail of smoke and flames accompanied the fighter until it impacted the sea.

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