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Italian Ace
Costantino Petrosellini
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Macchi MC.202
Painting by Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Macchi MC.202 "Greyhound"
By Sir Ernie Hamilton Boyette
Aeronautica Macchi designed and developed the next level of
fighter advancement for Italy with the Macchi MC.202 and the MC.205. Powered by
a 1,175hp Alfa Romeo RA1000 the fighter was quick and nimble. The inverted
12-clynder gave the 202 370mph while the 205 with a 1,475hp Fiat RA1050
achieving 399mph.
The MC.202 was lightly armored with two 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT in
the cowling above the engine and two 7.7mm in the wings. Many of the MC.202's in
service never had wing guns. Marksmanship would be the key to becoming an ace.
After interviewing two aces and reading the exploits of many others, the Italian
fighter pilot was tenacious in combat. Relentless in their light-weight Italian
hot rods. They would try to out maneuver their nemesis and get in close before
firing. They got right on your tail.
The new fighter was flown for the first time on August 10,
1940 and delivered to the fighter units by July 1941. This fighter dominated the
Hawker Hurricane and the American built P-40. The 202 and 205 could hold their
own in a fight with a P-47, P-51 or a Spitfire, if the Italian was experienced. Many
Italian pilots lost their lives when the aerial armada the Americans could bring
forth started the march up the country in pursuit of the retreating German Army.
The Italians surrendered and the nation was split into a civil
war. The armies and Air Force of Italy divided according to their beliefs. One
pilot I worked with, Ugo Drago went north with the Aviazione Nazionale. Where as
Costantino Petrosellini joined with the Co-Belligerent Air Force in the South of
Italy. One day Petrosellini was shooting down a B-17, and then six months later
he was escorting B-24's to German targets.
Petrosellini flew the MC.202 during all of his combat missions
against the Luftwaffe after the armistice. He claimed no more aerial victories
but was credited with personally destroying three Junkers JU-52 transport
aircraft on the ground at a Luftwaffe airfield that was about to fly German
infantry and supplies back to Germany.
The graceful fighter had a wingspan of 34 feet 8 and a half
inches and was 29 feet long. The retracting landing gear were positioned towards
the outside giving the aircraft very stable take off and landings. From North
Africa to the Defense of Rome the MC.202 served the Italian Air Force with
pride.
The fighter simply was not equipped with enough firepower to
defend the empire from Liberator and Fortress attacks. Yes several of these
bombers were brought down by the best pilots like Drago who was credited with
downing one B-24, one B-25 and a B-26 in a Bf-109G. Petrosellini brought down a
B-17 with his MC.200. Tenente Orfeo Mazzitelli flying a MC.202 downed six four
engine bombers in 1943. That was a feat. The MC.202 was a fighter to fighter
platform
not a heavily armored bomber interceptor.
I will add more to this page in the future.
Below is the story for the print and below that is extensive
research by Garth Didlick.
Italian Ace
Costantino Petrosellini
Costantino Petrosellini was born April 17th 1921 in
Rome,
Italy. After graduating from high school at the age of seventeen, he joined the Regia
Aerinautica in 1938.
As a student officer attending flight schools at
Pisa
and Foligno
Airports
he earned his wings in the spring of 1940 with the rank of 2nd
Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 63rd Gruppo, 41st
Squadriglia at Udine Air Base in
Northern Italy
flying a Ro.37 reconnaissance aircraft.
In July 1941 he began training as a fighter pilot in the
Macchi Mc.200 and was assigned to the 8th Gruppo, 92nd
Squadriglia. His unit was deployed to North Africa, taking part in the battle of
El Alamein. Petrosellini’s first aerial victory was an RAF Martin Maryland shot down
near Tobruk. His second was during a ground attack against English transport
vehicles. His flight was bounced by RAF Kittyhawks. Petrosellini was able to
outmaneuver one of the P-40’s and shot it down, however his flight lost two
aircraft.
In December 1942 the battered 8th Gruppo was
transferred back to
Italy
and assigned to Sarzana Air Base to provide air defense for the Italian Naval
Base at
La Spezia
along with convoy escort on the Tirrenian
Sea. On June 21, 1943, while flying an air defense patrol, Petrosellini was ordered
south to
Livorno. English aircraft were attacking an Italian tanker. Upon arriving at the ship
Petrosellini spotted two R.A.F. Beaufighter’s very low on the water trying to
escape after their attack. Petrosellini shot down one of the medium English
bombers.
On July 28th 1943 near
Pisa
he intercepted a RAF Martin Baltimore bomber. After a long fight Petrosellini
was able to bring down the bomber in the sea near
Livorno. His fifth and final victory in the MC.200 was on September 3rd 1943
while on patrol over
La Spezia
, he shot down a B-17. His fighter was severely damaged during this encounter.
After the truce of September 1943 Petrosellini sided with the
Allies and joined the Aeronautica Co-Belligerante. 8 Gruppo was relocated to
Lecce Air Base in
Southern Italy
. Petrosellini flew the Mc.200 until June 1944 when his Squadriglia received
Macchi MC.202 fighters. Petrosellini was also promoted to Commander of number 94
squadriglia at this time. His personal MC.202 was painted dark green on top with
a light gray bottom marked “94-1”. His unit flew mainly ground attack and
bomber escort missions across the Adriatic into Yugoslavia
and Albania.
In October 1944, one target for the American bombers was a
bridge linking an important road for a German retreat. The B-24’s escorted by
four MC.202’s led by Petrosellini arrived over the target at approximately
15,000 feet with no anti-aircraft artillery defense or Luftwaffe fighter
resistance. The B-24’s released hundreds of bombs on the target.
Petrosellini
remained over the target with his flight in order to review the damage to the
bridge. As the cloud of dust dissipated with surprise Petrosellini noticed the
bridge was undamaged and the small town of
Alessio
, just south of the bridge, had been destroyed. The following day two P-39
Italian air force fighters carrying one 500lb bomb each attacked the bridge at a
very low altitude destroying the target.
In November 1944 Petrosellini led eight MC.202s to the
Luftwaffe airfield at Berat,
Albania. His group destroyed 28 Junkers Ju-52 transports. Petrosellini made three
passes on the parked Junkers setting his target on fire each time personally
destroying three Luftwaffe transports. Anti aircraft defense was intense. The
Italians attacked like a swarm of angry hornets. All aircraft returned to base
undamaged. Petrosellini received a personal commendation for bravery from
General Foster for leading this attack.
Petrosellini ended the war with five air victories. He was
awarded 3 silver medals for military gallantry, the war cross, and a promotion
for gallantry. Added to his achievements, Petrosellini flew more than 20,000
hours in eighty different aircraft from bi-wing fighters to Boeing 747’s.
Research by Garth Didlick, Story text
for print by Sir Hamilton
Below is the full story of Petrosellini
as well as historical Italian facts by Garth Didlick.
Everybody please spend a few more
minutes and Let Garth entertain you.
The armistice between
Italy
and the Allied armed forces was signed on September 3rd 1943 but not
publicly declared until September 8th. Over 200 Italian warplanes
flew South and landed at Allied airfields in the days immediately following.
Most were worn out and obsolete, no longer useful for combat. Italian crews
scrounged any parts that they could to keep their beloved aircraft flying
against the Germans. The Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (ICBAF) was formed in
Southern Italy
during October 1943 and the new Italian national markings were adopted, a three
color roundel carried in the six standard positions, upper and lower wings and
both sides of the fuselage. Operational areas were assigned covering the Balkans
(
Yugoslavia
and
Albania
) supporting Italian troops and partisans. Great care was initiated in this
assignment to prevent any possible encounter between Italian manned aircraft
fighting on opposite sides. The Italians that sided with the Germans were known
as the Aeronautica Nazionale Republicana (ANR). During the entire history of the
ICBAF and ANR no such encounter or aerial combat was ever reported. The Italians
in the South began flying transport, escort, reconnaissance, sea rescue and
limited tactical ground support missions.
Mr Petrosellini and 8
Gruppo’s odyssey South to the Allied airfields began on the morning of
September 8th. They were ordered to fly from Sarzana Air Base to
Littorio
Airport
(South of Rome) with mission orders to escort Italian Air Force torpedo bombers
tasked with attacking the Allied fleet which was massing for landings at
Salerno
. A few hours after 8 Gruppo arrived, and just before the launching of the
torpedo aircraft at 4 pm, radio
Algiers
broadcast the communication of the armistice between Allied and Italian Forces.
All missions were immediately suspended. The next morning 8 Gruppo was ordered
to Guidonia Airfield near
Rome
and assigned the task of protecting the landing of US paratroops. The paratroop
drop was canceled and to avoid capture by German Forces 8 Gruppo flew to
Castiglione del Lago airfield, near
Perugia
, on the afternoon of September 9th. With no orders and communications from the
disbanded Air Staff the 8 Gruppo Commander, Major Mario Bacich, made the
decision to move to Decimomannu,
Sardinia
. After two days, on the morning of September 13th, the Gruppo flew
to
Sciacca
,
Sicily
(which was occupied by US Forces) to avoid once again capture by the Germans.
The following day 8 Gruppo was ordered to fly to Agrigento Airfield and finally
on to
Korba Airfield
,
Tunisia
. Here they remained until the first days of October when they were ordered to
fly to Lecce Air Base,
Southern Italy
, to join the new Italian Co-Belligerent forces. December 1943 Petrosellini’s
unit was ordered to
Capoterra
Airport
, Sardinia, for the air defense of
Cagliari
Town
against the threat of German bombers. Petrosellini commented; “We were
still equipped with our old tired Mc.200 fighters, luckily no Germans flew over
Sardinia
!” In the Spring of 1944 he was promoted to Commander of the 94th
Squadriglia with the rank of Lieutenant.
In June 1944, after just over
6 months of uneventful air defence duty over Sardinia, his squadron was ordered
back to
Lecce
and re-equipped with the Macchi Mc.202. The 94th was immediately
assigned to Campomarino Air Base (North of Gargano Cape) and started operations
against German forces in
Yugoslavia
and
Albania
. At this time Petrosellini’s wife Adriana joined him after a very dangerous
journey from
Rome
with their two little sons (Luigi and Alberto). During 1943-44 she had remained
in
Rome
during the German occupation and the Allied bombings. She was secretly assisted
by the Italian clandestine front that was operating behind German lines. She
also has written a diary of that terrible period and the difficult journey South
to be with her husband.
Ground attack and bomber
escort missions were numerous over the Balkans. Petrosellini said that during
this period American VHF radios were installed in their Mc.202s so they could
communicate with the Allied bombers they were escorting. He chuckled at this and
said; “We couldn’t speak English and they couldn’t speak Italian”. Also,
“We never shared escort duties with USAAF fighters”. The German
anti-aircraft fire was very accurate; “We averaged
two aircraft shot down each day for the entire Raggruppamento Caccia formed by
the three Stormo (Wings) of 4, 5, and 51, which were equipped with Macchi
Mc.202, Mc.205, Spitfire Mk V, and the
Bell
P-39 Airacobra”.
October 1944, he was leading
a formation of four Mc.202s escorting a squadron of USAAF B-24 Liberators to
attack the Ponte de Alessio (bridge) in
Albania
. “The bridge was linking an important road of German retreat from Greek
territory”. The B-24s arrived over target at 15000 feet and released their
bombs. “There was no anti-aircraft fire at all!“ As ordered
Petrosellini remained over the target with his flight to assess the damage and
through the cloud of dust discovered that: “The bridge was undamaged! The
small town of
Alessio
, just South of the bridge, was destroyed instead!” He reported his
observation to the command post as soon as he landed. “Early
the next morning two Italian flown P-39’s from Nuovo Airfield flew across the
Adriatic
and attacked at very low altitude and succeeded in destroying the bridge with
two 500lb bombs!”
During November 1944, the 94th
Squadriglia was assigned an armed reconnaissance mission to investigate the
report of German transport aircraft at
Berat
Airport
in
Eastern Albania
. Petrosellini was leading eight Mc.202 during this flight. Before takeoff he
had a discussion with his wingman, 2nd Lt Lino Forchetti who was on
his very first mission, Petrosellini recalled telling him; “Stay glued to
my wing, shoot when I shoot”. Upon arrival at Berat he was amazed to see
the airfield full of German Junkers Ju-52 transport aircraft. He immediately
gave the order to attack. Petrosellini remembered that; “The Germans did
not open fire until we began our strafing run, then all hell broke loose”. During
three successive passes, East to West, West to East, and South to North, he
succeeded in destroying three Ju-52s and damaging numerous others; “The
other Ju-52s parked nearby the three I destroyed exploded for sympathy”.
26 German transport aircraft were destroyed by Petrosellini’s flight of eight
Mc.202s during the attack on Berat airfield. During the fight and confusion of
smoke and anti-aircraft fire young 2nd Lt Forchetti became separated
and disappeared. Running low on fuel the remaining flight reformed and made a
quick check for their lost member and then headed back to base. Upon landing
Petrosellini headed to Base Ops to give his report when he was confronted by a
British officer who began yelling at him that “You are Bloody crazy for
attacking that airfield but most of all you lost an aircraft and one of your
valuable pilots!” At that moment an Mc.202 flew over the field and dropped
its gear and flaps and prepared to land. It was 2nd Lt Forchetti who
had found his way back home after becoming separated at Berat. Miraculously none
of the Mc.202s were hit by anti-aircraft fire and Petrosellini received a
personal Commendation from General Foster, Commander of the Balkan theatre air
forces. Petrosellini mentioned that; “During the
entire time I flew with the Co-Belligerent Forces I never saw a German aircraft
in the air, only on the ground”.
“My personal Mc.202 was
painted overall dark green with gray undersurfaces. It was marked with ‘94 -
1’, since I was squadron commander the no. 1 was assigned to me, and the
emblem known as the middle aged knight painted on the fin”.
“The end of the war (8
May 1945) was communicated by radio at the squadron, it was one news that I
received with great happiness, of course!”
Costantino Petrosellini's war
medals and decorations included 3 Silver medals for heroism, 1 War Cross for
heroism, a promotion for war merits, 4 Crosses for war merits.
After the war he was assigned
to the Squadron of Italian Air Staff at Centocelle Airport Rome, equipped with
the Douglas C-47 he flew numerous command staff all over Europe and the
Mediterranean
from June 1945 until September 1951. He then became a flight instructor at the
jet school at Amendola Air Base near
Foggia
, flying the DeHavilland Vampire and Lockheed T-33. He was promoted to Captain
and was the commanding officer of the Vampire squadron. At the end of 1953 he
was assigned to the
Italian
Air
Force
Test
Center
and was transferred to the French Air Force Test Pilot School at
Bretigny
Airport
near
Paris
. Here he qualified as a prototype Test Pilot. During this assignment he became
the 2nd Italian Pilot to break the sound barrier, which he achieved in the
Dassault Mystere IV aircraft. He also flew the B-26, Meteor, Ouragon, and Super
Mystere B-1 in which he broke the sound barrier in level flight, being the first
Italian Pilot to do so. At the beginning of 1955 Petrosellini returned to
Italy
and was involved with the development of
Italy
's first supersonic fighter the Aerfer "Sagittario". He joined the
Aerfer flight test team at Pomigliano,
Naples
and spent all of 1955 in the production of the prototype. He made the first
flight which took place on 19 May 1956 from the Pratica di Mare Airport near
Rome
. All flights were successful including a spectacular demonstration at the
Italian Air Force Festival over
Fiumicino
Airport
. He had previously flown the F-86 and had this to say about the comparison of
these two aircraft; "The Sagittario was better
than the Sabre, she was fast and beautiful".
The flight test program ended
and in December 1956 Petrosellini decided to leave the Air Force and enter the
civilian world as a pilot for Alitalia Airlines. He became captain of the
Convair 340/440 flying European and North African routes. In 1959 he became
captain of the Douglas DC-6 and then the Sud Aviation Caravelle III in 1961. In
1966 he became captain on the Douglas DC-8/43 and DC-8/62 flying the Atlantic,
Pacific
,
South Africa
,
Australia
,
Far East
, and Polar routes. As a certified test pilot he was also asked to evaluate the
Boeing 707 and the supersonic Concorde. In the Spring of 1972 he made captain on
the Boeing 747 which he flew all over the world until his retirement from
Alitalia in 1981.
He then spent two years as
manager of flight school at
Urbe
Airport
,
Rome
, and another two years was spent as a professor at the Aeronautical Institute
of Rome before retiring fully. Since then he has chaired and been Vice-President
of the Italian Airline Pilots Association, the International Federation of
Airline Pilots, and the Italian Institute of Navigation. These duties kept him
busy making speeches at conferences and meetings all around the world. He is
also an honorary member of the Confederate Air Force and was made honorary Mayor
of San Antonio Texas.
To say the least Lt Colonel
Costantino Petrosellini has led a very interesting and exciting life in
aviation. 45 years of continuous flight activity flying over 80 different types
of aircraft and logging over 20,000 hours of flight time. His leadership,
knowledge, and expert guidance have taught and molded hundreds of his fellow
pilots and it can honestly be said that he has made a positive impact on what
the aviation world is today.
I asked him to look back over
his career and tell me what his favorite aircraft were. He said; “During
the war my favorite was with no doubt the Macchi 202, but the best was the
Spitfire Mk IX, which I flew after the war, much better performance and a pure
interceptor to high altitude. The Super Mystere, DC-6, and of course the Boeing
747 are favorites also”.
He now spends his time with
his beautiful wife Adriana and lives in the same building as his daughter
Raffaella (born in 1949), her husband Francesco (they are both Architects) and
their daughters Giulia (degree in Marketing/Publicity) and Claudia (Studying
Civil Engineering at
University
of
Rome
). The rest of his family are: first son Luigi (retired Alitalia Executive),
wife Ambretta and two sons Costantino II and Andre. Second son Alberto (Doctor
in
London
), wife Elisabetta (Doctor) and daughter Chiara (Studying in
London
). From his balcony he enjoys the beautiful view that overlooks the hill of
Monteverde and the city of his proud family ancestry, “la Città Eterna,
Roma”, The Eternal City,
Rome
.
Full research and text is by Garth Didlick.
All I can say is thank you Garth
for this valuable historical research.
Any and all writings of the
Italian involvement is essential to understand the Great War as a whole.
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